On the early morning of April 13, 2017, in the remote Alaska Village of Pilot Station, a deadly confrontation shattered the stillness of a spring night. Twenty‑seven‑year‑old Dennis Alick, a male resident of Pilot Station, lay lifeless after gunshots rang out on the front steps of a private home. The rifle in question was a shotgun, and the location was near the doorway where a gathering had been underway inside. At least several individuals were present during the event.
Alcohol was involved, and the investigation would later reveal that the male victim and the suspect were known to each other.
Alaska State Troopers were dispatched in the early hours after 12:29 a.m., when the call first came in reporting a fatal shooting. Village officials and troopers confirmed that 27‑year‑old Dennis Alick, a male resident of Pilot Station, had been fatally shot and had died at the scene. The shooting prompted an immediate response by the Bethel Violent Offenders Unit, which traveled to the village to secure the scene and assist with processing.
As the investigation unfolded, authorities determined the identity of a suspect: a 23‑year‑old male, Brian Fancyboy, also from Pilot Station. Police charged him with first‑degree murder and misconduct involving weapons in the second degree in connection with the shooting death of 27‑year‑old Dennis Alick.
The body of 27‑year‑old Dennis Alick was transported to Anchorage, where the State Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy to determine the precise cause and circumstances of death.
Subsequent legal proceedings revealed that Brian Wassillie Fancyboy, aged 23 and the suspect in the April 13, 2017 shooting of 27‑year‑old male Dennis Alick, ultimately pleaded guilty. The charge was reduced to manslaughter, and Fancyboy's case proceeded through Alaska's Court of Appeals process, grappling with issues related to probation conditions and sentencing procedures.
In summary, on April 13, 2017, 27-year-old male Dennis Alick, a resident of Pilot Station, Alaska, was fatally shot with a shotgun on the front steps of a private residence during a gathering where alcohol was present. Another male, 23-year-old Brian Fancyboy of Pilot Station, was arrested and charged initially with first-degree murder and weapons misconduct. The body was sent to Anchorage for autopsy. Fancyboy later pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and appellate proceedings addressed aspects of his sentencing and probation.
