Travonne Tyki Ward, a 24-year-old Black male from Anchorage, was brought to a local hospital on the afternoon of December 13, 2016, after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. A woman driving a Volkswagen had dropped him at the entrance and then spoke with officers who located the same vehicle in the parking lot. Despite medical efforts, the 24-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, and detectives began retracing the brief, frantic drive that followed the shooting.
Investigators learned that moments earlier four young people—Ward, the female driver, 19-year-old Richard E. Helme, and another passenger—had been inside the Volkswagen while it was parked at the Alaska Laser Wash at 5500 Lake Otis Parkway. Inside that car, Helme fired a handgun; the bullet struck Ward in the head. Helme and the other passenger fled on foot, leaving the woman to race Ward to the hospital. Detectives worked back from the hospital scene to the car-wash bay, collecting accounts and evidence as they pieced together the final minutes before the gunshot.
In the first twenty-four hours, police named 18-year-old Blake Russell McBirney a person of interest and asked the public for help locating him. The next day, McBirney contacted authorities and spoke with investigators, shifting the focus squarely to the shooter inside the car. The homicide file—tagged APD Case 16-51909—grew quickly with interviews and forensics tied to the car wash where the group had gathered.
Ten days after the killing, on December 23, detectives obtained a warrant and arrested Helme on charges of manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and third-degree misconduct involving a weapon. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Anchorage jail, with bail to be set at arraignment. An Associated Press account summarized the police findings: four people in a car, a single shot, the two males running, and the driver ferrying the 24-year-old victim to the ER where he could not be saved.
