After a month-long investigation and search, AST reports that all five suspects in the shooting of a Russian Mission man on July 28th are all in custody.

St Marys and Bethel-based troopers responded to Russian Mission on the afternoon of July 28th after receiving a report of the shooting at 3:15 am that day. Weather delayed their response to the village.

Upon arrival, troopers opened a preliminary investigation that would find that three of the suspects, Tyler Housler, 14-year-old D. H., and Jalen Minock, waited in ambush as six boaters were returning to the village from a boating trip. During the interaction with the boaters, a fight over a shotgun took place and then a second of the suspects fired a shotgun that would injure Justin Edwards, age 46 of Russian Mission. Edwards ran from the scene and was later picked up and transported to the clinic.

The remaining five boaters retreated to a nearby residence. Minutes later, the three suspects fired five rounds into the home. None of the four adults or seven children were injured in that attack. The  three suspects fled the scene, Edwards was medevaced to Anchorage for treatment of his torso and arm injuries.

Troopers attempted to locate the suspects during that initial investigation and numerous times after. Housler would be seen on several occasions fleeing in a boat during stormy weather on the Yukon. 

Troopers say “On one attempt AST rented a boat and driver and went upriver checking fish camps and sloughs but were unable to locate the suspects.  AST has also used borrowed ATVs to check fish camps and outlying areas of the village.” Those search attempts were unsuccessful.

Then, armed with an arrest warrant for Attempted Murder and Assault, U.S. Marshals would locateMinock and take him into custody on August 8th.

While Housler would be seen on several occasions in Russian Mission, Marshal, and Pilot station throughout the summer, responses to those villages and searches through buildings and camps would prove fruitless.

On October 25th, troopers would locate and take into custody D.H. in Russian Mission. He was also charged with Attempted Murder and Assault.

On November 10th, it would be reported that Tyler Housler, Stephan Duffy and Bryce Housler had been involved in multiple crimes in Russian Mission, including assaulting and strangling three victims during robbery attempts. During one of the incidents, Housler stole a gun during the night. It was also reported that the suspect had rammed a snow machine into the front door attempting entry before threatening to kill everyone in the residence. When troopers responded to the village the next day, they would find that the suspects fled as they arrived.

Four days later, on the evening of November 15th, troopers located Tyler and Bryce Housler at their residence and took them into custody as a second team took Duffy into custody at his residence.

“All five are now in custody at YKCC and the DJJ in Bethel.  All face multiple felony and misdemeanor charges from multiple AST incidents throughout the last four months,” troopers report.

Charges include Multiple Warrant Arrests, Attempted Murder, Robbery 1, Robbery 2 X multiple, MIW2, Assault 2 X multiple, Assault 3 x multiple, Assault 4 X multiple, Burglary 1, Theft 2, Harassment 1, Criminal Mischief 3 X multiple AST stated in the dispatch.

  assault, attempted murder, bryce, d.h., housler, jalen minock, russian mission, search, stephan duffy, tyler, weapons