Manslaughter Suspect Captured after Chase and Brief Negotiation

41-year-old Jason Premo. Image-APD
41-year-old Jason Premo. Image-APD

A wild chase early Monday morning netted a man wanted on a manslaughter warrant Anchorage police reported on Monday.

Early this morning, Anchorage patrol officers spotted a suspicious vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle sped away from the officers taking them on a chase to the area of 36th Avenue and Patterson Street. It was at that location that the driver, later identified as Jason Premo, crashed into pole disabling his vehicle.

Premo, wanted on a manslaughter warrant, jumped from the vehicle, and fled on foot.

In response, APD set up a perimeter and deployed a K-9 unit. A short time later, Premo was located “hiding in a shed in a nearby residential area, ” APD reported. Despite being found and confined by the perimeter, Premo initially refused to give up, but after a short round of negotiations, decided to surrender. 

Premo was wanted on a manslaughter warrant for his part in the death of 48-year-old Geoffrey Sorden, who he went with to another man’s residence on the afternoon of June 18th. During that time at the  residence on the 6000-block of Austin Street, Sorden and Premo got into an altercation with the homeowner, and Sorden shot the homeowner wounding him in the lower body and the homeowner returned fire shooting and killing Sorden. Investigators believe that the shooting was connected to “on-going activity inside the residential building possibly involving money and drugs.”

Police responded to the scene at 4 pm that afternoon to find Sorden dead at the scene and the homeowner wounded. The homeowner was transported to the hospital for treatment of his wounds. 


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Within two days the investigation would find that Premo had been at the scene during the altercation and he was developed as a suspect in the case.

He is due to be arraigned on the charge on Monday afternoon.