A 40-year-old Kenai man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday during an hours-long standoff with law enforcement, according to a statement from the Kenai Police Department.
Police say officers were attempting to arrest John S. Evans because he failed to register as a sex offender, and because he had two outstanding arrest warrants, including one for violating the conditions of his release.
When officers arrived at his home around noon, near 5th Avenue in Kenai, Evans fled into a crawl space in his home with a firearm to avoid arrest, according to the KPD statement. The officers closed the street, evacuated some nearby residents and brought in the Alaska State Trooper-led Special Emergency Reaction Team.
According to police, the officers negotiated with Evans for hours in an effort to convince him to surrender, but at some point he stopped communicating. Troopers eventually entered his home and found Evans dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His body is being transferred to the State Medical Examiner's Office.
