Carlos Alberto Zuniga

Carlos Alberto Zuniga, a 47-year-old Hispanic man who worked at Walmart, was in his Fairbanks, Alaska, apartment on the night of May 4, 2017, when his life was cut short by gunfire. The shooting marked the third homicide in the city in just a few weeks, leaving the community unsettled and a family devastated by the violent loss.

Just before 11:30 p.m., the Fairbanks Police Department received calls reporting shots fired on Bunnell Street, near the edge of Creamer's Field Migratory Wildlife Refuge. Officers rushed to a six-plex apartment building at 1215 Bunnell St. and found Carlos inside a second-floor unit with multiple gunshot wounds. Police and first responders attempted to provide lifesaving first aid, but their efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The initial investigation by Fairbanks police detectives quickly pointed to a suspect who was close to home. According to a criminal complaint, family members present during the incident said Carlos had been in an argument with his stepson, Joseph Vance Arabie, just before the shooting. Within days, police issued a first-degree murder warrant for Arabie, then 29 years old. They released a description of him as a 6-foot-1 Native male with brown hair, brown eyes, and a distinctive tattoo of a spike pattern around his neck. Authorities warned the public that he was considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

A manhunt for Arabie ensued. He was reportedly last seen in South Fairbanks, and police urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 911. The search came to an end on May 9, 2017. Following reports of a stabbing, police located Arabie in the Dunbar Street area. After a foot chase off the Old Steese Highway, he was apprehended and taken into custody. He was subsequently arraigned on charges of first-degree murder and weapons misconduct, to which he pleaded not guilty.

In October 2022, five years after Carlos Zuniga's death, Joseph Arabie stood trial in Fairbanks Superior Court. The prosecution argued that Arabie shot his stepfather in the family living room and then fled, leaving behind his identification card, a backpack, and a job application. Prosecutors presented testimony from Carlos’s wife, Tanya Zuniga—Arabie’s mother—who initially told a grand jury she saw her son make an "ugly face" and shoot her husband. However, at the trial, she recanted her statement, claiming she was drunk at the time and could not remember what happened or if her son was even there. The prosecutor, Elizabeth Crail, suggested to the jury that the mother's love for her son was the reason for her changed testimony.

The defense attorney, James Corrigan, argued that the police investigation was flawed and mistakenly focused on Arabie after his mother pointed the finger at him. The defense team called no witnesses and did not offer an alibi for Arabie, who chose not to testify. A retired detective testified that the crime scene was covered in blood and that .40 caliber shell casings were found, though the murder weapon was never recovered.

After hearing closing arguments, the jury began deliberations. Joseph Vance Arabie was ultimately found guilty of the murder of his stepfather. In February 2023, he was sentenced to serve 75 years in prison for the crime. The case, which began with a burst of violence in a quiet apartment, concluded nearly six years later, finally bringing a measure of legal closure to the family of Carlos Zuniga.