"Avenging Angel" Attacks Sex Offenders

A TRAUMATIC BEGINNING

Jason Vukovich, born into a Christian family in Alaska, never met his biological father. His step-father, Larry Lee Fulton, adopted him when he was 4-years-old. It wasn't long until he began physically and sexually abusing Jason and his brother Joel.

At one point, Joel ran away from their home in Anchorage. Because he was still a minor, he was tracked down and arrested. Joel told police about the abuse he and his brother were submitted to and Larry was investigated.

Despite being found guilty of second-degree abuse of minors, Larry was sentenced to three years suspended; he did not have to spend time in prison. The brothers' mother was not happy that Joel told the police about the abuse. She took them out of school and the family moved to Wasilla.

After Joel ran away again, Jason decided to do the same. He left in the middle of the night but returned the next day to get his belongings. His parents had put what he was allowed to have outside in trash bags. He was not allowed to keep his driver's license or social security card because his parents didn't want to "facilitate his flight into sin".

Jason, now a 16-year-old with no form of identification, traveled to Spokane, Washington. He was arrested for theft multiple times and lived in and out of juvenile detention centers. He continued to steal as an adult while moving around a lot, resulting in a criminal record in various states.

Jason tried to start a new and honest life in 2008 when he moved back to Alaska and got a job. However, he was soon unemployed and was arrested for various charges including credit card theft, possession of a controlled substance (he had become addicted to methamphetamines), and assaulting his ex-wife. Jason denies the latter.

VIGILANTE TAKES ACTION

On June 24, 2016, Jason was released from prison after many years of being in and out of the system. He accessed Alaska's public sex offender registry and wrote several names in his notebook. This registry contains the sex offenders' names, work and home addresses, and convictions.

At 9:30 AM the next day, Jason knocked on Charles Albee's door. When the 68-year-old man answered, Jason forced himself inside and ordered Charles to sit down on his bed. Jason proceeded to punch him and told him he was there because Charles was a sex offender. Charles had been convicted of second-degree abuse of a minor in 2003. After stealing a few items, Jason left.

In the early hours of June 27, Andres Barbosa answered the door to Jason and two women. Jason asked the 25-year-old if he was Barbosa, the man who had been convicted of child pornography in 2014. After he said yes, Jason made him sit in a chair. He then threatened him with a hammer and punched him a few times. Jason and one of the women stole Barbosa's truck while the other woman filmed it.

At 1 AM on June 29, Jason used his hammer to smash a window in Wesley Demarest's entryway. The 67-year-old had attempted to sexually abuse a kindergarten girl in 2006. Wesley did not awake from the noise but his roommate ran to his bedroom door to alert him that someone was trying to break into their house. When Wesley left his room, Jason was standing behind his roommate yielding a hammer and ordered the roommate to leave.

Wesley was told to get on his knees and lay on his bed. He did not comply and Jason smashed his head with the hammer. While Wesley laid unconscious in a pool of his blood, Jason stole a few of the man's belongings and left. Wesley gained consciousness shortly after and his roommate called the police.

Authorities apprehended Jason near Wesley's house. He was in his car with another person, his notebook, and various stolen items.

Though Charles and Andres did not suffer any permanent injuries, Wesley suffered a traumatic brain injury. He has trouble speaking and can't work. In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Wesley commented, "I didn't feel I deserved it, but I guess I do. I guess my punishment isn't over yet". Jason says he regrets hurting Wesley so badly, nevertheless, Wesley would prefer he "is not walking around while I'm alive". He added that Jason had called himself an "avenging angel" for abused children.

AVENGING ANGEL ON TRIAL

Despite the brothers only having spoken to each other twice during the previous twenty years, Joel spoke about the abuse the two had endured during their youth at Jason's trial in 2018.

Joel, who now lives in California with his family, had gone to college and built a successful career in cybersecurity. Nevertheless, he said he was still seeking professional help for his childhood trauma.

Both Joel and Jason's attorney Ember Tilton asked the judge to give Jason a lenient sentence. Tilton agreed that Jason needed to be under correctional supervision and receive treatment for violent tendencies and trauma but said, "I don't think he needs to be punished. He's already been punished. This whole thing started out as the punishment of a child who didn't deserve to be treated in that way".

Jason agreed to plead guilty to first-degree attempted assault and a consolidated count of first-degree robbery. In return, prosecutors dismissed more than a dozen other charges. Furthermore, Jason asked that his sentence not be longer than the combined prison term of his three victims plus his step-father's.

Superior Court Judge Erin Marston ultimately sentenced Jason to 28 years in prison with five years suspended and five years on probation. Though he was sympathetic towards the abuse Jason and his brother had endured, he explained, "It was not the purpose of the registry to allow people to do their own brand of justice. The purpose of the registry was to keep the community safe".

VIGILANTISM VS SOCIETY

In an open letter, Jason urged troubled people to seek help instead of turning their pain into violence, "If you have already lost your youth, like me, due to a child abuser, please do not throw away your present and your future by committing acts of violence".

Jason said he regrets his actions and that "There is no place for vigilante justice in an ordered society".

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Check out Cat Leigh's Medium publication for more true crime stories: True Crime by Cat Leigh.