Man confronts stranger over dumpster fire, shoots him 7 times, AK officials say
A man accused of fatally shooting a stranger he was angry with over a dumpster fire was convicted of multiple charges after a trial in Alaska, officials said.
A jury found Matthew Myers, 45, from Fairbanks, guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree misconduct involving weapons, third-degree assault and reckless endangerment, the Alaska Department of Law said in a June 6 news release.
His attorney declined to comment in a June 9 phone call with McClatchy News.
Myers shot Rolando Pressley on May 6, 2022, prosecutors said.
The 29-year-old Pressley was found on a sidewalk in Fairbanks with seven gunshot wounds, according to prosecutors. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Myers “was detained at the scene” of the shooting and “admitted to being angry at the victim for starting a dumpster fire at his apartment earlier that day,” according to prosecutors.
Myers and Pressley were strangers, but Myers went looking for Pressley “because he was angry about the fire,” prosecutors said.
Myers caught up to Pressley, followed him and yelled at him, according to prosecutors.
Myers said Pressley lunged at him and he fired in self-defense, according to prosecutors, who said “Pressley did not say anything to Myers and did not have a weapon.”
Myers is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Man confronts stranger over dumpster fire, shoots him 7 times, AK officials say."
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