On August 27, the Anchorage Police Department, pursuant to a warrant, arrested 39-year-old Silia “Letty” Tuimavave for assault with a weapon and sent the case to the State District Attorney’s Office for felony prosecution, but it was dismissed by Anchorage’s Municipal Prosecutor.
Tuimavave was arrested and charged with a Class C Felony – 3rd degree assault with a weapon following an incident at an evening Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church on Sunday, August 23rd. According to CourtView, this was the third assault charge against Tuimavave dismissed by the Municipal Prosecutor since July 21, 2026, and in March, a judge had found that Tuimavave was not competent to stand trial in another case, forcing the charges in that case to be dismissed.
Holy Family Catholic Church in downtown Anchorage serves as the main hub for the Dominican Friars Mission outpost in the Western Province of the United States. The Dominicans have been serving the Anchorage community since 1974 as part of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau. In the last two years, the church has seen vandals break windows on the ministry center and the main office. In August of 2025, one vandal threw a rock through the stained-glass windows of the sacristy and one depicting the Visitation of St. Mary to St. Elizabeth. However, not always visible are those that come into the church and cause disruption and, in the rare cases, become violent to the parishioners.
Anchorage Municipal Attorney Eva Gardner, in a statement to Must Read Alaska, said, “according to the allegations in the criminal complaint APD sent to the State, during evening services on Sunday, August 23, 2026, without warning or provocation, Tuimavave hit a parishioner in the face at full force with a hardcover hymnal weighing several pounds, knocking the victim down for several moments and causing physical injury to the victim’s face. APD officers obtained an arrest warrant from a magistrate judge commanding APD to arrest Tuimavave for violation of Alaska Statute 11.41.220(a)(1)(B), which makes it a third degree felony to ‘cause physical injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument,’ where a ‘dangerous instrument’ includes ‘any deadly weapon or anything that, under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used, or threatened to be used, is capable of causing death or serious physical injury.’”
The 6PM evening Sunday mass usually sees the most diverse population of attendees because it is one of the latest masses scheduled in Anchorage. Many people come in off the street during mass, but volunteers are usually able to help reinforce behavior and reverence before letting them sit for the service; this Sunday, there were none designated. Tuimavave walked down the center aisle and sat halfway between the altar and the entrance in one of the pews directly in front of another parishioner. No one expected there would be any problems.
Several parishioners who had witnessed the assault immediately ran to confront Tuimavave and render aid to the injured parishioner. Tuimavave stopped and got up without any resistance as the parishioners escorted her out of the church. It was shared with Must Read Alaska that the Anchorage Police Department (APD) arrived ninety minutes after the incident occurred and Tuimavave had already departed the premises. It was, by all those that witnessed the assault, unprovoked and random.
Given that Tuimavave was deemed not competent to stand trial, Municipal Prosecution declined to pursue the present case. According to Gardner, “the Municipality did take action on the civil side: immediately after the case was dismissed, APD officers and mental health clinicians with our Mobile Intervention Team started the work to obtain an ex parte court order civilly committing Tuimavave to evaluation and potential treatment in the Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API). The ex parte petition was submitted on August 28, and the court granted the petition on August 31. APD executed that order and transported Tuimavave that same night.”
One of Anchorage’s most pressing challenges is the limited tools it has to address individuals who repeatedly engage in criminal activity, but who are deemed by the State courts not to be competent to stand trial. The criminal justice system is not designed to deal with these offenders, and there is a very high standard in the civil legal system for a person to be involuntarily held for evaluation or treatment.
“Thanks to the diligence of our APD officers, who went above and beyond to pursue the civil commitment process, Tuimavave was able to be placed in API,” Gardner commented. “But this case illustrates the need for better legal tools and more mental health treatment resources to address this type of situation. This is an issue we have raised with the State, and we look forward to coordinating with our State partners.”
