Investigators chasing clues in a high-profile Bethel cabbie slaying executed search warrants at two locations Tuesday evening, Bethel police said.
The search warrants center on a handful of residents police are calling “people of interest.” It’s still too early to call those people suspects, Ben Dudley, police chief, said Wednesday.

The warrants are the first announcement of a significant development in the investigation involving cabdriver Ju Young Joung, 41. Joung was killed with a shotgun blast to the head Dec. 10 after people on snowmachines pulled beside his idling cab and fired at him, officials have said.

Dudley would not identify the owners of the searched premises nor describe any items seized.

“It’s an important juncture in the investigation, so we’re being very careful about giving up too much information,” he said.

Joung’s death highlighted an unusual crime streak in the Southwest Alaska city that included stabbings, gunpoint robberies and, now, a second killing.

Bethel police have determined that Agnes Evan, 40, died of blunt-force trauma to her abdomen, not hypothermia, as was initially believed. She was found dead in brush Dec. 5. Based on information from the state medical examiner, Evan's death was a homicide.

Dudley has said none of the crimes appear to be related.
http://www.adn.com/front/story/8506796p-8400001c.html