Regrets he has a few: Pedophile-bashing vigilante Jason Vukovich, 42, who is looking at up to 25 years in prison, says victims of abuse like himself should not turn to violence
An Alaska resident who tracked down and attacked three registered sex offenders – presenting himself to one of the victims as an ‘avenging angel’ – says he now regrets taking justice into his own hands and turning to violence.
Jason Vukovich, 42, is facing up to 25 years in prison after agreeing to plead guilty to first-degree attempted assault and a consolidated count of first-degree robbery stemming from his June 2016 crime spree targeting pedophiles.
In November, Vukovich mailed a five-page letter to the Anchorage Daily News, warning others no to follow his bad example.
‘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,’ he advised.
Vukovich later added, ‘there is no place for vigilante justice in an ordered society.’
As part of the proposed plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to drop more than a dozen charges against Vukovich.
Vukovich’s sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday but will likely be postponed to allow his defense attorney more time to prepare.
Vukovich is accused of striking registered sex offended Wesley Demarest, 68 (pictured) in the head with a hammer, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury
Vukovich is also accused of attacking Andres E Barbosa, 26 (left), and Charles Leamon Albee, 69 (right), before stealing items from their homes and fleeing in June 2016
Police said earlier that Vukovich, who claimed to have been sexually abused as a child by his step-father, used the state sex offender registry to find the addresses of three molesters, going to their homes and beating them up.
In the most brutal of the three attacks, 68-year-old Wesley Demarest suffered a traumatic brain injury that has affected his speech after Vukovich struck him in the head with a hammer.
The other two victims were named by KTVA as Charles Leamon Albee, 69, and 26-year-old Andres E Barbosa.
All three men were ambushed between June 25 and June 29, 2016.
Investigators said that over the course of five days, Vukovich broke into the victims’ homes, beat them with his fists or a hammer, and then stole possessions before fleeing.
He was arrested on June 29 shortly after Demarest was attacked, and officers say he had a notebook in his possession with more names inside.
Speaking to the paper ahead of his assailant’s sentencing, Demarest lamented that the attack cost him his job and destroyed his life, and said he would prefer that the man who fractured his skull was not ‘walking around while I’m alive.’
Vukovich said he did not intend to hurt Demarest as badly as he did and ‘regrets that deeply.’
Vukovich has previously been convicted of fraud, theft, possession of a controlled substance and assault, and was most recently released from jail on June 24, 2016 – the same day he attacked Albee.
At 9.30am that morning, Vukovich knocked on Albee’s door before pushing him inside his home and ordering him to sit on the bed, according to a bail memorandum seen by the Alaska Dispatch News.
Vukovich then slapped Albee repeatedly in the face, the memorandum says, before saying he had found Albee’s name on the sex offender register.
After taking several items from inside the property, Vukovich left, it is alleged. Albee said Vukovich was carrying a notepad with other names in it.
Two days later Vukovich arrived at the home of Barbosa at around 4am alongside two women, again knocking at the door, court papers say.
After confirming that the man’s name was Barbosa, Vukovich allegedly threatened him with a hammer before forcing his way inside the house.
Vukovich allegedly sat Barbosa down in a chair, ‘punched him in the face’ several times, threatened to ‘bash his dome in’ with a hammer, and said he was there to ‘collect what Barbosa owed’.
While one woman filmed the attack on her cellphone, Vukovich and the other woman are accused of stealing several items from Barbosa’s apartment including his truck, and then leaving.
During the final attack, on June 29, Demarest said he heard someone break into the home he shares with another man at around 1am.
Vukovich allegedly made his way inside the property and ordered Demarest to get down on his knees or lie down on his bed.
When Demarest refused, Vukovich allegedly hit him over the head with a hammer, knocking him unconscious and fracturing his skull.
Demarest said: ‘He told me to lay down on my bed and I said “no.” He said “get on your knees,” and I said “no”.
Victim turns attacker: Vukovich claimed to have been physically and sexually abused by his adoptive father
‘He said “I’m an avenging angel, I’m going to met out justice for the people you hurt.”‘
Vukovich then allegedly stole several items, including a laptop, and fled.
When he regained consciousness, Demarest called police who found Vukovich sitting in a Honda Civic nearby along with a hammer, stolen possessions, and a notebook with the names of Demarest, Barbosa, and Albee inside.
In a note from prison, seen by the Alaska Post Dispatch, Vukovich claimed to have been physically and sexually abused by his adoptive father, including being beaten with pieces of wood and whipped with a belt.
He wrote: ‘After being physically and mentally abused by a predator, my life was forever changed.
‘I literally gave my own existence no value or concern. I became a thief and a liar and went on to make many poor choices throughout my life.’