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…