spacemanspiff
April 27, 2003, 02:16 AM
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3016540p-3040411c.html
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: April 26, 2003)
Big Lake Community Chapel on South Big Lake Road was the scene of a shooting Thursday morning. The church pastor shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing the chapel, Alaska State Troopers said.
Chris Palmer's family spent Friday trying to figure out how he ended up dead near the Big Lake Community Chapel.
The 31-year-old Big Lake man and 23-year-old Francis M. Jones IV of Wasilla died of gunshot wounds Thursday after the chapel's pastor interrupted them burglarizing the small church and shot them, Alaska State Troopers said.
The Rev. Phil Mielke called 911 around 5 a.m. to say he had shot at two intruders.
Palmer died in a strip of birch trees just past the chapel's tidy lawn. Jones died within hours at a house on Beaver Lake Road where he had fled.
Members of Palmer's family gathered Friday at his mother's home in Sutton, said Teri Fischer, Palmer's sister. The family is struggling to reconcile the fact that her brother thought to rob a church, and then was shot by a pastor, Fischer said.
"It's just that a house of God should be a place where people in my brother's situation should go for help," Fischer said.
Palmer struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years, and had sporadic contact with his family, including his three sons, his sister said. His oldest son turns 14 today. His youngest son lives in California and never met his father.
The only reason her brother would rob a church at dawn would be to buy drugs, Fischer said.
"My mother's initial reaction was the man was protecting what was his," she said. "The more we hear, I don't know."
Palmer's stepfather, Jim Novak, said 14-year-old Adam Palmer questions why some people in Big Lake seem to assume that because his dad broke into the church, he also is responsible for other local burglaries.
On Thursday, a number of locals expressed frustration with a series of break-ins and vandalism over the winter. Since the shootings, the pastor and his family have received numerous sympathetic phone calls from Big Lake residents, said Helen Mielke, his wife.
"The phone has been ringing," she said. "We just appreciate there's a lot of support from the community."
Neither she nor her husband would discuss the shootings further. Troopers Capt. Dennis Casanovas would not say whether Palmer and Jones were inside the church when they were shot or if they were armed.
Casanovas did say that Palmer "had exited the chapel," according to a description he received from investigators. "He actually made it into some woods nearby and almost to a roadway. He ultimately fell there."
He said he expected the investigation to last several weeks.
Once finished, the troopers will send their report to the Palmer District Attorney's office. The DA will decide whether the shooting was justified.
Alaska statute defines the use of deadly force during a burglary as justified "when and to the extent the person reasonably believes it is necessary to terminate what the person reasonably believes to be a burglary ... occurring in an occupied dwelling or building."
If the pastor was in the chapel, his presence would mean it was occupied, according to Mary Ann Henry, supervisor of the violent crimes unit in the Anchorage District Attorney's Office.
Henry would not comment on the specifics of the case. A person could be justified in shooting an unarmed burglar, she said. The burglar wouldn't have to be inside the premises.
"It's just necessary (a person) reasonably believed that shooting them was necessary in order to stop a burglary," she said.
Roman Kalytiak, the Palmer district attorney, said his office had approved a search warrant request for the church, but otherwise has had minimal involvement with the case so far.
His office two years ago prosecuted a Wasilla man who fired at a pair of burglary suspects.
Kevin M. Monson, then 33, spotted a man stealing from a van parked outside his home. The man and a second suspect fled in their van.
Monson pursued the pair and cornered them on a dead-end road. He stepped out of his vehicle with a shotgun and attempted to stop them. The van drove past Monson and he fired, shattering the rear window.
Monson resumed the chase and caught up with the men when the van ran out of gas. Troopers received a call and found Monson holding the men at gunpoint.
Prosecutors charged Monson with third-degree assault, a felony. In a plea agreement, Monson pleaded no contest to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to six months probation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at zhollander@adn.com.
The family is struggling to reconcile the fact that her brother thought to rob a church, and then was shot by a pastor, Fischer said.
"It's just that a house of God should be a place where people in my brother's situation should go for help," Fischer said.
The only reason her brother would rob a church at dawn would be to buy drugs, Fischer said.
last night when the local news reported on this, they stated that an individual could NOT use deadly force to protect property, only in self defense. now the DA's office is saying that:
A person could be justified in shooting an unarmed burglar, she said. The burglar wouldn't have to be inside the premises.
"It's just necessary (a person) reasonably believed that shooting them was necessary in order to stop a burglary," she said.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: April 26, 2003)
Big Lake Community Chapel on South Big Lake Road was the scene of a shooting Thursday morning. The church pastor shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing the chapel, Alaska State Troopers said.
Chris Palmer's family spent Friday trying to figure out how he ended up dead near the Big Lake Community Chapel.
The 31-year-old Big Lake man and 23-year-old Francis M. Jones IV of Wasilla died of gunshot wounds Thursday after the chapel's pastor interrupted them burglarizing the small church and shot them, Alaska State Troopers said.
The Rev. Phil Mielke called 911 around 5 a.m. to say he had shot at two intruders.
Palmer died in a strip of birch trees just past the chapel's tidy lawn. Jones died within hours at a house on Beaver Lake Road where he had fled.
Members of Palmer's family gathered Friday at his mother's home in Sutton, said Teri Fischer, Palmer's sister. The family is struggling to reconcile the fact that her brother thought to rob a church, and then was shot by a pastor, Fischer said.
"It's just that a house of God should be a place where people in my brother's situation should go for help," Fischer said.
Palmer struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years, and had sporadic contact with his family, including his three sons, his sister said. His oldest son turns 14 today. His youngest son lives in California and never met his father.
The only reason her brother would rob a church at dawn would be to buy drugs, Fischer said.
"My mother's initial reaction was the man was protecting what was his," she said. "The more we hear, I don't know."
Palmer's stepfather, Jim Novak, said 14-year-old Adam Palmer questions why some people in Big Lake seem to assume that because his dad broke into the church, he also is responsible for other local burglaries.
On Thursday, a number of locals expressed frustration with a series of break-ins and vandalism over the winter. Since the shootings, the pastor and his family have received numerous sympathetic phone calls from Big Lake residents, said Helen Mielke, his wife.
"The phone has been ringing," she said. "We just appreciate there's a lot of support from the community."
Neither she nor her husband would discuss the shootings further. Troopers Capt. Dennis Casanovas would not say whether Palmer and Jones were inside the church when they were shot or if they were armed.
Casanovas did say that Palmer "had exited the chapel," according to a description he received from investigators. "He actually made it into some woods nearby and almost to a roadway. He ultimately fell there."
He said he expected the investigation to last several weeks.
Once finished, the troopers will send their report to the Palmer District Attorney's office. The DA will decide whether the shooting was justified.
Alaska statute defines the use of deadly force during a burglary as justified "when and to the extent the person reasonably believes it is necessary to terminate what the person reasonably believes to be a burglary ... occurring in an occupied dwelling or building."
If the pastor was in the chapel, his presence would mean it was occupied, according to Mary Ann Henry, supervisor of the violent crimes unit in the Anchorage District Attorney's Office.
Henry would not comment on the specifics of the case. A person could be justified in shooting an unarmed burglar, she said. The burglar wouldn't have to be inside the premises.
"It's just necessary (a person) reasonably believed that shooting them was necessary in order to stop a burglary," she said.
Roman Kalytiak, the Palmer district attorney, said his office had approved a search warrant request for the church, but otherwise has had minimal involvement with the case so far.
His office two years ago prosecuted a Wasilla man who fired at a pair of burglary suspects.
Kevin M. Monson, then 33, spotted a man stealing from a van parked outside his home. The man and a second suspect fled in their van.
Monson pursued the pair and cornered them on a dead-end road. He stepped out of his vehicle with a shotgun and attempted to stop them. The van drove past Monson and he fired, shattering the rear window.
Monson resumed the chase and caught up with the men when the van ran out of gas. Troopers received a call and found Monson holding the men at gunpoint.
Prosecutors charged Monson with third-degree assault, a felony. In a plea agreement, Monson pleaded no contest to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to six months probation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at zhollander@adn.com.
The family is struggling to reconcile the fact that her brother thought to rob a church, and then was shot by a pastor, Fischer said.
"It's just that a house of God should be a place where people in my brother's situation should go for help," Fischer said.
The only reason her brother would rob a church at dawn would be to buy drugs, Fischer said.
last night when the local news reported on this, they stated that an individual could NOT use deadly force to protect property, only in self defense. now the DA's office is saying that:
A person could be justified in shooting an unarmed burglar, she said. The burglar wouldn't have to be inside the premises.
"It's just necessary (a person) reasonably believed that shooting them was necessary in order to stop a burglary," she said.