spacemanspiff
June 13, 2003, 12:46 PM
http://www.adn.com/front/story/3286857p-3316081c.html
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: June 13, 2003)
PALMER -- A grand jury has indicted Big Lake pastor Phillip Mielke on two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Mielke, 44, shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing a basement food cache in the Big Lake Community Chapel in the pre-dawn dark of April 24. Chris Palmer, 31, was found dead outside the church; Frank Jones, 23, died about seven hours later at a friend's home.
Mielke shot both men in the back, according to papers filed by the Palmer district attorney with the indictment in Superior Court here Thursday. The indictment was issued Wednesday and made public Thursday.
Palmer died of one gunshot wound to his lower back, according to a bail memorandum filed by the district attorney.
Jones died hours later after he was shot in the back and ankle, the memo says. Mielke told investigators he emptied his .44 Magnum shooting at Jones through a window as he fled the chapel, the document says.
"We can't escape the obvious fact both were shot in the back," District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said in an interview. "It could be argued they turned at the last second, but I'm sure the grand jury took that into account."
The location of the men's wounds probably swayed the jury, as did the distance between the chapel and Mielke's home and the fact that the pastor chose to confront the men rather than call 911, Kalytiak said.
Troopers recovered the pastor's six-shot double-action revolver -- containing six spent casings -- in the church, the memo says.
The troopers also recovered a loaded .357 Magnum revolver in the basement on top of a water heater. The memo did not say whom the gun belonged to.
Investigators found that each man carried a folded knife in his clothing, the memo says. Tests revealed a number of drugs in their systems.
There is no evidence that Palmer or Jones brandished a weapon during the shooting, according to a statement from state Attorney General Gregg Renkes.
They were apparently stealing food, some hand tools and some appliances, Mielke's attorney said in an interview last week.
Though the shooting occurred in late April, Alaska State Troopers investigators handling the case didn't turn over their final reports to the district attorney's office until June 6.
The grand jury's decision means Mielke will stand trial on felony charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The grand jury found the evidence did not support second-degree murder charges.
A trial could be as much as a year off, Kalytiak said. Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler ordered Mielke to appear for an arraignment hearing for this morning.
As part of closed-door proceedings this week, members of the grand jury heard testimony from eight people, a tape of Mielke's 911 call at 5:09 a.m., and taped interviews Mielke gave the first trooper on scene and an investigator who arrived later.
Under Alaska statute, a person is guilty of second-degree murder if he manifests "an extreme indifference to the value of human life" or causes someone's death with intent to cause serious physical injury or "knowing that the conduct is substantially certain to cause death or serious physical injury."
People are guilty of manslaughter, a Class A felony, if they "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly" kill someone under circumstances not amounting to murder.
They are guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony, if they cause someone's death with criminal negligence or fail to use a reasonable amount of care.
Alaska statutes permit the use of lethal force in two situations: in self-defense or as is reasonably necessary to terminate a burglary in an occupied dwelling.
"In this case, we really did not advocate a position," Kalytiak said.
According to the DA's bail memo, Mielke told troopers baby monitors he placed in the church woke him around 5 a.m. He dressed, grabbed his .44 and rushed to the chapel, across the street from his home.
Upon arriving, the memo says, Mielke saw a car with its engine running parked outside the chapel.
He returned to his house to get a flashlight and then went back to the chapel, according to the statement from Renkes.
Mielke entered the front door and noted the side door was damaged and open, the memo says. He saw nothing when he scanned the bottom of the stairs with the flashlight. Then the lights flashed on and off a few times and he heard people running up the stairs.
Mielke yelled for the men to stop, the memo says, but they didn't.
As they reached the top of the stairs near the open side door, he fired once and one man fell, then fired again and the other man fell, the memo says.
"He then saw one of the intruders get up and run in the direction of the parked car. (Mielke) described how he shot through a window at a fleeing person until his gun was empty."
Investigators found four apparent bullet marks on the lawn outside the chapel, the memo says.
Later the day of the shooting, the memo says, Mielke told investigator Sgt. Dallas Massie that "he did not know why he shot through the window at the person running away and admitted being ''scared to death."
Palmer was found dead on a side road near the church, shot once in the lower back. He wore gloves and a pouch on his belt containing tools.
After the shooting, Jones drove to a house several miles away on East Beaver Lake Road, where Palmer's girlfriend June Benedix lived, the memo says. Benedix bandaged his wounds and left to find a phone to call 911 as Jones begged her to stay with him, the memo says.
Troopers responding to the 911 call found Jones dead.
Mielke has lived in Big Lake since 1989, except for three years he spent in Hong Kong in the 1990s.
Mielke's wife, Helen, answered the phone at the chapel Thursday morning and referred all questions to attorneys, Jerry Wade and Pamela Sullivan.
Wade and Sullivan would not comment on the charges.
Jim Novak, Palmer's stepfather, said he wasn't disappointed by the decision, though the family had hoped for a second-degree murder indictment.
"I would have been disappointed if it had been acquittal," Novak said by phone from his home in Sutton. "The guy is going to be held accountable for what he did.
"No matter what a mortal jury gives him, he's got somebody else to answer to."
Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at zhollander@adn.com.
is there anything we can do to help the Pastor? contribute to a legal fund?
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: June 13, 2003)
PALMER -- A grand jury has indicted Big Lake pastor Phillip Mielke on two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Mielke, 44, shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing a basement food cache in the Big Lake Community Chapel in the pre-dawn dark of April 24. Chris Palmer, 31, was found dead outside the church; Frank Jones, 23, died about seven hours later at a friend's home.
Mielke shot both men in the back, according to papers filed by the Palmer district attorney with the indictment in Superior Court here Thursday. The indictment was issued Wednesday and made public Thursday.
Palmer died of one gunshot wound to his lower back, according to a bail memorandum filed by the district attorney.
Jones died hours later after he was shot in the back and ankle, the memo says. Mielke told investigators he emptied his .44 Magnum shooting at Jones through a window as he fled the chapel, the document says.
"We can't escape the obvious fact both were shot in the back," District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said in an interview. "It could be argued they turned at the last second, but I'm sure the grand jury took that into account."
The location of the men's wounds probably swayed the jury, as did the distance between the chapel and Mielke's home and the fact that the pastor chose to confront the men rather than call 911, Kalytiak said.
Troopers recovered the pastor's six-shot double-action revolver -- containing six spent casings -- in the church, the memo says.
The troopers also recovered a loaded .357 Magnum revolver in the basement on top of a water heater. The memo did not say whom the gun belonged to.
Investigators found that each man carried a folded knife in his clothing, the memo says. Tests revealed a number of drugs in their systems.
There is no evidence that Palmer or Jones brandished a weapon during the shooting, according to a statement from state Attorney General Gregg Renkes.
They were apparently stealing food, some hand tools and some appliances, Mielke's attorney said in an interview last week.
Though the shooting occurred in late April, Alaska State Troopers investigators handling the case didn't turn over their final reports to the district attorney's office until June 6.
The grand jury's decision means Mielke will stand trial on felony charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The grand jury found the evidence did not support second-degree murder charges.
A trial could be as much as a year off, Kalytiak said. Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler ordered Mielke to appear for an arraignment hearing for this morning.
As part of closed-door proceedings this week, members of the grand jury heard testimony from eight people, a tape of Mielke's 911 call at 5:09 a.m., and taped interviews Mielke gave the first trooper on scene and an investigator who arrived later.
Under Alaska statute, a person is guilty of second-degree murder if he manifests "an extreme indifference to the value of human life" or causes someone's death with intent to cause serious physical injury or "knowing that the conduct is substantially certain to cause death or serious physical injury."
People are guilty of manslaughter, a Class A felony, if they "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly" kill someone under circumstances not amounting to murder.
They are guilty of criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony, if they cause someone's death with criminal negligence or fail to use a reasonable amount of care.
Alaska statutes permit the use of lethal force in two situations: in self-defense or as is reasonably necessary to terminate a burglary in an occupied dwelling.
"In this case, we really did not advocate a position," Kalytiak said.
According to the DA's bail memo, Mielke told troopers baby monitors he placed in the church woke him around 5 a.m. He dressed, grabbed his .44 and rushed to the chapel, across the street from his home.
Upon arriving, the memo says, Mielke saw a car with its engine running parked outside the chapel.
He returned to his house to get a flashlight and then went back to the chapel, according to the statement from Renkes.
Mielke entered the front door and noted the side door was damaged and open, the memo says. He saw nothing when he scanned the bottom of the stairs with the flashlight. Then the lights flashed on and off a few times and he heard people running up the stairs.
Mielke yelled for the men to stop, the memo says, but they didn't.
As they reached the top of the stairs near the open side door, he fired once and one man fell, then fired again and the other man fell, the memo says.
"He then saw one of the intruders get up and run in the direction of the parked car. (Mielke) described how he shot through a window at a fleeing person until his gun was empty."
Investigators found four apparent bullet marks on the lawn outside the chapel, the memo says.
Later the day of the shooting, the memo says, Mielke told investigator Sgt. Dallas Massie that "he did not know why he shot through the window at the person running away and admitted being ''scared to death."
Palmer was found dead on a side road near the church, shot once in the lower back. He wore gloves and a pouch on his belt containing tools.
After the shooting, Jones drove to a house several miles away on East Beaver Lake Road, where Palmer's girlfriend June Benedix lived, the memo says. Benedix bandaged his wounds and left to find a phone to call 911 as Jones begged her to stay with him, the memo says.
Troopers responding to the 911 call found Jones dead.
Mielke has lived in Big Lake since 1989, except for three years he spent in Hong Kong in the 1990s.
Mielke's wife, Helen, answered the phone at the chapel Thursday morning and referred all questions to attorneys, Jerry Wade and Pamela Sullivan.
Wade and Sullivan would not comment on the charges.
Jim Novak, Palmer's stepfather, said he wasn't disappointed by the decision, though the family had hoped for a second-degree murder indictment.
"I would have been disappointed if it had been acquittal," Novak said by phone from his home in Sutton. "The guy is going to be held accountable for what he did.
"No matter what a mortal jury gives him, he's got somebody else to answer to."
Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at zhollander@adn.com.
is there anything we can do to help the Pastor? contribute to a legal fund?