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Big Lake pastor kills 2 men robbing chapel, troopers say
INVESTIGATION: Area has suffered winter's worth of break-ins.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: April 25, 2003)
BIG LAKE -- A church pastor shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing his small chapel early Thursday morning, Alaska State Troopers said.
The pastor, whom troopers identified as Phillip Mielke, shot the men with a handgun, according to investigators still at the scene more than 12 hours later.
Troopers identified the two dead men as Christopher Lee Palmer, 31, of Big Lake and Francis Marion Jones IV, 23, of Wasilla.
Troopers declined to say whether the two dead men were armed or whether they were shot while inside or outside Big Lake Community Chapel.
A handful of locals interviewed Thursday cheered the shooting, saying it capped off a winter of unsolved break-ins and vandalism around this lakeside community of scattered residences.
A caller to 911 in Palmer around 5 a.m. Thursday told a dispatcher that he "shot at two people, possibly hit them both during a B&E," according to troopers' dispatch logs. The caller told dispatchers that a vehicle left the scene.
Palmer died at the chapel, a humble structure with a small congregation. Troopers and Mat-Su emergency responders found his body outside on the lawn.
Thursday evening, several bright yellow evidence markers and a metal detector were visible a few paces from the church's front door and some daffodils growing at the steps.
Jones apparently fled to a friend's home on Beaver Lake Road, a few miles away, troopers said. Investigators surmised Jones most likely managed to leave immediately after the shooting in a small sedan before officers arrived. Troopers found him dead shortly after noon after responding to a 911 call from a woman who reported a male friend had come to her house suffering from gunshot wounds.
Autopsies on both men are scheduled for today, said troopers Capt. Dennis Casanovas.
Troopers will consult with the district attorney's office during the investigation, said Sgt. Dallas Massie. The district attorney generally decides whether a shooting is justified and whether to file charges.
Mielke was not available for comment. A woman who answered the chapel's phone said she did not want to answer questions.
"We just want to keep this quiet right now," she said.
Mielke lives across South Big Lake Road from the church and probably rushed over when he saw headlights pull up, said Helme Blank, 69, a Big Lake resident for the last 47 years who takes her granddaughter to Friday game nights at the chapel.
Blank expressed bafflement as to why anyone would break into the chapel.
"That's got to be the smallest church in the Valley. There's maybe 50 of them," she said. "That's why they call 'em poor as church mice."
The red of an old schoolhouse, the chapel sits just down the road from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church and across Fish Creek from the Big Lake Motel. Patrons inside the motel's Hangar Lounge on Thursday evening said the two men got what they deserved, an opinion shared by several others who basically saw the shooting as God's wrath.
A number of Big Lake residents described frayed nerves over the winter break-ins that hit a number of homes across this unincorporated community of about 3,000.
Bill O'Hara said he got a call Tuesday from one neighbor who thought a bear got on her roof but instead found a man up there scoping out the house.
"She grabbed a shotgun and racked a shell," said O'Hara, the Big Lake Community Council president. "This person hit the ground running."
The burglars mostly struck weekend homes that were empty during the week, he said. Burglars at one house kicked in the door and stole $50,000 worth of items, even the trash compactor.
Blank said authorities know there are one or two gangs of vandals in the area. Last week, somebody kicked holes in the sheetrock of a newly finished home, she said. Wednesday night, somebody at the same site stole tools from crews repairing the damage.
"If there was a burglary in progress, they had the right to shoot them," Blank said of what happened at the chapel. "We had so many break-ins and vandalism out here this winter. They're not going to stop until somebody gets killed."
Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at [email protected]
INVESTIGATION: Area has suffered winter's worth of break-ins.
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: April 25, 2003)
BIG LAKE -- A church pastor shot and killed two men he caught burglarizing his small chapel early Thursday morning, Alaska State Troopers said.
The pastor, whom troopers identified as Phillip Mielke, shot the men with a handgun, according to investigators still at the scene more than 12 hours later.
Troopers identified the two dead men as Christopher Lee Palmer, 31, of Big Lake and Francis Marion Jones IV, 23, of Wasilla.
Troopers declined to say whether the two dead men were armed or whether they were shot while inside or outside Big Lake Community Chapel.
A handful of locals interviewed Thursday cheered the shooting, saying it capped off a winter of unsolved break-ins and vandalism around this lakeside community of scattered residences.
A caller to 911 in Palmer around 5 a.m. Thursday told a dispatcher that he "shot at two people, possibly hit them both during a B&E," according to troopers' dispatch logs. The caller told dispatchers that a vehicle left the scene.
Palmer died at the chapel, a humble structure with a small congregation. Troopers and Mat-Su emergency responders found his body outside on the lawn.
Thursday evening, several bright yellow evidence markers and a metal detector were visible a few paces from the church's front door and some daffodils growing at the steps.
Jones apparently fled to a friend's home on Beaver Lake Road, a few miles away, troopers said. Investigators surmised Jones most likely managed to leave immediately after the shooting in a small sedan before officers arrived. Troopers found him dead shortly after noon after responding to a 911 call from a woman who reported a male friend had come to her house suffering from gunshot wounds.
Autopsies on both men are scheduled for today, said troopers Capt. Dennis Casanovas.
Troopers will consult with the district attorney's office during the investigation, said Sgt. Dallas Massie. The district attorney generally decides whether a shooting is justified and whether to file charges.
Mielke was not available for comment. A woman who answered the chapel's phone said she did not want to answer questions.
"We just want to keep this quiet right now," she said.
Mielke lives across South Big Lake Road from the church and probably rushed over when he saw headlights pull up, said Helme Blank, 69, a Big Lake resident for the last 47 years who takes her granddaughter to Friday game nights at the chapel.
Blank expressed bafflement as to why anyone would break into the chapel.
"That's got to be the smallest church in the Valley. There's maybe 50 of them," she said. "That's why they call 'em poor as church mice."
The red of an old schoolhouse, the chapel sits just down the road from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church and across Fish Creek from the Big Lake Motel. Patrons inside the motel's Hangar Lounge on Thursday evening said the two men got what they deserved, an opinion shared by several others who basically saw the shooting as God's wrath.
A number of Big Lake residents described frayed nerves over the winter break-ins that hit a number of homes across this unincorporated community of about 3,000.
Bill O'Hara said he got a call Tuesday from one neighbor who thought a bear got on her roof but instead found a man up there scoping out the house.
"She grabbed a shotgun and racked a shell," said O'Hara, the Big Lake Community Council president. "This person hit the ground running."
The burglars mostly struck weekend homes that were empty during the week, he said. Burglars at one house kicked in the door and stole $50,000 worth of items, even the trash compactor.
Blank said authorities know there are one or two gangs of vandals in the area. Last week, somebody kicked holes in the sheetrock of a newly finished home, she said. Wednesday night, somebody at the same site stole tools from crews repairing the damage.
"If there was a burglary in progress, they had the right to shoot them," Blank said of what happened at the chapel. "We had so many break-ins and vandalism out here this winter. They're not going to stop until somebody gets killed."
Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at [email protected]
