The Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Bruce Horton died Friday after he fell through the ceiling of his home while working with a contractor to repair a broken pipe in the attic. He was pronounced dead the same day at Sitka Community Hospital.
At the time of his death, Horton had been magistrate in the southeast Alaska town for more than 20 years. He handled a variety of cases in the town of 8,500 including traffic matters and small claims to search warrants, emergency child in need orders and felony first appearances.
Magistrates from other communities will be filling in until a permanent replacement for Horton is found, Neil Nesheim, the area court administrator in Juneau, said Tuesday. Haines Magistrate John Hutchins will handle cases telephonically this week, then in person for two weeks, when he handles Haines cases by phone, Nesheim said.
Horton, an attorney, had been the local magistrate since 1990, when Marilyn Hanson retired from the job.
"He had a law background, which I didn't have, and those were the days they were getting attorneys involved in those positions," Hanson said this week.
Police Lt. Barry Allen, whose work brought him into Horton's courtroom many times, said the magistrate did his job well.
"Bruce was a decent guy doing a difficult job," Allen said. "We found him to be very fair. He did what I would expect a judge or a magistrate to do: he was scrutinizing of us, and balanced both sides in the court room."
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