A 76-year-old man accused of shooting a man to death in a drug-related Fairview case nearly three years ago pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the case Friday, prosecutors said.
Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion said Johnnie Jones, 73, entered a guilty plea to manslaughter in the Oct. 22, 2013, death of 36-year-old Sean Mulgrew. Jones, whose attorney originally called the case a matter of self-defense, had also been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in the case.
Police said at the time of the shooting that Mulgrew was seen leaving an Ingra Street apartment building at about 3:30 a.m.; officers found him bleeding from gunshot wounds in the alley near Juneau Street where he died. Detectives found two pistols, heroin, suspected cocaine and a set of digital scales inside the building, which neighbors said had become a venue for dealing drugs.
Jones told police in 2013 that he had answered his door and found a man with a flare gun outside, leading to a fight in which the man left bloodied.
On Friday, Campion said in a statement that Jones had denied shooting Mulgrew but was seen trying to clean up the scene. Campion also said witnesses reported seeing a second person leave the building in a car following the gunfire.
"Officers found a blood trail through the alley that led them inside an apartment building where they found (Jones) wiping fresh blood off of the main door of (the) apartment building," Campion wrote. "Anchorage police were unable to identify the second suspect from the incident."
Jones faces a sentence of 12 to 20 years when he is sentenced before Superior Court Judge Jack Smith on Feb. 10. He has been incarcerated since the shooting, and is not eligible for bail per sentencing.