2nd trial begins in case of triple killing at Anchorage gold shop

The trial of an Anchorage man accused of a 2017 triple murder at a Spenard gold shop got underway this week, more than three years after the original proceedings ended in a mistrial.

Anthony Michael Pisano, now 49, is facing a new jury on 10 felony charges in the deaths of 31-year-old Steven Cook, 48-year-old Kenneth Hartman and 31-year-old Daniel McCreadie on Sept. 12, 2017, in The Bullion Brothers gold shop on the corner of 32nd Avenue and Spenard Road. He’s also accused of assaulting Michael Dupree, who owned the shop with Cook.

Pisano has remained in custody since his arrest nearly six years ago. A judge declared the mistrial in April 2020 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict despite multiple days of deliberations.

In opening statements Tuesday in Anchorage Superior Court, attorneys for both sides laid out arguments similar to those made during the first trial in early 2020.

Prosecutors described the crime as a botched robbery motivated by financial desperation. Defense attorneys said police arrested the wrong man and blamed the only other survivor — Dupree. They said Pisano shot two of the men in self-defense.

Both sides said Pisano was introduced to Dupree and Cook by a member of the Anchorage Police Department to help provide security services for the gold shop that opened in 2015.

By the time the shootings occurred, Pisano had roughly two decades of military service and was launching a business to sell weapons and provide firearm training, his attorney Kevin Fitzgerald said Tuesday. He had retired from the military months before and had accumulated nearly $100,000 of debt, Assistant Attorney General Krystyn Tendy said.

Pisano frequently spent time at and helped with the store, Fitzgerald said.

On the day of the shooting, Pisano was seen turning off security cameras. Prosecutors said he was trying to hide the crime, but defense attorneys said he was instructed to turn off the cameras so Cook and Dupree could discuss business.

Cook and Dupree were inside the shop with Pisano the morning of the shootings, both attorneys said. McCreadie and Hartman headed toward the shop from their nearby apartments when they heard gunfire.

Prosecutors and Fitzgerald gave sharply different descriptions of the shootings on Tuesday, as they did at the original trial.

Prosecutors said Pisano shot Cook, then Dupree wrestled for the weapon and gained control of the gun before running from the building to call 911. He then shot McCreadie and Hartman inside the building because they were witnesses, Tendy said.

Fitzgerald said Dupree shot Cook during an argument. Tensions were high because Dupree wanted to leave the business, Fitzgerald said. Dupree has not been charged with a crime.

Pisano encountered McCreadie and Hartman as he tried to leave the store and shot the men in self defense after a stand-off, Fitzgerald said.

Pisano called several of his police friends, his wife and Dupree after leaving the scene, attorneys for both sides said. He drove to the police training center on the corner of Dimond Boulevard and Jewel Lake Road to talk with officers and was arrested on first- and second-degree murder charges.

The trial is expected to continue into late September.