Press Release
Anchorage Man Sentenced for 2013 Homicide
February 10, 2017
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) Today, Superior Court Judge Michael Spaan sentenced 76 year old Johnie Jones to serve six and a half years in prison for causing the death of 36 year old Sean Mulgrew in October 2013. Jones was previously charged with murder in the second degree, offenses involving controlled substances and tampering with physical evidence. On October 7, 2016, Jones pled guilty to one count of manslaughter.
On October 20, 2013, at approximately 3:38 a.m., the Anchorage Police Department received a report of gunshots from a residence on Ingra Street in Anchorage. The 911 caller reported seeing two men leave the residence after reporting the gunshots. Anchorage Police responded and discovered Sean Mulgrew deceased in a nearby alley. Mulgrew died from gunshot wounds to the leg and chest. The other man was never identified.
Officers followed Mulgrew’s blood trail and found Jones cleaning the main door of the residence with a rag and a pail of water. Officers found two .380 caliber shell casings near the blood and took Jones into custody. After learning that Jones was dealing drugs from his residence, the investigation determined that Mulgrew came to rob Jones of drugs and money. Mulgrew and his accomplice confronted Jones which led to Jones shooting Mulgrew.
At the sentencing hearing, Jones faced a sentence range of up to 20 years. However, the State agreed that two mitigating factors applied to Jones’ case. Judge Spaan agreed that the Jones’ conduct was mitigated because he acted under some degree of duress and because the victim provoked the crime to a significant degree. Judge Spaan sentenced Jones to nine years in prison and suspended two and a half years. He also placed Jones on probation for three years. Judge Spaan commented that this case shows that drug dealing is not a victimless crime.
CONTACT: District Attorney Clint Campion at (907) 269-6300 or clinton.campion@alaska.gov. More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.
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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.