19-year-old sentenced on second-degree murder charges

PALMER — Nineteen-year old Jacob Dvorak of Palmer was sentenced to 45 years in prison and 10 years felony probation in Palmer District Court Tuesday morning on the felony second-degree felony murder charges.

In early 2014, Dvorak--17 at the time, admitted to Alaska State Troopers (AST) shooting 45-year old Frank Pushruk for retaliation of what he believed was a sexual assault against a juvenile female friend. After shooting Pushruk once in the face and twice in the head, Dvorak dumped the body off a Matanuska River scenic overlook alongside Glenn Highway. Two juvenile friends were with Dvorak at the time. Court records stated one of those juveniles helped dumped the body over the cliff.

The alleged victim of the sexual assault Dvorak believed occurred told troopers she wasn’t sure she’d been assaulted and didn’t feel like she’d had sex, but woke up naked in bed with Pushruk, according to AST.

Pushruk was never charged in the case.

Dvorak originally faced first-degree murder, second-degree murder--extreme indifference, and two counts of felony tampering with physical evidence. The murder charges were unclassified felonies while the two latter charges were Class C felonies. Dvorak accepted a plea-bargain with the district attorney.

Superior Court Judge Vanessa White also assessed Dvorak fines and court costs totaling $1,700.

Ethan Angasan, now 18, was previously charged with second-degree murder in Pushruk’s death, but saw those charges dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea on one Class C felony count of evidence tampering, according to court documents.

Angasan appeared before Judge White last month where his sentence was suspended.

He was given two years probation and assessed $1,050 in court costs. As part of his probation, White directed Angasan to refrain from gang involvement, alcohol, drugs and prohibited him from carrying a concealed weapon.