Big Lake man gets 10 years

PALMER -- Judge Eric Smith sentenced James McAnulty on Wednesday in Palmer Superior Court to 10 years in prison for his role in a January 2001 armed robbery and carjacking.

McAnulty, 24, faced four counts of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree misconduct involving weapons in the crime spree that took place on Jan. 25, 2001.

Immediately prior to the sentencing, McAnulty entered a plea of no contest to the robbery charges, which were consolidated for the purposes of the plea. Under the plea agreement, the weapons charge was dropped.

McAnulty and his half-brother, Jason A. Geisler, 19, were indicted on the charges in September of 2001. Geisler is scheduled to go to trial on the charges in December.

Shannon Stenhoff, 18, had also been arrested in June 2001 and charged with 12 felony counts in connection with the crimes. Court documents reflect that Stenhoff claimed McAnulty forced him, with the threat of death, into committing crimes that night.

Stenhoff entered a change of plea in June of this year and is scheduled for sentencing in Palmer Superior Court in December.

The night of crime began, according to court documents, when a man whose face was concealed behind a blue and white bandanna with only his eyes showing, entered the Hatcher Pass Gateway Center store at around 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 25.

The clerk reportedly told troopers the man pointed a gun at her face and demanded money.

Fearing she would be shot, the clerk said she lay down on the floor of the store while the robber made away with $178 in cash, according to the documents.

A little while later, two men flagged down three teen-age boys who were driving near the intersection of Cottonwood Loop and Aspen Street in Wasilla, Alaska State Troopers said.

When the teens' red Pontiac sedan stopped for the two men, one of the men allegedly pointed a gun at the three teen-agers, ordered them out of the car and proceeded to steal money from two of the boys, according to charging documents.

During the carjacking, the victims said the suspect holding the gun allegedly fired a shot from a .22-caliber handgun into the air in an apparent attempt to motivate the teens to move faster, according to court documents.

The robbers then reportedly fled in the car in which the teens had been riding.

According to court documents, Stenhoff told troopers that on the day of the armed robbery and carjacking he was to be "jumped" or initiated into a gang headed by McAnulty, who he said "tells everyone what to do."

Stenhoff reportedly told troopers that McAnulty ordered him to rob the Hatcher Pass Gateway store. Stenhoff said if he didn't comply, he would be killed.

After holding up the convenience store, Stenhoff said he gave the money to McAnulty.

At McAnulty's direction, Stenhoff said, Geisler had allegedly waved down the Pontiac and fired the handgun into the air, according to charging documents. Stenhoff told police they took the boys' wallets, ordered everyone out of the car, and he and McAnulty drove off in the stolen car.

Troopers recovered the stolen vehicle a short time later, court records said, and McAnulty's fingerprint was reportedly found on the driver's-side door.

The following day, on Jan. 26, Stenhoff and Geisler were reportedly riding in a vehicle identified by troopers as a stolen Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by McAnulty during an attempted snowmachine theft on Jan. 24.

A trooper stopped the car at the corner of Hollywood and Vine roads after a high-speed pursuit that ended when Geisler ran over "stinger" spikes, deflating all four tires.

Geisler was taken into custody, court documents stated.

McAnulty was arrested in March 2001 for the attempted theft on Jan. 24 of a snowmachine from a residence in Wasilla with a juvenile accomplice. In that incident, McAnulty was accused of driving the getaway car as a passenger fired shots at a couple that was pursuing them.

In a plea agreement in that case, the Palmer district attorney's office agreed to drop two third-degree misconduct-involving-a-weapon charges and a first-degree criminal trespassing charge in exchange for McAnulty's plea of no contest to reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, and making a false report.

Before sentencing him to a year in prison in that case, Magistrate David Zwink warned McAnulty that if he didn't get his life together, he would be facing a lengthy prison term the next time he got in trouble.

Smith said on Wednesday that McAnulty would be eligible for mandatory parole only after serving at least two-thirds of his presumptive 10-year sentence, with credit for time served.

Geisler remains in custody at Cook Inlet Pre-Trial Facility, and Stenhoff at Sixth Avenue Correctional Center, according to the Department of Corrections.

Before handing down the final ruling on Wednesday, Smith asked McAnulty if he wished to make a comment.

"I got nothing to say," responded McAnulty.