Court appearance set for brothers

Two half brothers accused of a January armed robbery at Hatcher Pass Gateway Center and a subsequent carjacking will be back in court today as attorneys work out a plea agreement.

A Palmer grand jury in September indicted James F. McAnulty and Jason A. Geisler on multiple criminal charges for their alleged participation in an armed robbery, a related carjacking, and another shooting during a one-night crime spree in January.

McAnulty, 23, of Wasilla, is accused of masterminding the January armed robbery of the Hatcher Pass Gateway Center with his half-brother, Geisler, 18, of Big Lake, and another teen-ager.

In June, 17-year-old Shannon "Keola" Stenhoff was arrested and charged with 12 criminal counts in connection with the crimes. Stenhoff told investigators McAnulty was a local gang leader who forced him, with the threat of death, into committing the robbery and carjacking, according to court documents. He told troopers that on the day of the crimes, he was to be "jumped" into a gang headed by McAnulty.

He identified Geisler to law-enforcement officers as the third accomplice, court documents stated.

McAnulty also is charged with one count of first-degree misconduct involving a weapon, for allegedly firing upon a car parked at a red light at the corner of the Palmer-Wasilla and Parks highways and then firing another round through the roof of his own car, according to Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak.

Investigators believe the incident at the red light occurred sometime between the robbery of the convenience store and the carjacking, Kalytiak said.

The trio's alleged escapade began at around 8:15 p.m. Jan. 25, when a man whose face was concealed behind a blue and white bandana with only his eyes showing entered the Hatcher Pass Gateway Center store, according to court documents. The robber was later identified as Stenhoff.

The clerk told Alaska State Troopers that the man pointed a gun at her face and demanded money. Fearing she would be shot, the clerk said she laid down on the floor of the store while the robber made away with $178 in cash, according to the documents.

A little while later, after McAnulty allegedly fired at a vehicle at the Parks Highway traffic light, two men flagged down three teen-aged boys who were driving near the intersection of Cottonwood Loop and Aspen Street in Wasilla, troopers said.

When the teens' red Pontiac sedan stopped for the two men, one of the men pointed a gun at the three teen-agers.

During the carjacking, the suspect holding the gun 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 fled in the car in which the teens had been riding.

At McAnulty's direction, Stenhoff said, Geisler had waved down the Pontiac and fired the handgun into the air, according to charging documents.

Both Stenhoff and Geisler took the boys' wallets, the teen-ager alleged, and it was Geisler who ordered the three youths out of the car. Stenhoff told troopers he and McAnulty drove off in the stolen car, charging documents stated.

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