Houston man sentenced for murder

PALMER — On March 27, 38-year-old Justin Brunsvold was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting 32-year-old Patrick McMullen to death with his own 12-gage shotgun.

Brunsvold thought that McMullen was having an affair with his estranged wife and according to Assistant District Attorney Kerry Corliss, McMillen’s death was also linked to debts related to drugs and thefts.

Brunsvold was found guilty of murder in the second degree and Palmer Judge Vanessa White sentenced him to 55 years with 25 years suspended, 30 years to serve and 10 years of probation. White said that she hopes that Brunsvold’s lengthy sentence will, “send a message to the community.”

“Despite the fact that drugs are a driving factor here, the community remains outraged by the conduct and the drugs are not an excuse for the conduct… he is responsible for his conduct and he has the accept the community outage that comes with it,” White said.

Brunsvold’s defense attorney, Wallace Tetlow, agreed with the sentence but also stated that if the case went to trial, there was “pretty strong evidence” that it was not an intentional murder.

“There was definitely evidence of bad blood on both sides,” Tetlow said.

On Nov. 2, 2017, McMullen’s body was discovered near a pull-out by Mile 59.4 of the Parks Highway, according to a sworn affidavit by Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Tony Wegrzyn, filed on Nov. 19, 2017. According to Wegrzyn’s report, McMullen’s girlfriend told troopers that McMullen went to meet Brunsvold in Houston to, “look for drugs.”

“She explained that McMullen had an addiction to methamphetamine and heroin and she was trying to get him clean,” Wegrzyn stated in the report.

During the preliminary autopsy, authorities found that McMullen was shot once through head with a shotgun. Tetlow noted that the autopsy also revealed that McMullen had a significant amount of methamphetamine in his system.

According to Wegrzyn’s affidavit, Brunsvold told Wegrzyn that he took McMullen to Mile 59.4 of the Parks Highway, attempting to purchase methamphetamine, but the seller did not show. Brunsvold then asked McMullen to borrow his Ithaca 12-gage, pump-action shotgun to, “shoot a rabbit in the woods.” Brunsvold said that McMullen accused him of having an affair with his estranged wife with his shotgun in hand. Brunsvold punched McMullen in the face, took his shotgun and shot him in the head.

Tetlow said that the physical evidence corroborated this course of events, saying that McMullen’s autopsy indicted head and nose injuries consistent with blows to the face. Tetlow said that Brunsvold plead to the charge that was appropriate to the “true facts of what happened.”

“Mr. Brunsvold indicated to the police that Mr. McMullen spun around and he had the shotgun at that point and just fired the shot out of fear that Mr. McMullen was gonna’ react after the punch. And of course, that’s the shot that brought us all here today,” Tetlow said.

Wegrzyn said that Brunsvold blamed “two other drug dealers” for McMullen’s killing, but was ultimately confronted with physical evidence and that prompted his confession.

“Brunsvold said that he knew he had killed McMullen as soon as he pulled the trigger. When asked why he tried to place the blame on the two men he initially accused, Brunsvold responded that if someone was going to go to jail for murder, it might as well be two drug dealers,” Wegrzyn concluded in his affidavit.

White essentially indicated that Brunsvold himself was a drug dealer. She said that the drug addled circumstances was still no excuse for Brunsvold’s actions. She noted that the facts presented indicated Brunsvold was benefitting from the drug trade.

“Mr. Brunsvold, regardless of how it came down in detail, pulled the trigger and ended this victim’s life but it was the drug culture and the drug milieu which brought both of them to that fateful night,” White said.

Corliss said that many state witnesses had “ongoing issues with substance abuse.”

“It’s a homicide surrounding disputes over debts related to drugs and thefts which ultimately led to Pat’s death,” Corliss said.

“Society in particular, I think our community here in the Valley does not want to see disputes over these types of issues. These types of activities lead to murder,” Corliss said.

Corliss said that deterrents were also important to Brunsvold’s case, particularly his age and history. Brunsvold’s parents were present in the courtroom.

“He’s an adult. He’s not a young person out there. He’s simply choosing to live this drug lifestyle, this drug dealing lifestyle that he’s engaged in. He’s got a family who supports him, who has means and has supported him throughout his adult life and yet he’s continued to engage in these criminal activities,”

White said that circumstances did not excuse Brunsvold’s actions. She said that she puts a lot of stock into community condemnation and reaffirmation of societal norms in cases like his.

“…because the methamphetamine and opioid crisis that we are experiencing in our state is killing a generation of people. It is something that I have observed over my judicial career. It’s getting worse and worse, not better and better even though our community at large… are trying to do what they can but the bottom line is: if the drugs don’t get you, the violence associated with the drug milieu very well might,” White said.

White said that community condemnation coupled with reaffirmation of societal norms were very important criteria for this case as well as the prospect of rehabilitation. She said that Brunsvold is still a “fairly young” man in his late thirties. She said that in spite of the dismal odds against Brunsvold and other cases like his, she is not losing hope for people in the cycle of drug addiction to reform.

“…A mere glimmer of hope is better than no hope at all, and it is my sincere hope that both while he’s incarcerated and more importantly while he’s on probation, Mr. Brunsvold will be able to engage in a meaningful recovery that doesn’t just address substance abuse but addresses the behavioral issues that got him to where he is today and that resulted in the death of Mr. McMullen,” White said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com