‘It was 100 percent a group effort’: Johnson sentenced to 99 years for his part in David Grunwald murder

WASILLA — Dominic Johnson, one of four young men charged with the execution-style murder of David Grunwald, received a 99-year sentence for his role in the chain of violent, criminal acts that ultimately led to the Valley teen’s death in Nov 2016.

Johnson received a total of 99 years for assault, kidnapping, evidence tampering, and murder. Palmer Judge Gregory Heath suspended 20 years from Johnson’s sentence and said that he would be eligible for discretionary parole in 36 years.

Johnson, Erick Almandinger, and Bradley Renfro have all been found guilty of Grunwald’s savage beating and pistol-whipping, kidnapping, and subsequent murder on the night of Nov. 13, 2016.

“It was beyond what any human being should have to suffer through,” Heath said during the sentencing Wednesday. “They had an opportunity during that half-hour drive or 45-minute drive to change their mind and not execute him. But the group as a group component chose not to."

Grunwald was attacked in a trailer on the Almandinger family’s property in the Palmer area, forced into his own Ford Bronco, and driven up Knik River Road where he was shot in the head and died. Grunwald’s Bronco was burned in Wasilla that same evening.

No shooter has been identified to date.

“Who actually led David in the woods, who pulled the trigger, we’ll never really know. There’s a lot of speculation and a lot of different stories,” Heath said. “The bottom line is the jury in this case found this defendant guilty…”

During the closing arguments, Palmer Assistant District Attorney Melissa Wininger-Howard said the combination of a thorough investigation by authorities, the evidence presented over numerous proceedings, and witness statements illustrate Johnson’s willing participation in the string of violent crimes that ultimately resulted in Grunwald’s death, calling it a group effort with his insightful words and actions at the center of it all.

“Ultimately, David was taken into the woods and shot because that’s how the defendant wanted it to end. He participated. He knew what he was doing. He made the decision, and that’s how David’s life ended,” Wininger-Howard said. “As everyone is aware. The defendant did not act alone. He committed his horrific crimes with his co-defendants, his buddies, Erick Almandinger, Bradley Renfro, Austin Barrett, and Devon Peterson. Throughout the case, throughout the investigation, they all remained tight with one another… It was 100 percent a group effort.”

Wininger-Howard attributed Johnson’s own words as an indication that he was not only a willing participant but an active inciter of violence, referring to several conversations from Snapchat messages, phone videos, and other digital logs acquired during the investigation. These conversations were transcribed and played in subsequent court hearings.

“The court heard it, the jury heard it, ‘in the head as hard as I can, just to try to hurt him…’ Those words give the court the defendant’s mindset on Nov. 13, 2016. His own words decided David Grunwald’s fate because that’s exactly what happened in the trailer… He was the one that set the ball in motion.”

Johnson led authorities to the location of Grunwald’s body 19 days after his murder.

“Any assistance that he provided is far outweighed by his participation in and after the crime. While he led Alaska State Troopers to the general location of David Grunwald’s body, it was no surprise, given the tightness of the group and how nobody was talking, that his assistance stopped there," Wininger-Howard said.

Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said the state recommends the harshest sentence for Johnson’s actions with the group that cut Grunwald’s life short at just 16 years old. Johnson and other group members were also teenagers at the time of the incident. He said that juvenile crimes can be just as horrendous as crimes committed by adults, a fact that’s been fully apparent throughout the trial.

“That’s what really distinguishes this case from the other murder cases involving juveniles that we’ve had. We haven’t had one where the juvenile defender killed another person who was the same age, therefore robbing them of their whole life,” Kalytiak said.

Johnson made a statement toward the end of the hearing, apologizing for his actions.

Edie and Ben Grunwald chose not to be present for Johnson’s statement, just as they had done in previous hearings with the other defendants.

“Because everything so far that they’ve said hasn’t been the truth… It’s just not of interest to us to hear,” Edie Grunwald said. “A lot of people regret what they did, but there’s no do-overs, see?”

Barrett was the first of the four defendants sentenced in the Grunwald murder trial in November of 2020. Renfro and Alamdinger have sentencing hearings scheduled for June. Edie Grunwald said they were satisfied with Johnson’s sentence.

“We feel fine about it. The judge did good,” Edie said. “We were on pins and needles all day I tell ya because you don’t know how it’s gonna end up.”

Edie said that Kalytiak told them that these cases would likely take four to five years to process when this all started. The Grunwalds have attended countless court hearings for all four defendants since 2016.

Johnson has 30 days to appeal his sentence.

“We’re really in it for the long haul. I mean, they’re not going anywhere,” Edie said. “It’s really draining going through this… But this major part is over here, at least with this trial. Now we’ve just got two more sentencing hearings and then we’ll just deal with the appeal as they happen.

The Wednesday hearing was held telephonically due to a recent cyberattack that affected the court system, rendering them unable to hold a virtual hearing over Zoom as originally intended, according to Heath.

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