Jury finds Big Lake pastor not guilty

PALMER -- A superior court jury found Big Lake pastor Philip Mielke not guilty on all counts Monday in the shooting deaths of two men.

The jury foreman read the verdicts at 4 p.m. in a standing-room-only courtroom. Mielke expressed no outward emotion other than a small smile.

Mielke was arrested on two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide, a lesser charge, in the April 24 deaths of Chris Palmer, 31, and Frank Jones, 23. They broke open a back door to the Big Lake Community Chapel with the intent to burglarize, according to court testimony.

Mielke's trial didn't focus on who fired the shots, because Mielke acknowledged having shot the men. The point of contention was whether Mielke acted reasonably.

He testified he feared for his life when he initially fired, and was carried away seconds afterward when he emptied his .44-caliber pistol through a church window at a fleeing man. Mielke said during testimony that he was in such a state of panic that he fired two or three times after the gun was empty, pulling the trigger so hard that his finger was black and blue the next day.

Defense attorney Jim Gilmore told jurors it was Mielke's job to protect the small chapel, and the 44-year-old pastor was justified in shooting the two men who rushed at him in the darkness.

"It was a totally wild, unpredictable situation," he said.

Assistant district attorney Bob Collins argued that a reasonable man would have called the troopers for help after discovering the break-in. He described Mielke as being obsessed with activity at the chapel, citing a system of baby monitors in the church with a receiver next to the bed in his home across the street.

"There's a predator reaction in this case," Collins said. "Once he started shooting he couldn't stop."

During jury instructions, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler reminded jurors that the state had the burden of proving Mielke did not act in self-defense.

In recent weeks, with the shadow of the trial looming over him, Mielke has withdrawn from the spotlight during church services. On Sunday, he sat quietly in a back-row pew while his wife Helen led 19 adults and 18 children in hymns. Mielke's uncle gave the sermon, which a parishioner said has been the norm lately.

Mielke had the same calm appearance -- a slight smile on his face -- during Sunday's service as he has had throughout the trial. He spoke only to give the morning's final prayer, then greeted parishioners as they filed out.