Man charged for killing his cousin last year

PALMER — A 34-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Josh Lacy 10 months ago.

Lacy, 26, was shot to death Nov. 3, 2011, at a home near Mile 5, Palmer-Fishhook Road.

At the time, Alaska State Troopers said very little about the shooting, only that it was under investigation and that they’d interviewed Shawn Phillips, who they declined to name at the time.

A Palmer grand jury decided last week to charge Phillips with murder and weapons misconduct while leaving the door open for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges if a jury decides the facts don’t add up to murder.

Lacy’s father, Nathan Jensen, said that Phillips and Lacy were cousins.

“It’s been very hard on both sides of the family,” Jensen said Monday.

The shooting happened during some kind of argument. The two cousins lived on the same property.

“He should have called the police and said, ‘I’m being shot at,’ instead of getting a gun and going back to the trailer,” Jensen said. “He had plenty of time to call the police.”

The case is the second in two weeks that saw charges brought after 10 months of waiting.

On Aug. 30, James Armstrong, 60, of Willow, was formally charged with murder in the death of Ronald D. Gunter, 61, of Talkeetna.

Like the Phillips/Lacy case, Armstrong and Gunter were arguing when the shooting occurred and Armstrong shot Gunter.

A third shooting in November 2011 left the victim injured but alive and the shooter not facing any criminal charges.

There is no word on the status of that investigation.

Asked about the Armstrong case last week, Assistant District Attorney Mike Walsh cited a case backlog as the reason it took so long to see charges.

“The delay was due to the need to complete the investigation and other ongoing investigations and grand juries,” he wrote in an email.

Walsh declined to get into specifics of the case.

Jensen said the wait has been tough, but he’s glad he no longer has to wonder if law enforcement would charge anyone in his son’s death.

“I’m very happy that justice is being served,” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.