Man gets 50 years for Talkeetna murder

PALMER — Having heard a parade of his former neighbors explain why he should no longer be allowed to live among them, convicted murderer Sam Clark stepped to the microphone and gave a short statement.

“I just want to apologize to everyone involved,” he said. “I wish I could go back in time and change things. I want you to know that none of this would’ve happened if I didn’t have a mental illness.”

Clark was convicted Aug. 15 of first-degree murder for the 2010 the shooting of Dirk Fast at Latitude 62 in Talkeetna. His attorney had argued that even though Fast was clearly not a threat to Clark, his client, in the throes of mental illness, believed that Fast was out to get him. He believed he acted in self-defense, even if he was wrong to believe that.

Superior Court Judge Eric Smith sentenced him to 75 years in prison Friday with 25 suspended and 50 to serve.

At the hearing, Bradley said that since the trial he’s seen a remarkable change in his client, as he started to fully realize what he’d done. Still, he recognized Clark had to serve time, to pay a penalty.

“There’s no happy ending to this,” that attorney, Jeff Bradley argued.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Perry agreed, saying the case was tragic all around.

“Everyone here, I think, feels a great deal of sympathy for both of the men involved in this crime,” he said.

Yes, he said, Clark is mentally ill.

“Unfortunately he poses a real danger to the public,” he said.

And he hasn’t taken responsibility for killing Fast.

“He’s still saying it was someone else’s fault,” Perry argued. “There are a lot of people who have issues residing in this Valley and they don’t respond this way.”

Fast’s friends and family took turns testifying as well, arguing for more jail time for Clark and relating what a wonderful person Fast was.

“I wasn’t angry about this until this morning,” Fast’s father, Bill Fast said, explaining all this talk of mental illness missed the mark. “He knew what he was doing. He knew who he was doing it to. And he chose to do it anyway.”

Speaking on Clark’s behalf was his sister, Brenda Taylor.

“My mind could not wrap around the idea my brother would take a life,” Taylor said, describing the day she read about his crimes on the Internet.

She said if he’s allowed out, she would make sure he took his medications and she would care for him, as would her family.

“If this trial were closer to Missouri, Sam would have had a courtroom full of people supporting him.”

As they left, Fast’s mother and then his father each gave Taylor a warm hug.

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