Palmer man charged in gas station murder returns to court

Isaac Beshaw, a 22-year-old Palmer man, has been charged with first-degree murder after confessing to shooting and killing 22-year-old Steven Williams at the Speedway Express gas station in downtown Palmer.

Breshaw, who was arraigned on Sept. 3, will make another appearance in court Sept. 13.

According to court documents, Palmer Police Dispatch was notified of a possible shooting at the Speedway gas station in Palmer around 12:40 a.m. Sept. 2.

When Palmer Police Department officers arrived on the scene, Sergeant Michael Lynch discovered Williams’ bloody bullet-filled body laying face up on the floor behind the cash register.

Security camera footage showed that a white male with a face cover, sunglasses, and a hat walked through the main entrance. The suspect approached the register and fired multiple times with a handgun before leaning over the counter to fire additional shots. The footage also showed Williams falling to the ground while bleeding heavily from his neck. The suspect quickly left the building afterwards.

According to court documents, PPD officer Chris Gonzales talked to Williams prior to his demise regarding an unrelated case. Through that discussion, Gonzales obtained Williams’ fiance Anastasia Pawlak's contact information. Gonzales reached out to Pawklak and asked her if she knew of anyone who would want to harm her fiance. She told Gonzales that Williams had an argument with a male she referred to as “Nathan” and offered a phone number. Investigation connected this number to Beshaw, and Pawklak confirmed that a picture she was shown of Beshaw was the same person she was talking about.

PPD began searching for Beshaw and found him in the parking lot of his residence where he was asked to come down to the station for questioning.

Beshaw's initial story claimed that he couldn't sleep and embarked on a late night bike and walk excursion where he eventually found his way near the Speedway gas station where he noticed a lot of police activity. He told investigators that he hid on a nearby hill to watch so he wouldn't accidentally “tamper with evidence.” He also initially denied knowing Williams during his first interview.

While investigating officers were searching for evidence, they were notified that Beshaw was speaking again and started confessing to Williams’ murder. Officers returned to the station where Beshaw stated that he had an ongoing quarrel with Williams that ultimately reached a boiling point. Beshaw admitted to shooting and killing Williams.

Beshaw was arraigned Sept. 3 and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 13.