Talkeetna man with long criminal history convicted again

PALMER — A Talkeetna man with a long criminal history was convicted once again in a Palmer courtroom Friday morning.

Orrin Pinard, 31, was convicted of criminal mischief in the fifth degree and disorderly conduct after he was arrested for wreaking havoc on a roadway and subsequently damaging an Alaska State Trooper vehicle during his transport to Palmer in August of 2018.

This is just one of many incidents that have given Pinard a notorious reputation for erratic, violent and disturbing behavior known to locals and authorities alike. He has a tall and immense stature and colorful history to go with it.

“It has been my experience dealing with Orrin over the years that his behavior has been getting increasingly more unpredictable and violent over the years. His unpredictable behavior, criminal history, sheer size, and ability to quickly cause a lot of damage has caused several people in the community to be very concerned for their safety,” AST officer Andrew Adams stated in an official complaint filed August 24, 2018.

That complaint was addressing a sexual assault case in which Pinard allegedly forced himself on a woman at the Talkeetna Baptist Church, according to court documents. That case has been reopened and is just one of many with Pinard’s name attached.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Burton requested the maximum penalty for the recent criminal mischief and disorderly conduct case because of Pinard’s violent behavior. She said the jury found Pinard not guilty of original charge of criminal mischief in the third degree but guilty with criminal mischief of the fifth degree. Pinard plead guilty to disorderly conduct early on and that charge stuck so he was conviction of two crimes that day.

“This was extremely dangerous conduct, not necessarily just the criminal mischief but all of the behavior surrounding it,” Burton said.

Pinard’s public defender, Jaffer Khimani, had a few points that he wanted to express, namely Pinard’s accumulated incarceration time and his “mental health issues.” He said that Pinard has been in custody for seven months and he’s been solitary confinement, not because of his violent behavior, but as a result of his mental ailments.

“The jail has not been able to accommodate someone with mental illness,” Khimani said.

Pinard has had to take medication for his issues and the side effects can be unsavory, with symptoms such as shakiness, loss of consciousness, and his “eyes rolling back,” Khimani said. He said that’s why Pinard was contained in solitary confinement, so “they can monitor him medically.”

“This case, it should have been a CRP [Coordinated Resources Project] case from the start,” Khimani said.

Khimani said that he was unable to address mental illness in his defense, blaming the law. He said that if the jury found Pinard not guilty but mentally ill, he would end up with no “good time” and would remain in custody for the maximum period “until he’s cured.”

“People with mental illness and Mister Pinard’s not really, ever cured,” Khimani said.

Khimani cited Pinard’s prior felony conviction from 2010. He said that Pinard served a substantial amount of jail time and he was placed on probation with supervision for an extended period of time. He said that Pinard had no violations during that time.

“When Mr. Pinard is on his medications, he is an upstanding citizen. He is the nicest guy. He’s a good person. But unfortunately because of his mental illness, there are times like this incident that occurred,” Khimani said.

That 2010 case resulted from Pinard’s violent and bizarre behavior with numerous charges including assault in the second degree, assault in the third degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, and cruelty to animals. Pinard ultimately plead guilty to assault and animal cruelty charges involving a nightmarish scene of violent beatings, bestiality and sexual deviance with his spouse and one of his mother’s dogs.

“Orrin stated that he became angry for being bitten, and also because ‘the dog was causing problems in his marriage’ so he bludgeoned the dog with a baseball bat, killing the dog,” AST officer David Bower stated in his official complaint in the case file.

Khimani said there was a series of reports about Pinard for a couple weeks leading to the incident. He mentioned reports of Pinard’s “manic episodes” from across the Talkeetna community. He said that people around there are very familiar with Pinard and his history.

“His mom was calling the troopers. The town was calling for troopers… They all know Orrin and they like Orrin and they know he’s a nice guy,” Khimani said.

Khimani said that Orrin was essentially working his way up to an episode and the community noticed. He questioned the state’s resources and capacity to address mental illness.

“Unfortunately, right now, I mean, even at API [Alaska Psychiatric Institute], I don’t even think we have any doctors there. So, this is just a really sympathetic case. Mr. Pinard, he didn’t intend to do this. He really did not intend to do this,” Khimani said.

Khimani said that he would defer to the court on Pinard’s sentence but he just wanted to get those points across.

Judge Kari Kristiansen asked Pinard if he wanted to make a statement on his own behalf. Pinard declined to provide a statement so Kristiansen responded to Khimani’s statements. She said that the maximum of Pinard’s two convicted misdemeanors would be 11 days total, 10 days maximum for criminal mischief ion the fifth degree and 24 hours for disorderly conduct. “A total for which Mr. Pinard has already served his time 50 times over. I have not done the math in my head but quite a bit more than that,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that Pinard’s case was not tried as a mental disease and defect case and she couldn’t look at it through that “particular lens” because she didn’t have any substantial evidence for that.

“I have no leeway in terms of ordering that he get mental health treatment; or ordering him to CRP court; or rolling back the clock to retry this whole thing,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that Khimani made a “calculated decision” to not try his client’s case as mental health issue, likely to avoid further time in custody.

“I have no firm evidence of what his condition is,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that the evidence supported Pinard’s charges for this particular case so that’s why he was found guilty.

“Mr. Pinard clearly kicked out that door of the police car,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that Pinard has essentially been in custody for a significant amount of time for his aforementioned felony.

“There has been a consequence either way we look at it. Consequence either because of the time he’s been in jail or the consequence now that he’s taking a conviction of record again for some destructive conduct,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that Pinard’s behavior on the road, which prompted his subsequent arrest, was frightening to people and the witnesses were afraid of his actions. She said that his actions show a pattern and are likely to come back around again if left unchecked.

“So if Mr. Pinard doesn’t get the treatment that he needs and stay committed to that, this is what I’m hearing is accurate, he’s likely to end up back in front of the court system and back in jail again,” Kristiansen said.

Kristiansen said that Pinard would be credited for his previous time served and would not have to serve his 11 days. She said that she would keep restitution open for 90 days to aid Pinard in his rehabilitation for the community.

“… To make the community whole for what you did, as to what was brought in front of the court. Restitution needs to be made,” Kristiansen said.

The total amount to address the damaged door was reduced from about $4,000 to about $1,900 since authorities were able to find a replacement door from another vehicle.

Kristiansen said that he should be released that very day. That probably would be the case but Pinard has another open case, Khimani pointed out. He said that Pinard was in custody for a case that he was also represented. Kristiansen’s total time to serve from other cases will be calculated. The case Khimani was talking about is a fourth degree assault case, according to online court documents.

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