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Evidence Not Submitted By Police In Attempted Murder Case

Dean Swope
/
KYUK

The state is seeking a lesser assault charge in the case of Daniel Misner, who fired shots at a man in a residential neighborhood of Bethel earlier this year. Evidence that could have supported a charge of attempted murder was never submitted to his case.

Gene Peltola, who witnessed the shooting, says Misner's intent was clearly to kill his victim. Peltola was not asked to testify.

“He was shooting in a stance like he was shooting at a target," Peltola said. "Holding the weapon in two hands. and as fast as he could pull the trigger, he shot five or six times."

Peltola, former Executive Director of Orutsararmiut Native Council, says that he reported what he saw to Bethel Police Chief Andre Achee, but was never called to give his account on record. As a result, District Attorney Michael Gray did not hear from Peltola before offering Misner a deal that would reduce his jail time from nine years to eight months. Misner has yet to be sentenced.

“I’m not gonna say that 'Yeah, that would have made a difference,' because I don’t know that it would have. But I will say, I didn’t know about the guy," Gray said. 

In cases like this one, Gray says he looks at more than just, "Did a gun go off?"

“Whenever you're deciding to resolve a case, you look at the conduct. You look at the criminal history. You look at what happened, and whether...you consider [that person] to be a danger to the community, or somebody that did something because they were drunk and stupid," Gray said. 

From the reports the DA has received, there were two witnesses. One says that Misner was shooting the gun to kill, and one says he shot in the air, maybe to scare the victim Charlie Smith. But Peltola’s account seems to add weight to the idea that there was an intent to kill. And there's more. 

“They took my hat for evidence," Smith said.

He says that police took the hat he was wearing during the shooting that had a hole in it from a bullet which grazed his head. The hat, which would seem to confirm that at least one bullet was not fired randomly into the air, but towards Smith, is in police custody.

This piece of evidence seems to negate the idea that Misner was not shooting at the victim, and supports Peltola’s version of events. Though Smith says police took the hat, it too never made it to the DA, and thus could not contribute to the case. But, again, the DA isn’t convinced that this would have made a difference in the deal Misner received.

“My goal is, in prosecuting this case, is to get him in jail for a while, because I think jail is a pedagogical device, a teaching device, it helps people learn a lesson. But at some point, the lesson’s learned," Gray said. 

Police Chief Andre Achee chose not to comment on this story after being contacted by email.