A jury found an Anchorage man guilty on all counts Monday in the murders of three men at a Spenard gold business in 2017, rejecting his claim that he only killed two of the victims in self-defense.
Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna’s chambers confirmed the decision in 49-year-old Anthony Pisano’s case Monday afternoon.
The verdict brings potential closure in the triple homicide at The Bullion Brothers. It comes after the state’s initial murder case against Pisano in the deaths of co-owner Steven Cook, Kenneth Hartman and Daniel McCreadie ended in a 2020 mistrial.
Jurors in the current trial had deliberated Pisano’s fate since Thursday afternoon, when closing arguments concluded. Pisano faced nine first-degree and second-degree murder charges in the shootings, plus a count of third-degree assault.
On Thursday, Anchorage District Attorney Brittany Dunlop implored the jury to convict Pisano, citing his recent retirement with over $90,000 in credit card debt as a motive for what she called a botched robbery.
Pisano’s defense attorney, Kevin Fitzgerald, disputed that account, claiming that the state’s star witness – Bullion Brothers co-owner Michael DuPree – opened fire first, striking and killing Cook. Hartman and McCreadie arrived after hearing the shooting from nearby apartments, and Pisano shot them to protect himself, Fitzgerald told the jury.
Pisano’s sentencing is set for May 23, 2024.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
