The murder trial of a Juneau resident accused of fatally shooting a man in the back of the head is set to start Feb. 6.
Christopher D. Strawn was in Juneau Superior Court Monday for a pre-trial conference. He faces charges of first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault and weapons misconduct in connection with the October 2015 killing of 30-year-old Brandon C. Cook.
Judge Philip Pallenberg set a hearing for Thursday on a motion by the prosecution regarding reviewing confidential documents, but did not postpone the start of the jury trial.
The trial is expected to last at least two weeks, and possibly longer.
Strawn is accused of shooting Cook “execution style” on Oct. 20., 2015, as he helped a friend paint the kitchen in her trailer in Kodzoff Acres Mobile Home Park on Mendenhall Loop Road.
Police found Cook dead on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his neck and head, according to a police officer’s report.
Witness Tiffany Marie Albertson described it as completely unprovoked, according to the complaint filed by the Juneau Police Department.
Albertson told JPD detective Dominic Branson she had hired Strawn to help renovate the trailer.
Albertson and Cook were apparently not aware of any danger, police evidence indicates. Albertson told Branson she heard Strawn say something to the effect of, “Sorry to do this,” and then heard a shot.
“Albertson said she then heard a loud bang and saw Cook drop to the floor,” Branson wrote. “Behind her she saw Strawn about 10 feet away holding what she described as a short-barreled shotgun with a pistol-style grip. Strawn told her not to be worried because he wasn’t going to kill her. Albertson said she ran to the rear of the trailer and called 911, where she waited for the police to arrive.”
JPD did not release any information as to what motivated the fatal shooting. Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige intimated in court previously that drugs may have been involved on Strawn’s part.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or at liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
