Bail was set at $1 million cash for a Juneau man arrested for a Tuesday night murder in a Mendenhall Valley trailer park.
Christopher D. Strawn, 32, appeared Thursday afternoon in Juneau District Court on a charge of first degree murder. After entering the courtroom, he called out for a newspaper reporter wanting to tell his side of the story. He attempted to enter a plea of not guilty even through pleas are not normally accepted during first felony appearances.
It was Strawn’s first court appearance since he was arrested Wednesday morning at his trailer home on Stephen Richards Drive. He allegedly shot and killed Brandon C. Cook, 30, Tuesday evening in a trailer at the Kodzoff Acres Mobile Home Park.
Strawn told Deputy Magistrate Sharon Heidersdorf that he wanted to be released so that he could clean up his private property before dealing with his current case. A public defender will be assigned to his case.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige said Strawn was a significant flight risk. She referred to 14 convictions since 2002 for crimes including theft, vehicle theft, driving while intoxicated and reckless endangerment. She also referred to at least three instances in which Strawn failed to show up for court appearances.
Paige described Tuesday night’s murder as an execution-style killing in which the unprovoked Strawn killed Cook with a shotgun blast to the head in front of two other witnesses at the Kodzoff trailer. Paige also said evidence sent to a crime lab would show that Strawn was under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances during the murder.
Partway through Thursday’s court hearing, Strawn told Heidersdorf that he had been in Juneau for 15 years and he has his own housing. He said that he did everything that he was asked to do, never harmed people with weapons, and never harmed anything unless provoked.
A distraught woman, who identified herself only as the victim’s mom, listened to the hearing by telephone. Most of her comments were inaudible or hard to understand in the courtroom, but she seemed to say that her son had “never been in trouble.”
If he can come up with the bail money, Strawn must remain in the custody of a third party and cannot possess firearms or use controlled substances. Strawn would also be prohibited from contacting the two murder witnesses.
Strawn’s next appearance in Juneau District Court is Oct. 30, unless a grand jury indicts him. An indictment would move Strawn’s case to Juneau Superior Court, which normally handles unclassified felonies like first degree murder.
