ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A convicted Alaska felon with a history of assaulting women was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death of an assistant state prosecutor in Barrow.
Ronald Fischer, 47, was arraigned in the death of Brian Sullivan, an assistant district attorney in the country’s northernmost community.
In a charging document, North Slope Borough police said Fischer shot Sullivan twice in the head in a jealous rage over the estranged mother of Fischer’s children, with whom Sullivan had started dating.
“Police believe that Fischer shot Sullivan twice in the face with a 20-gauge shotgun from a distance estimated at 10 feet (or less), as Sullivan was seated on a couch,” said Lt. Travis Welch in an affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint.
Sullivan was found with his feet crossed, Welch said, suggesting he made no attempt to confront the shooter or flee.
“In other words, Fischer shot a man who was seated, unarmed, and who posed no threat,” Welch said.
Online court records did not indicate an attorney had been appointed for Fischer. Barrow attorney Robert Campbell, who represented Fischer in a felony case this year, said Wednesday that he would not be representing Fischer in the murder case.
Sullivan was a former Army attorney and a former state legislator. He served in the Washington House of Representatives from January 1997 to January 2001, representing Tacoma.
Security video footage from a store across from the 37-year-old woman’s home showed Fischer entering before the shooting and exiting afterward, Welch wrote. He gave this account of the events:
The woman began dating Sullivan on Nov. 21. She was under the impression, she said, that Fischer was comfortable with her relationship and was being civil for their children.
One Monday, she met Sullivan to work out at Barrow High School. Fischer also was there. He looked upset, she said, but didn’t say anything.
Sullivan and the woman drove in separate vehicles to her home to eat dinner and watch a movie. He was in her living room as she showered.
Afterward, as she dressed in her bedroom, she heard a door close. She heard Fischer say, “Who are you?” and then a gunshot.
She hid in her bedroom closet. Fischer, she said, holding a shotgun covered by a jacket, found her. She lunged at the shotgun and held onto it with him as they walked into the living room, where Fischer said, “Look at what you made me do.”
Video footage showed the woman and Fischer clutching the gun as they exited the home. The woman jumped into Sullivan’s SUV and drove to the police department to report the shooting.
A police dispatcher began taking calls from Fischer, crying and distraught. He told police his location and eventually surrendered.
Since 1988, Fischer had been convicted for felony criminal mischief plus at least five misdemeanor assaults.
He was free on bail from a July 14 assault in which he was charged with whipping a woman with a belt. On Sept. 21, he was charged with punching the woman in the shooting case in the face.
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