Based on plea deal, Michael Poulsen, 23, will serve a flat one year sentence for fourth degree assault.
KDLG: Michael Poulsen, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to fourth degree assault and will spend one year in jail. He has been in custody since his April 11 arrest, and will begin the remainder of the sentence immediately.
On the morning of April 10, Poulsen spun violently out of control in Togiak after a night of drinking. Family members called authorities to say he was acting dangerously, and had pointed a firearm in the direction of his sister. According to a state trooper affidavit, Poulsen made threatening remarks as others left the house, and he refused to disarm or settle down.
"I think it was a very serious incident, and I know that it terrified the victim in the case, and there were children involved," said assistant district attorney Pamela Dale, who is assigned to criminal cases in the Dillingham court.
Two state troopers from Dillingham responded to the scene, taking cover as they heard rifle shots fired from within the home. They remained near the home through the night, until a special emergency response team (SERT) of troopers arrived from Anchorage the following morning.
Poulsen was taken peacefully into custody, charged with third degree fear assault, a class C felony, and fourth degree weapons misconduct. Dale agreed to reduce the assault charge from third degree to fourth, which is a misdemeanor, in return for the guilty plea. Poulsen accepted the terms, which included the one year of "flat time" in jail.
"I like that sentence for first time violent offenders," said Dale. "I know he's got a prior criminal mischief, some property damage, but with respect to this crime, he went into custody, he didn't get out, and he's doing a year. And that's a long time."
Dale believes the sentence will send a deterrent message, and that the resolution in the case was "swift and certain," taking just six weeks to wrap up.
"I would never make this offer twice," she said. "This is a one time offer for a case like this. If he were to come back with another violent crime, we would fully prosecute to the extent we could."
During Wednesday’s hearing, Poulsen expressed his desire to get into treatment after his sentence to try and break the cycle of abusing alcohol and ending up in trouble with the law. Based on "good time" and time served, his lawyer said Poulsen has about eight months more to serve.
Reach the author at dave@kdlg.org or 907.842.5281.