Court rules Fairbanks double-murderer must stick to his plea deal
Published Saturday, October 10, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Court of Appeals won’t let a convicted double-murderer renege on a plea deal.
The court this week rejected Michael DeNeut’s claim that an attorney botched his case. The 58-year-old DeNeut is serving a 129-year prison sentence at the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward after authorities say he admitted to fatally shooting fellow hunting guides Ron Long, 67, and Mark Chambers, 42.
“DeNeut has neither claimed his innocence nor established that he misunderstood the actual elements of his charges,” the Wednesday opinion stated by Judge Joel Bolger stated.
Long and Chambers were killed six years ago at a cabin on Willow Street in the Aurora Subdivision. DeNeut surrendered to police a couple of days after the killings. He had a bullet in his leg that authorities believe came from a small-caliber handgun found at the Willow Street cabin.
DeNeut reportedly told authorities that he had been off his psychiatric medication and that he had only meant to scare the men but was set off.
He eventually pleaded no contest to first- and second-degree murder.
DeNeut tried withdrawing his plea before sentencing, but the judge was not satisfied with DeNeut’s reasoning and sentenced him to 99 years in prison for Long’s murder and 30 years in prison for killing Chambers.
DeNeut complained about his attorney to the Alaska Court of Appeals, and the court decided his complaints merited review.
As a result, DeNeut’s former attorney, David Allen, was questioned in Superior Court.
Allen was asked why he didn’t advise DeNeut to go to trial since accepting the plea deal amounted to accepting a life sentence.
“Do I have an obligation to encourage him to go to trial? No,” Allen testified. “It’s not for me to say whether he has anything to lose by going to trial.”
Allen said DeNeut had wanted to take a plea deal in part to spare Long’s widow the stress of a trial.
The attorney testified that he was clear to his client about the consequences of taking the plea deal. Allen recounted a conversation with DeNeut.
“He said, ‘Does this mean I will die in prison?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’”
Elaine Long, Ron Long’s widow, was pleased to hear the appeals court rejected DeNeut’s request.
“He just knows how to work the system,” Long said. “He uses his illness. Hell, he has no illness. Just craziness.”
DeNeut’s Anchorage-based public defender could not be reached for comment. DeNeut wrote in a Sept. 19, 2009, letter to the Daily News-Miner that he mourns the loss of his two friends. And he complained that authorities have put forward misinformation about his case, but he did not specify.
Community Discussion
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Good for him. He deserves to die in prison. Sounds harsh, maybe, but for two premeditated murders it's reasonable.
Let him die in prison. I love my grandpa. I came back to fairbanks off of active duty that year to be with family. He should be glad he gave up when he did, cause if we would have found him on the run... Then his life wouldn't be so long lived in prison.
I bet Ms Long is vastly relieved. I know I would be.
- Stalking, such as DeNeut engaged in prior to these murders, is a crime that does serious harm to it's victims' sense of safety and security, frequently for years afterwards, even when it does not end in murder, as this stalking did.
- Stalking is almost always an indication of serious mental and/or emotional imbalance of the perpetrator.
- Stalking is often a precursor to MUCH more serious crimes of physical and sexual assault, mutilation, murder.
- Stalking is taken very lightly by the Law, the DA Office, and the Courts.
- Stalking is often laughed off by the Troopers, and the stalker treated with empathy when he portrays himself as a picked-on and denied male [as was the case here]
Stalking [especially when it has sexual overtones] needs to be taken FAR more seriously by our public safety and justice system. Doing so might have prevented these murders.
Now if they will just transfer DeNeut out of State to serve out the rest of his life, maybe Ms Long and her family can finally enjoy a little more peace and security again.
Pearl, you are Soooo right! Stalking should always be taken seriously!
The only thing that matters is whether or not this POS MURDERED two innocent people in cold blood.
If so, then off with his head!
'Hell he has no illness, just craziness' lmao. I like that.
does anyone know how to say this guy's name? Is it D-Nut or D-knew/D-know? I think D-Nut is appropriate.
How was this guy a hunting guide/firearm possessor if he was taking medication for mental illness? By federal law mental illness is an immediate disqualification for purchasing/possessing a firearm. Not sure what the state's opinion is of mentally deficient hunting guides; I would imagine it is not encouraged.
If this guy already knows he will die in prison, why not be humane about this and kill him now? It will prevent Mr. Long's and Mr. Chamber's widows from dying without closure and will allow DeNeut to pass on without being a drain on our state's resources.
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