Judge declares mistrial in Anchorage triple-murder case

An Anchorage judge has declared a mistrial in the murder case against a man charged in the 2017 shooting deaths of three men at a local coin and precious metals shop.

Prosecutors plan to start over with the case against Anthony Pisano, KTVA-TV reported. His mistrial was declared Wednesday after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict following multiple days of deliberating.

Pisano’s attorney, Kevin Fitzgerald, told The Associated Press Thursday that his client remains in custody. Fitzgerald is considering whether to continue his ongoing pursuit to lower his client’s $525,000 bail, he said.

Pisano, 45, faces felony charges including three counts of first-degree murder, in the deaths of Steven Cook, 31, an owner of The Bullion Brothers, and building tenants Kenneth Hartman, 48, and Daniel McCreadie, 31. Pisano regularly spent time at the shop and offered security advice.

Fitzgerald said at trial that police arrested the wrong person in the deaths of the three men. The defence maintains co-owner Michael Dupree killed Cook and framed Pisano. When Hartman and McCreadie responded to the shots, Pisano was forced to shoot them in self-defence, according to the defence.

Prosecutors say only Pisano was responsible for killing the three men on Sept. 12, 2017, and his motive was robbery. They believe he was in debt and hurting for money, killing Cook in a botched robbery attempt. Prosecutors believe Pisano shot the other two men to eliminate witnesses.