Alaska Jury Convicts Ex-Arizona Lawmaker in Shooting Death

By BECKY BOHRER

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska jury on Friday convicted a former Arizona lawmaker of first-degree murder in the death of a man on a hunting and fishing trip.

The jury in Juneau found Mark Desimone (dee-sih-MOHN) guilty in the 2016 death of Duilio Antonio "Tony" Rosales at a remote cabin site in southeast Alaska.

Desimone sat stone-faced as the verdict was read following jury deliberations that started Thursday.

A judge ordered him held without bail pending sentencing. There is no death penalty in Alaska.

Desimone resigned from the Arizona House in 2008, during his first term, after being arrested in a domestic dispute with his then-wife. That case was dropped when he agreed to counseling.

Desimone had lived in Juneau in the 1980s and returned shortly before the shooting.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige said Desimone was doing day labor at a local jewelry store where Rosales worked. The store was owned by Bill Young, whom Desimone knew from his earlier period in Alaska.

Young invited Desimone, Rosales and other friends on the trip to Excursion Inlet, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Juneau. Paige claimed Desimone's demeanor changed from happy to moody when he learned Rosales was going to be on the trip.

Another member of the hunting party, Seth Bradshaw, heard gunfire and initially thought someone was target shooting. He ran into Desimone, who said, "I shot him, I shot him. It's all my fault, I shot him," Paige said.

Rosales suffered two shots to the back of his head.

Desimone's attorney, Deborah Macaulay, said the shooting was accidental.

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