A Juneau grand jury indicted the 53-year-old ex-Arizona lawmaker who allegedly murdered a downtown Juneau jeweler on a hunting trip in Excursion Inlet on Sunday.
Mark De Simone was indicted on one first-degree murder charge and two second-degree murder charges for allegedly fatally shooting 34-year-old Duilio Antonio “Tony” Rosales. De Simone was also indicted on lesser manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges.
[To see the indictment, scroll through images above.]
A Juneau-based Alaska State Trooper responded to Excursion Inlet on May 15 after a member of a hunting group sent out a VHF radio message for help saying a man had been shot and killed, according to an affidavit. The trooper arrived later that night and found Rosales under a picnic table, with two gunshot wounds to the back of his head, prosecutors allege.
De Simone reportedly confessed to killing Rosales with a .41 magnum revolver, members of the hunting party said, according to the affidavit. De Simone was arrested at the scene and made his first court appearance Tuesday. Juneau District Court Judge Keith Levy ordered De Simone to be held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Prosecutors have not yet speculated on motive.
De Simone was a politician in Arizona and resigned in 2008 after he was arrested for domestic violence for allegedly hitting his then-wife. Facebook posts since then indicate that De Simone has been troubled.
According to a copy of the indictment, William “Bill” Young, the owner of the private cabin where the hunting group stayed and Rosales’ boss at the Jewel Box, was among those who testified before the grand jury on Friday. Other members of the hunting party testified as well.
De Simone will likely be arraigned in Juneau Superior Court early next week.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
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