(Fairbanks) – Superior Court Judge Patricia Haines sentenced Joshua Butcher, 44, to 85 years for the Nov. 7, 2021, shooting at a Safeway in Fairbanks.  Butcher shot and killed Harley Titus, 41, just outside the entrance of the store and then proceeded to fire multiple shots inside the Safeway, injuring one employee and placing multiple other people in fear of imminent serious physical injury. 

On March 8, 2024, he pled guilty to one count of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Assault in the Third Degree.  He admitted to two aggravating factors for the assault counts. There were no agreed-upon sentencing limitations as to any of the counts. Judge Haines had the authority to sentence Butcher to a composite sentence of up to 109 years, which is the maximum allowed by law for these charges.

Assistant District Attorney Anna Ralph argued for the maximum sentence permitted by law, that the Court should impose 109 years to serve, calling it “one of, if not the most, shocking cases in Fairbanks’ history” that threatened the entire community’s sense of security.

In ruling, Superior Court Judge Haines explained “[v]ideo evidence shows the defendant stalking around the store, gun in hand,” that Mr. Butcher “went there with the specific intention of killing someone, he didn’t care who,” and that “the danger that a public shooting poses to society does not diminish with age.”

She sentenced him to 75 years to serve for the murder of Mr. Titus, five years to serve for shooting a Safeway employee, Christopher Sanderson, and an additional five years for placing the six other named victims in fear of being shot, for a total sentence of 85 years to serve.

Fairbanks District Attorney Joe Dallaire said “The terrifying conduct for which the defendant now stands convicted and sentenced rightfully carries the highest levels of public condemnation. This shocking criminal act will not soon be forgotten by our community. The harm caused will be long-lasting and to Mr. Titus and his family, irreparable. I applaud the dedication of the selfless public servants who helped bring Mr. Butcher to justice, including ADA Anna Ralph, Paralegal Joleen Cooper, and the brave men and women in uniform at the Fairbanks Police Department, the Alaska State Troopers, the Fairbanks Airport Police Department, the North Pole Police Department, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Police Department.”

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