AK: Former AZ Democrat, Felon, Charged with First Degree Murder in Alaska

Victim Tony Rosales and Wife

One of the most deadly of assaults is a surprise attack from someone who has gained the trust of the victim.  The Thugee of India perfected this technique over hundreds of years and are believed to have murdered more than a million people.  An attack reminiscent of Thugee, involving a former Arizona Democrat legislator, has been reported in Alaska.  The former Democrat legislator, Mark De Simone or Desimone, resigned from his legislative seat after being accused of domestic violence eight years ago. He was originally from New York.  From juneauempire.com:

Mark De Simone, a 53-year-old man couch surfing in Juneau for the past month, was charged Monday with first- and second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing 34-year-old Juneau resident Duilio Antonio “Tony” Rosales, who is originally from Nicaragua. De Simone also faces manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges.

(snip)

ADA Paige asked judge Levy to assign a $1 million bail to De Simone, saying he has no true connections to Juneau and could leave if released. Paige said De Simone was born in upstate New York, then lived in Juneau from 1981 to 1988. From there, the DA’s office believes he spent time in Arizona, where he was convicted of felony loitering and later served as an Arizona state legislator.

From the court documents it appears that Mark De Simone was drinking at a hunting cabin all day, Sunday, May 15th.  The victim, "Tony" Rosales, was in the process of removing his boots at the end of the day when he was shot in the back of the head by the former Democrat legislator.  De Simone may have been a prohibited possessor because of the felony loitering conviction in Arizona. The state trooper noted that the victim, "Tony" Rosales, had an empty holster on his right hip.

I suspect the double action .41 magnum revolver that was used in the shooting belonged to "Tony" Rosales.  No other firearm is mentioned in the court records.  The question comes to mind: how did De Simone access the revolver?  We do not know, but I know of at least one other case where the murderer gained the victim's trust, and simply asked for the victim's gun, then killed him with it. 

Rosales would have been in a particularly vulnerable position, with his hands occupied in removing his boots, when he was shot from behind.  He was then shot a second time, apparently to make absolutely sure that he was dead.  Both shots were to the back of the head, though from considerably different angles.

The witness who heard the shots said that they sounded like "target shooting", so they were likely a few seconds apart.  There is speculation that the victim and the shooter had worked together for a short period of time. No motive for the shooting is known at present.

 

A dear friend of mine recently passed away, at the age of 96.  An experience of his comes to mind.  About a decade ago, I heard that my friend, "Doc" Birdick, had been stabbed in the chest.  He was taken to the hospital and patched up.  The knife penetrated the lung, but Doc survived with minimal ill effects.

I asked him about the stabbing.  His attacker, a vagrant, went to prison for 14 years.  Doc described him thus:  "He is a really nice guy when he isn't drinking."

It is difficult to guard against this sort of attack.  I make a habit of unloading guns before I hand them to casual acquaintances, but no method can guard against all contingencies.

We may never know exactly what happened at the remote hunting cabin.  "Tony" Rosales was reluctant to go, but did so when he was told that supplies were needed.  There were five other members of the party.

More details will surface as the case proceeds.

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