By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Brooke Mulligan, 21, of Sitka was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday in the 2021 death of Terry Carlson Jr., who was riding a bike on Halibut Point Road when he was struck by a car Mulligan was driving.
Brooke Mulligan. (Sentinel Photo)
Superior Court Judge Jude Pate sentenced Mulligan to eight years, with five suspended, for criminally negligent homicide, and five years, with four suspended, for leaving the scene of an accident, a composite sentence of 13 years with nine suspended. Mulligan has pleaded guilty to the charges.
Carlson, 20, was riding his bike in the early morning hours of March 8, 2021, when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle driven by Mulligan, who left the scene. Carlson was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Criminally negligent homicide is a class B felony, and leaving the scene of the accident without helping an injured person is an unclassified felony.
Pate passed down his sentence in the Sitka courtroom Tuesday.
He said the crimes were very serious, and discussed the factors he considered in accepting the plea agreement and sentencing criteria for the offenses. He said he knew the sentence was not as much as the family members would prefer, but that it was appropriate. He said that after Mulligan struck Carlson with her car, leaving him “broken, in every respect,” she went home, removed incriminating evidence from her vehicle, and went to her dad’s house.
“And she took from Sitka by all accounts a happy, healthy, joyous person,” Pate said. “(Carlson) grew up being an important part of the Sitka community and when Miss Mulligan killed him she not only took that life and future life he could have had but ... it echoes out in a sinister way, it goes on an on. Whether it’s court hearings the family has to sit through, whether it’s having to see Miss Mulligan out and about in Sitka when what they want to see is Terry Jr.”
He said that through her actions Mulligan “ripped the fabric of Sitka as a community and in the most deep and harmful way and it will take years for it to mend, if it ever does.”
Pate took note of comments by Tyler Carlson, Terry’s older brother, about forgiveness and his hopes that Mulligan will have peace in the future.
“He laid out the way, as tough it’s going to be after she gets out of jail, to try to mend things and to use every day that she spends on this Earth from this point going forward to try to mend the social fabric to make sure that nothing like this happens again, if it’s within her power,” Pate said. “I find his letter to be incredibly empowering for a victim, for somebody who’s lost their family member, to have that strength.”
In his letter Tyler said that he had been angry and wanted Mulligan to suffer for her actions, but then had a change of heart.
“Deep down, I know it’s not what Terry would want,” he said. “It wasn’t who he was and would want me to be. All Terry ever wanted was to be loved and accepted. And that built in him a giving heart. He always wanted those around him to be happy. He’s not vengeful or spiteful. And though every part of me wants to be, I choose not to be and honor him in that way.”
The courtroom was filled with friends and family of Carlson and Mulligan. Pate heard impact statements by Carlson family members about how Mulligan’s actions have affected them, what the loss of Carlson has meant to them, and emphasizing the seriousness of Mulligan’s crime, particularly her not stopping to help and leaving the scene.
A family member read a statement from Sarah Carlson, Terry’s twin, about how this has affected every aspect of her and other family members’ lives.
“Not only have I lost the most important person in my life but my family lost a brother and uncle as well,” she said in the statement. “I cannot believe the way that he was left to die by himself; I never got to say goodbye to Terry and that will haunt me forever. I hope you never have to imagine the pain of living your life without your twin.”
Prosecutor Amy Fenske explained why the plea agreement was proposed and should be accepted, explained the range of sentences and why jail time is required. She said the state could not “make what happened un-happen ... that’s just not an option.”
“One of the things that is most difficult about this case, most difficult from the beginning, most difficult from the witnesses who saw the accident and stopped, is that Brooke Mulligan left the scene. She left him, and you can’t leave people,” Fenske said. “It’s a lesson anyone who’s lived in Alaska for any period of time knows you can’t leave people.”
She said she believes the most important factor in sentencing is community condemnation in this case. She said the sentence is lengthy for someone without a criminal history but appropriate because Mulligan will have four years of active jail time plus eight on probation.
“Part of that is to make sure she doesn’t go back to using drugs,” Fenske said. “It’s clear, if she’s using drugs here’s a public safety danger that’s unacceptable.”
Defense attorney Lisa Rosano said the plea agreement should be accepted, in line with “a desire for resolution and in the interest of justice, and one that would bring closure to the community.”
“There is nothing that we can do in this courtroom that will resolve the unrelenting sorrow and pain of the family and the friends of Mr. Carlson,” Rosano said. Pate denied Rosano’s request that Mulligan’s mother be allowed to take her daughter to prison in Anchorage,
Mulligan made a statement as well.
“I want to take the time to give you all my sincerest apology, for my actions resulting in taking the life of Terry on March 8, 2021,” she said. She apologized directly to Terry’s parents, Jodie and Terry Carlson, his grandparents, siblings and other family members for the pain she had caused at a time she said she was “at the peak of my addiction.”
Pate said in his sentencing that Mulligan’s guilty plea includes admission to the most serious aggravator, which means the type of criminally negligent homicide she committed is closer to manslaughter.
No additional time was given for conviction on another charge in the guilty plea, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fifth degree. Two counts were dismissed, manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Pate explained that Mulligan will receive one day of good time credit for every two days served in prison.
After her sentencing, Mulligan was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs and is to begin her incarceration.
The judge outlined the special conditions of her release after time served, including not to contact directly or indirectly certain Carlson family members. Other special conditions include enrolling in a treatment program, paying restitution and not possessing drugs without a valid prescription.
There was no objection to the defense request to have Mulligan sent to the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, to take advantage of a substance abuse treatment program while incarcerated.
Under the plea agreement Mulligan is not allowed to appeal the sentence.
Her father, Richard Mulligan, 72, has been charged in connection with the case, and is scheduled to go to trial June 5 on a charge of tampering with physical evidence.
Jodie Carlson, the mother of Terry Carlson Jr. and representative of his estate, filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 seeking damages for pain and suffering, medical and burial expenses, and pecuniary losses. A scheduling conference has been set for April 17.
