{"id":455,"date":"2018-06-21T10:59:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T17:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/ex-lawmaker-fansler-pleads-guilty-gets-community-service-for-striking-woman\/"},"modified":"2018-08-13T13:02:58","modified_gmt":"2018-08-13T20:02:58","slug":"ex-lawmaker-fansler-pleads-guilty-gets-community-service-for-striking-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/ex-lawmaker-fansler-pleads-guilty-gets-community-service-for-striking-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-lawmaker Fansler pleads guilty, gets community service for striking woman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former<\/span> Alaska<\/span> legislator Zach Fansler<\/span><\/span><\/span> pleaded<\/span> guilty to misdemeanor harassment on Thursday for slapping a Juneau woman, and was sentenced to community service in lieu of jail time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fansler could have served up to 90 days in prison or been fined up to $2,000 for the class B misdemeanor, which stems from an alcohol-fueled attack where Fansler slapped<\/span> a<\/span> woman<\/span> so<\/span> hard<\/span><\/span><\/a> it<\/span> ruptured<\/span> her<\/span> eardrum. Instead, he was sentenced to one-year probation, 10-day suspended sentence and was court-ordered to do 80 hours of community service within a six-month time span.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“We do think Mr. Fansler should have some serious length of community service so he can do something and reflect on his conduct,” prosecuting attorney<\/span> Paul Miovas argued successfully during a court hearing in Juneau District Court Thursday.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fansler was also court-ordered to pay the victim $905.65 in incident-related expenses and to undergo an alcohol assessment. He is also prohibited from drinking alcohol and going into bars and liquor stores for a year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s per a plea agreement that was presented in court from Miovas and <\/span><\/span>defense<\/span> attorney<\/span> Wallace<\/span> Tetlow<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>, and accepted Thursday by Juneau District Court Judge Kirsten Swanson. Swanson<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> impose<\/span> any<\/span> additional<\/span> fine<\/span> or<\/span> jail<\/span> time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fansler, 39, appeared in court telephonically. He did not read a statement in court.<\/p>\n

The victim in the case, who according to Miovas was accepting of the plea agreement in place that did not call for jail time, did appear in Juneau court, and had Miovas read a victim impact statement on her behalf. The victim said that she experienced stress due to the statewide publicity of the case, and that after the Jan. 13 encounter, she feared Fansler.<\/p>\n

“While<\/span> I<\/span> waited<\/span> to<\/span> hear<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> had<\/span> contacted<\/span> Zach,<\/span> I<\/span> was<\/span> afraid<\/span> of<\/span> running<\/span> into<\/span> him<\/span> every<\/span> time<\/span> I<\/span> walked<\/span> to<\/span> and<\/span> from<\/span> work<\/span> or<\/span> downtown,”<\/span> she<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> letter.<\/span><\/p>\n

She<\/span> also<\/span> said<\/span> that work became<\/span> a<\/span> struggle<\/span> because<\/span> she<\/span> was<\/span> concerned<\/span> for<\/span> her<\/span> well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It<\/span> was<\/span> impossible<\/span> to<\/span> get<\/span> work<\/span> done<\/span> because<\/span> I<\/span> was<\/span> constantly<\/span> worrying<\/span> about<\/span> my<\/span> safety,<\/span> worrying<\/span> about<\/span> my<\/span> ear,<\/span> worrying<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> status<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> investigation<\/span> and<\/span> worrying<\/span> about<\/span> what<\/span> was<\/span> going<\/span> to<\/span> happen<\/span> when<\/span> the<\/span> rest<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> eventually<\/span> heard<\/span> about<\/span> what<\/span> happened,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to charging documents in the case, and from what the victim previously told the Empire in a series of interviews at the time, Fansler struck the woman twice on her face with an open hand at a hotel room following a night out drinking at downtown Juneau bars on Jan. 13. The two had been romantically involved.<\/p>\n

In her statement, she said Thursday<\/span> while<\/span> time<\/span> has<\/span> passed<\/span> and<\/span> her<\/span> ear<\/span> has<\/span> healed,<\/span> her<\/span> life<\/span> has<\/span> changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Things<\/span> are<\/span> not<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> normal,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span> “I<\/span> still<\/span> find<\/span> myself<\/span> distracted<\/span> at<\/span> work<\/span> frequently,<\/span> reading<\/span> all<\/span> the<\/span> news<\/span> articles<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> 100th<\/span> time.<\/span> It’s<\/span> strained<\/span> my<\/span> relationships<\/span> with<\/span> my<\/span> family<\/span> and<\/span> friends.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Prosecutor Miovas<\/span> told the judge in court that he<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> want<\/span> to<\/span> minimize<\/span> the<\/span> impact<\/span> of<\/span> Fansler’s conduct,<\/span> but<\/span> they<\/span> believe<\/span> the<\/span> incident<\/span> was fueled by alcohol<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We<\/span> think<\/span> this<\/span> stems<\/span> from<\/span> alcohol,”<\/span> Miovas<\/span> said.<\/span> “(Fansler)<\/span> recognizes<\/span> this<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> addressing<\/span> it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Tetlow<\/span> echoed<\/span> that<\/span> alcohol<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> problem<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> Fansler<\/span> had<\/span> paid<\/span> publicly<\/span> for<\/span> his<\/span> actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fansler<\/span> resigned<\/span> from<\/span> his<\/span> position<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> Democratic<\/span> legislator<\/span> representing<\/span> Bethel<\/span> in<\/span> February<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Fansler<\/span> officially<\/span> dropped<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> race<\/span><\/a> for<\/span> the Democratic<\/span> primary<\/span> for<\/span> House<\/span> District<\/span> 38<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> letter<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Division<\/span> of<\/span> Elections<\/span> dated<\/span> June<\/span> 3<\/span> and<\/span> received<\/span> June<\/span> 14.<\/span><\/p>\n

“He<\/span> lost<\/span> his<\/span> position<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> legislature,”<\/span> Tetlow<\/span> said.<\/span> “He<\/span> lost<\/span> what<\/span> looked<\/span> like<\/span> a<\/span> promising<\/span> career<\/span> in<\/span> politics.<\/span> That<\/span> is<\/span> now<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> question<\/span> now,<\/span> we<\/span> believe.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Judge Swanson<\/span> said<\/span> she<\/span> hoped<\/span> for<\/span> Fansler,<\/span> who<\/span> had<\/span> no<\/span> prior criminal history<\/span>,<\/span> that<\/span> this<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> “one-off”<\/span> event.<\/span> She<\/span> added<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> sentence would provide both parties resolution.<\/p>\n

“I<\/span> hope<\/span> everybody<\/span> gets<\/span> back<\/span> on<\/span> track,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.<\/b><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former<\/span> Alaska<\/span> legislator Zach Fansler<\/span><\/span><\/span> pleaded<\/span> guilty to misdemeanor harassment on Thursday for slapping a Juneau woman, and was sentenced to community service in lieu of jail time.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[75],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}