Erick Almandinger was sentenced earlier this week to serve 99 years behind bars for the kidnapping and murder of his schoolmate, 16-year-old David Grunwald. The Palmer resident was convicted by a grand jury in Palmer of nine charges, including murder, kidnapping, and arson. He was 16 at the time of the incidents.
The Alaska Department of Law reports that he supplied the weapon used by the teens to beat Grunwald. Grunwald was pistol whipped in a camper behind Almandinger’s home in November 2016. After the beating, Grunwald was driven for 30 minutes in his own vehicle, walked into the woods near the Knik River, and executed. Additionally, his vehicle was discovered burned, miles away near the Talkeetna Mountains. 19 days later, authorities found Grunwald’s body after defendant Dominic Johnson led law enforcement to the area.
Retired Palmer Superior Court Judge Gregory Heath found the crimes to be horrific and stated that they were committed for no apparent reason, adding that Grunwald was driven for nearly half an hour and emotionally tortured. Judge Heath said that the crimes warranted a severe sentence reflecting general deterrence, reaffirmation of societal norms, and community condemnation.
Almandinger was sentenced to 99 years with 20 suspended for 79 years for murder in the first degree; five years for assault in the first degree; thirty years for assault in the first degree; thirty years, with twenty suspended, for kidnapping (ten years to serve consecutively); a $2,500 fine for arson; five years for tampering with physical evidence; and a $2,500 fine for vehicle theft in the first degree. The total composite sentence is 99 years to serve.
Palmer District Attorney Melissa Howard began prosecuting the case six years ago and argued for the maximum sentence to be imposed for each crime for a total of 209 years to serve.
She said:
“David Grunwald was a 16-year-old boy who was deeply loved by his family and friends, whose lives have been shattered by their loss and the haunting thoughts of what David endured the last hours of his life. The sentence imposed is reflective of the senseless brutality of the crime and the calculated steps the defendants took to cover it up.”
Howard paraphrased a victim impact statement given to the court by Grunwald’s aunt Cheri Ruiz: the kidnapping, pistol whipping, and murder of David are separately heinous, but together were unbelievable.
Almandinger is the third defendant to be sentenced of the four teenagers who were charged with the November 2016 murder. Dominic Johnson received a sentence of 99 years to serve for first-degree murder, and Austin Barrett received a sentence of 45 years for second-degree murder. Bradley Renfro’s sentencing begins Wednesday.
