Anchorage judge sentences Mario Jackson to 198 years for 2025 double murder

Mario Jackson was sentenced Oct. 2 to a composite 198 years, the maximum possible term, for the shooting deaths of two people in Anchorage last October. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack R. McKenna imposed the sentence, according to the Alaska Department of Law.

A jury convicted Jackson, now 37, on May 14 of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of a woman and Bobby DeLoach Jr., 33, after an eight-day trial. Each count carried up to 99 years. Police withheld the woman's name under their domestic violence policy, saying she and Jackson were believed to be in a domestic relationship.

The judge found these the worst of the first-degree murder cases he has presided over, the department said in a news release. "The court noted that these were clearly planned executions and that Jackson had significant opportunities to reflect on the gravity of his actions but instead chose to end two people's lives," the release said.

The department said Jackson, who had romantic interests in the woman, lured both victims to a location in Anchorage and shot DeLoach. The two fled, but Jackson followed and cornered them in a parking lot. Video shows both pleading with him to stop before he shot them, according to the department. Jackson denied being the shooter during the investigation and at trial.

Anchorage police detectives used traffic and surveillance cameras to track the initially unknown shooter to a room at the Travel Lodge, where he was identified. A grand jury indicted him later that month.

Former Assistant District Attorney Betsy Bull prosecuted the case, and Assistant District Attorney Rachel K. Gernat handled sentencing. Chong M. Yim of the Public Defender Agency represented Jackson. The record does not show whether Jackson has filed a notice of appeal.