Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Clint Registe, 38, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to serve 10 years in federal prison, after previously pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. The federal charge stems from an investigation into the death of Brittney Sparks, who was killed by a gunshot wound on July 20, 2018.

According to court documents, on July 20, 2018, Registe shot the victim in the head while handling a Mak-90 rifle in his Anchorage apartment. Another resident of the building heard the shot and came inside Registe’s apartment to investigate. Registe told him to call 911 and said that he planned to turn himself in before fleeing the scene. Medics declared the victim dead on scene.

Investigators from the Anchorage Police Department searched Registe’s apartment and found the Mak-90 rifle as well as three semi-automatic pistols, one of which was stolen. Drugs and a substantial supply of ammunition and high capacity magazines were also recovered from the apartment. Registe was arrested on Sept. 11, 2018, and told detectives that he had accidentally shot the victim while they were cleaning the apartment.

Registe has prior felony convictions for assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law. In imposing the 10 year sentence, Judge Burgess noted that Registe’s criminal history “involves guns, over and over and over again.” He explained that the sentence was necessary to protect the public, and that “to say that the defendant is dangerous would be an understatement.”

Registe currently faces additional charges in state court for Manslaughter and Murder in the Second Degree in connection with the victim’s death.

The Anchorage Police Department (APD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation leading to successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Klugman and Allison O’Leary.

This case was investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. In November 2019, DOJ also announced the launch of Project Guardian, a nationwide strategic plan to reduce gun violence, which serves as a complementary effort to the success of PSN, and emphasizes the importance of using all modern technologies available to law enforcement to promote gun crime intelligence.

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