2 plead not guilty in Parks Highway shooting

PALMER -- Two men have been arraigned on felony weapon and assault charges for allegedly firing a gun at another vehicle while driving on Parks Highway in Wasilla.

Derek S. Hartman, 21, and Zach C. Wilcox, 22, were formally charged Monday in Palmer Superior Court with first-degree misconduct involving weapons and third-degree assault. Both men entered not guilty pleas before Judge Beverly Cutler.

The charges stem from an incident March 24 in which two men driving a Dodge pickup truck south at Mile 49 Parks Highway reported being shot at by someone driving a Ford Probe. Charging documents said the man who reported gunshots was taking a friend to Elmendorf Hospital after a four-wheeler accident when they encountered the Ford slowing down and speeding up, not allowing them to pass.

When the driver of the truck tried to pass, the Ford swerved in front and its driver hit his brakes, charging documents said. The driver of the truck said he rear-ended the vehicle and "the people in the Ford Probe then started shooting a handgun at them," charging documents said.

The pickup truck driver's side mirror allegedly was shot out and the truck's two occupants later told Alaska State Troopers they feared for their lives, according to an affidavit from Trooper Rick Terry. Troopers apprehended Hartman and Wilcox soon afterward in the Pizza Hut parking lot on Crusey Street, charging documents said.

According to Terry's affidavit, Hartman initially denied they had been shooting a gun from the vehicle. The affidavit added that Wilcox admitted

he "fired the gun four or five times but was just shooting in the air and was only trying to scare them. Derek later stated he also fired the weapon but only fired in the air."

The two are scheduled to appear in Superior Court on Jan. 23, 2004, for a pre-trial conference. Trial is tentatively scheduled for March 1, 2004, before Judge Cutler.

First-degree misconduct involving weapons is a class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000. Third-degree assault is

a class C felony carrying

up to five years in prison and $50,000 fine upon conviction.