Accused shooter surrenders

PALMER -- The man accused of shooting seven Reindeer last January returned to Alaska and turned himself in to the Alaska State Troopers last Friday.

20-year-old Caleb G. Bennett was brought before Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler for an arraignment last Friday. Bennett did not speak during his arraignment and the proceedings were routine. Bennett entered a plea of not guilty through his attorney, Larry Wiggins.

Bennett is accused of shooting seven reindeer at Reindeer Farm on Bodenburg Loop. The shooting took place on the morning of Jan. 31. The accused shooter rode a snowmachine, and the farm's owner, Thomas Williams, has told Alaska State Troopers and the media that he engaged in a chase with the shooter immediately afterwards.

The only thing not routine about Bennett's hearing -- at least not routine for a for a class C felony arraignment -- were the three television cameras set up behind the audience rail.

Bennett entered the court room handcuffed to the defendant in another

case, a woman named

Elizabeth McBride.

"What the heck did you do?," McBride asked Bennett when she saw the cameras. Bennett remained silent while waiting for the judge and McBride repeatedly asked everyone in the room what he had done.

"You'll know in a few minutes. We're just supposed to sit quietly and be nice," Assistant District Attorney Richard Payne said.

Once things got started, Wiggins -- a private attorney from Palmer who said Bennett contacted him prior to returning to Alaska -- asked the court to accept not guilty pleas on all charges.

Bennett faces charges on five counts of third-degree criminal mischief for the reindeer shooting. Those five are felony charges. He also faces seven counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals and one count of fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons, also a misdemeanor.

"He voluntarily remanded himself this morning at about 10 o'clock," Wiggins told Cutler.

Cutler then set a trial date for July 22. There will be pre-trial hearings next month which provide an opportunity for Bennett to change his plea if prosecutors offer a him a deal.

Afterward, Wiggins fielded questions from reporters -- mostly emphasizing the fact that his client called to turn himself in and declining to talk about innocence or guilt.

"He called me with the expressed intention of turning himself in," Wiggins said. "It's the one thing he could do."

Alaska State Troopers alerted the media to Bennett's pending arraignment Friday morning. When asked about the attention his client was receiving, Wiggins said he was concerned about troopers poisoning the jury pool through the media.

"It bothers me as a defense attorney. It certainly causes prejudice to a jury … I don't know why [the troopers] do that," Wiggins said.

Bennett remains in custody on $50,000 bail at Mat-Su Pretrial. Wiggins did not argue that his client's bail should be reduced.

After the hearing, Payne said he came prepared to argue that Bennett's bail should be set at least as high as the dollar amount of the property damage he is accused of causing. Five reindeer were killed in the shooting and two were injured, according to the troopers. The total cost to Reindeer Farm was estimated at $15,000, by AST following the shooting. The farm is owned by Thomas Williams and family.

"At a minimum, I was going to ask that [Judge Cutler] take into account the loss to the Williams family," Payne said. "I was going to suggest that she use that amount as the floor."

Payne said he couldn't speculate why Bennett would choose not to request a reduced bail amount.

It is possible that the defendant elected to stay in jail because he has a suspended sentence hanging over his head from a previous case. In 1991, Bennett was accused of stealing parking lot proceeds from the Alaska State Fair while working as a parking lot attendant at the Palmer fairgrounds. In that case, Palmer police also accused Bennett of filing a false report. Police said he initially claimed to be the victim of an armed robbery but had actually taken $232 in small bills.

Payne said Bennett has failed to comply with community work service which was a part of his sentence in that case.

"He has two [suspended sentences] hanging over his head for filing a false report and for theft third," Payne said. "It all adds up to about ten days [in jail]."