Alleged marijuana grower shoots friend in leg

WASILLA — A Wasilla man is in trouble with the law for a second time in a month after Alaska State Troopers say he shot a friend in the leg.

According to an AST press statement, at 1 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to a home in the Williwaw subdivision for the report of a shot in the leg. Troopers say the shooter, later identified as Cleve Clement, 40, of Wasilla, had fled by the time they arrived, but they found him hiding a few blocks away.

“Investigation showed Clement was consuming alcohol at the residence with two friends when he shot his male friend in the leg, causing serious injury. Clement then fled, discarded the gun and some clothing and attempted to hide nearby,” troopers report.

All of that adds up to a laundry list of charges, including weapons misconduct, assault and evidence tampering. He was also charged with violating the conditions of his release from jail. That release was most likely on a case he picked up March 14 when troopers went to a marijuana grow on Captain Circle in a neighborhood off of Fairview Loop.

According to court documents in that case, Clement also tried to hide from troopers, who found him under insulation in the attic of the home. Also found in the house were 405 marijuana plants, which troopers using their statutorily dictated formula estimate would have yielded 10.95 pounds of weed.

“Clement admitted that he is tending to the marijuana grow and earns about $50 each time he comes over to the residence,” Investigator Ed Mooney, a Palmer police officer stationed with the troopers’ Mat-Su Drug Unit wrote in documents filed in that court case.

As of early Saturday afternoon, Clement was still listed as an inmate at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.