Attempted murder charges for gunman

PALMER — A man wounded in a brief exchange of gunfire with Alaska State Troopers has been charged with attempted murder and assault.

Vance Hopkins Barrett Jr., 53, of Palmer, is recovering from his wounds and has not yet been jailed, but is under AST watch.

The saga began Feb. 10 when troopers received a report of a suicidal man in Palmer at around 10:15 p.m. According to an affidavit filed in court by Sgt. Michelyn Manrique with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, the call came from a woman living with Hopkins. She said Barrett was armed, had “threatened her with the gun and threatened ‘suicide by cop.’”

Troopers showed up, approaching the house on Laurel Drive from multiple sides.

“They observed a white male adult exit the residence by the front door armed with a .22-caliber rifle,” Manrique wrote.

Barrett fired, hitting none of the troopers. Three troopers returned fire, hitting Barrett once. Troopers say Barrett already had shot himself, though the wound wasn’t life-threatening. The troopers who returned fire were Phillip “Nathan” Duce, David Eastwood-Koleszar and Joseph Hess, all three stationed at the Palmer post.

The woman who summoned troopers said that Barrett was on three different medications and had been depressed and drinking for two days. She had arrived home from work and asked Barrett to leave her room. They’d been arguing for days about his drinking and life not being fair. Barrett got upset and went upstairs. He yelled down to the woman “that he had just put one bullet in him and that he was going to put a bullet in her.”

He also told her to call the cops to finish what he couldn’t do himself.

She called her daughter and left the house to meet her. The daughter’s boyfriend came along and all three returned to the house. The boyfriend went inside to talk to Barrett, but didn’t get far. Barrett allegedly pointed the rifle at him and told him, in very forceful tones, to leave. So his girlfriend gave it a try.

“Barrett Jr. told her that he would shoot anyone that came into the house, especially (the woman he was living with). Barrett told (the woman’s daughter) to call the cops because he was ready to party,” Manrique wrote.

After being wounded by troopers — which reports describe as serious — Barrett retreated into his home. Troopers called out the Special Emergency Reaction Team, a team akin to what other jurisdictions would call a SWAT team. Barrett decided to give himself up.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is looking into the matter. In previous instances in which officers have fired upon suspects, troopers have said that standard procedure is to handle the investigation just like they would if a civilian shot another civilian.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.