Bail stands at $250,000 for accused shooter

PALMER — Saying she feared he would try to contact his co-defendant, a judge Friday denied a request that could have led to the release from jail of the man who allegedly fired at patrons of Tailgaters Sports Bar and Grill April 8.

Duane Aylsworth, 33, was charged with multiple felonies including attempted murder after the shooting, which injured no one.

His brother, Donald Lee, 22, of Wasilla, initially took the blame for the shooting but police, after talking to witnesses, came to believe Aylsworth was the shooter. Lee still faces hindering prosecution and eluding arrest charges, thus qualifying him as a co-defendant in the case.

On Friday, Aylsworth came to court hoping to have his bail reduced from $250,000 to $50,000 and to be released into the custody of his step-father, Dale Lee, a retired Anchorage airport police officer.

Jon-Marc Petersen, Aylsworth’s attorney, argued that his client wasn’t going to leave the state if released.

“This isn’t a young man who’s got unlimited resources,” Petersen said, pausing to ask Aylsworth if he had a passport. “He doesn’t even have a passport so it’s not even like he can drive, get into a car, and go through Canada,”

Donald Lee, he said, has since moved out of his father’s house. Petersen asked Dale Lee if he would be able to make sure the two didn’t talk with each other and Dale Lee said he could.

For her part, Assistant District Attorney Kerry Corliss argued that driving to Canada isn’t Aylsworth’s only option and that getting on a plane is a simple feat to accomplish.

“When someone’s looking at these sorts of charges, and they’re very serious charges, the motivation to do that sort of thing is great,” Corliss said.

She also pointed out that putting Aylsworth with Duane Lee would only return him to the same situation he was living in when the shooting occurred, not to mention possibly allow him to talk to his brother about the case.

Two of the people fired upon in the incident testified that they feared having Aylsworth out of prison and opposed reducing the bail amount. One of the victims said she no longer feels safe going out to bars to unwind.

Eventually, Superior Court Judge Kari Kristiansen sided with Corliss, declining to approve Duane Lee as Aylsworth’s custodian and keeping the bail set at $250,000.

Describing the proposal as “inappropriate,” Kristiansen said, “Because of the nature of the family, there could be that contact with the co-defendant.”

According to Wasilla Police, the shooting began as a disagreement in the bar. Witnesses told police it had to do with a woman rejecting Aylsworth’s advances and one of her friends coming to her defense.

From there it escalated to shots fired in the parking lot toward the group Aylsworth had run afoul of — a group of Army National Guardsmen. Though none of them were hurt, an SUV and a van didn’t fare as well. Both took rounds as the guardsmen crouched behind them for cover.

Aylsworth is next due in court May 22.

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