Court documents reveal witnesses’ account of shooting death of Valley teen

WASILLA — A Wasilla teen accused of killing a friend and fellow teen was arraigned on manslaughter and third degree assault charges Monday.

Witnesses say Jordan Flowers, 19, shot and killed Gunner Swan, also 19, while a group teenagers sat in a Jeep in a Meadow Lakes neighborhood early Sunday morning. According to court documents, Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a shooting at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday and found Swan dead in the driver’s seat of the Jeep. A witness at the scene, Allen Hodgson, 18, told troopers he was in the passenger seat of the Jeep as Flowers sat directly behind Swan. During his interview with AST, Hodgson said, “Jordan produced a handgun, and a few moments later the gun discharged and Gunnar was struck in the neck with the bullet.”

Hodgson called 911, according to the report, and performed first aid. Hodgson also said Flowers and two other teenagers in the vehicle fled the scene. Hodgson told troopers Flowers returned to the scene shortly after the incident, and Hodgson was able to retrieve the pistol. Upon arrival, troopers seized the handgun, a Glock semiautomatic pistol, and Swan was declared dead.

Just more than an hour after the shooting, about 3:45 a.m., troopers found Flowers about a mile away from the scene as Flowers’ father was picking him up, according to court documents.

“He displayed signs of alcohol intoxication upon contact,” troopers reported.

About 20 minutes before troopers picked up Flowers, the other three teens who were in the vehicle arrived at the Wasilla Police Department. Authorities said Kyler Ince, 18, Nathanial Hale, 19, and an unidentified 17-year-old, wanted to report what they saw. Troopers said all three were interview separately, and each admitted to being in the vehicle with Flowers, Hodgson and Swan during the shooting. Each account of the incident aligned. All three witnesses, according to court documents, said as Flowers sat behind Swan, Flowers pulled a handgun from his waistband, pointed it at Swan’s neck through the gap between the headrest and back of the drivers seat, and fired the weapon.

“All stated they were seated in the back seat of the Jeep with Jordan when he shot Gunnar and they were all afraid of Jordan shooting them too, so they ran away,” trooper stated in the report. “Once they were safe, they called for a ride and went directly to the Wasilla Police Department to report what had happened.”

In an interview with troopers about 7 a.m. Sunday morning, Flowers said he was a friend of Swan. Flowers said he had three or four beers, and was among a group who left Swan’s house to go for a drive. Flowers told troopers he couldn’t remember details about the shooting, and, “after the gun went off the blacked out for a second,” according to court documents. Flowers told troopers the weapon that killed Swan is, “his friend’s gun.”

Judge Craig Condie set bail at $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.