Jury acquits accused shooter

PALMER — After seven months of waiting, more than a week of trial and about three days wondering what the jury would find, Duane Aylsworth walked out of court Monday morning a free man.

Aylsworth, 34, was charged with assault and attempted murder in connection with a shooting outside of Tailgater’s Bar and Grill in April. Six rounds were fired. No one was hurt. Aylsworth’s brother, Donald Lee, 23, confessed to the shooting and was initially charged with the crime. But when witnesses came forward to say the police had the wrong brother, those charges were dropped and instead pressed against Aylsworth.

Lee eventually pleaded guilty to the two counts remaining against him stemming from the car chase that followed the shooting and his attempts, prosecutors believed, to take the rap for his brother — eluding arrest and hindering prosecution. He was sentenced to one year in prison.

Three witnesses testified to Aylsworth’s guilt. All three were soldiers who’d had a brief exchange of words with Aylsworth and Lee at the Wasilla bar that night. Each had different reasons to believe Aylsworth was the shooter, having spotted him at different points during the incident. Two testified to watching him put on the bandana the shooter was alleged to have worn. But when DNA tests came back on that bandana, two sets of DNA were on it — Aylsworth’s and Lee’s.

But Lee took the stand and maintained that he’d fired the gun that night. He said he’d been upset over a confrontation he’d had with some soldiers in the bar. He wasn’t terribly angry when he left, but he started stewing over it and decided to come back and, in his words, scare the soldiers. He said he’d been taking the anti-smoking drug Chantix at the time, which he said made him irritable.

After beginning deliberations Thursday, the jury of nine men and three women chose to take Friday off and come back Monday. Shortly before noon it was announced that apparently they believed Lee, or at least believed Aylsworth wasn’t the shooter. Emotions were high enough leading up to the verdict and acquittals of this nature are so rare that nearly everyone involved seemed at a loss for words.

“The jury did the right thing. Thank goodness they did the right thing,” said Jon-Marc Petersen, Aylsworth’s attorney.

“I just respect the jury’s verdict,” said prosecutor Jarom Bangerter. “I appreciate their time and respect their verdict.”

As for Aylsworth, he seemed overjoyed and not quite sure what to do with himself. An Alaska State Trooper who works in the courthouse shuttling prisoners around and keeping an eye on them gave Aylsworth some friendly advice not to drive until he’d calmed down. Twice his family reminded him to take his hat off — the polite thing to do in court.

“I’m just really excited. I’m sorry,” he said to Superior Court Judge Vanessa White.

When White told him he was no longer required to stay in the sight or sound of his father, who had been appointed his third-party custodian, Aylsworth joked, “You mean I don’t have to live with my dad no more?”

As an unclassified felony, an attempted murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison. And Aylsworth faced two of them, plus four assault counts and a handful of criminal mischief and weapons misconduct charges.

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