Man who shot slingshot at troopers gets 2-year sentence

PALMER — A man who fired a slingshot at Alaska State Troopers has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Jose Pacheco, 42, will be on probation for three years after he’s released, during which time he will be liable to serve up to three more years if he reoffends.

According to Alaska State Troopers, at least seven troopers descended on a home in the Williwaw subdivision in January after it was reported someone had been shot.

On scene, they heard what they thought were gunshots coming from the house. Pacheco broke out a window and fired at them some more. But he wasn’t firing a gun; it was a slingshot.

Troopers said they didn’t find any firearms at the residence, just a pellet gun, the slingshot, and two bows, one of which was powerful enough it could be used to hunt game animals.

Pacheco was charged with seven assault counts in that case, one for each of the troopers who believed he was going to shoot them.

But the plea agreement reached May 2 allowed him to plead guilty to just one assault count.

In the summer of 2013, Pacheco also was briefly charged with robbery following what witnesses described as a botched at a stick-up attempt at the Wasilla Chevron station. Pacheco didn’t have a gun then, either, which is why the clerk, instead of handing over money, locked the till and left the store. The robbery charge was dropped a week after it was filed.

Other cases on Pacheco’s record include a 2009 guilty plea to misdemeanor assault and a 2008 guilty plea to drunken driving.

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