One of three additional people indicted for violent attack on Wasilla couple arraigned while others refuse transport

PALMER — Abigail Thomas was arraigned at the Palmer Courthouse Monday, Dec. 23 as one of six people accused of violently attacking a Wasilla couple, injuring a nearby resident and causing the death of an unborn child earlier this month.

Thomas, 20, of Anchorage, is one of six suspects facing numerous felony charges, including first-degree assault, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, misconduct involving a weapon, and the murder of an unborn child.

Palmer Judge John Wolfe read the charges to Thomas. Charges like the murder of unborn child carry a sentence years of five years minimum and 99 maximum if she is convicted as an principle or as an accomplice.

As Wolfe read through the list of charges, Thomas started crying and her face reddened.

Peter Williams, 32; Darin Smith, 26; and Andre Franklin, 41 were the first three suspects indicted by the Palmer Grand Jury Dec. 13.

Thomas, 20, Dhamma Karuna, 42, and Erick Hodgins, 40, all of Anchorage, were also indicted as principles or accomplices to the Dec. 5 crimes.

Karuna and Hodgins did not appear for the arraignment hearing. One of the bailiffs informed Wolfe that both suspects refused transport. They are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 26.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Burton said Thomas didn’t have a criminal history but the nature of the charges was being taken very seriously and requested a $10,000 bail and electronic monitoring.

“I’m quite concerned by the level of violence... “ Burton said.

According to court documents, Alaska State Troopers received a report of gunshots that led to injuries inside a neighborhood near Hollywood and Sylvan in the Knik-Goose Bay area Dec. 5 at 9:26 p.m.

Troopers were also notified that three men were seen walking away from the crime scene holding what appeared to be weapons and one of them was wearing a ski mask.

When troopers arrived on the scene, they discovered three people injured during the incident. The injured victims were transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. One of the victims reportedly suffered life-threatening injuries.

Two of the victims, a couple (referred to as DW and BB) were renting a room within a house owned and occupied by Williams, according to court documents. DW and BB were attempting to help Williams through a “rough time with the house.”

About a week prior to the incident, the couple decided to move out due to Williams’ ‘erratic and unpredictable’ behavior. The day of the crime, they came to the house to pick up their belongings. There was a gold Chevrolet Tahoe backed up to the door at the rear entrance.

The couple came in through the rear entrance and they were confronted by Smith, Franklin, Williams, an unknown white female with glasses and an unknown male with a shaved head, according to court documents.

Smith immediately pointed his pistol directly on DW’s forehead, ordering him to get on the ground while Franklin, armed with a shotgun grabbed BB “pretty rough,” according to Trooper’s investigation.

Smith repeatedly asked the couple where the “stuff” was. They had no idea what he was talking about. DW guessed that Franklin might have owed them something and was trying to pin it on them.

According to the investigation, DW and BB were continuously assaulted and tied up, particularly DW for attempting to defend BB. DW was repeatedly pistol-whipped and thrown in the back of the Tahoe. When DW asked Smith for a blanket, Smith said “you will meet your maker soon.” Smith ripped off DW’s necklace which contained his brother’s ashes and told him, “you will see your brother soon,” according to police reports.

Franklin and Smith went inside the house to warm up for a moment. DW seized the opportunity and freed himself. According to reports, he escaped the vehicle and ran to get help. Smith saw DW and chased him, firing several rounds, missing DW but grazing a sleeping neighbor in the head.

Troopers arrested Williams, Smith and Franklin, who were walking on an ATV trail off West Hollywood and South Vale Avenue, which was close to the crime scene.

One of the victims injured during the assault was pregnant. Her baby died as a result of the injuries. The grand jury added murder of an unborn child to the list of charges.

Wolfe set Thomas’ bail at $100 cash or corporate appearance and $10,000 cash performance due to the nature of the charges and the sentence level. The case has been assigned to Judge Kari Kristiansen.

Thomas’ next court appearance is a pretrial conference Feb. 7 at the Palmer Courthouse.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com