Prosecution says troopers patient with Voorhis

PALMER — Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak doused theories Thursday that troopers should have waited longer in their three-day standoff with Donald Voorhis.

The standoff began Sept. 8, 2006 and ended Sept. 10 when troopers used a borrowed bulldozer to demolish two walls of Voorhis’ trailer. Troopers had initially gone to talk to Voorhis about complaints that he had fired his rifle at a neighbor and to arrest him on outstanding arrest warrants for missing some court dates.

By the end of the Talkeetna standoff, troopers had engaged in a firefight with Voorhis, injuring no one. Voorhis was charged with three misdemeanor and 10 felony charges, including three of attempted murder.

Thursday was the seventh day of Voorhis’ trial. His attorneys are arguing that the shot at the neighbor was far from an attempt at murder and that troopers were over eager in their efforts to arrest Voorhis, who wasn’t quite in his right mind at the time and wasn’t going anywhere.

Kalytiak, in questioning Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Troy Shuey, head of the troopers’ South Central Special Emergency Reaction Team, asked if troopers displayed patience in the three-day standoff. Shuey said they had. Kalytiak then asked if the standoff could have gone on any longer.

“At that point we had roughly 25 to 30 SERT members,” Shuey said, noting that those numbers amount to between 7 percent and 10 percent of the troopers’ total force.

“I don’t know how long we would have been able to maintain a safe environment for the troopers or Mr. Voorhis,” Shuey testified.

Herman Walker who, along with Lee DeGrazia, is representing Voorhis, asked questions that ran in the other direction.

Shuey had testified that troopers were talking to Voorhis, but he wouldn’t exactly call it negotiating — little of the conversation was productive.

Walker asked if Trooper Mike Wooten, who was conducting most of the negotiations, had developed a rapport with Voorhis, noting that conversations resumed immediately after the firefight.

“Being able to calm someone down who’s just been involved in some madness, with shots fired, that’s an indication that Trooper Wooten was at least able to develop a rapport with him, correct?” Walker asked.

“Yes,” Shuey answered.

Walker asked if Wooten had asked for more time to negotiate.

“Several times we gave him more time,” Shuey said.

The trial is expected to last through this week and into next. So far, the jury of 12 women and 4 men, including four alternates, has heard from Voorhis’ neighbors, crime scene investigators and a host of troopers.

If convicted, Voorhis could be sentenced to 99 years or more in prison.

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