Religious dispute ends in shooting

WASILLA -- A Wasilla man was shot twice in the chest last weekend after a heated argument about the proper name of Jesus, Alaska State Troopers reported.

Niccolo Rossodivita, 62, shot Billy J. Cordova, 40, after Cordova followed him downstairs and kicked in the bathroom door while Rossodivita was on the phone with the homeowner.

Rossodivita had been living in the same residence as Cordova for about a week when a religious dispute grew out of hand the night of Sept. 18.

During the argument, Rossodivita went into a downstairs bathroom and called Loretta Cordova, the owner of the residence, to get Billy evicted. Loretta is also Billy's ex-wife. Rossodivita told troopers he took a pistol with him because he was afraid of Cordova.

According to an affidavit filed by trooper Steven Adams, Cordova followed Rossodivita downstairs and kicked open the bathroom door. Rossodivita said the door hit his face and when he felt a hand across his chest, he "instinctively" drew the pistol and fired twice.

Two others were in the house when the shooting occurred -- Niccolo's son, Richard Rossodivita, who was visiting from Florida, and Gilles Beliveau, who was visiting from Canada.

Beliveau told troopers he was downstairs sleeping when he heard the sound of two people arguing followed by two gunshots. Beliveau locked himself in his room and didn't know what to do until he heard someone say, "Gilles, help me." Beliveau came out of his room and went to Cordova's side until troopers arrived.

Richard Rossodivita said he went downstairs to go to sleep after the argument began. The men came downstairs and Richard heard Cordova yelling at Niccolo that he had turned him in. When he heard gunshots, he called 911 and went outside to wait for help.

When troopers arrived, Niccolo Rossodivita had disposed of the pistol but couldn't tell troopers whose it was or where he had thrown it because he said he was in shock. Troopers were unable to find any firearms in or around the house, but, after obtaining a search warrant, discovered the pistol in Rossodivita's pickup truck.

Cordova was transported to Valley Hospital, where he received surgery for his wounds. He was in critical care through the week but by Friday, his condition was stable. Troopers said he is expected to survive.

A background check on Rossodivita revealed he has a 1984 felony conviction in Florida for assaulting a police officer and a 1994 felony conviction in California for perjury. There is currently a nonextraditable warrant in California for Rossodivita's perjury conviction, troopers reported.

Rossodivita is charged with first-degree assault, a class A felony. He is also charged with tampering with physical evidence and third-degree misconduct involving weapons.

He is currently being held at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in lieu of $100,000 cash-only bail and a court-approved third-party custodian. A pre-indictment hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.