Standoff ends; no injuries

September 12, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

PALMER - A Talkeetna man who barricaded himself in his trailer Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and fired a rifle at a neighbor and Alaska State Troopers was arraigned on six outstanding warrants in Palmer District Court Monday.

Donald B. Voorhis, 49, was arraigned on multiple charges, including third-degree assault and violating conditions of his release, charges filed on Friday. Those charges stemmed from a report that Voorhis fired a rifle toward his neighbor Wednesday evening.

About 12:30 p.m. Friday, troopers tried to arrest Voorhis at his home near Mile 7.5 Talkeetna Spur Road. Voorhis was wanted on three misdemeanor warrants issued on Aug. 25, and in connection with an assault investigation that began Wednesday, a report said.

When troopers arrived at the Rampart Road trailer on Friday afternoon, Voorhis stuck a rifle out the door of the trailer, pointed it at troopers and refused to come out, the report said. Troopers from Talkeetna and Palmer tried to get Voorhis to come out of his home, but their efforts failed.

Members of the South Central Special Emergency Reaction Team, a crisis negotiator from Palmer troopers, two negotiators from Anchorage, the trooper helicopter, an investigator with Alaska Bureau of Investigation and his canine all responded to the Talkeetna trailer. Mat-Su Borough emergency responders stood by in case they were needed to take care of any injuries, the report said.

The team and two members of Voorhis' immediate family spent Friday night trying to communicate with Voorhis, the report said. Saturday morning, a mental health professional from Anchorage also tried and failed to communicate with Voorhis, and a Palmer judge issued a search warrant for troopers to enter the trailer.

About 27 hours after the standoff with Voorhis began, troopers tried to force him out of the trailer by introducing chemical irritants into the trailer. Voorhis remained in the trailer for another six hours.

&#8220Troopers then settled in for a second long night maintaining surveillance on the residence as rain began to fall,” the report said.

About 8 a.m. Sunday morning, the crew was augmented by two members of the Kenai SERT team and four members from the Northern SERT team, who relieved some of the exhausted South Central SERT team members.

About 3 p.m., after troopers told Voorhis about the search warrant and added more chemical irritants to the trailer, he seemed willing to come out and was at the front door of the trailer.

But when some of the SERT team tried to take him into custody, Voorhis fired on troopers, who returned fire and backed away. None of the shots hit Voorhis or the troopers.

Still more chemicals and high-pressure water couldn't get Voorhis to budge. About 9 p.m., troopers scraped open the side of the trailer with a small bulldozer, found Voorhis in his hiding place with a rifle and arrested him. As a precaution, troopers took Voorhis to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center because of his lengthy exposure to chemical irritants.

Troopers booked Voorhis into Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility on his outstanding warrants, but had not filed charges relating to the standoff by Monday afternoon. Personnel from MSPTF said Voorhis was not available for bail.

Troopers said they would discuss further criminal charges with the Palmer District Attorney's Office on Monday.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.