Standoff in Talkeetna

September 10, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

TALKEETNA - An armed standoff that began Friday afternoon between Alaska State Troopers and a man who reportedly fired a rifle near a Talkeetna man Wednesday had not ended by Saturday afternoon.

Donald Voorhis, 49, was wanted after he allegedly fired a rifle at his neighbor about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, but he fled from troopers who came to question him. On Friday afternoon, Voorhis reportedly fired more rounds near the house of neighbor John Yow, 48. Yow called troopers again, who returned to Voorhis's trailer late Friday afternoon.

The road to Voorhis' home remained blocked Saturday afternoon, Yow said in a telephone interview, and officers appeared to be doing everything they could to get Voorhis to come out.

&#8220They brought his doctors out, they brought family out and he flat refuses to talk to anybody,” said Yow, who was observing from a distance. &#8220I don't hold out much hope. It's probably going to go through the night before they even give consideration to other options.”

Yow said he counted up to nine trooper vehicles at the site, which brought an untold number of officials to the scene of the standoff.

&#8220It's an unbelievable amount of people (and) resources they're tapping to try to get Donald out,” Yow said. &#8220My personal view is, I don't think he's coming out. He's in his little rabbit hole, and unless they do something to shake his comfort, he ain't coming out.”

The latest in what Yow said is a series of incidents started Wednesday evening. Yow said in an interview Friday that he was returning home from a trip to Anchorage. When he pulled onto the road to the subdivision, he saw Voorhis run into the brush by his trailer.

&#8220He pointed the rifle at me, and then pulled the barrel a little to the side,” Yow said. &#8220I rolled down the window and said I was just trying to go home. He said, ‘No, you're not,' and came running at me with the rifle.”

After Voorhis fired, Yow backed his truck up to where he could get cell phone reception to call troopers.

Voorhis was near his home on Rampart Road at that time, and he fled after briefly speaking with the troopers, according to a trooper report.

Yow, who lives on a hill above Voorhis' property, said that in the two years since Yow moved into the subdivision, Voorhis has been shooting at him, his wife and his house. Last year, five troopers and a canine responded after Voorhis fired a high-powered rifle toward Yow, but they never collected the brass from the 30.06 Voorhis fired,

Yow said.

&#8220I picked up six rounds,” he said.

Yow said Voorhis has a pattern of shooting and threatening, and then running off into the woods. This year, he said, Voorhis used a smaller caliber rimfire rifle. The shots he heard Friday afternoon were definitely from a .22, he said.

&#8220He plays G.I. Joe,” Yow said. &#8220He shoots fireworks and wrist rockets at my horses. He threatened to kill our foal. Then he takes off into the woods and crawls on his hands and knees and belly. Unless they have a SWAT team, they're not going to beat the brush to find him.”

Yow said he is armed 24 hours a day now, drives with his windows down, and keeps tabs on Voorhis by calling Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility to find out whether he is in custody.

&#8220I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to put him down. I really don't want to, but I'm not going to be a dead statistic,” he said.

Court records show Voorhis was arrested Oct. 23, 2005, on charges of reckless driving, resisting arrest, fourth-degree assault, driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license and refusal to submit to a chemical test. Voorhis remained in custody until Dec. 27, when he was released on a corporate bond.

He was back in custody on Jan. 6 and pleaded no contest to reckless driving, resisting arrest and fourth-degree assault on Jan. 17.

District Court Judge John Wolfe handed down a total sentence of 310 days in jail, with 260 days suspended, and five years probation. Wolfe also ordered Voorhis to have a mental health evaluation and treatment, records show.

&#8220He's not crazy, Yow said. &#8220He's criminal, and for some reason, he's focused on me.”

Yow said Voorhis was diagnosed at Alaska Psychiatric Institute as an &#8220extremely dangerous sociopath.”

&#8220He's escalated to his diagnosis,” he said. &#8220It's been mostly trying to scare us off. Now, it's turned aggressive and deadly.”

Records show Voorhis was arrested for second-degree criminal trespass and fifth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance on

Jan. 31.

On May 9, he was charged with second-degree criminal trespass and violating his conditions of release. On June 7, he was arrested for second-degree criminal trespass, and on July 6, he was charged with driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license and violating his conditions of release.

Voorhis has a brother in Anchorage who keeps bailing him out, Yow said. Court records show Roger Voorhis supplied the $2,500 bond to release Donald Voorhis on July 17.

&#8220They're putting me in the position of having to shoot the son-of-a-b—,” Yow said.

At deadline Saturday, there was no new information about the standoff.

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

frontiersman.com.