Trial delayed for man accused of shooting

PALMER -- The attorney for a young man accused of shooting an elderly woman in January told a Palmer Superior Court judge Thursday that he will not be prepared for trial for several months.

At a preliminary hearing, defense attorney Robert Herz said he needs more information from the Palmer district attorney's office before he will be prepared to represent Andrew Coffman, 18, who also is accused of trying to flee the state while out on bail.

Coffman is charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and third-degree assault in connection with the Jan. 25 shooting of Mary Rogers, 75, in Wasilla. She was shot in the jaw and required hospitalization for more than a week, but now is recovering.

So far, Herz has received 120-some pages of documents in the case, he said, but he is stymied by not knowing if the DA's office will press additional charges for Coffman's alleged bail violation when he reportedly fled Wasilla. Coffman was picked up a short time later, Feb. 25, at the Canadian border, with a gun in his possession.

Coffman was out on bail pending trial. Conditions of his release included not contacting members of Rogers' family, but Wasilla Police received a report that he contacted her grandson's girlfriend at Carrs store, where she works, shortly after his February release.

According to information received from the border patrol, Coffman was almost to Beaver Creek in the Yukon Territory when he ran out of gas. Customs officials spotted the car and ran the plates. The car was registered to Coffman's father.

Coffman was spotted hitchhiking on the Alaska Highway near the border later that day, Feb. 25. Traffic was closed off in both directions and a trooper approached Coffman in an unmarked car. The trooper was able to talk Coffman into giving himself up.

Coffman was found to be carrying a .44-caliber handgun, according to Alaska State Trooper reports.

The problem, Herz told Palmer Superior Court Judge Eric Smith, is that he needs to know all the charges against his client and to examine all the evidence prior to trial. "We could go with an August or September trial date if it were just on the evidence compiled prior to the incident at the border," Herz said. "Yet, I might need to file a number of motions based on any possible additional charges."

Palmer Assistant District Attorney Bill Estelle said if any charges are pending, those could be handled as a separate case. He said the state is opposed to months of postponements on the attempted murder charge.

"On behalf of the victims, the state wants to see this addressed in a timely manner," he said.

There are few witnesses in the case, which should make it possible to be ready for trial soon, Estelle said.

Smith said he felt "something could go wrong if we push this without concern for its complexity." He set the trial date for Oct. 28, with instructions to both sides to factor in the new charges, if there are any, as soon as possible.

The primary case against Coffman began when police dispatchers received a 911 call after 2 a.m. on Jan. 25, saying Rogers had been shot in the face with a handgun by a young man. Police and an ambulance were dispatched to Mile 3.5 Knik-Goose Bay Road.

Rogers, able to speak briefly with police before she was taken away in an ambulance, said she heard noises outside the house and when she looked out, saw a person crouching near a corner of the house, according to Wasilla Police Investigator Jean Pierre Achee's report. She sent her grandson, Joseph Woods, to check on the person.

Woods ran back into the house pursued by the defendant, the report said. Rogers said she pointed her revolver at the intruder, who also had a gun pointed at her. She told him to leave or she would shoot.

A single shot shattered the woman's jaw. The defendant ran from the home into the woods after the shooting, the report said.

Elizabeth Ingram, 24, told police she knew Coffman -- they had worked together at Carrs grocery store. At the time of the shooting, she was also in the house and Coffman had come to the home to speak with her, the investigation revealed.

Police located Coffman hiding under a car near the Rogers' house. He was identified to police by Woods and Ingram as the one who fired the handgun at Rogers.

Coffman told police he came to the home with a .22-caliber revolver to speak with Elizabeth Ingram "about their relationship." When he entered the house, he saw Woods' grandmother standing in the kitchen pointing a gun at him, he said.

Apparently Coffman threw the gun in the woods as he fled from the house, according to police reports. He cooperated in helping police locate the revolver.

Coffman was originally released on $10,000 cash bail. After he was taken back into custody in late February, his bail was set at $250,000 cash-only. He remains at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.