Troopers: Butte shooter said he thought he was "within his rights"

WASILLA — A man accused of shooting another man in the face allegedly told troopers he fired because he thought he was within his rights to shoot after the victim refused to leave his mother’s house.

Michael Q Armstrong, 18, of Palmer, remained in Mat-Su Pretrial facility on $50,000 bail after a Sunday arraignment in the Palmer district Court. Armstrong is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, third-degree assault, and evidence tampering in the incident, according to court documents.

Emergency medical personnel transported Joshua Harrison, 35, of Palmer to a local hospital in critical but stable condition after the shooting, according to troopers.

Witnesses to the incident said the shooting started with an altercation between two people at a cabin on the Old Glenn Highway near the intersection with Republican Way, according to an affidavit written by trooper sergeant Michael Henry.

Five people were at the cabin at the time of the shooting: Armstrong, Harrison, Alanna Ridenour, Trevor Arts, and Devon Felton. Ridenour called 911 about 1:30 p.m. to report the shooting, and told Alaska State troopers that she, Armstrong, and Harrison were at the cabin talking when Arts and Felton showed up.

Armstrong told troopers he, Harrison and Ridenour, 21, had been hanging out and he was trying to patch up his relationship with Harrison. Armstrong said he thought Harrison had stolen a gun from him in the summer of 2015. While they were talking, Harrision began to talk about wanting to beat up Arts, according to Henry.

“(Armstrong) thought (Harrison) might be trying to steal some of his stuff, so he told (Harrison) and (Ridenour) to leave his house,” Henry wrote. “They said they were waiting for a ride to pick them up and didn’t leave. (Armstrong) said he told them to leave 3-4 times. (Armstrong) said he didn’t call the police because he doesn’t like the police.”

Felton and Armstrong told troopers Harrison was trying to instigate a fight with Arts. Felton claimed Harrison may have had a knife or brass knuckles, but made no attempt to stab or hit Arts. Armstrong told troopers Harrison had something in his hand but didn’t know what it was.

“(Armstrong) said he turned and aimed the rifle at (Harrison’s) head, and shot, trying to kill (Harrison),” Henry wrote. “(Armstrong) said he thought he was ‘within his rights’ because he told (Harrison) to leave and he didn’t leave. (Armstrong) said he went into the house to shoot (Ridenour), because his background is to finish the fight.”

Ridenour told troopers she heard a gunshot after the four men went outside and the sound of something hitting the side of the house, at which point she said Armstrong came inside and pointed a rifle at her.

“(Ridenour) pleaded with Michael not to shoot her because she has a kid,” Henry wrote.

Armstrong, Arts and Felton then drove off, leaving Harrison and Ridenour behind. Harrison was brought by ambulance to the Butte Elementary School parking lot, from where he was airlifted out of the area by a LifeMed helicopter. He was sitting up and holding his face as medical personnel wheeled him to the waiting helicopter.

Troopers stopped a car containing Armstrong, Arts and Felton on the Old Glenn shortly after the shooting. Troopers intended to search the car, but hadn’t yet, according to Henry’s affidavit.

The trio told troopers they had driven to about 1.8 miles down Knik River Road, and Armstrong threw the gun — a .303-caliber rifle —into the woods. Troopers later recovered the rifle from the area by following tracks in the snow that matched the tread on Armstrong’s shoes, Henry wrote.

According to borough property records, the home belongs to Armstrong’s mother. A search warrant executed later that day on the property turned up blood stains on the outside of the building, pools of blood on the porch, pools of blood about five feet away, and apparent “bullet defect” to the outside of the cabin surrounded by splattered blood — though troopers hadn’t yet located a bullet, according to the affidavit.

Armstrong had not been indicted on the charges Tuesday afternoon, according to court documents. That requires the convening of a grand jury to examine the evidence.

As of Tuesday, neither Arts nor Felton had been charged with any crimes in the case, which troopers said remains under investigation.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.