Valley man sentenced for shooting at Big Lake house

PALMER — A man who shot at a Big Lake home in order to “scare” the people inside has received an eight-month prison term.

According to an email from Assistant District Attorney Melissa Howard, James Keene, 34, was sentenced Tuesday to 24 months with 16 suspended for eight months to serve.

“I believe the sentence imposed was commensurate with the law and the facts of the case,” Howard wrote.

The case stems from March 2012 during a week that twice saw trouble arrive at a home on Kenaka Bena Loop. First, troopers went there and found a stolen snowmachine. The machine had been wrecked and two men accused of stealing it were charged with selling its parts on Craigslist.

Two days later came the drive-by shooting for which Keene was charged. Keene fired shots at the same home where the snowmachine was found. He lives nearby and his neighbor knew it was he. Troopers found shell casings in the road and on Keene’s dashboard.

“Keene later confessed to shooting several rounds at the residence while he was operating his car. Keene reported the reason for him shooting at (the) house was to scare him,” Alaska State Trooper Jacob Graham wrote in court documents filed at the time.

He was charged with four counts of assault in the third degree for causing fear of injury to the people who were home at the time.

Howard said it was those four counts of assault to which he pleaded guilty in early September. Weapons misconduct charges he also faced were dropped as part of the agreement.

Keene will also have three years of probation, during which he could be liable to serve those 16 months suspended from his sentence.

As for the stolen snowmachine — of the two people arrested in that case, one was 17 years old. Troopers at the time did not release his name and said he was charged in juvenile court. Records in those cases aren’t available to the public.

The other, Christopher Stearns, 21, pleaded guilty to vehicle theft in August 2012 and was sentenced to probation with two years of potential prison time if he re-offends, according to court records.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.