Wasilla man charged with murder following shooting Tuesday in Wasilla

WASILLA — A Wasilla man is facing several charges, including murder, following a shooting in Wasilla that left a man dead and a woman injured.

Christopher Lorentsen was arraigned in a Palmer courtroom Wednesday afternoon. The 31-year-old has been charged with murder in the first degree, attempted murder in the first degree, assault in the first degree, and two counts of assault in the second degree. This all comes after Alaska State Troopers responded to a residence in the Williwaw Subdivision in the Wasilla area just after 5 p.m. Tuesday. There, troopers found Joshua Kelsey, 29, dead at the scene and an adult female, who had also been shot, inside a motorhome in the driveway of the residence.

According to an affidavit filed on Wednesday, troopers contacted Lorentsen at his residence about 100 yards away from the scene. A 10mm Glock semiautomatic pistol, which has been determined to be the murder weapon, was also found near Lorentsen, according to the affidavit.

In addition to Lorentsen, Kelsey and the adult female, there were three other people at the scene who witnessed the incident, according to troopers. Among the three, a man identified as a friend of Lorentsen, was heard on 911 call and said Lorentsen was the shooter.

The woman injured in the shooting told troopers the incident started when she heard a man yelling in the driveway of the residence. She was one of four people inside the motorhome. The group included Kelsey, who went outside of the motorhome to confront the man, later identified as Lorentsen. The female witness said a few minutes after Kelsey left the motorhome she heard gunshots.

A second witness inside the motorhome, identified in the affidavit as an adult male, saw the shooting. The witness told troopers Lorentsen produced the semiautomatic pistol, shot Kelsey, causing Kelsey to stumble backward. The witness told troopers Lorentsen continued to fire the weapon. Lorentsen shot Kelsey second time, and again at the motorhome.

According to troopers, Kelsey was shot at least three times, was found near the edge of the driveway of the residence and was not in possession of any weapons when AST arrived.

The injured woman was shot once in the leg, troopers said.

In a Palmer courtroom Wednesday when Lorentsen was asked if he wished to hire a private attorney or see if he was eligible for court appointed council, he said he would, “like to try both.”

“I want to know what my options are,” Lorentsen said.

Lorentsen was asked about his financial status seeing about his income and if he owned any real estate. One of the questions was if he had any cash or other savings.

“No savings, very little cash,” Lorentsen said. “About ($40).”

Assistant District Attorney Rick Allen said that his case is a, “very serious situation.”

“If you’ve seen the affidavit, the defendant shot an unarmed man three times, killing him, then shot another person, then shot into an occupied RV with the potential of killing multiple people.”

A $750,000 cash bail was set and Lorentsen’s preliminary hearing is April 8 at 1 p.m.

Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann contributed to this report.