Wasilla man pleads no contest to attempted murder

PALMER -- A 19-year-old Wasilla man pled no contest Thursday in Palmer Superior Court to a first-degree attempted murder charge and two other counts.

Andrew L. Coffman agreed to serve 18 years in prison under the change of plea before Judge Eric Smith. He also pled no contest to third-degree assault and second-degree stalking.

The first two charges stem from a Jan. 25, 2002, incident in which Mary Rogers, 75, was shot while in her residence at Mile 3.5 Knik-Goose Bay Road. Rogers' jaw was shattered but she survived. She spent more than a week in a hospital and underwent reconstructive surgery.

Coffman told police he went to the residence to talk to Elizabeth Ingram about their "relationship." When Rogers heard someone outside the house, she sent her grandson Joseph Woods to investigate.

A report by Wasilla police officer Jean Pierre Achee said Coffman confronted Woods and pointed a gun at him, telling Woods not to move or he would shoot him. Woods turned around and ran into the house with the defendant chasing him, the report said.

That's when Coffman saw Rogers standing in the kitchen with a pistol pointed at him. Coffman also had his gun pointed at Rogers, Achee's report said.

"Rogers told the defendant to leave the house or she would shoot," according to the report. "Rogers said they looked at each other and the defendant kind of half smiled and shot her."

Coffman fled after the shot but was soon found hiding under a car near the house.

The stalking charge was added after Coffman violated terms of his bail by contacting Ingram at the Wasilla Carrs store where they had worked together. She has denied they had a relationship, and Achee's report called Woods "Ingram's boyfriend."

Achee said Thursday that, under the law, a relationship may exist between two people who have done nothing more than hold hands.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 23. Defense attorney Robert Herz said he plans a presentation that will take most of the day. District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said he would probably only call two witnesses.

Coffman remains in custody at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility until sentencing. If he had not changed his plea, and was found guilty by a jury, Coffman would have faced between five and 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

He turned around and smiled at his parents during a break in Thursday's court session. Coffman's father, Larry Coffman of Wasilla, said outside the courtroom, "The truth will be out at sentencing."

Andrew Coffman was out of jail on bail when he approached Ingram at Carrs. After the incident, he was trying to flee from Alaska when the car he was driving ran out of gas on the Alaska Highway near the Canadian border, according to information from the border patrol.

Customs officials spotted the car near Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, and ran a search on its license plates. It showed the car was registered to Coffman's father.

Police saw Andrew Coffman hitchhiking near the border later that day. Traffic on the Alaska Highway was closed in both directions, and an Alaska State Trooper approached Coffman in an unmarked car. Coffman was carrying a .44-caliber handgun, but the trooper talked him into surrendering.