Wasilla woman, 70, shot

A Wasilla grandmother was shot in the face in the early morning hours Friday, allegedly by a 19-year-old man infatuated with the woman's granddaughter.

Andrew Lee Coffman is charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and third-degree assault in connection with the incident. He is lodged at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility on $50,000 cash-only bail.

The shooting victim, 75-year-old Mary Rogers, was listed in stable condition Friday afternoon at the Alaska Native Medical Center. She underwent surgery to reconstruct her jaw, which was shattered in the shooting.

Police received a 911 call after 2 a.m. from Rogers' granddaughter saying that Rogers was shot in the face with a handgun by a white man. Police and 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. Rogers said she sent her grandson Joseph Woods to check on the person.

Her 23-year-old grandson ran back into the house pursued by the defendant, the report said.

Rogers said she pointed her revolver at the man who also had a gun pointed at her. She told him to leave or she would shoot.

"Rogers said they looked at each other and the defendant kind of half-smiled, and shot her," Achee stated.

A single gun-shot wound severely injured the woman's jaw.

"Even with her injury, Mrs. Rogers was able to speak with us and give her information," Achee said. "I'm sure it was very painful."

The defendant ran from the home into the woods after the shooting, the report said.

Woods told police his grandmother, who was awake when she heard the noise, woke him to check on a person outside. When he went out, the defendant allegedly instructed Woods to not move or he would shoot. Woods ran into the house at that point, pursued by the defendant.

Rogers' granddaughter, 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 from a window she saw Coffman allegedly chase Woods inside the house. She told police she had not wanted to speak with Coffman in the middle of the night and that she did not have a relationship with him.

Police located Coffman hiding under a car. He was reportedly identified to police by Woods and Ingram as the one who fired the handgun at their grandmother.

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

Coffman had apparently thrown the gun in the woods as he fled from the house, according to police reports. He reportedly cooperated in helping police locate the revolver.