Would-be snowmachine thief convicted of reckless driving

Charges stem from January incident that ended in gunfire

PALMER — A Palmer District Court magistrate sentenced a Wasilla man to a year in prison and gave him a stern warning last week to get his life together, after the man pleaded no contest to charges stemming from a failed snowmachine theft in January that reportedly ended in gunfire.

"Either you make some real changes in your life or you're not going to have much either in length or in quality," Magistrate David Zwink told 23-year-old James McAnulty at a change of plea hearing Aug. 16.

The Palmer magistrate said that with McAnulty's extensive criminal record, he could be facing a lot of time in prison should the young man get into trouble again.

According to court records, McAnulty has been convicted of a host charges since 1996, including third-degree theft, vehicle theft, leaving the scene of an accident and filing a false report.

In the most recent incident, on Jan. 24, McAnulty and a juvenile companion were caught trying to steal a black 1995 Polaris snowmachine at a home on Rainbow Drive in Wasilla, by a couple who are friends of the homeowner.

McAnulty and the juvenile drove off together after they were discovered, court documents stated, and the couple chased them.

Alaska State Troopers alleged in charging documents that the young passenger leaned out of the car's window and pointed a revolver at the couple as McAnulty sped off. At the change of plea hearing, however, Laurel Carter, McAnulty's public defender, said those claims were unfounded.

Later in the chase, troopers claimed the passenger climbed out the window of the speeding car and pointed the gun again at the pursuing pair. The youth fired five shots in rapid succession, charging documents said.

The couple, who were not injured by the gunfire, said they stopped the chase and called troopers.

McAnulty told troopers the alleged shooter was an Anchorage man, but his story was dismissed when law enforcement officers discovered the accused man had been in jail on a drunken-driving arrest at the time of the incident, according to court records.

In a plea agreement, the Palmer district attorney's office agreed to drop two third-degree misconduct involving a weapon charges and a first-degree criminal trespassing charge in exchange for McAnulty's plea of no contest to reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and making a false report.

Zwink further chastised McAnulty for blaming an innocent person for the crime, noting that this is the third time the Wasilla man has been convicted of such a charge. According to court records, McAnulty was convicted in 1995 and 1998 of filing a false report charges.

The 23-year-old defendant told Zwink he knew what he did was wrong, and that he planned to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to deal with his drinking problem.

"I don't have anything to say . . . " McAnulty said. "I'll do my time and get out and try again."