An Anchorage man is in jail after Alaska State Troopers allege he fired gunshots from a moving vehicle in the direction of houses while intoxicated on Kalifornsky Beach Road Sunday afternoon.
Troopers arrested Darrel J. Shannon, 37, and charged him with misconduct involving weapons in the first, second and fourth degrees. Shannon was arraigned in Kenai District Court on Monday.
Shannon was the passenger in a 2003 blue Ford Mustang Cobra convertible driven by Thomas J. Northcott, 56, of Soldotna. Troopers received a report from a resident in the K-Beach neighborhood near Jones Road that someone was shooting a handgun out of the vehicle at about 3 p.m., according to a trooper’s complaint filed in Kenai District Court Monday.
Trooper J.A. Woodruff conducted a traffic stop at Mile 20 on K-Beach Road and an investigation revealed Shannon possessed a Glock handgun that was missing two rounds. Northcott had a revoked driver’s license from a past driving while intoxicated charge. Troopers issued him a misdemeanor citation and released him to a responsible party, according to the affidavit.
Shannon initially denied he fired the weapon, but later stated he tried to unload the handgun before he got into the vehicle and the gun went off accidentally, according to the report. Woodruff said Shannon was intoxicated, had blood-shot watery eyes and swayed and stumbled when he walked. Shannon admitted he consumed approximately five shots of vodka. A portable breath test resulted in a .122 percent blood-alcohol level, according to the report.
The discharge of a firearm from a moving vehicle is a class A felony and has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. The discharge of a weapon in the direction of a building with reckless disregard of others is a class B felony with a maximum 10-year sentence and $100,000 fine. Shannon was also charged with possession of a firearm while intoxicated, a class A misdemeanor.
Northcott told troopers Shannon fired out toward the woods and wasn’t sure if there were houses in that direction. He said he picked up Shannon, who was upset from an argument he had with his wife, according to the report.
Another witness, who Shannon worked for, told troopers that Shannon got into a verbal argument with his wife and when he left work, Shannon said to his boss, “he was going to kill himself and walked over the hill and fired a round off,” according to the report.
Troopers located Shannon’s wife who was uninjured and confirmed the verbal argument with her husband. Shannon denied that he wanted to commit suicide to troopers.
Shannon is jailed at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. His next court date is May 29 at the Kenai Courthouse.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com.
