A Sitka man is facing felony charges for allegedly firing on a group of state trooper recruits as they were on an early-morning run.

54-year old Vicente G. Carlos was indicted on seven felony counts by a Sitka grand jury on Friday, October 19.

According to court records, shortly after 6 a.m. on the morning of October 9, Carlos stopped his white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck on the side of Halibut Point Road near Blatchley Middle School, pointed a hunting rifle out the truck’s window, and fired one round toward trooper recruits as they jogged back to the Public Safety Academy from their morning swim.

A trooper sergeant following the recruits in an academy van notified Sitka police of the incident, and began a pursuit of Carlos, who drove away at speeds allegedly topping 60-80 miles per hour toward Sitka’s downtown neighborhood, through the roundabout, and up Lake Street toward Sitka High School — all the while with the rifle barrel still pointed out of his truck’s window.

None of the nine trooper recruits were injured by the gunfire. A bullet hole was found in the side of the residence at 604 Halibut Point Road.

Sitka police stopped Carlos near Sitka High School on Peterson St., and disarmed him. A welfare check of his wife — who was unharmed — led officers to the home of his brother-in-law, where they found the brother-in-law’s roommate had been beaten — allegedly by Carlos, who had used the rifle butt to inflict numerous bruises and one deep laceration.

The roommate told officers that he barely knew Carlos, and had no idea why he was attacked.

State troopers subsequently performed a series of tests to investigate recent drug use by Carlos. He allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine, and court records indicate that Carlos told officers he had used the drug at midnight the previous evening.

The Sitka grand jury indicted Carlos on three counts of misconduct involving weapons, and four counts of assault — all felonies. Carlos remains in custody in the Sitka Jail. He was arraigned in Superior Court on October 22nd. A trial date was set in January, 2019.

Update 11-2-18: Carlos remains in custody with the Alaska Department of Corrections. His next court appearance will be 3 p.m. December 18, 2018.