Crime & Courts

Anchorage man found guilty of shooting Mountain View property manager

Jurors found 22-year-old Anchorage man Keng Her guilty of assault charges and misconduct involving a weapon for firing multiple shots at a Mountain View property manager trying to stop two men from towing away a wrecked car before police arrived.

The state argued Her shot the manager, Mark Harms, in the back and foot. Assistant District Attorney Laura Dulic said during opening statements that one bullet pierced Harms above the base of his spine and exited through his front torso.

On Friday, after a two-week trial, an Anchorage Superior Court jury convicted Her of first-, second- and third-degree assault, as well as first-degree weapons misconduct.

Her faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was out on bail before the trial but returned to prison as the result of his conviction. His sentencing is set for Dec. 11.

Assistant District Attorney John Darnall said as the trial moved forward, the defense raised what it considered the possibility of self-defense. Defense attorney Evan Chyun argued, according to Darnall, that the shooting victim moved for a firearm tucked in his waistband. The court granted a self-defense jury instruction, he said.

As a result, Darnall spent much of his closing argument disproving the self-defense claim. He said Harms' trial testimony and Her's statement to police likely swayed the jury in the state's favor.

Harms confronted Her and Chuada Chang as the men tried to pull Chang's Honda Accord from a mangled fence in an alley off North Hoyt Street and Parsons Avenue in September 2013. The property manager asked the men to stay put until police arrived, which started a confrontation between Her and Harms.

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The prosecutor said the situation appeared to have diffused when Her and Chang decided to leave in Her's car. But Her turned around in the alley and fired several shots at the victim through the driver's window, Dulic said.

Dulic contended Her may have shot the victim to "show he's a tough guy" or heal a bruised ego.

Chang pleaded guilty in January to reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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