Man gets 45 years for shooting up his own car in Eagle River, killing 1 passenger

A man who opened fire on his own vehicle and the five people inside it, killing a woman and wounding two men in Eagle River, has been ordered to serve up to 45 years in prison.

James Andrew Baker, 35, was sentenced Thursday in the March 8, 2015, shooting of 56-year-old June Mary McCarr, Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion said in a statement.

Baker had pleaded guilty in August to first-degree murder and a consolidated count of attempted murder. He received terms of 35 years and 10 years on those counts from Superior Court Judge Michael Corey, who also imposed a suspended 25-year term and 10 years of probation.

Police said at the time of the shooting that Baker had driven the victims in his 2000 Dodge Intrepid sedan to a secluded spot along a residential road in Eagle River, early on a Sunday morning.

"When they got to the top of Mile High Drive, Baker parked," Campion wrote. After approximately 15 minutes, Baker retrieved a firearm from the trunk of the vehicle and began shooting. Baker shot McCarr several times and struck two other men — Roy Boswell and Kurtis Reed."

Boswell and Reed suffered critical injuries in the shooting, Campion said, and McCarr was later found dead in the Intrepid. Baker ditched his weapon off a local trail, later throwing away his jacket and shoes.

Police began receiving calls about the incident at about 6:45 a.m. that day as the surviving passengers sought help from people along Eagle River Road, according to charging documents in the case. Baker also called police from the Eagle River Carrs-Safeway store to report the Intrepid as stolen.

The case was marked by strange statements from Baker, who told investigators at one point that an "angel" had thrown away the murder weapon. During an initial court appearance Brown also asked, "How do you take the word of a bunch of homeless kids that are all high on Spice?" despite advice from a judge that anything he said about the case could be used against him.

Police never identified a specific motive in the shooting, which remained unclear Friday according to an email from Deputy District Attorney Christina Sherman.

"The evidence at the sentencing yesterday was that Mr. Baker had a mental health diagnosis and that was likely a contributing factor to the conduct in this case," Sherman wrote. "Judge Corey commented that cases like this tear a hole in the fabric of our community."

Baker had faced up to 80 years in prison under the plea deal, Campion said.