A Sterling woman arrested in a shooting incident outside of the Kenai Walmart last November has been indicted on three felony charges.
On Friday, a Kenai Grand Jury indicted Ashley Nelund, 28, for misconduct involving weapons in the second-degree, a class B felony, and two counts of assault in the third-degree, a class C felony.
Nelund was originally charged with attempted murder in the first-degree, first-degree attempted assault and second-degree misconduct involving weapons after Kenai Police alleged she fired multiple gunshots at an occupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot on Nov. 1, 2013.
According to the affidavit, Kenai Police received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired at about 7:10 p.m. in the parking lot. The suspect fled the scene in a red 2005 Ford Focus, but was located about 30 minutes later when she emerged from the woods outside a residence on Japonski Drive in Kenai.
At the scene, police spoke to a passenger inside the vehicle being shot at, a 17-year-old juvenile. He told police the altercation started when Nelund approached him and the person he was with about owing her money. The juvenile told police as they started to drive away, Nelund opened fire on the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
Police located three shell casings from .380 auto pistol in the parking lot in the direction people reported seeing the woman matching Nelund’s description fire her gun, according to the report.
Law enforcement found Nelund possessed the keys to the red Ford and they found a .380 auto pistol on the grass near the edge of the woods where she appeared. A Kenai Police records search indicated Nelund as the owner of the gun.
Nelund admitted to police that she fired three shots at the bumper of the vehicle with the intention of scaring the occupants.
The driver of the vehicle was never located.
Nelund is currently awaiting trial in a separate case after being indicted on felony drug charges stemming from an Oct. 30 incident. Last December she was indicted on second-degree and fourth-degree misconduct with a controlled substance for delivery and possession of heroin.
Kenai Superior Court Judge Carl Bauman denied Nelund’s bail at a hearing on April 8. At the hearing, the father of the defendant, Craig Nelund, who was being examined as a potential third party custodian, told the court, “I would probably not go to this trouble if she (was) not pregnant,” according to court records.
Craig Nelund, who lives in Michigan, said in court the defendant is due in May. He said he was not pleased with his daughter’s behavior but he felt “compelled” to come help, mostly because of his “unborn grandbaby,” according to court records.
Ashley Nelund is currently jailed at Wildwood Pretrial Facility. She is scheduled for an arraignment today in front of Judge Charles Huguelet at 2:30 p.m. at the Kenai Courthouse.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com.
