Woman who allegedly charged firefighters with van faces new assault charges

A woman facing charges for reportedly trying to run over first responders at the scene of a house fire in February was arrested last week for allegedly choking and pulling another woman’s hair during a March 22 confrontation at her home.

Margaret H. Rookard, 67, faces felony assault charges after she allegedly accosted the woman and accused her of rifling through her room and stealing some of her belongings, according to an Alaska State Trooper affidavit filed with the court.

Rookard reportedly choked the alleged victim with two hands — making it difficult for the woman to breath or talk — and then pulled the woman’s hair and again grabbed her throat, this time with one hand, according to the affidavit.

Rookard faces one count of third-degree assault, a class C felony; and one count of fourth-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor, in the March 22 case.

In February, Rookard was charged with three counts of third-degree assault and one count of resisting arrest after allegedly charging her van at firefighters and a police officer responding to a fire at her house.

More in News

One of three recently admitted harbor seal pups is seen at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
3 harbor seal pups admitted to SeaLife Center

All three came from the Copper River

Poster for Return of the Reds. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Food Bank)
Poster for Return of the Reds. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Food Bank)
Return of the Reds returns after several-year hiatus

The Kenai event celebrates the start of the 2023 salmon season

Middle schoolers practice fly casting into the Kenai River during a kids camp put on by Trout Unlimited on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at the Donald E. Gilman Kenai River Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Learning to love the watershed

Kids camp teaches fly fishing, ecology

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Seward man arrested on drug charges gave false identification, troopers say

Kevin Hakala, 42, was pulled over by Seward-based troopers on Saturday

Poster for 100% Alaska Town Hall & Family Day (Photo courtesy Change 4 the Kenai)
100% Alaska Town Hall to share assessment results, discuss state of ‘vital services’

The project is composed of four steps: assess, plan, act and evaluate

Division of Forestry & Fire Protection engines responding to the Charland Fire on May 21, 2023, near Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Kenai-Kodiak DOF)
9 fires reported on Kenai Peninsula since start of May

The largest local fire was the Charland Fire, which was reported on Sunday

File.
4 days in July set for Ninilchik razor clam harvest

The abundance of adult clams is below the threshold necessary to open the fishery in Clam Gulch

Most Read