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Man arrested after shooting at Homer reproductive health clinic faces new charges

Man arrested after shooting at Homer reproductive health clinic faces new charges

Nov. 20 – A 30-year-old Anchor Point man arrested in connection with shots fired at a Homer reproductive health clinic earlier this month now faces additional charges of making terroristic threats and assault.

Josiah Kelly was initially charged with second-degree weapons misconduct and criminal mischief in connection with two separate incidents involving shots fired from a pickup truck at the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic on November 11. There was no one in the clinic at any time, officials said. he said. The early morning and evening incidents occurred before and after anyone entered the building.

Kelly was also arrested in connection with shots fired last month at a building used by Kachemak Bay Recovery Connection.

No one was injured in any of the three shootings, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, a Kenai grand jury indicted Kelly on new charges of second-degree terroristic threat and three counts of third-degree assault.

According to prosecutors and the indictment, the assault charge stems from the presence of a woman and two children in a home near the family planning clinic who heard gunshots and crouched down for fear of being injured.

The grand jury also indicted Kelly on first-degree weapons misconduct charges, mirroring charges he fired into the clinic from his pickup truck, prosecutors say.

Kelly’s public defender could not be reached on Wednesday.

According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month, Kelly told police he carried out the shooting “out of religious beliefs.” Clinic staff told officers he “recently canceled garbage collection because he was not comfortable with family planning.” Kelly was associated with RRR Trash and Recycling.

Kelly was a contractor for the clinic until mid-September, when the company stopped providing services, “expressing our strong opposition to the health care we have provided for over 40 years,” the clinic said in a statement last week, adding that it had met with police to discuss safety . “We have been preparing for some time for potential violence against the agency’s reproductive health services. Two shootings in one day was shocking.”

Kelly remained in custody at the Wildwood Pretrial Center on Wednesday. Last week, a judge set his bail at $350,000 with numerous third-party release conditions, including a mental health evaluation and a weapons ban.