Vance Wolford, 33, was convicted by a Homer jury on Wednesday, May 22 of attempted sexual assault and related crimes that occurred on May 21, 2022.

The jury found Wolford guilty of all charges, including attempted sexual assault in the first degree, indecent exposure in the first degree, two count of assault in the fourth degree, two counts of stalking in the first degree, and two counts of criminal trespass in the first degree.

According to a May 24 press release by the State of Alaska Department of Law, the trial took five days, and the jury deliberated for “less than four hours” before finding Wolford guilty.

A sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for Aug. 28. Wolford has remained in custody since his arrest and faces a “presumptive sentence” of 15-30 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of 99 years for the attempted sexual assault conviction and the possibility of additional jail time for the other crimes of which he was convicted, the release states.

On May 21, 2022, Wolford “aggressively hit on” a woman who was gardening outside her home, according to the release. She told him to leave, and he drove away, but returned less than an hour later and looked inside the windows of her house. The woman had her cellphone out and video-recorded Wolford, which prompted him to leave.

The woman was able to provide his license plate number, videos and a description to HPD. This led to HPD being on the road, looking for Wolford, when Alaska State Troopers were dispatched later that night in response to a second woman’s 911 call.

At 10:30 p.m., Wolford “aggressively propositioned” the second woman as she was pulling out of the Grog Shop East parking lot. According to the release, video surveillance showed Wolford “pulling out of the parking lot in (his) Chevy Astro van to follow her.”

Wolford followed the second woman home and attempted sexual assault. She called 911 as she fought him off and escaped to safety in her vehicle, and was able to provide an accurate description of Wolford to the 911 operator, who dispatched troopers to her aid.

Wolford was arrested by HPD officers the same night, when they “assisted the Alaska State Troopers and located Wolford as he was fleeing,” HPD posted on Facebook last Wednesday.

Assistant District Attorney Jon Iannaccone, who prosecuted the case for the State, told the jury in his closing remarks that “this was a case about two remarkably capable women whose actions stopped the defendant and led to law enforcement quickly capturing him,” the release states.

The press release is available in full at law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2024/052424-Wolford.html.