A former soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting through the door of her husband’s bedroom, where he had been in his bed with his girlfriend.
Margaret Sarah Kloske, a 25-year-old former Fort Bragg soldier, entered a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling, two misdemeanor assault and battery charges, and one misdemeanor trespassing charge. The court will withhold the guilty finding until the pre-sentence report, scheduled for review Nov. 12, as part of the agreement.
The agreement also says the prosecution would not recommend jail time beyond the nearly four months she served after her Sept. 17 arrest.
Kloske, who served the U.S. Army for two years but received an other than honorable discharge after the incident, faces up to eight years in jail and a $10,000 fine if the recommendation is not followed.
James City County Police arrested Kloske after she drove from Fort Bragg, N.C., to her husband’s apartment on the 400 block of Stratford Road, climbed through his roommate’s bedroom window and fired a shot from a .45 caliber revolver through her husband’s bedroom door.
Her husband, 23-year-old Alfredo Alfredo Alvarado Jr., opened the door and was able to knock the gun out of her hands. Kloske was also accused of attacking Alvarado’s girlfriend, a 19-year-old who was in bed with Alvarado when Kloske arrived.
Kloske later told police she intended to kill herself in front Alvarado, who she discovered was having an affair a month into their marriage.
Richard Rizk, her defense attorney, said Kloske had visited Alvarado in James City County the weekend before the incident when he left his phone in her car. She became aware of her husband’s affair through text messages sent to his phone. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Gaten said Kloske may have also received inflammatory text messages from the girlfriend during this time frame.
“The gun went off when she kicked the door. … The bullet had a downward trajectory,” Rizk said. “She never tried to shoot either her husband or [his girlfriend] once the door was open. She always intended to kill herself.”
Gaten said the bullet went through the door several inches above the knob and ended up in the floor moulding inside the bedroom.
Rizk argued Kloske has complied with the conditions of her probation, even cutting off contact with Alvarado despite his repeated attempts to contact her. Rizk asked Judge Michael McGinty to postpone sentencing for at least six months so the court could “see she’s truly trying to move on and comply.”
McGinty complied, setting the pre-sentence report review for 9 a.m. Nov. 12. He also allowed electronic monitoring to be removed from Kloske’s bond conditions.
Related Coverage:
