Pickup Truck

A former Anchorage resident received 10 years in prison Tuesday in U.S. District Court for cocaine trafficking. U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler's office announced that 29-year-old Sergio Alonzo Enriquez was involved in drug shipments from Southern California to areas on the East Coast and Canada and had bought a pickup truck in Anchorage that was used for smuggling cocaine and money. Enriquez was part of a drug ring that moved and sold hundreds of kilograms of cocaine coming from Mexico and brought the drug money to Southern California and then to Mexico from early 2008 to fall 2008.

Anchorage police arrested a man early Wednesday suspected of setting a Monday fire that damaged a pickup truck at The Arc of Anchorage, after he allegedly tried to set another fire in woods near the group's facility overnight Tuesday. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says police were called to the non-profit's 2211 Arca Dr. building at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Responding officers located and arrested 19-year-old Matthew Marinos shortly after midnight. Marinos has been charged with one third-degree count each of arson and criminal mischief, in connection with the Monday fire.

A Wasilla man who was seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash on the Steese Highway last week died of his injuries Wednesday evening, according to Alaska State Troopers. A Thursday AST dispatch says 54-year-old Daniel Abbett's next of kin were present at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital when he passed away shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday. Fairbanks troopers received a report on the evening of Oct. 3 that Abbett had been headed south on the Steese when he lost control of his older-model Dodge pickup truck, crashing at the intersection of the Steese and Old Steese highways.

A passenger died late Tuesday night on the Steese Highway when the pickup truck he was riding in rolled several times then landed in a ditch, according to Alaska State Troopers. Officials say John N. Hendrickson, 28, was driving his 2004 Ford F150 near Mile 128.9 of the highway just before 11:45 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle and it crashed. Jedediah Hendrickson, 24, was ejected during the rollover and found dead nearby, while John Hendrickson was found walking disorientated down the highway.

Anchorage police arrested a local man Friday for viewing child pornography on a Loussac Library computer. Michael John Aaron Loudermilk, 32, was charged with possessing child pornography and indecent viewing or photography. Loudermilk was found to have been searching for images of child pornography after a joint investigation by the Loussac Library, Anchorage Police Department patrol officers and APD’s Cyber Crimes Unit. Images depicting the exploitation of minors were also found on his cell phone.

Alaska State Troopers identified the two troopers and Kotzebue police officer Wednesday involved in a Sunday exchange of gunfire with a man who committed suicide during a subsequent standoff. A Wednesday AST dispatch says troopers Gordon Young and Christopher Bitz of the Kotzebue post, along with Kotzebue police Sgt. Norman Hughes, were approaching a pickup truck that had struck a guardrail on Ted Stevens Way near the Kotzebue airport shortly after 9:15 a.m. The driver, 50-year-old Arvid Nelson Jr., had reportedly brandished a handgun at a motorist who had driven by Nelson's vehicle.

One of the lanes of the Seward highway was shut down just south of the Potter Marsh weigh station Monday morning, after a traffic accident between a state sanding truck and a pickup truck. Also involved in the accident scene was a semi that had apparently slid into the damaged pickup truck. The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning on all Anchorage roads through 3 p.m. Monday, citing rainfall freezing to the roads upon contact, creating treacherous road conditions.

Alaska State Troopers arrested a Wasilla man Wednesday night who allegedly stole a vehicle from a local gas station with two children still inside, before being chased down by one of the kids' mothers -- only to steal a pickup truck from the same gas station 30 minutes later. A Thursday AST dispatch says troopers first responded to reports of a stolen vehicle just before 8:30 p.m., at the Tesoro gas station on the Seward Meridian Parkway and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. The people involved described the incident, involving a suspect later identified by troopers as 26-year-old Ronnie “Chad” Coker.

Anchorage police say a 23-year-old man was arrested on drunk-driving and assault charges Tuesday after his pickup truck launched into rush-hour traffic on the curve between Tudor Road and Muldoon Road, injuring two other drivers. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says Anthony Rue faces one count of operating under the influence and two counts of felony assault in the three-vehicle crash, which happened at about 8:40 a.m. Tuesday. The incident began when Rue's 2004 Ford truck, headed north on Muldoon between Scenic View Drive and East 36th Avenue, hit the center median.

The getaway driver in an Anchorage double-murder pleaded guilty Friday. Elihue Gillespie is the third person involved in the 2009 murder to cut a deal with prosecutors; the fourth is expected to go to trial in June. As part of the plea deal, Gillespie has to testify against the accused shooter, 24-year-old James Coven. Court documents say Coven and two friends, Tabitha Burton, 18, and Christopher Gonzales, 26, were getting high one night and decided they needed more drugs.