Best of the Blotter

These Police Beat entries made the top 10 list for 2012. But we’ve separated them from the longer Year in Review list as a way to highlight what is often the Frontiersman’s most-read feature: Police Beat.

With headlines like “Police arrest driver with license revoked through 2090,” and “Drugs found on infant, local mother arrested,” it’s easy to see why so many people read Police Beat first.

During 2012, Police Beat was among the most read news items 10 times, more than any other regular news item.

Here are the top 10 Crime News Items from 2012:

Jan. 15: Woman bites trooper

A woman arrested at a disturbance Jan. 12 was on her way to jail when troopers say she chomped down on one of their arms. That earned her a charge of assault in addition to the disorderly conduct she’d already faced. Sophia Seefelt eventually pleaded guilty to the assault count and got a month in jail.

Feb. 3: Wasilla woman attempts Eagle River bank robbery

After driving to a Wells Fargo bank in Eagle River Jan. 31, a 62-year-old Wasilla woman handed clerks a note demanding money. The woman approached the counter with a cane and no money was taken. Theresa Ann Blackmore left and returned home, but wasn’t arrested. Police at the time said the woman suffered from a mental illness related to heavy use of painkillers over more than a decade. As of Friday, she hadn’t been charged in state or federal court with any crimes.

Feb. 19: Couple hit with pair of DUI charges

A Wasilla couple out on the town Feb. 11 were pulled over after troopers say their Isuzu Trooper committed multiple moving violations. Tammy Gardner, 43, went to jail. But then the husband, who walked home, allegedly came back and got the vehicle a half hour later. James Gardner, 45, was also arrested for drunken driving. Neither ended up serving more than a couple weeks in jail.

Feb. 21: Man arrested for impersonating police officer

Alaska State Troopers arrested Ieremia Unasa for using a white minivan to pull people over and pretend to be a police officer. He later told troopers he was just trying to help them.

Considering that the man successfully pulled over multiple vehicles despite the fact he was driving a Chrysler Voyager and he was not a sworn officer, troopers most certainly did not want his help.

Apparently, he also asked at least one of his victims to give him a hug.

The man — 26 at the time — was arrested Feb. 20. Four months later he pleaded guilty and got 30 days in jail.

April 18: Flasher arrested on Parks Highway

Wearing a blanket and little — if anything — else, a Wasilla man was arrested April 12 while apparently flashing passing cars on the Parks Highway outside of the Alaska View Motel. The charge wasn’t indecent exposure, though. Wasilla police said at the time Joshua Lee Perri was also violating his probation because he’d been drinking. The 35-year-old man eventually pleaded guilty to that charge and wound up serving five days in jail.

June 10: Drugs found on infant, local mother arrested

If blowing through an accident scene June 6 without slowing down was Amy Padie’s first mistake, the Wasilla mother goofed again when she stuffed her meth and heroin down her infant son’s shirt after Alaska State Troopers arrested her.

That act lead to the most serious drug offense troopers can charge a person with — providing dangerous drugs to young children — which carries a penalty as steep as that attached to murder. Eventually that charge was dropped and Padie is now awaiting trial.

June 30: Police arrest driver with license revoked through 2090

Surprising no one, this 46-year-old driver stopped June 30 was reluctant to give troopers his real name. Troopers figured it out, though, and discovered he isn’t allowed to drive until he reaches age 124. Frank J. Olson, 46, of Wasilla is currently awaiting trial for this, his most recent drunken driving case.

July 3: Man stopped for littering, arrested for felony DUI

Highway patrol troopers have been known to refer to their craft of seeking out drunken drivers as “hunting.” Small things that lead to stops can probably therefore be referred to as the signs or tracks a criminal leaves.

In this case, those signs were the trash Harold D. Greenway, 53, dropped. The resulting drunken driving charge was his third in 10 years and thus a felony. He’s still awaiting a resolution of his court case.

July 16: Armed, combative man arrested along Parks Highway

Brandishing a large sheath knife, a homeless man spit on another man’s car and screamed at him and his children. That’s how this bizarre standoff began July 16. Later, the man was blasted with stun-guns multiple times and shot with beanbag rounds before he was finally taken into custody. He’s still awaiting trial on multiple assault counts. Court records seem to indicate there’s some legal wrangling over whether he is mentally fit to stand trial.

Aug. 24: Woman charged with strange break-in

Where she was staying and with whom was a mystery by the time Sharon McGuire, 43, landed in court, but this Wasilla woman was charged with trespassing in one person’s garage and using a propane tank to try to break into another person’s house. She was intoxicated when she was arrested back in August. The case went to trial where she was convicted on some or all of the counts. She is now awaiting sentencing.