Former head of animal control sentenced to jail time for DWI

PALMER -- The former head of Mat-Su Borough Animal Control was sentenced Tuesday to three days in jail for a first-time drunken driving conviction, though the court acknowledged he was not actually driving when Alaska State Troopers arrested him last July.

District Court Judge Peter Ashman sentenced Anthony Gonzales, 48, to three days in jail and a $250 fine, with three years probation.

Gonzales was arrested and charged with one count of driving while intoxicated on June 30 after troopers received a report from a passing motorist that a man was slumped over the wheel of his pickup truck at 9 p.m. on the Parks Highway near Mile 63.5.

A trooper contacted the parked 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck and allegedly found Gonzales behind the wheel with the keys in the ignition, a court document stated.

An alcohol breath test administered to Gonzales at 9:26 p.m. showed an alcohol level of .147, according to court documents.

In a motion filed by his attorney, Verne Rupright, Gonzales originally pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge. Rupright argued Gonzales was not driving the truck when the trooper detained him.

Assistant District Attorney John Erickson argued that Alaska statutes are clear -- if keys are in the ignition and the person is sitting in the driver's seat, that is grounds for a DWI.

Gonzales resigned from his $53,000-a-year borough position soon after his DWI arrest.

James Rau was appointed the new chief of the Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation Center, which is what the shelter was renamed last fall.