FROM THE BLOTTER: 2009 wreck brings manslaughter charge

PALMER — Alaska State Troopers arrested a man Saturday and charged him with manslaughter stemming from an April 2009 car wreck on the Old Glenn Highway.

Troopers at the time said Edward N. Domrude II lost control negotiating a turn in the wee hours of April 25 and rolled his Honda Accord into a ditch, then back onto the highway, where it came to rest on its roof.

Though Domrude was able to pull himself from the wreckage, his passenger, Joshua A. Brown, 29, of Wasilla, was not. Brown was later flown to Alaska Regional Medical Center were he died a few days later.

At the time, troopers said there was evidence that alcohol or prescription medications played a role in the crash. They said they were waiting on toxicology reports to make a determination.

Court databases show charges were filed against Domrude in mid-February. At some point an arrest warrant was issued and, on Saturday, Domrude was served that warrant at a home on Nugget Street in Wasilla.

He was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. In addition to manslaughter, he faces DUI and driving without a license charges. Jail records showed Thursday afternoon that he has since bailed out.

False alarm sends

firefighters to school

MAT-SU — An apparent false alarm drew a large contingent of firefighters and medics to Willow Elementary School on Thursday.

According to Marvin Rankin, assistant chief with the Willow Fire Department, firefighters were called to the school about 10:30 a.m., where a fire alarm was going off.

The first person on scene, Rankin said, evacuated the building. Since it’s spring break, just one maintenance worker was inside.

Willow, Talkeetna, Houston, West Lakes and Central responders all went to the building.

“We did a thorough check of the building and we didn’t find anything,” Rankin said. “We did go through the building with a fine-tooth comb.”

He said once it was clear there was no fire, the scene was turned over to Mat-Su Borough School District officials.

Two mistakes and off to jail

WILLOW — A man who was urinating in public wound up jailed on drunken driving charges after state troopers watched him drive off on a snowmachine.

According to an Alaska State Trooper press statement, at 8 p.m. Sunday officers talked to John Wagster, 44, of Anchorage, about his public urination in the parking lot of the Willow Townsite.

“Wagster was under the influence of alcohol. Approximately five minutes after troopers ended the contact with Wagster, they observed him driving a snowmachine away from the area,” according to the press statement.

Troopers caught up with him and jailed him at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility for drunken driving. Jail records Thursday afternoon showed he has since bailed out.