FROM THE BLOTTER: Newspaper used in credit card scheme

WASILLA — Someone posing as a Frontiersman advertising representative has tried to defraud at least one advertiser.

The fraudster apparently called the victim and claimed her credit card number used to place an ad didn't work. The caller then asked the victim for the credit card number so she could try it again.

The phony ad rep gave her name as Melissa Jackson. No such person works in the Frontiersman's advertising department.

Palmer Police Detective Sgt. Kelly Turney, who has handled more than his fair share of identity theft and fraud cases, said he hasn't heard of this particular scam.

“That's a new one on me,” Turney said.

But it's of a piece with a pretty standard fraud wherein the caller impersonates some business or organization — real or imagined — and solicits personal information.

A good rule of thumb is to not trust unsolicited calls like that, Turney said. If it feels like it might be legit, he said, end the call and then call the business back using the number you usually dial.

Boys caught stealing snowmachines

PALMER — A trio of very young teenage boys are facing vehicle theft charges after police say they tried to get away with a pair of snowmachines.

According to a Palmer Police Department press release, on Dec. 22 police were called to investigate the theft.

“The owner actually caught them in the act and chased them down somehow and was calling us at the same time,” said Palmer police Commander Tom Remaley. “The officers responded, got them, the boys confessed.”

Remaley said the boys — 12, 14 and 15, all of Palmer — were released to their parents.

Police, troopers look into stabbings

WASILLA — An apparent stabbing case that ping-ponged between jurisdictions this weekend has landed with the Alaska State Troopers but still remains murky.

Wasilla Police Department Deputy Chief Greg Wood said the initial call at 4:55 p.m. on Sunday to talk to two apparent stabbing victims at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center seemed to indicate that the stabbing occurred near Edlund Road, which would be troopers' jurisdiction.

Still, Wood said, Wasilla police agreed to lend a hand and went to the hospital with the trooper.

There, he said, the two individuals with cuts and stab wounds told them the incident happened somewhere near Glenwood Avenue, making it was a Wasilla Police Department case.

So, Wood said, he brought in an on-call investigator who spent eight or nine hours working the case. That investigator eventually tracked down the crime scene to Larson Elementary. That would be troopers' jurisdiction.

Wood said the case was handed over to troopers who are investigating. Troopers had no additional information on the case as of press time.

But, Wood said, he's not even sure if the two men spoken to were victims, per-se. They also were far from cooperative when talking to police.

One of the alleged victims was underage and thus his name was left out of the Wasilla Police Department press release.

The other is Dae Poteet, 19, of Willow, who made two appearances in the police department press releases for that day, first when he was charged with underage drinking and trespassing at the Lake Lucille Best Western and second for the stabbing.

Dog sniffs out marijuana

WASILLA — Police trying to stop a suspicious vehicle wound up calling in a police dog and turning up more than an ounce of weed.

According to a Wasilla Police Department press release, at 4:55 p.m. Friday, police spotted two vehicles they found to be suspicious at Knik-Goose Bay Road and Railroad Avenue.

Police say they briefly lost site of them but later spotted them in a parking lot.

“Reasonable suspicion was developed to the point officers called in a canine unit. The canine alerted to the presence of controlled substances in one of the vehicles,” according to the press release.

Police say the controlled substance turned out to be 1.5 ounces of marijuana. They also found more than $5,000 in cash.

The driver of the vehicle, Daniel Hoekzema, 40, of Wasilla, was arrested at the request of his probation officer and jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Drug misconduct charges are pending. Jail records Monday afternoon showed he was still incarcerated.