Houston septic pumper alleged to have threatened troopers

HOUSTON — A septic pumper with a checkered past is in jail after Alaska State Troopers said he threatened to shoot one of them, and there are hints of more charges to come.

According to papers troopers filed in court in the case against Kenneth David Champ, at 7:49 p.m., Sept. 26 Trooper Matthew Heieren drove to a home off of Bench Lake Road to look into complaints Champ had been dumping sewage into a nearby stream.

There, he saw a couple of trucks with logos for Champ Septic pumping and talked to a neighbor of Champ’s.

“She indicated that the owner of the trucks and the individual pumping sewage into the creek on her property lived in a white trailer adjacent to the trucks,” Trooper Sgt. Rodney Johnson wrote, recounting Heieren’s experiences.

According to the court filings, Heieren went to the trailer and knocked on the door. A man he later identified as Champ answered the door and told him to leave. Heieren tried a couple times to get the man to talk and gave up.

“As Trp. Heieren was walking down the driveway, MATCOM (dispatchers) relayed to him that a male who identified himself as Kenneth Champ had called 911 at (9:04 p.m.). He stated on 911 that there was a trooper on his property and he is going to shoot and has a gun in his hand. Champ made the threat more than once on the recorded 911 line,” according to Johnson’s affidavit.

Heieren was “afraid for his life,” according to the court filings and drew his pistol before making his way back up to the road where another trooper picked him up.

The two drove back to a trooper post and drew up charges to send to the District Attorney’s Office.

That’s when they found out that a separate investigation was already under way looking into possible violations of Alaska’s waste disposal laws and “construction and unapproved sewage works,” among other things.

Troopers got a warrant for a felony charge of assaulting a police officer.

According to a trooper press release, Champ was arrested at noon on Wednesday and jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.

The trooper press release mentions the possible future charges relating to “environmental crimes” and also makes vague reference to “pending further federal charges” relating to drugs and weapons crimes.

Champ is not an unknown quantity in the Valley. In October 2009, then-Houston-mayor Roger Purcell cited the company Champ owned then with violating city codes. The mayor said that two septic tanks Champ had buried were out of compliance and the city wrote daily tickets of $300 each for the violation. More than 50 were filed before the company yanked its tanks.

In October, Champ ran for Houston City Council in the election that eventually seated Gina Jorgenson in the seat he sought. At the time, Champ declined the Frontiersman’s interview requests.

As of Thursday afternoon, jail records listed Champ as an inmate at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Court records indicate he made his first court appearance early Thursday afternoon.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.