Troopers arrest Caswell woman following standoff

CASWELL — A Caswell-area woman was taken into custody this morning following a nearly nine-hour standoff.

According to Alaska State Troopers, a family member of Debbie Cardwell, 52, called at around 11 p.m. Thursday to say a shot had been fired and troopers should check to make sure Cardwell was O.K. in her home near Mile 87 Parks Highway.

When troopers arrived they spoke outside with the family member before shots were fired from inside the home. One shot broke the window out of a marked trooper patrol car.

So the troopers called in the Southcentral Special Emergency Reaction Team — the type of team referred to in other jurisdictions as a SWAT team. Anchorage sent two officers and its tactical vehicle.

Trooper negotiators and police dispatchers spoke with Cardwell on the phone through the night until she finally left the home unarmed at 8:50 a.m. today and was arrested.

Cardwell is a known quantity to law enforcement. She has for years been claiming she was sexually assaulted while in trooper custody following a 2003 drunken driving arrest. Troopers say they have investigated and found absolutely no evidence to support Cardwell’s claims.

Her husband, Adam Cardwell, went to trial in 2009 on charges he’d threatened to kill troopers. Adam Cardwell was mostly upset with troopers based on his wife’s allegations. Her allegations were examined during that trial. No one who testified, save Adam Cardwell himself, lent them any credence.

Adam Cardwell stayed in jail as his case progressed and was eventually sentenced to time already served. Prison databases list him as a parolee. Debbie Cardwell was charged with two counts of assault.

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