Wasilla man arrested after pushing woman from car

TRAPPER CREEK — A Wasilla man is in jail after troopers say he tried to push his girlfriend out of a moving car and dragged her along the ground when she got tied up in the seatbelt.

According to a trooper press statement, at about 12:19 a.m. Sunday, troopers were called to Mile 133 Parks Highway. There they were told Kenneth Christenson, 51, of Wasilla, had pushed his 25-year-old girlfriend from the vehicle.

Troopers say medics on scene reported the woman had serious injuries to her right leg, right ankle, right arm, right shoulder and back.

“Investigation revealed that the female and Christenson were engaged in an argument when Christenson forced the female out of the front passenger seat by opening the door and pushing her out while the vehicle was in motion,” troopers report.

Troopers say the girlfriend got tangled up in the seatbelt, causing the right side of her body to drag along the ground. They say Christenson stopped the vehicle, got out and started assaulting the woman.

An hour later, troopers stopped Christenson at about Mile 50 of the highway. He was arrested for assault, DUI, refusing a chemical test and weapons misconduct. He was jailed without bail at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Prison records late Thursday showed he was still in custody.

The woman was treated at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Troopers say her injuries were not life threatening.

ATV accident leads to manslaughter charge

WASILLA — The driver of an ATV whose passenger was killed after being thrown onto Bogard Road has been charged with manslaughter.

Brandon Dickey, 26, of Wasilla, was arrested shortly after the crash that killed Kirby Anderson. Alaska State Troopers say the two were riding on a 2007 Polaris Ranger ATV near Bogard’s intersection with Stoney Hollow Road when Dickey took a hard right turn, throwing Anderson from the ATV.

Anderson, a local pharmacy technician who had recently moved to Alaska, landed in the road and had a serious head injury. She was taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center in critical condition. She later died of her injuries.

At the time, Dickey was charged with drunken driving, assault and weapons misconduct for being drunk in possession of a Ruger pistol troopers found in the ATV. On May 15, a Palmer Grand Jury chose to indict Dickey on an additional assault charge plus new charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

In a trooper affidavit filed with the case — which Dickey seemed cooperative with — described what happened that night. He registered a breath-alcohol content of .124. The legal limit for driving is .08.

Dickey was released on bail after his arrest. Prison records Thursday morning showed he was still out.

Teen noshes at store, lands in slammer

WILLOW — Alaska State Troopers say a Willow teen, when told he couldn’t carry his case of beer as he shopped at the Townsite gas station, tossed the booze out the station’s front door.

According to a trooper press statement, at 1:40 a.m. Saturday, troopers were called out to the gas station in Willow.

There they arrested Philip Lestenkof, 19, of Willow.

Troopers say they were told Lestenkof drove to the store drunk, brought his beer inside with him, opened several bags of chips and ate half a sandwich without paying for them.

“The clerk told Lestenkof that the beer wasn’t allowed in the store so Lestenkof tossed it into the parking lot,” troopers report.

Troopers arrested Lestenkof and charged him with theft, DUI, underage drinking and minor driving after drinking.

Shooting over drywall mud lands conviction

PALMER — A Wasilla man was found guilty of attempted murder Tuesday in a 2008 shooting at the Roadside Inn.

Kenneth Goldsbury, 54, was charged with attempted murder and assault for the shooting, stemming from an argument at a Super Bowl Sunday party at the Roadside’s bar. He and the man he shot, Marvin Long, were more-or-less permanent residents of the motel.

The two never got along well, Long testified at trial. The argument leading up to the shooting centered around a box of drywall mud that Long had bought. He said Goldsbury borrowed it without asking and didn’t replace it. He said it wasn’t the fist time Goldsbury had taken his mud without permission.

Goldsbury’s trial began Thursday. By early Monday afternoon the jury was in deliberation. They came back with a verdict Tuesday.

Goldsbury’s attorney, Sam Westergrin, argued that his client was acting in self-defense. He noted a history of heated confrontations between Goldsbury and Long and said he believed Long came to Goldsbury’s room after the party to do more than just ask about the mud.

In opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Kerry Corliss said that Goldsbury fired through a locked, metal door at an unarmed man. That, she said, wasn’t the action of someone who reasonably feared for his life enough to justify deadly force.

The sentencing range for attempted murder in Alaska is between 5 and 99 years in prison.

— Andrew Wellner