Wasilla man charged with stealing truck, drunken driving

WASILLA -- A drunken Wasilla man sped down the Parks Highway Friday night, June 19, in a stolen truck, according to charging documents filed by Alaska State Troopers.

Trooper Jason Carpenter said he clocked Sterling Michael Marshall, 19, of Wasilla, traveling 96 mph in a 45-mph zone at mile 42 of the Parks Highway.

When Carpenter pulled Marshall over, he reported smelling alcohol. Marshall reportedly failed the walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand test as well as a portable breath alcohol test where he blew a .146 percent, according to Carpenter. Later, when Marshall blew into the official Data Master test he showed a .076 percent blood alcohol level. Carpenter reported that Marshall could not produce any information on the 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck he was driving, and did not know the owner's name. Marshall reportedly said a young man named Charles gave him the truck for a beer run.

Carpenter contacted the registered owner, Roy Gene Watson, who said he parked the truck Thursday night at 2110 Updraft Dr., where he works, at Gate Creek Sand and Gravel in Wasilla. Watson said he didn't realize his truck was not at his job site.

Marshall was placed under arrest for DUI, as well as first-degree vehicle theft and second-degree theft and transported to the Palmer Police Department, where the Troopers conducted the official Data Master breath alcohol test. Marshall was held at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in Palmer and was released Monday after posting $6,000 bail.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.