A Sterling woman was arrested Tuesday and charged with stealing a Cadillac sedan from a Soldotna gas station.
Alaska State Troopers say Keelan Lacross, 31, was drunk when she boosted the luxury vehicle.
Lacross has been charged with first-degree vehicle theft, providing false information and DUI. She made an initial court appearance Tuesday at the Kenai Courthouse.
Earlier that day, troopers had received a call from Brent Elkington, who reported that "someone had just stolen his Cadillac CTS from a Soldotna gas station." The caller told troopers he believed the opportunistic car thief was headed north on the Sterling Highway.
Ten minutes later, troopers say, they caught the Caddy at Mile 82 of the highway and pulled the driver over. Lacross, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was detained. An investigation found she initially provided a false name to troopers but later stated her real name.
Lacross also allegedly admitted to consuming alcohol, and troopers determined she'd been driving the stolen Cadillac while drunk.
This marks Lacross' third arrest in 2014, according to online court records. On March 6, she was arrested for fourth-degree assault, a charge to which she pleaded guilty in April. Less than three weeks later, she was arrested on multiple charges, including two counts of criminally trespassing in a vehicle and violating her conditions of release. She pleaded guilty to a single trespassing charge and the state dropped the others.
Reach Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy@alaskadispatch.com.
By Jerzy Shedlock
jerzy@alaskadispatch.com