Alaska State Troopers have arrested a second man and are seeking a third from a vehicle stopped on New Year's Eve in Wasilla, after a trooper was injured while taking a passenger into custody that night.
Troopers said in a Monday dispatch that the additional charges stemmed from incorrect information given to troopers during the Dec. 31 traffic stop on Copper Creek Road. Geoffery Hansen, 27, was initially arrested for fourth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after trying to swallow drug paraphernalia, then fighting an officer, troopers said.
Another passenger from the vehicle, 25-year-old Willie Boepple, is being sought after troopers say he gave them a false name that night. The vehicle's driver, 23-year-old David Buben, was arrested at a Wasilla home Sunday evening on one count of hindering prosecution and held at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility on $500 bail. Both Boepple and Buben are Wasilla residents.
"Boepple is currently on probation for a misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree conviction and has an outstanding $5,000 felony warrant for his arrest," troopers said, adding that Buben "took steps to conceal Boepple's identity from AST."
Boepple is also being sought for violating conditions of his release, following an earlier arrest on a separate count of fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances.
Troopers ask anyone with information on Boepple's whereabouts to call their Palmer post at 352-5401 or Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333.