Alaska State Troopers arrested a Michigan man on Saturday after he stole a vehicle; the man later attempted to post a bond payment using a stolen credit card.
Shortly before 10:30 on Saturday night, June 1, Troopers were notified that a stolen vehicle was traveling south onto the Kenai Peninsula from Portage. Troopers based in Soldotna and Seward, along with a US Forest Service officer, responded.
AST A Detachment Commander, Captain Mike Zweifel, said the owner of the stolen vehicle was able to assist law enforcement in locating it. “The owner of the vehicle had a tracker on the [it] and was able to kind of lead Whittier PD, US Forest Service, and the troopers. He was able to track the vehicle as it moved down the Seward Highway and kind of lead us to where we could intercept this vehicle,” said Zweifel.
The vehicle was located and stopped near the Sterling Highway junction of the Seward Highway. A subsequent investigation revealed that 42-year-old Kiril Johnson of Michigan had recently been to the Ted Steven International Airport in Anchorage, where he had stolen a vehicle from one of the airport parking lots.
Troopers determined that Johnson was driving while under the influence of controlled substances. He was arrested for driving under the influence and first-degree vehicle theft.
Further investigation of Johnson and the property he possessed at the time of his arrest indicated that he had likely burglarized more vehicles at the airport.
The following day, Johnson attempted to post his bond using a credit card belonging to another person. Working with Anchorage Airport Police and the Whittier Police Department, AST discovered that Johnson had burglarized several cars and taken multiple items while at the airport, and fraudulently used another person’s credit card at the airport and businesses in Girdwood.
Johnson was remanded on further counts of first-degree criminal impersonation, attempted fraudulent use of an access device, and attempted second-degree theft.
According to the Trooper dispatch on the incident, more criminal counts are forthcoming from airport police and the Whittier PD.