A report of a stolen truck Thanksgiving Day resulted in three people being arrested, including a Kodiak woman wanted on a felony drugs warrant who was discovered hiding in the stolen vehicle as it was being towed.
Thursday at about 11:30 p.m., Alaska State Troopers received a report of a stolen red 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 around the Parks Highway and Vienna Woods Access Road in Wasilla, according to an online dispatch.
Troopers spotted the truck heading northbound and conducted a traffic stop. The driver was identified as Wasilla resident Ilsa “Asia” Johnson, who was driving while her license was revoked, troopers said. She was arrested.
Troopers discovered that a passenger – Mitchell Kleewein of Wasilla — had an outstanding felony warrant, and he was also arrested, AST said. During an in-custody search of Kleewein, troopers noticed that he tried to toss a small plastic container.
“State Troopers collected the container and discovered Kleewein was in possession of heroin and crystal methamphetamine,” the dispatch says.
A second passenger was released from the scene and troopers impounded the truck for investigation. As the truck was being towed, AST received word that a third passenger was hiding under the backseat of the vehicle, covered by clothes, the dispatch says.
The towing company driver was notified of the hiding passenger and was told to meet troopers at the Wasilla Police Department.
“When the tow truck with [the] impounded vehicle arrived, the rear door of the impounded Dodge opened and a woman jumped from the moving tow truck and attempted to flee,” the dispatch says.
The woman — who tried to run from authorities “with a large purse filled with items from the vehicle” — was identified as Lynda Kopy of Kodiak, according to the AST dispatch.
Troopers said they are investigating the contents of the bag, along with items inside the Dodge Ram. Johnson, Kleewein and Kopy were transported and remanded at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.