In March, a Sitka Grand Jury indicted two people on charges relating to driving under the influence.
Court records say that on January 16th this year, Sitka Police Officer Parker White noticed a vehicle collision on Sawmill Creek Road at around 8:30 a.m. White says the driver, 37-year old Steven Morales, had watery eyes, slurred speech, and poor dexterity and balance. After taking a breathalyzer test, Morales had a blood alcohol level of 0.332, which is more than four times the legal limit. Officer White also located an alcohol shooter in Morales’ truck and the car passenger suffered a facial injury after going face-first into the windshield.
On March 26th, Morales was indicted on one count of assault in the third degree, a class C felony.
Meanwhile, on October 11th of last year, court documents show that around 2 a.m., Sitka Police Officer Andrew Broschat noticed a black vehicle with the Mean Queen restaurant logo pass him on Katlian Street at roughly 50 miles per hour. Broschat attempted to stop the vehicle, and eventually found the vehicle unoccupied at the Seafood Producers Cooperative bunkhouse parking lot. The vehicle had significant damage to the passenger side, as well as flat tires, deployed airbags, broken glass, and smoke coming from the vehicle’s engine compartment. Broschat could not locate the driver, who had left on foot.
Sgt. Lance Ewers later informed Broschat that the vehicle had struck a power pole by Sitka Sound Seafoods, according to the court documents. Officer Broschat found pieces of the vehicle at the scene, as well as large pieces of the power pole scattered near the roadway. The city utility director estimated that the cost in damage to the power pole exceeded $20,000.
Officer Broschat contacted the registered owner of the vehicle, who owns the Mean Queen restaurant. She stated that multiple eyewitnesses saw the driver, 32-year-old Anthony Marquez, leave Ernie’s Bar at closing, and was driving the vehicle all night long. Both she and the restaurant employee who used the vehicle for work, said they never gave Marquez permission to use the vehicle, and estimated around $6,000 in damages.
Officer Broschat checked the defendant’s driver’s license and dispatch confirmed that Marquez has a revoked status on his Virginia license plate, with three prior driving with a revoked license convictions within 10 years.
Marquez was indicted on March 5th with one count of vehicle theft in the first degree — a class C felony.
In other news, 29-year-old Anthony Byrd was arrested on March 9th through a “buy and bust” conducted by the Sitka Police Department for an investigation that had been occurring for the past month. Court documents say that since October of last year, the department has received numerous complaints of Byrd selling nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana to minors across Sitka.
Recruiting two underage informants, Officer White arranged for them to purchase two bottles of Tito’s Vodka and a joint from Byrd, which White coordinated by messaging him undercover through Snapchat. The defendant met with the minors on Katlian Street, where they provided Byrd with $70 for the alcohol and marijuana. Byrd purchased the alcohol from Pioneer Bar. After parting ways with the minors, police officers contacted the defendant walking on Lincoln Street and placed him into custody. Byrd admitted that he knew the minors were underage and stated that he commonly sells to minors, and sometimes drinks with them while they are driving.
On March 12th, Byrd was indicted on two counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, which are class B felony offenses.
Lastly, on March 5th, a Grand Jury indicted 32-year-old Avimael Andino on four counts of sexual assault in the second degree for sexually assaulting two intoxicated women, all of which are class B felony offenses. Andino was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a person under 21, as well as one misdemeanor count of violation of conditions of release.
