A man has been charged with multiple felony counts of drugs and weapons misconduct after Alaska State Troopers said that they seized cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and a gun from his vehicle following a traffic stop on the Kuskokwim River ice road.
According to troopers, 58-year-old Steven Smith was pulled over on the ice road in the early evening hours of March 6 by a patrol trooper because of expired registration. The traffic stop followed multiple community tips alleging that Smith had been selling illegal drugs in the nearby community of Napakiak, roughly 10 miles downriver.
According to a trooper affidavit, after receiving a search warrant for the truck the responding trooper seized a Pringles chip can containing two baggies with substances that tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as a small black pistol. Prior to the search, Smith allegedly handed over a small amount of what later tested positive as heroin, according to the affidavit.
Smith has been charged with two felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance; two felony counts of misconduct involving weapons; three misdemeanor counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance; and two misdemeanor counts related to possessing alcohol in or near a dry village for three bottles of vodka also allegedly found in the truck.
As of March 12, Smith was being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel with bail set at $25,000. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for March 17 in Bethel court.
