An Anchorage man is behind bars after Soldotna Police found him sleeping in a stolen truck armed with a handgun and carrying $22,000 worth of drugs Monday morning.
Rodney Godwin, 39, was slumped over the wheel of a 2010 Ford F350 pickup with the engine running parked behind the Kenai Peninsula Borough building on Binkley Street when Soldotna Police Officer Steven Clary approached him at 7:25 a.m., according to Clary’s police report.
Police dispatch informed Clary that the pickup had been reported stolen from Alaska Sales and Service in Wasilla and valued at $44,000. Inside the vehicle, Godwin was in possession of a loaded .45 caliber pistol, 59 grams of methamphetamine, 23 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of heroin, 2 grams of cocaine and more than $3,000 in cash. The street value is estimated at $22,000, according to the police report.
Godwin had previously been arrested for felony driving under the influence, had a revoked driver’s license and was currently on felony probation, according to the report.
Police arrested Godwin on nine felony charges and three misdemeanors. He was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility and held without bail.
Godwin was arraigned on 12 charges at the Kenai Courthouse on Tuesday. The charges include: felony driving under the influence of a controlled substance, driving while license revoked, first-degree theft, two counts of second-degree misconduct involving a weapon, third-degree and fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons, two counts of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, and third-degree, fourth-degree and fifth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.
Two felony charges are related to having a controlled substance and felon with a gun in proximity of a school. Godwin was parked across the street from Soldotna Elementary School at the time of his arrest Monday morning.
Soldotna Police Chief Peter Mlynarik said there is no connection as to why he would be parked behind the Borough building, but because he was under the influence of drugs, he may not have known where he was.
“Sometimes people do crazy things under the influence of drugs and try to elude police,” he said. “We are glad it got resolved peacefully. We would not want someone driving in his condition.”
Mlynarik said Soldotna is a passing through point for a lot of illicit drugs coming from Anchorage and the driver could have been driving south. The case is still under investigation.
Godwin is scheduled to be in court for a preliminary hearing March 3, at the Kenai Courthouse.
