A 48-year-old Seward man was arrested Saturday after police say he stole and crashed multiple vehicles on the Seward Highway.
Rondy Dupuy is charged with two counts of third-degree assault, two counts of second-degree theft and one count each of first-degree vehicle theft, driving while license revoked, driving without a motorcycle license, driving under the influence and second-degree criminal trespass, according to a Saturday dispatch by Alaska State Troopers.
An affidavit included with charging documents says that troopers around 8 p.m. responded to reports of a motorcycle swerving on the Seward Highway at a speed of only around 5-10 miles per hour and without a helmet. At the time of that report, he was between Bear Creek and Moose Pass, headed north toward Anchorage.
Only around 10 minutes later, the affidavit says, another call came from a man who said he had stopped his Jeep after finding a motorcycle accident and an injured man. The owner of the Jeep told responding officers the injured man had stolen his Jeep and continued northward. While officers were speaking to the owner of the Jeep, another man arrived and said that his motorcycle — the one that was crashed at the scene — had been stolen from his home in Seward.
Nearing 9 p.m., troopers found a two-vehicle collision just north of the Sterling and Seward Highway Junction, by Summit Lake, “just moments after the collision occurred.” The Jeep reported stolen was one of the vehicles. The alleged driver of the Jeep and the motorcycle, Dupuy, was taken to a hospital in Soldotna. The two occupants of the other vehicle, a BMW, were also hospitalized, one taken to Seward and the other flown by helicopter to Anchorage.
Dupuy, contacted at the scene before being transported to the hospital, had “a very large collection of cash” in his pocket, the affidavit says. He told the responding officer that he’d made the money selling fentanyl in Anchorage the day prior. He told officers that he’d stolen the Jeep and the motorcycle, according to the affidavit.
Dupuy was arrested and taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility after being discharged from the hospital. He was arraigned on Monday, where bail was set at a $20,000 appearance bond and $10,000 performance bond. If released, Dupuy would also require a third-party custodian.
No attorney was listed for Dupuy as of Tuesday evening, but he said during the arraignment that he would be represented by a private attorney. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 5, at 2 p.m., in Seward.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
