Soldotna man arrested for allegedly threatening cabbie

A Soldotna man previously arrested for threatening hospital staff members with a knife and for entering and pulling the fire alarms in two central Kenai Peninsula elementary schools has been arrested again for threatening a taxi driver.

Soldotna Police Department officers arrested Robert Luton, 31, on Jan. 19, according to a police dispatch. Officers responded to a call from the Maverick Saloon on the Sterling Highway around 3:05 am. about a man allegedly threatening a cab driver and refusing to pay his cab fare, according to the dispatch.

After investigation, they arrested Luton and charged him with one court of assault in the fourth degree, one count of theft in the fourth degree and violation of his conditions of release. He was taken to Wildwood Correctional Complex’s Pretrial Facility and held on $1,000 bail, according to the dispatch.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

He was arraigned on Jan. 20 and is currently scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Feb. 15, according to Courtview.

Luton was arrested in October 2017 after video footage showed him pulling the fire alarm at Sterling Elementary School when there was no fire, leading to an evacuation of the school, and then reentered the school when all the students did after the fire alarm was cleared. He was later linked to another incident of pulling the fire alarm at another school and charged with terroristic threatening and criminal mischief.

He pleaded guilty to one charge in each case of making a false report, a class A misdemeanor, after the state amended the charges.

At a hearing at the Kenai Courthouse on Oct. 29, the public defender representing him noted that he has a history of mental illness that contributed to his behavior. In 2016, Luton also pled guilty to two counts of assault in the fourth degree connected to repeatedly verbally threatening to kill two Central Peninsula Hospital staff members in 2015, according to Alaska court records.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Concert-goers listen to The Discopians at Concert on the Lawn on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Karen Hornaday Park in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
‘Dancing at the end of the world’

KBBI AM 890 hosted their annual Concert on the Lawn Saturday.

Lisa Gabriel unfurls a set beach seine during a test fishery for the gear near Clam Gulch, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seine test fishery continues after board of fish calls for more data

The east side setnet fishery has been entirely closed in recent years to protect Kenai River king salmon

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA opens bids for real property

The deadline to submit bids is 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. (right) attends a change of plea hearing related to the October 2023 fatal shooting of Brianna Hetrick on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Homer Courthouse in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Mondragon-Lopez sentenced for death of Homer woman

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. accepted a plea deal in February for the shooting of Brianna Hetrick.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs $395,000 capital plan

This year’s list of capital projects is “nominal compared to some past years,” according to officials.

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in