Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Wife of arrested Soldotna police officer pleads not guilty to theft, witness interference

Samantha Bower, 45, of Soldotna, was indicted by a Kenai grand jury last month

The wife of a Soldotna police officer arrested in July pleaded not guilty in Kenai Superior Court on Wednesday to two felony charges she faces for allegedly attempting to influence a witness in her husband’s case.

Samantha Bower, 45, of Soldotna, was indicted by a Kenai grand jury last month on one count of interfering with official proceedings, a class B felony, and on one count of theft in the second degree, a class C felony.

During an arraignment hearing on Wednesday, she pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Her husband, David Bower, was arrested in July on a fourth-degree domestic violence assault charge. He has worked as an officer with the Soldotna Police Department since 2004 and is currently on administrative leave pending investigations by both the City of Soldotna and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.

Between June 30, 2008, and March 10, 2023, Samantha Bower also worked at the Soldotna Police Department, first as a temporary clerk and then as a full-time clerk. That’s according to Soldotna City Manager Janette Bower, who is unrelated to Samantha and David.

The grand jury indictment handed down Oct. 25 says Samantha Bower’s alleged crimes occurred on the same day that the report of domestic violence in the David Bower case was made to the Alaska State Troopers.

Superior Court Judge Lance Joanis presided over Wednesday’s arraignment hearing and instituted a no contact order between Samantha Bower and the family member she is alleged to have tried to influence. That family member is the same person David Bower is alleged to have assaulted.

Samantha Bower was initially scheduled to be arraigned last week under Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson, however, Lawson recused herself from the case.

Lawson wrote in a request for reassignment that she has known Bower “personally and professionally for many years,” although they do not socialize. Lawson said Bower texted her in July asking how her day had been, but Lawson did not respond because she thought the message was sent in error.

“I found out the day after her text message that her husband had been arrested,” Lawson wrote. “Today, I learned of these charges against her, which appear to be from around the same time period of her husband’s arrest and the text message. While I can be fair and impartial in this matter, under Judicial Canon 3(E), I believe this recent contact, as well as my prior relationship with her, might reasonably call into question my impartiality.”

Superior Court Just Jason Grist, who said he has a “close friendship” with the case prosecutor Jenna Gruenstein, also recused himself.

Alaska Statute says that a person commits the crime of interference with official proceedings when that person confers, offers to confer or agrees to confer a benefit upon a witness with the intent of improperly influencing that witness.

Statute says a person commits the crime of second-degree theft when that person commits theft and the value of the property is more than $750, but less than $25,000.

The Class B and Class C felony charges leveled against Samantha Bower carry heftier potential punishments than the Class A misdemeanor charge her husband is facing.

Samantha Bower was represented in court Thursday by Andy Pevehouse, who is also representing David Bower. Pevehouse did not respond to a request for confirmation on Thursday.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska, as seen on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
HEA rates to increase Jan. 1

The cooperative’s last rate increase took effect in April 2020

AP Photo/Erin Hooley
An eight-week-old sea otter rescued from Seldovia, Alaska, peaks out of his enclosure at Shedd Aquarium Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Chicago. The otter was found alone and malnourished and was taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward which contacted Shedd, and the Chicago aquarium was able to take the otter in. He will remain quarantined for a few months while he learns to groom and eat solid foods before being introduced to Shedd’s five other sea otters.
Seldovia sea otter pup has a new home at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

The northern sea otter was found alone and malnourished and taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward

Students from Nikiski Middle/High School and Kenai Middle School join Jesse Bjorkman, Ken Felchle and volunteers from the Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Safari Club International on an educational moose hunt in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo provided by Jesse Bjorkman)
Lessons in big game hunting

Students learn to ethically and responsibly harvest a moose and process its meat for food

Cook Inletkeeper Energy Policy Analyst Ben Boettger presents information about retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Inletkeeper turns focus to energy for next community climate solution

The meeting marked the official kickoff of Cook Inletkeeper’s fourth installment in its local solution series

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Woman arrested after allegedly shooting neighbor’s house

The woman had been trying to break up a dog fight, troopers said

A pie chart shows Kenai Peninsula Borough School District expenditures by object for the current fiscal year. (Chart via KPBSD)
Explanation of how KPBSD organizes funds caps ‘Budget 101’ series

Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes delivered the presentation to school board members during a Monday work session

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, answers questions from constituents during a legislative update at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Ruffridge predicts school funding, energy security will be top issues in Juneau next session

Ruffridge has represented District 7, which includes Kenai and Soldotna, in the Alaska House of Representatives since October 2022

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meet on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
New school board group will study 4-day school week

The group will meet regularly until next July, when committee members will present their findings to the full board

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Advisory committee supports protections for lake trout and king salmon

Advisory committee recommendations will be weighed by the State Board of Fisheries alongside public testimony as they deliberate on each proposal

Most Read