Court report
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TweetJacob Nicholas Tuenge, 35, pleaded guilty May 4 to driving under the influence on Dec. 11, 2014. An officer responded to a report of a vehicle off Comstock Road and found Tuenge unresponsive in the locked and running vehicle. After several attempts, the officer was able to wake Tuenge. The officer reported Tuenge was incoherent, not sure of his location and smelled strongly of alcohol. Tuenge admitted to drinking six to eight alcoholic beverages over several hours. He failed all field sobriety tests and blew a .272. Tuenge was sentenced to 20 days in jail, $4,476 in fines, $125 in fees, completion of a substance abuse assessment, one year license revocation, one year of using an ignition interlock device and two years’ probation.
Jason Albecker, 25, pleaded guilty April 30 to refusing to submit to a chemical test and failing to give immediate notice of an accident on Feb. 1. Witnesses reported a white SUV driving recklessly had crashed into the garage door of a Second Avenue business. Another caller reported a white SUV drove through a stop sign and crashed into her vehicle near the intersection of Third and Union streets. Officers later found the vehicle at a Front Street bar and contacted Albecker, who said the vehicle belonged to him and he had been the only one driving it. Officers noted Albecker’s eyes were watery and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred. Albecker refused to provide a breath sample to determine his blood alcohol level. Albecker was sentenced to 30 days in jail, $4,467 in fines, $125 in fees, payment of restitution, completion of a substance abuse assessment, one year of license revocation, one year of using an ignition interlock device and three years’ probation.
Martin Goldberg, 21, pleaded guilty June 4 to second-degree theft and fraudulent use of an access device on Oct. 9, 2014. A woman reported someone had stolen her credit card and used it at several stores around Haines. Officers contacted the store owners and showed them receipts for the purchases, and several identified Goldberg as the person who made or attempted the purchases. When contacted by police, Goldberg said he found the card and refused to comment further. Goldberg called police several days later asking if he could just pay back the charges he made on the card. When asked if he was admitting to the crime, Goldberg responded, “Come on, you and I both know I did it.” Goldberg was sentenced to write a letter of apology, five days in jail, payment of restitution, $100 in fees and three years’ probation.
Goldberg was also sentenced June 4 after pleading guilty to second-degree harassment on Sept. 27, 2014. A man reported receiving three prank calls at 2:30 a.m. Each time he told the person to stop calling. During one call, the caller played a love song for five minutes before the man hung up. Police obtained a search warrant for phone records and found the phone number belonged to Goldberg. Goldberg initially denied making the calls but admitted to them when shown the phone records. Goldberg was sentenced to write a letter of apology, eight days in jail and $100 in fees.
Blake D. Ward, 21, pleaded guilty May 27 to third-degree theft by receiving on June 18, 2013. An officer met with a man whose GoPro camera had been stolen during a spree of car break-ins and subsequently recovered by police. The officer asked the man to review the contents of the GoPro to see if there were any photos the man hadn’t taken. The man noted three photos on the camera he didn’t recognize that showed a young white man silhouetted in the doorway of a vehicle. Officers identified the man in the photos as Ward. Ward was sentenced to write a letter of apology, 30 days in jail, $100 in fees and payment of restitution.
Austin E. Hotch, 20, pleaded guilty June 4 to fourth-degree theft on June 18, 2013. Officers returned a stolen camera to the camera’s owner, who had been victimized during a spree of car break-ins. The man came to the station and reported there were photos of a person on the camera that the camera’s owner hadn’t taken. Officers identified the person in the photos as Hotch. Hotch was sentenced to 30 days in jail, $100 in fees and payment of restitution.
Michael T. Ward, 23, pleaded guilty April 23 to disorderly conduct on Feb. 18. Police responded to a report that Ward was in an altercation with a man on Main Street. The altercation reportedly concerned garbage in the man’s pick-up truck. The man said Ward charged across the street at him and wanted to fight. Ward said he “went crazy” and started punching the man when the man hit him in the face with a bag of garbage. When an officer was interviewing the two men, Ward told the victim, “Just wait ‘til no one is around.” Medical personnel determined the man had a fractured finger and contusion near his spine. Ward was sentenced to one day in jail, $50 in fees and two years’ probation.
Ronald L. Martin, 73, pleaded guilty March 31 and was sentenced May 8 in Yukon Territorial Court for illegally importing and exporting wildlife. Martin, a big game hunting guide, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a grizzly bear hide, two black bear hides and three wolverine hides. He also pleaded guilty to illegally exporting two Dall sheep from the Yukon, exporting moose meat without a permit and illegally transporting a Yukon grizzly bear hide to Alberta. Martin was sentenced to a $20,000 fine and a 10-year prohibition from carrying a firearm and accompanying anyone hunting in the Yukon. He can hunt with a bow for subsistence beginning in 2020. He was also required to forfeit several of the hunting trophies, and is banned for 10 years from obtaining any Yukon export permits.
