Barrow man charged with felony drug count after Girdwood traffic stop

Troopers recovered just over 14 grams of methamphetamine from a Dodge SUV impounded after a traffic stop near Girdwood, and the driver now faces a new felony drug charge.

Troopers assigned to the Highway Interdiction Team stopped the SUV at mile 68 of the Seward Highway on July 30 for multiple violations, according to the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol. Troopers identified the driver as Daniel D. Kingosak, 37, of Barrow. Kingosak was in absconder status from Anchorage probation and had an active arrest warrant. He was arrested on the warrant and remanded to the Anchorage Jail. The vehicle was impounded.

Troopers executed a search warrant on the SUV on Aug. 3 and found the methamphetamine. Kingosak was remanded Wednesday on a new felony charge of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree. Troopers said he was held pending arraignment on the new charge as of Aug. 5. Troopers note that charges are accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent.

This account comes solely from the trooper dispatch report, which contains no defense or court perspective. Kingosak is from Utqiagvik, formerly Barrow, where the North Slope Borough's health department frames substance use as a behavioral health issue requiring treatment and community support rather than solely a criminal one. The ACLU of Alaska has said Alaska Native people are disproportionately represented in the state's prisons and jails compared with non-Native residents.