Big Lake man charged with 21 theft counts after Mat-Su traffic stop

A Big Lake man faces 25 criminal counts after troopers searched his impounded vehicle and found stolen credit cards, identification cards and checks along with prescription drugs, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.

The Mat-Su Valley Criminal Suppression Unit stopped Jonathan Meeks, 39, in Big Lake on July 25 during criminal interdiction enforcement, not a drug-specific stop, and impounded his vehicle at the roadside, according to the dispatch.

U.S. Probation searched the vehicle on Aug. 7. Officers found 54 morphine pills, 20 lisdexamfetamine capsules, three oxycodone pills and two vials of testosterone, along with 21 stolen cards and checks, the dispatch said.

Palmer Patrol stopped Meeks again on Saturday while he was driving. He was arrested on an outstanding U.S. Marshals warrant. The suppression unit responded and booked him on one count of second-degree misconduct involving controlled substances, one count in the third degree, two counts in the fifth degree and 21 counts of second-degree theft.

Meeks is held at Mat-Su Pretrial without bail. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The department said the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges are expected. The dispatch does not include any account from Meeks or an attorney.