Troopers arrest three Fairbanks-area drivers on DUI charges

Fairbanks-area troopers pulled three impaired drivers off the road over the weekend, and none were close calls — every breath test came in well past Alaska's 0.08 limit, one of them nearly triple it.

The highest reading came from Roderick Blanket, a Fairbanks man stopped around 3 a.m. Saturday after failing to keep his silver Ford pickup in its lane. He registered 0.248 on the DataMaster at the Peger Road Trooper Post — and troopers said a white powder found in the truck presumptively tested positive for cocaine. Hours earlier, around 9 p.m., troopers responded to a crash near the East Airport Way exit on the Mitchell Expressway, where they contacted Jacob Cox, 26, of Wasilla, who they said took the exit at an unsafe speed. His breath sample showed 0.215. And on July 31, troopers stopped Robert R. Richards, a Fairbanks man, near Memory Lane and Badger Road after he failed multiple field sobriety tests; he blew 0.176, more than twice the limit.

Troopers' D Detachment handled all three, and two of the drivers were taken to Fairbanks Correctional Center. The charges are accusations, and each is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. In Alaska, even a first DUI conviction carries at least 72 hours in jail and a fine of no less than $250.