Wasilla Man Arrested for Two Counts of Vehicle Theft and another Person Charged with DUI at Investigation Site


After receiving a call reporting a stolen vehicle seen on Overlook Drive off of Horizon Drive in Wasilla on Wednesday, troopers went to the location at 7:30 pm to conduct an investigation.

When troopers arrived, they located the vehicle that was reported. As AST investigated the stolen vehicle, another vehicle was found on the property that they would find was also stolen.

Troopers made contact with James Eychaner, age 31 of Wasilla and continued their investigation that would reveal that yet another vehicle on a separate property was stolen by Eychaner.

Eychaner was taken into custody and charged with two counts of Felony Vehicle Theft I and transported to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility where he was remanded without bail.

The investigation into the second vehicle found on the Overlook Drive property continued, and during that investigation, a vehicle approached them and the driver, identified as Ariana Smith, age 28 of Wasilla, made contact.

During that contact, it would be determined that Smith was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. She was taken into custody and processed for DUI. She would later be released to a third party and a mandatory court date was set.