Prentzel v. State, Department of Public Safety

OPINION

BRYNER, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

In 1998 Alaska State Troopers arrested H. Thompson Prentzel, III, without a warrant, for violating conditions of release imposed under a DWI charge. The troopers relied on the Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and records from the Fairbanks Correctional Center (FCC) in determining that he was subject to conditions. There were two problems with this arrest. First, it was not authorized by the warrant-less arrest statute, AS 12.25.0830, which allowed arrests for violations of conditions of release for some charges, but not a charge of DWI. In…