A man charged with disorderly conduct in June after Alaska State Troopers said he blocked firefighters' access to his land near Willow during the massive Sockeye Fire now faces child-pornography charges.
Online court records show Scott Leitner, 50, charged with three counts of distributing and two counts of possessing child pornography, all felonies. Troopers took Leitner into custody at about 10 a.m. Wednesday on a warrant, according to a dispatch issued that afternoon; his arrest was first reported by the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
Leitner came to authorities' attention in June, when troopers said he refused to let firefighters battling the 7,000-acre Sockeye Fire access his property off Mile 74 of the Parks Highway. At least one home in the neighborhood burned down; it was owned by Willow Fire Department Capt. Leo Lashock, who was evacuating locals when flames destroyed the residence.
Troopers warned Leitner on June 17 that his actions constituted disorderly conduct, then issued him a misdemeanor citation for the offense when fire crews had another encounter with him three days later. That case remains open, according to court records.
After his Wednesday arrest, Leitner was taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, where he was held on $5,000 cash bail with a court-approved third-party custodian required for release. He was still in custody there early Thursday, according to a database of Alaska inmates.