Alaxander Oliphant, right, speaks with his court-appointed attorney Tom Wagner during his arraignment in Juneau District Court on Monday. Oliphant is alleged to have crashed his truck into the Governor's Mansion garage door Thursday night while under the influence of alcohol.

Alaxander Oliphant, right, speaks with his court-appointed attorney Tom Wagner during his arraignment in Juneau District Court on Monday. Oliphant is alleged to have crashed his truck into the Governor's Mansion garage door Thursday night while under the influence of alcohol.

Mansion crasher appears in court

A Juneau man said he was just trying to find a spot to park his truck after a long day of traveling. Ramming into Gov. Bill Walker’s garage door was just an accident.

Alexander Oliphant, 49, made his first court appearance Monday in the Juneau District Court where city public defender Thomas Wagner entered a not-guilty plea on his client’s behalf.

Oliphant is charged with driving under the influence Thursday and later refusing to submit to an alcohol breath test. Oliphant was found sitting in his truck stuck in construction fencing outside the Capitol with his dog by his side.

Municipal Prosecutor Sherri Layne told Judge Keith Levy the city did not plan to ask for a cash bail, but did want make sure Oliphant did not drive without proper licensing. Layne said Oliphant told the officers who arrested him that he was under the influence of alcohol, mushrooms and methamphetamine.

Oliphant admitted in court to having a warrant for his arrest in Washington, but he shook his head in disagreement with Layne as she read from a police report.

Outside the courtroom, Oliphant spoke with the Empire and explained that he is currently homeless and had no intention of harming anyone in Walker’s home. He even walked out of the truck after the incident to make sure no one was injured. He said he had just returned from a trip on a ferry and consumed a lot of whiskey and was making poor choices. However, he denies using drugs the night of the crash, although he did say he owns a cannabis farm in Washington, although that could not be confirmed by press time.

Both charges Oliphant faces are class A misdemeanors that carry a maximum of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine. He is scheduled to appear again in court for a pretrial hearing July 11.

• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast for the week of April 15

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Rep. Sara Hannan (right) offers an overview of this year’s legislative session to date as Rep. Andi Story and Sen. Jesse Kiehl listen during a town hall by Juneau’s delegation on Thursday evening at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Multitude of education issues, budget, PFD among top areas of focus at legislative town hall

Juneau’s three Democratic lawmakers reassert support of more school funding, ensuring LGBTQ+ rights.

Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, mayor of the Inupiaq village of Nuiqsut, at the area where a road to the Willow project will be built in the North Slope of Alaska, March 23, 2023. The Interior Department said it will not permit construction of a 211-mile road through the park, which a mining company wanted for access to copper deposits. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
Biden shields millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness from drilling and mining

The Biden administration expanded federal protections across millions of acres of Alaskan… Continue reading

Allison Gornik plays the lead role of Alice during a rehearsal Saturday of Juneau Dance Theatre’s production of “Alice in Wonderland,” which will be staged at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé for three days starting Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
An ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that requires quick thinking on and off your feet

Ballet that Juneau Dance Theatre calls its most elaborate production ever opens Friday at JDHS.

Caribou cross through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in their 2012 spring migration. A 211-mile industrial road that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority wants to build would pass through Gates of the Arctic and other areas used by the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of the largest in North America. Supporters, including many Alaska political leaders, say the road would provide important economic benefits. Opponents say it would have unacceptable effects on the caribou. (Photo by Zak Richter/National Park Service)
Alaska’s U.S. senators say pending decisions on Ambler road and NPR-A are illegal

Expected decisions by Biden administration oppose mining road, support more North Slope protections.

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, speaks on the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 13. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House members propose constitutional amendment to allow public money for private schools

After a court ruling that overturned a key part of Alaska’s education… Continue reading

Danielle Brubaker shops for homeschool materials at the IDEA Homeschool Curriculum Fair in Anchorage on Thursday. A court ruling struck down the part of Alaska law that allows correspondence school families to receive money for such purchases. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Lawmakers to wait on Alaska Supreme Court as families reel in wake of correspondence ruling

Cash allotments are ‘make or break’ for some families, others plan to limit spending.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, April 17, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Newly elected tribal leaders are sworn in during the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s 89th annual Tribal Assembly on Thursday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Photo courtesy of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)
New council leaders, citizen of year, emerging leader elected at 89th Tribal Assembly

Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson elected unopposed to sixth two-year term.

Most Read