Levi Johnston's mother hit with drug charges
Arrested: her son was in the spotlight as father
of bristol palin's baby

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/628010.html

By ZAZ HOLLANDER
zhollander@...

12/19/08

WASILLA -- A 42-year-old Wasilla woman was arrested Thursday at her home by
Alaska State Troopers with a search warrant in an undercover drug
investigation. Sherry L. Johnston was charged with six felony counts of
misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, the Wasilla 18-year-old who
received international attention in September when Gov. Sarah Palin and her
husband, Todd, announced their teenage daughter was pregnant and he was the
father. Bristol Palin, 18, is due on Saturday, according to a recent
interview with the governor's father, Chuck Heath.

Troopers served the warrant at Johnston's home at the "conclusion of an
undercover narcotics investigation," said a statement issued Thursday by the
troopers as part of the normal daily summary of activity around the state.

Troopers charged Johnston with second-degree misconduct involving a
controlled substance -- generally manufacturing or delivering drugs -- as
well as fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances, or
possession.

Troopers released no other information, including the kind or amount of
drugs, because details could jeopardize an ongoing investigation,
spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Asked how long the investigation had proceeded before Johnston's arrest,
Peters would only say "a while."

The Palmer District Attorney's office had no comment.

Sherry Johnston was arrested around noon and booked at Mat-Su Pretrial
Facility, according to a booking officer there. She was released on a $5,000
unsecured bond just after 2 p.m.

No charging documents had been filed at Palmer courthouse by the end of the
day, a clerk said.

Levi Johnston sat with Bristol and the rest of the Palin family in St. Paul,
Minn., during Gov. Palin's speech to the Republican National Convention, and
he joined the family on the stage afterwards.

When asked about the arrest, Palin's spokesman, Bill McAllister, issued the
following statement by e-mail: "This is not a state government matter.
Therefore the governor's communications staff will not be providing comment
or scheduling interview opportunities."

Johnston didn't come to the door of her home on Caribou Loop Road outside
Wasilla on Thursday afternoon. A teenage boy who answered the door said he
couldn't provide any information.



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