At 11:30 am, as Fairbanks-based troopers were conducting a follow-up investigation on Prospect Drive into a vehicle collision that occurred earlier Tuesday morning, they found that one of the drivers in the incident was 41-year-old Kelo Smoke, who was a fugitive from Justice in the state of Idaho.

The  officers could see Smoke inside of the residence, and despite commands to exit the dwelling, Smoke would not come out. Smoke was known to be a significant safety risk to the troopers because of prior assaults on law enforcement. Troopers set up a perimeter around the house and called in a negotiator to attempt communication with Smoke.

Smoke did not respond to the negotiator throughout the day, and at one point, attempted to escape the house through a back window, but, when confronted by a trooper, went back into the home.

Residents living near the house were evacuated from their homes as the scene played out for several hours throughout the day.

AST was granted a search warrant for the home, and the Trooper Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) responded to the location at 6:30 pm.

Attempts to communicate with Smoke continued unsuccessfully as the hours went by.

Eventually, officers were able to gain access into the building. When they did so, their search for Smoke came up empty. He was not in the living area.

Troopers lowered K9 “Scout” into the crawl-space beneath the building. Scout was able to locate Smoke hiding in the insulation under the house.

Smoke was arrested and remanded to the Fairbanks Correctional Center and held as a fugitive from justice.

No injuries were reported in the incident.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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