The further misfortunes of a theft victim led to the arrest of a car thief on January 17th, APD reports reveal.

It was on 8:35 am on January 17th that a patrol officer with APD was patrolling the area of Mountain View and North Lane Street, when he observed a Subaru with plates that were reported as stolen on January 12th, and so, called for backup. As the officer awaited backup, he followed the vehicle to the Arctic Tern Inn, where the vehicle stopped and two individuals exited the vehicle.

As back up officers arrived, the patrol car activated his lights and prepared to make a traffic stop. But, rather than halting, the suspect driver, later identified as 40-year-old Jarsis J. Howard, tried to accelerate away, ramming into the side of the officer’s patrol vehicle. In an effort to keep Howard from fleeing, the officer pushed the vehicle into the snow bank.

Howard continued to attempt to escape capture and spun his tires until he finally pulled free and spun out in front of the patrol car. Two other patrol cars assisted by blocking the Subaru on both sides.

Howard tried to get away by exiting the vehicle, but, could not because one of the patrol cars was blocking his door, denying him exit.[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]More officers arrived and Howard was taken into custody, and while being arrested, Howard informed officers that he had a handgun in his possession. Further investigation would find that Howard was a convicted felon and so, could not legally possess a firearm.

A check of the Subaru would find that it had been stolen from a trailer park on the 1000-block of Boniface Parkway on January 5th and was displaying a rear plate that was reported as stolen on January 12th.

The rightful owner of the license plates was initially unaware that his rear plate had been stolen and another plate put in its place. But, after his plates were switched, the victim was involved in an accident. It was at that time that the officer that responded to the accident scene observed that the front and back plates did not match and the theft was revealed and noted.

Howard was arrested and charged with Failure to Stop at the Direction of a Police Officer, Vehicle Theft I, Assault III, Misconduct Involving a Weapon III, Misuse of Plates, and Driving While License Suspended. He was transported to the Anchorage Jail where he was remanded on the charges.

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