A call to APD dispatch on Monday afternoon reporting a driver passed out behind the wheel at the intersection of Caribou Avenue and Fireoved Drive prompted a response to the scene at 4:26 pm.

When patrol officers arrived at the location, they blocked in the vehicle to discourage mobile flight of the white 2002 Chevy Tahoe then made contact with the driver who was sitting at the stop sign and observed drug paraphernalia on his lap.

The driver, who would be identified as 38-year-old Roopati Talamaivao, was asked to exit the vehicle for Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) several times before he finally complied.

When Talamaivao got out of the Tahoe, officers attempted to pat him down, but he resisted then lost his balance. As he was being cuffed by police, he broke free of the officer’s grasp and took off running. Officers took up the chase and observed Talamaivao toss a black object into the snowbank as he attempted to make good his getaway. But, a short distance away, Talamaivao fell once again and he was successfully taken into custody.

Officers backtracked and discovered a loaded black handgun that Talamaivao had tossed into the snowbank. A check would find that Talamaivao was a convicted felon and banned from possessing a firearm. He also failed to inform officers of the handgun when contacted by police.

After receiving consent from the Tahoe’s owner, the vehicle was searched. They found tinfoil with a black tarry substance that tested positive for heroin.

As a result, Talamaivao was transported to the Anchorage Correctional Center and remanded there on charges of Misconduct Involving a Weapon III, Misconduct Involving a Weapon V, and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance V.

  Anchorage, arrest, caribou, chase, felon, heroin, Ropati Talamaivao, stop sign, weapons