Car chases keep AST hopping

MAT-SU — Alaska State Troopers patrolling Valley roads stayed busy Thursday and Friday with two car chases and an abandoned, banged up stolen vehicle.

The first chase began at 2:03 p.m., Thursday when troopers tried to pull over a red 1993 Ford pickup because the driver and passenger weren’t wearing seat belts.

The pickup didn’t yield, instead leading troopers on a brief chase westbound on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Dispatchers on emergency band radios warned responders other than law enforcement officers to steer clear of the area.

The pickup finally stopped at Trent Circle on the Wasilla end of the highway. Troopers arrested the driver — Curtis K. Alopepe, 22, of Anchorage — on eluding arrest and reckless driving charges. Passenger Poly J. Lomu, 19, of Anchorage, was charged with criminal mischief.

“It was later discovered the vehicle was stolen out of Anchorage earlier in the day,” according to the trooper press statement. They added a vehicle theft charge for Alopepe. Bail for Lomu and Alopepe was set at $500 and $2,500 respectively and both were jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility where, as of Saturday morning, Lomu had made bail but Alopepe was still incarcerated.

Next on the dangerous behavior with motor vehicles hit parade was a smash-up at the Big Lake Library.

At 2:44 p.m., Thursday troopers were notified that someone had stolen a vehicle from the library’s parking lot, crashing it into another car in the lot before leaving.

The vehicle was later abandoned a few miles away, on Maplewood Drive but not before the thief had stolen $500 worth of stuff out of it.

Troopers say they tracked the thief down. They say he’s a 17-year-old boy and didn’t release his full name. He was jailed at the Mat-Su Youth Facility.

Troopers got a 12-hour break from major vehicular mayhem but at 2:10 a.m. Friday the craziness started up again with a pursuit on the Parks Highway.

Troopers described the pursuit as “short.” The driver allegedly running from them was identified as Colton R.W. Renfro, 18, of Wasilla. Troopers say speeds in the pursuit reached 80 mph and the chase blasted through a work zone on the highway.

“The pursuit ended on Lucus Road near the Parks Highway when Troopers were able to box the vehicle in. Renfro attempted to flee on foot but was quickly apprehended at which time he resisted his arrest by physical force,” troopers report.

Renfro was jailed at the Mat-SU Pre-Trial Facility on $5,000 bail, charged with felony eluding arrest, reckless driving, driving in a suspended license and resisting arrest. As of Saturday morning he was still incarcerated.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.