Coffee stand owners interrupt burglar

MEADOW LAKES — A couple showing up for work at a local coffee stand interrupted a burglar as he was stealing money and beverages from their stand early Thursday.

As a result, Harding A. Custer, 26, of Fairbanks, now faces first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, third-degree assault, second-degree theft, first-degree eluding, third-degree weapons misconduct, and reckless driving charges in Palmer Court.

Tracye Rismoen and her husband, Legan Howard, were reporting to the Cup of Joe coffee stand at the intersection of the Parks Highway and the Vine Extension about 5 a.m., July 2 when they noticed the stand’s open sign was already on, an unusual vehicle was parked nearby, and cases of beverages were strewn on the ground. Howard said he immediately confronted the man, whom he later identified to police as Custer.

“My husband was going to get him, and then he started running, and he had the gun in his hand,” Rismoen said.

Howard later told Alaska State Troopers that Custer pointed the gun at him.

“When confronted by the caller’s husband, the male pulled a handgun from his pocket and pointed it at the husband,” troopers wrote. “The male jumped into his blue Chevy Tahoe and sped off northbound on the Parks Highway.”

Rismoen says she didn’t see that confrontation, which was on the opposite side of the coffee hut from her.

“I was on the phone with 911, so I couldn’t get out and do my duty and get him,” she said, chuckling.

Even after the confrontation, Howard followed the truck down the road, Rismoen said.

“He got in his vehicle and he took off and all he had was a great big huge rock, and he was throwing it at the Tahoe, and he hurt the window but he didn’t break the window,” she said.

The couple later picked Custer out of a photo array, Rismoen said.

After leaving the couple in the dust, Custer allegedly sped away northbound along the Parks Highway in his Tahoe. Troopers located the vehicle and tried to initiate a traffic stop. Instead Custer increased his speed, and continued to flee, reaching speeds of about 100 miles per hour.

About two hours later, troopers received several calls about a man exposing himself to passersby along the Parks Highway near the intersection with Nancy Lake Parkway. Responding troopers found Custer, arrested him, and transported him to the Mat-Su Pretrial Detention Facility in Palmer.

Harding was held without bail pending a 10 a.m. arraignment this morning in district court.

Court records show Harding has had numerous past brushes with the law. He pleaded guilty in September 2009 in the Fairbanks superior court to fourth-degree criminal mischief and third-degree theft. Harding pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree theft in May 2007. Prosecutors dismissed an additional count of unlawful evasion, though Harding faced two petitions to revoke parole hearings in May 2008 and January 2009, court records show.

First-degree robbery is a Class A felony, and carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years. First-degree burglary is a Class B felony, and carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years. The theft, eluding, and weapons charges are all Class C felonies, and carry a potential maximum sentence of five years. Altogether, the felony counts carry a possible maximum of 45 years on conviction, depending on how a judge structures the sentence.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.