Driver of van makes troopers'€™ job difficult

WILLOW — It took pepper spray and a broken window, but Alaska State Troopers say they managed to arrest a drunken driver who refused to get out of his van Saturday.

According to a trooper press statement, at 6:41 p.m. they tried to pull over a Chevrolet Astro van in the Caswell Lakes subdivision. The reason for the stop was an equipment violation — a term troopers use to encompass things like broken taillights and inoperable turn signals. Troopers say the van led them on a chase for about a mile before finally giving up. But the driver wasn’t done making their jobs harder.

“He refused to open the door of the vehicle. Troopers had to break the window, at which time the driver grabbed the arm of the trooper. Troopers used pepper spray to subdue the driver and he was arrested without further incident,” according to the press release.

The driver — Ronald Bates, 49, of Willow — was arrested and charged with drunken driving, assault, driving on a revoked license, refusing a Breathalyzer test and eluding arrest. He also had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on a previous charge of driving on a revoked license.

Bates’ bail was set at $10,000 and he’ll need to find a third party to watch over him before he can be released. Jail records Monday afternoon showed he was still incarcerated.