Flasher arrested on Parks Highway

WASILLA — Police arrested a man alleging he was in violation of his probation when he stood by the Parks Highway naked, wrapped in a blanket, flashing passing cars.

Two officers responded to a report of a flasher outside the Alaska View Motel at 5:51 a.m., Thursday, according to an affidavit Wasilla Police Officer Chris Watchus filed in the case against Joshua Lee Perri, 35.

“I could see a white male adult standing next to the Parks Highway,” Watchus wrote. “All the individual had was a blanket.”

Watchus asked the man for his name and date of birth. Perri told him his name was Joshua DePaul and that he was two years younger than he actually was.

“Joshua had a strong odor of alcohol coming from him,” Watchus said.

The officer talked Perri into taking him back to his hotel room. Just before Watchus got there, Perri shut the door.

“I asked him to open it and he stated he was sorry and opened the door,” Watchus said.

Perri’s ID in the room confirmed his real name and date of birth. Turns out he was out on bail in an Anchorage assault case. Court records show it is a low-level, misdemeanor case, the only one Perri has faced in Alaska. In addition to assault he was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

One of the conditions of his release was that he not drink. Watchus wrote that he saw a half-empty bottle of Bacardi Torched Cherry rum on the floor of the motel room.

Perri declined a breathalyzer and was arrested on charges of violating the terms of his release from jail. He was booked into the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Jail records Wednesday morning showed he’d since posted bail and been released.

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