Former Palmer man arrested for murder

PALMER — A local man with a lengthy petty criminal history in the Valley could face the death penalty after being arrested for allegedly murdering a California man.

According to a press release from the Merced Police Department in Merced, Calif., Evan James Lovett first came to police attention at 11:25 p.m., Feb. 20 when dispatchers received a call from a local motel.

The caller said Lovett was shirtless, covered in blood and asking for help because he’d just killed someone, and was telling people he was headed to Mexico.

A half hour later, police in Merced got a call about an accident. A gray Chrysler involved in the crash, driverless when police arrived, matched the description of the one Lovett was seen driving away from the motel. Lovett was found nearby, hiding in some bushes.

“Officers discovered that Lovett had blood on his pants and boots, but he did not appear to have any injuries from the collision. Lovett did not say anything to the officers regarding him killing someone,” according to the Merced Police.

Police ran the registration of the Chrysler and went to the home of its owner. They found him dead and bloody in his bedroom.

Media reports from California say the man Lovett allegedly killed lived in an assisted living home for the elderly and owned a local Filipino restaurant.

Lovett’s criminal record in Alaska, though lengthy, is mostly petty and almost entirely alcohol-related.

Police blotters dating back to November 2008 mention him. In that first appearance in police reports, Palmer police responding to a call of a reckless driver found Lovett in his driveway and summonsed him for running a stop sign and underage drinking.

A month later he was in jail, arrested on a warrant. In April 2009 and then again later that year, he was summonsed on minor charges.

Between July 2009 and February 2011, he shows up in police blotters repeatedly. Most were on warrants for not appearing in court. Some were for driving on a revoked license. The most serious offense came in June 2010 when he was charged with drunken driving after being stopped for a moving violation.

Most recently, Palmer police arrested Lovett in December 2011for driving on a suspended license.

Lovett still has an open case in Palmer — an underage drinking case from 2011.

California media say that his murder rap is an aggravated count that might be prosecuted as a robbery or car jacking gone wrong. The charge carries a possible death penalty.

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