FROM THE BLOTTER: Man accused of sex assault on girl

PALMER — Police arrested a 38-year-old man last week, charging him with a single count of sexual abuse of a minor and accusing him of molesting a 9-year-old.

According to an affidavit Palmer Police Department Detective Sgt. Kelly Turney filed with the case, allegations against Jason Lee Hubbard first surfaced in December when they landed with another PPD officer. Hubbard, of Palmer, was arrested April 20 and formally charged in Superior Court on Monday.

Turney said in an interview that it took a few months to get the case into court for a number of reasons. For one thing, he needed to make sure all his evidence was gathered ahead of time and also make sure there were no other victims.

“We had an extra report that we needed to either prove or disprove,” Turney said. “It was unsubstantiated, but before we could proceed in the original case it was important that we resolved the second case that came up.”

According to his affidavit, the girl said the abuse had happened sometime after Halloween, but she didn’t know if it was before or after Thanksgiving. There was no snow on the ground was the best she could narrow it down to.

She said Hubbard touched her in her “privates,” but she did not say there was sex.

For his part, Hubbard denied the allegations to police, even when confronted with two witnesses whose stories match up exactly. He was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. Jail records Monday evening showed he was still there.

Search is on for reckless driver

WASILLA — Mat-Su Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of whoever caused a collision involving a Alaska State Trooper patrol car earlier this month.

According to a Crime Stoppers press release, the accident happened at 11:47 p.m. April 17 when trooper Mitch Lewis spotted a 1993 Buick coming up fast from behind him on Church Road. Lewis pulled over to let the car pass, then pulled back onto the road and flipped on his lights.

The Buick sped away, running the light at the Parks Highway with Lewis in pursuit. Motorist Loretta Overway, 31, of Houston, barely missed the Buick, but didn’t get stopped in time to miss Lewis and the two collided. Overway was unhurt. Lewis was hospitalized briefly for a head injury.

The Buick was later found abandoned in the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center parking lot. Two white males had fled from the vehicle prior to troopers’ arrival on scene. Troopers tracked down the owner, who told them it had been stolen earlier that same evening.

Anyone with information is asked to call Mat-Su Crime Stoppers at 745-3333 or Alaska State Troopers 745-2131. Tips can also be submitted online at matsu-crimestoppers.org or via text message to 274637 with the keyword MATSU followed by a tip.