July escapee arrested over the weekend

WASILLA — A Palmer man sought by Alaska State Troopers since a July 28 incident was arrested early Saturday morning south of Wasilla.

According to an online dispatch, John Linebaugh, 33, was taken into custody around 5 a.m. after troopers received a report of a suspicious person near Mile 5 of Knik-Goose Bay Road. Linebaugh had been sought after fleeing the hospital July 28 in the wake of a police pursuit in which he tried to evade officers at speeds upward of 100 mph, according to troopers.

According to reports, in the early morning hours of July 28, troopers tried to stop a black Oldsmobile on the Parks Highway near Vienna Woods Access Road. The car sped away “running multiple stop signs and steady red traffic signals, and drove southbound in the northbound lanes of the Parks Highway,” according to the report. The Oldsmobile struck a trooper vehicle before eventually crashing into the roundabout at Lucille Street and Seldon Road. Linebaugh, the driver, tried to flee on foot, but was apprehended by the Wasilla Police Department’s K-9 unit. The car’s passenger, Wasilla resident Stephen Walsh, 36, was the registered owner of the vehicle, troopers said, and was arrested on charges of proving false information and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Linebaugh was taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital to be treated for a pre-existing condition, according to troopers, where he later fled the facility.

With the Saturday arrest, Linebaugh is facing charges of parole violation, first-degree failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer, resisting arrest and reckless driving. He is being held in Mat-Su Pretrial without bail.

Contact reporter Steven Merritt at 352-2269 or steven.merritt@frontiersman.com