Man flees Palmer Police in car with dead woman's body

July 31, 2007

By Hannah Guillaume

Frontiersman

BIRCHWOOD - A drunken middle-aged man from Wasilla is in custody after trying to flee Palmer Police with a woman's body in his car on Saturday.

Palmer Police Lt. Thomas Remaley said officers tried Saturday to stop Frank Adams, 45, of Wasilla, who was reported as a drunk driver after leaving the Glacier View Tesoro in Palmer at 1:40 a.m.

Cindy Crice, manager at the 24-hour gas station at 400 Glacier View Dr., declined to comment on what people at the store saw or whether she had been contacted by police.

&#8220We are not allowed to talk to the media about any of that,” she said.

Adams was driving a red Suzuki hatchback, not registered in his name, with the body of 42-year-old Stacey Johnston in it, according to Alaska State Trooper reports. No one else was in the vehicle.

Remaley said Officer James Hammons and Sgt. Lance Ketterling pursued the vehicle on a nearly deserted Glenn Highway at reasonable speeds to the Parks Highway interchange before calling for additional backup.

Megan Peters, trooper spokeswoman, said troopers and Anchorage Police responded and set Stop Sticks out near the North Birchwood exit. Adams drove over the sticks, deflating the car's tires, and went into the median.

Anchorage Police were making the arrest on Adams when the body was discovered, Peters said.

&#8220It's not something they normally find when they pull people over,” Peters said, adding law enforcement was a bit bewildered by the discovery.

Anita Shell, spokeswoman for Anchorage Police, said 18 officers and two detectives responded. Investigators think Johnston died somewhere &#8220north of Palmer,” according to trooper reports.

Megan Peters, trooper spokeswoman, said the condition of the body cannot be released.

Adams is charged with failing to stop at the direction of an officer, a Class C felony, resisting or interfering with an arrest - by force - a Class A misdemeanor, reckless driving, an unclassified misdemeanor and DUI, a Class A misdemeanor. He isn't charged in connection with Johnston's death.

According to court records, Adams is scheduled for a pre-indictment hearing at 2:30 p.m. today in courtroom B-1 at the Anchorage Court House.

His criminal record, including criminal trespass and violating a protective order, date back as far as 1989 in Alaska. Adams was also charged for assault - use of reckless force or violence - on June 23.

Contact Hannah Guillaume at 352-2284 or hannahguillaume@yahoo.com.