Man’s long prison history gets longer

PALMER — An Anchorage man arrested after a dramatic car chase up and down the Glenn Highway last summer was sentenced to six years in prison Monday.

“My foundation that I grew up on was not the best foundation,” Matthew Fox, 29, told Superior Court Judge Vanessa White. “I’d just like to say I’m sorry for everything that happened.”

The foundation Fox spoke of played a big role in his sentencing. His attorney, Elizabeth Varela, said that her client had been in and out of prison since age 13.

“He’s 29 years old and he has a pretty bad record,” Varela said, noting that Fox’s parents were drug abusers, alcoholics and criminals, and “that is what Mr. Fox thought was normal.”

Court records show an extensive list of past cases against Fox, mostly adjudicated in Anchorage from 1998 until the present for everything from theft to assault to resisting arrest.

Varela said things are starting to turn around for Fox. During all of his previous stints in prison, Varela said, Fox refused to take advantage of any of the treatment or education programs offered. This go-round he’s working on getting his GED and has been taking a class on positive life choices at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.

That might not seem like much, Varela said, but “it’s huge for Mr. Fox. He’s never participated in anything.”

Varela asked for a four-year sentence.

On the other side, Assistant District Attorney Rick Allen asked for six years — the maximum sentence allowed under the deal Fox struck with prosecutors.

“What we had here was an extremely dangerous situation in which Mr. Fox put members of the community in danger,” Allen said.

As for Fox’s future, Allen said that given the defendant’s past the prognosis isn’t good. He said that in light of Fox’s history, some might see a six-year term as lenient. But it fits the low-level felony crimes to which Fox pleaded guilty — assault and eluding arrest.

“The idea that the court is going to lock Mr. Fox up for 20, 25 years on these charges is unrealistic,” Allen said.

White eventually sided with Allen, imposing a six-year term with an additional four years suspended. Once released, Fox will be on probation for five years, during which time he could be liable to serve the suspended time if he re-offends.

White noted Fox’s past in handing down her sentence, pointing out that his criminal activities appear to be escalating. She didn’t discount what Varela had told her, though.

“He has taken some initial steps,” toward rehabilitation, White said, “but it is a recent effort after a very long criminal history.”

She said the structured environment of prison might be a good place for him to continue working on turning his life around.

The case began in August on the first day of the Alaska State Fair. Police at the time said they pulled Fox over for erratic driving. He stopped, gave an alias that he’d given police before, then took off again. He ran from Palmer to the interchange of the Glenn and Parks highways, hit a guardrail, got turned around on the on-ramp and headed back to Palmer, sideswiping another car along the way.

Palmer police and Alaska State Troopers put out tire-deflating strips to stop him. They worked, but Fox wasn’t done running. He took off on foot and an extensive search failed to locate him. He stayed on the lam for a month before he was arrested in Anchorage.

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