Palmer man charged with ‘terroristic threatening’

PALMER — Though most people have no need for such a lesson, a 31-year-old Palmer man recently learned the hard way that it’s a bad idea to repeatedly try and goad Alaska State Troopers into a fight.

Bobby Roberts called 911 at 4:27 a.m., Nov. 4 demanding troopers respond to his residence and fight him, Alaska State Troopers report. Troopers called him back and declined his invitation.

According to reports, Roberts called 911 an hour later to tell troopers of his new plan: He would force troopers to respond by going to a local establishment and hurting people. As a precaution, troopers report they sent officers to that establishment.

“On a third 911 call, Roberts reported that he had knocked an unknown male unconscious and he now had hostages at his residence located on Golden Hills Circle in Palmer,” according to an AST dispatch.

Golden Hills Circle is off of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway on the south side near its intersection with Trunk Road.

Troopers say they established there were other people at Roberts’ residence at the time of the call. Patrol troopers and troopers with the Bureau of Highway Patrol responded to a four-plex where Roberts lives and evacuated the people in the other units while a negotiator attempted to contact him.

At around 9:30 a.m., Nov. 4, troopers got in touch with a man and a woman inside the house. Neither was harmed in the incident and they told troopers they didn’t know where Roberts went. He had left the residence before troopers arrived.

Six days later, troopers found him at 12:30 a.m., Nov. 10. He was arrested and jailed without bail on charges of terroristic threatening, false report and disorderly conduct.

Jail records Monday morning showed he had since bailed out. Court records show that on Saturday his bail was set at $1,000.

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