Police pursuit snarls traffic on the Glenn

GLENN HIGHWAY — A stolen Chevrolet SUV running from Anchorage police crashed into the ditch this morning on the Glenn Highway about a mile from the Eklutna exit on the Anchorage-bound side of the highway, leaving traffic snarled for miles as police negotiated with the armed and suicidal suspect.

Lieutenant Paul Honeman with the Anchorage Police Department said on scene, as mosquitoes landed on his head, that police believe the suspect stole the SUV at gunpoint from the third-party custodian he was living with while out of prison for a previous offense.

The pursuit began close to 7:20 a.m. and by 10 a.m. the highway was back open in both directions, though it was closed again briefly heading toward Anchorage to remove the SUV and an Anchorage Police patrol car damaged in the incident.

Honeman said that according to initial reports the suspect’s name is Terrence Jones, though he has not confirmed the spelling of the man’s name or which Terrence Jones he is. Police databases, he said, list about a half dozen, three of whom have prior criminal history.

Behind Honeman, an Anchorage police patrol car rested in the ditch with a crumpled hood, nose-to-nose with the SUV. Honeman said the officer driving the patrol car had entered the ditch to stop the SUV’s progress, a tactic they’re trained to use. He said it’s unclear who hit whom.

The SUV was stolen at 20th Avenue and Norene Street in Anchorage. Officers spotted the car near the Costco in East Anchorage and began pursuit, Honeman said. Speeds were generally low-speed but at time reached 90 to 100 miles per hour, Honeman said. Officers multiple times deployed spike strips designed to deflate the SUV’s tires, but the driver was able to avoid them, Honeman said.

During the pursuit, there were two passengers in the SUV. They gave themselves up immediately, once police managed to get the SUV stopped, Honeman said.

The driver, however was a different story. He pulled out a gun and threatened to kill himself, Honeman said.

He told officers, “he’s not going easy,” Honeman said.

Eventually, police were able to negotiate with the driver, and he was arrested. Luckily, especially during the morning commute, Honeman said, no one was hurt, except a minor injury sustained by the officer whose patrol car hit the SUV.

Shortly before 10 a.m., Lee Cline, a Palmer-based carpenter, eyed the stopped traffic from the overpass of the Old Glenn Highway.

He said he’d been in his van on the way to a framing job he was working at a house in Eagle River when traffic stopped. He watched as a flock of squad cars showed up, unloading officers in helmets and full tactical gear with shotguns and rifles. Officers ordered motorists away from the scene, eventually stopping at Cline’s van.

“The guy goes, ‘is that van four wheel drive?’” Cline said.

When he confirmed it was, officers told him to drive through the grassy median and head back to Palmer.

Of his framing job, Cline said, “it doesn’t look like I’m going to get there too early this morning.”

But he wasn’t too worried.

“It’s not going anywhere,” Cline said.

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