Robber enters plea

Accused former fugitive resolves some old cases

October 30, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A 19-year-old man accused of failing to return to jail after attending his father's memorial service, touching off a week-long manhunt that ended in his arrest, pleaded no contest Monday to multiple felony charges of kidnapping, vehicle theft, arson, burglary, robbery, firearms theft and weapons misconduct stemming from incidents that occurred in 2004.

John Pearl Smith was scheduled that day for his first trial as an adult before Palmer Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler. Instead, he waived his right to trial and changed his not-guilty pleas.

&#8220Do you think you're a normal 19-year-old in decision making?” Cutler asked Smith before accepting his no-contest pleas. &#8220Yes,” he replied.

The charges to which Smith pleaded no contest do not encompass charges Smith amassed during his unsanctioned period of freedom.

&#8220We took a huge global resolution,” Palmer Assistant District Attorney Richard Payne said Wednesday. Smith is required to make full restitution to the victims in his cases, according to Payne. Sentencing will be sometime in February.

Last summer, Smith broke into a home in Wasilla, held the home owner at gunpoint, tied him up and stole his truck, cash, jewelry, handguns and the man's automated-teller machine card, according to court records. He used the ATM card to withdraw money from the man's account 12 minutes after leaving the house, according to charging documents.

Before that robbery, Smith stole another Valley vehicle and drove it to Soldotna, where he and a man named Brent LaFave broke into a house and stole five firearms and other items, according to court records.

Smith continued his spree of burglaries and vehicle thefts until Palmer Police Officer Donna Anthony pulled him over for a traffic violation on Sept. 19, 2004. Anthony found empty bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade and a stolen handgun in the car. Except for his time on the lam, Smith has bunked at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility ever since.

Smith began his criminal history early. According to his juvenile records, he broke into a home in the Eureka area in August 2000, less than two months after he turned 14. He broke into a home in Wasilla in November that same year. He was charged with and convicted of first-degree burglary in both cases. In December 2000, he was charged with and convicted of second-degree robbery after he used force to get keys from someone. In June 2002, he was charged with third-degree assault.

On Oct. 13, Smith was in court to plead no contest to just some of the charges against him, but changed his mind after hearing from Judge Cutler that he could face 66 years in prison on the charges.

The same day, Cutler granted Smith permission to attend a memorial service for his father at the Butte Community Center the following evening. Smith had four and a half hours to attend the service Robber enters plea

Accused former fugitive resolves some old cases

October 30, 2005

and visit with family before he was to return to MSPTF. Smith's mother, Christine Ace, of Palmer, agreed to pay a $100,000 bond if her son didn't return and was Smith's third-party custodian for the time he was free.

Smith remained at large in the Valley until his arrest at a home on Michelle Lane on Oct. 21. He was found with two handguns that had been reported stolen earlier that day, according to Greg Wilkinson, Alaska State Troopers spokesman.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.