Stolen SUV leads to robbery charge

PALMER — A grand jury has added a robbery count to the list of those facing a man charged in a bizarre car theft and subsequent police chase.

Though the case against Edward Hoeger, 29, didn’t make it to a grand jury to draw up formal charges until late last month, the case began June 24 when, just before 10:30 p.m. on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, two women were loading up a Suburban with stuff from a summer Bible school program.

One of the women went to put her child in the Suburban and saw a man in the backseat in a red hooded sweatshirt.

“Lady, be calm and step away from the vehicle,” the man said.

One of the women told responding troopers “she was scared the male was going to hurt her and the children,” Trooper Joshua Varys wrote in an affidavit.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most scared she’s ever been, the woman rated the encounter an eight, Varys wrote.

At any rate, the man in the sweatshirt drove off with the Suburban, speeding down the ATV trail that parallels the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Around two hours later, at 12:30 a.m., troopers spotted the Suburban on the Parks Highway near Vienna Woods Access.

“A lengthy pursuit ensued involving Alaska State Troopers and Wasilla police officers. Several Stinger Spike Strips were deployed,” Varys wrote. “The driver of the Suburban drove recklessly during the pursuit with speeds reaching in excess of 100 mph. The driver ran several stop signs.”

He also had a near-miss with a trooper patrol car while turning around in a cul-de-sac.

Eventually the spike strips did their work, taking out the tires on the driver’s side. The driver got out on Hollywood Road near Hill Top Circle and ran, but didn’t get far before Palmer Police Department Officer Pete Steen — who works embedded with the troopers’ Bureau of Highway Patrol — and trooper Varys caught him.

Varys said he identified the driver as Hoeger and arrested him.

“Hoeger later asked if I could get his personal belongings from the Suburban. Hoeger said he wanted his cash, camera and cigarettes. Hoeger said he was a heroin addict and was in withdrawals. Hoeger was sweating profusely during my contact with him,” Varys wrote.

The spike strips ripped the tires from their rims. Varys estimated damage to the vehicle at $1,200. Hoeger was charged with theft, eluding, assault, reckless driving and DWLS initially. The robbery charge was added July 22.

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