Troopers: Stolen truck rams vehicle, citizen pursuit leads to arrest

WASILLA — A man spotted another man driving a stolen truck, then confronted and followed him along snowy roads, eventually forcing a foot chase and arrest involving Alaska State Troopers, authorities said.

According to troopers, Venny Perez spotted Billy M. Walker, 22, of Palmer in the parking lot of North Bowl, 3250 E Palmer-Wasilla Highway, about 1 a.m. Thursday. Perez recognized the 1996 Chevrolet Silverado as one previously reported stolen (the owner of the truck was one of four passengers in Perez’s vehicle) and went to confront Walker about it, according to an affidavit filed by Alaska State Trooper Daniel Sadloske.

Walker allegedly rammed Perez’s car twice with the Silverado, then struck the side of the North Bowl building.

Walker left the parking lot driving about 90 miles per hour toward the parking lot of the Valley Country Store at 4891 E Stoney Hollow Drive, where Perez confronted him a second time. Sadloske’s report does not mention how fast Perez was driving while he was following Walker.

“Perez stated that he continued to follow on foot and confront Walker, who was trying to get over or around a fence alongside the parking lot,” Sadloske wrote. “At this time responding Troopers arrived and took Walker into custody.”

The report does not say whether there was a physical confrontation between the men.

Perez had two adults and, a four-year-old boy and a three-month-old girl in the car when it was rammed, according to the media release.

Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters initially declined to identify Perez, who was not charged with a crime in the incident. She said the incident should not be characterized as a chase over a truck.

“Nothing was described as a chase,” she wrote, in an e-mail. “The only person who is accused of driving over the speed limit is the man that was charged.”

She didn’t attempt to explain how Perez was able to follow a vehicle driving 90 MPH without speeding.

She did say troopers don’t condone confronting someone in possession of stolen property.

“It is not recommended. We recommend that people call law enforcement instead,” she wrote. “You don’t know how someone is going to react and it is best to not potentially place yourself in danger.”

Perez declined to comment for this story.

Walker had two arrest warrants for his arrest at the time of the incident. Damage to both cars totaled more than $2,000, and the building suffered $750 in damage, according to troopers.

After contacting him, troopers arrested Walker, transported him to Mat-Su Pretrial on $40,000 bail for five counts of third-degree assault and $500 for each previous arrest warrant.

Walker remained in Mat-Su Pretrial Saturday morning.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.