Wild chase ends with several charges against Valley driver

BIG LAKE — The drama didn’t stop even after Alaska State Troopers arrested a fleeing Big Lake man.

The incident started Saturday when a trooper tried to pull over a pickup driven Joseph Diliberto, 20, for a traffic violation at the corner of North Shore Drive and Big Lake Road, according to an AST report.

Diliberto refused to stop, the report says. In the ensuing chase, Diliberto hit a Ford Taurus, causing minor injuries to the other driver and an estimated $10,000 of damage to both vehicles. Diliberto then drove his pickup into a ditch and fled on foot. Troopers used a K-9 unit to track Diliberto, who was hiding in the woods.

Once in custody, Diliberto continually threatened troopers, the report says. Inside the back seat of a patrol car, he slammed his head against the rear divider, causing his forehead to cut open. He then spit blood at troopers and around the inside of the car.

Medics on-scene treated Diliberto’s cut and transported him to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for further treatment. As of Monday, he was in custody at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.

The AST investigation found that Diliberto had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend at his home shortly before troopers came into contact with him. Additionally, Diliberto was driving drunk with a revoked license and without an ignition interlock device in the vehicle.

Diliberto spit so much blood into the trooper vehicle that both the seatbelt and the rear seat itself had to be replaced “to ensure all bio-hazards were removed from the vehicle,” the report says.

A long list of charges against Diliberto include felony DUI, felony eluding arrest, assault, domestic assault, disorderly conduct, driving with a revoked license and underage drinking. Diliberto is being held without bail.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.