Crime & Courts

Troopers: Oregon man driving stolen SUV arrested after Girdwood-to-Anchorage chase

An Oregon man was arrested Monday evening after he led authorities on a chase from Girdwood to Anchorage in a stolen SUV, troopers said.

The pursuit that led to the arrest of 28-year-old Robert L. Phillips began with a call to Alaska State Troopers around 8 p.m. Monday, when a man reported his red 2005 Nissan Xterra had just been stolen from his driveway, according to a trooper dispatch posted online.

Troopers soon spotted the SUV on the Alyeska Highway in Girdwood and tried to make a traffic stop there. Troopers said Phillips drove away, heading north onto the Seward Highway, with law enforcement in pursuit.

"The vehicle missed tire spikes that were deployed and made it to the Anchorage area," troopers wrote. "The Anchorage Police Department responded to assist AST after the vehicle was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run collision in Anchorage. APD officers located the vehicle and were involved in a foot pursuit and K-9 track which led officers to (Phillips), hiding in the area."

Megan Peters, a troopers spokesperson, said in an email Thursday the trooper who first responded to the stolen Xterra "had just gone out on the highway and happened to see it," before the attempted traffic stop and subsequent chase.

"Speeds reached about 100 mph," Peters wrote.

A second trooper deployed the spike strip near Mile 111 of the highway, and troopers called off the pursuit at Mile 112.5.

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"It was for safety reasons and we notified APD of the incident so they could also be aware of the situation," Peters wrote. "They had officers nearby."

APD spokesperson Anita Shell said Anchorage dispatchers received a call just after 8:30 p.m. reporting the Xterra was speeding near 80th Avenue and Lake Otis Parkway.

"It looks like he was cutting out between vehicles, driving on the sidewalk, driving very erratically," Shell said.

Soon afterward, Shell said, the SUV hit a pickup, though no injuries were reported. Officers found the Xterra abandoned near a mobile-home park at 72nd Avenue and O'Brien Street.

At about 9:50 p.m., a police dog helped officers find and arrest Phillips on the 7200 block of Meadow Street.

Phillips was held on charges of vehicle theft, eluding and reckless driving. Troopers said he had an arrest warrant for vehicle theft, and was on probation for both vehicle theft and eluding.

"Further investigation revealed that Phillips' Oregon driver's license is currently suspended for failure to appear on the original charge of (driving with a suspended license)," troopers wrote.

Phillips was held at the Anchorage jail on a total of $15,000 bail, with a court-approved third-party custodian required for his release.

Chris Klint

Chris Klint is a former ADN reporter who covered breaking news.

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