Crime & Justice

Troopers: Police chase ends with suspect caught in cottonwood tree

A traffic stop that escalated into a police pursuit ended in a cottonwood tree -- and with a 38-year-old man facing multiple charges, according to an Alaska State Troopers account.

Troopers wrote in an online dispatch that an officer attempted to stop a blue Jeep Cherokee at about 5:30 p.m. Monday near Trunk Road and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Instead of pulling over, the driver -- who troopers say they knew to be the subject of outstanding warrants -- fled, reaching speeds of 80 mph on Bogard Road. The driver, identified as 38-year-old Jason Rose of Wasilla, eventually abandoned the vehicle on Tait Drive and fled on foot, troopers said. He was tracked with the aid of a K-9 unit and soon found "halfway up a cottonwood tree in a nearby woods," troopers wrote.

Rose was charged with driving with license revoked and first-degree failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer. He was also held on original charges from the outstanding warrants, including separate counts of first-degree failure to stop at the direction of a peace officer and driving with license revoked, as well as first-degree vehicle theft, third- and fifth-degree misconduct involving a weapon and reckless driving.

He was taken to Mat-Su Pretrial Facility where he was held on $25,000 bail.

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