Police say they've unmasked the mystery motorcyclist who plagued Anchorage and the Mat-Su this summer, eluding capture at up to 130 mph on a yellow Suzuki.
Beneath the helmet is 23-year-old Justin R. Carr, they say, a skinny, snowboarding daredevil of an X-ray technician whom authorities arrested at Alaska Regional Hospital on Tuesday.
Palmer trooper Ronald Hayes says he knows Carr's face. The recent University of Alaska Anchorage graduate shook his head at him during a high-speed, close-quarters pursuit in June.
"This guy almost actively sought us out," Hayes said. "Anytime he would see any type of law enforcement vehicle or anything like that, he would take off."
Anchorage police went public asking for help in catching the motorcyclist -- known only by his notorious yellow-and-black bike -- June 30 after a series of short chases on city streets. Hundreds of tips poured in.
At one point, another motorcyclist, sick of people thinking he was the speeding escapist, put a sign on his back that read, "It's not me," Hayes said.
Some tipsters identified Carr as the culprit, the trooper said. But by that time investigators had already flagged him as a potential suspect by tracking how the unregistered motorcycle had changed hands over the past year.
It was just like any other investigation, Hayes said: "You follow the money. In this case, you follow the bike."
For now, Carr faces a single felony charge of eluding police. Hayes said a grand jury in early August may hand down more charges, such as additional eluding counts or an assault charge for the time he nearly ran into a trooper.
On his public Facebook account, Carr describes himself as easygoing. A guy who likes "driving trucks, fixing trucks, breaking trucks."
Among his favorite quotes: "Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
His criminal record, meantime, reads like a shopping list of moving violations, with tickets for failing to stop, failure to carry proof of insurance and speeding. He's been charged with reckless driving three times, including a conviction in 2002, according to Hayes' affidavit. Two later charges were reduced -- once to improper passing and once to disorderly conduct -- in 2007 and 2008.
As for the trooper's complaint that led to Carr's arrest, that begins like a screenplay for "The Fast and the Furious."
130 MILES PER HOUR
During rush hour on a Monday afternoon in early June, it says, trooper Alfred Borrego was parked near Mile 33 of the Glenn Highway. He was waiting to catch sight of a Ford Ranger someone said had been driving recklessly. Instead, a motorcycle zipped by at about 90 miles per hour.
Borrego pulled on to the highway, hitting his emergency lights. The motorcyclist looked back over his shoulder and sped up, the report says. Borrego turned on his siren.
The Suzuki still fled, running on the shoulder of the highway, passing cars and outpacing the trooper, whose own speedometer read 130 miles per hour.
Borrego briefly lost sight of the motorcycle after it took the Palmer exit to Inner Springer Loop. When he saw it again, the motorcycle headed directly toward him, the report says, and almost collided with the trooper's patrol car. Hayes, who overheard the pursuit on his radio, arrived to help.
When he tried to cut the motorcycle off, the affidavit says, the Suzuki nearly came to a stop. The driver briefly put his foot down to balance himself and looked at Hayes.
The motorcyclist shook his head before speeding away.
Hayes says he now recognizes that face as Justin Carr's. And the helmet he was wearing? Investigators found it in Carr's house, Hayes said, along with repair receipts for the Suzuki.
"It's a done deal for Mr. Carr," Hayes said.
TRACKING THE PLATE
Anchorage police had chased the motorcycle too. They believe it's the same bike they spotted going 128 miles per hour in a 65 zone on the Glenn in October, chased past the Sullivan Arena in April, and spotted weaving through traffic at a red light to escape capture in June.
Investigators tracked the license plate and learned the bike had been involved in an accident in 2008, when it was sold to an Anchorage salvage company.
During the investigation, one of Carr's relatives told authorities the motorcycle belonged to the 23-year-old Anchorage man, the affidavit says
On July 1, Hayes called Carr at his job.
Carr said he didn't know what the trooper was talking about and left work suddenly, the affidavit says.
"I could tell that he was, one, surprised and, two, very nervous," Hayes said.
After more interviews with co-workers and friends, police arrested Carr Tuesday. He appeared in court at the Anchorage jail Wednesday, wearing yellow and pink prisoner shirts, poring over the charges against him.
Carr took the stand after a man accused of choking his wife and asked the judge to reduce his bail from $10,000 to, say, $4,000. Since troopers first called him, he said, he's had a chance to talk to lawyers and raise money for bail.
If he was going to run, he would have done it last month, he told the judge. "Alaska is my home and my family is here, I have no intention of leaving. I want to get this cleared up so I can get back to my job."
The judge denied the request, which he said will be taken up when the proceedings move to Palmer.
In the meantime, police are looking for help answering one last question in the case.
The Suzuki motorcycle hasn't been seen since last month.
Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334. Twitter updates: twitter.com/adnvillage.
By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com