A suspected thief on the lam since allegedly fleeing from police in March is in custody after he tried the same trick Sunday morning with a different result, police say.
Geoffrey M. Alter, 44, was arrested by the Juneau Police Department on three outstanding warrants, including two failures to appear on criminal cases, totaling $12,500, said Lt. David Campbell.
A JPD officer on Sunny Point Way at about 1:22 a.m. Sunday saw a vehicle driving by and then noticed a woman standing on the side of the road, Campbell said. The woman, who was not identified, was upset and told the officer she had been in a verbal altercation with the occupants of the vehicle.
The officer located the vehicle, recognizing the female driver as someone who did not have a valid driver’s license, and activated the patrol vehicle’s lights, but the driver initially did not stop, Campbell said. When she did stop the vehicle, the passenger, later identified as Alter, reportedly jumped out and tried to flee.
“After a short foot pursuit, he was apprehended,” Campbell said.
The driver, identified as Chrystal Rose Phillips, 29, was cited for driving with a license that had been revoked, and the vehicle was impounded.
Alter was booked into Lemon Creek Correctional Center on the three warrants and is set to return to court Tuesday.
JPD had issued a public BOLO for Alter in late March after he allegedly fled from an officer.
At about 2 a.m. March 18, an officer spotted Alter driving on Fritz Cove Road and tried to pull him over. Alter reportedly began driving on the wrong side of the road to elude the officer, who did not pursue him due to the potential danger to oncoming motorists. The vehicle Alter was driving was later found and impounded.
Alter’s warrants stem from that incident, as well as from a grand jury indictment on a charge of second-degree theft for allegedly receiving stolen property from a June 3, 2016 burglary, and from a missed sentencing date. He was scheduled to be sentenced on April 3 for his part in a brutal home invasion robbery in February of last year, when a man reportedly was held at gunpoint and assaulted with a baseball bat. Alter pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief for his part in the robbery. Co-defendants Devin Clements, Anthony Kalk and Joshua Lehauli also have taken plea agreements.
Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.,com.
