Update, 12:30 p.m. Friday:
Alaska State Troopers said in an online dispatch Friday morning that the Chevrolet Tahoe has been found in Wasilla. Beth Ipsen, troopers spokeswoman, said the Tahoe was abandoned and had minor damage. Troopers impounded it for further investigation, she said. The Tahoe was not registered to Harding Custer, she said.
Original story:
A 27-year-old Fairbanks man faces multiple charges after he robbed a Wasilla coffee stand, pulled a gun on another man, fled from authorities at high speed and drunkenly exposed himself along the Parks Highway, Alaska State Troopers say.
In an online dispatch, troopers wrote that a woman called authorities after she arrived at work around 5:15 a.m. Thursday at the coffee stand, on the Parks Highway at Vine Road. She found a man stealing money and other items from the stand, troopers said.
The woman's husband confronted the robber, who then pointed a gun at the husband before fleeing in a blue Chevrolet Tahoe, troopers said. When troopers attempted to stop him, the man accelerated to 100 mph; troopers said the pursuit was discontinued near Mile 66 of the highway.
Just before 7 a.m., troopers reported, several people called to report an intoxicated man exposing himself on the side of the highway. When troopers responded, they found 27-year-old Harding Custer, whom they determined was also responsible for the coffee stand break-in and car chase, the dispatch said.
Troopers recovered money and other items stolen from the shop. They were unable to locate the Tahoe. Anyone with information on the vehicle's location is being asked to call Alaska State Troopers at 907-352-5401. The Tahoe's license plate is FFR796, and troopers believe it was abandoned farther north, near Willow or Talkeetna. Troopers made contact with Custer in the area of Nancy Lake Parkway in Willow.
Harding was taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility. He faces charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, third-degree assault, third-degree misconduct involving a weapon, first degree eluding, second-degree theft, and reckless driving.