An attempted traffic stop in Wasilla on Wednesday ended with the driver running from his vehicle and assaulting a homeowner who then shot him, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers tried to pull over a pickup driven by Wasilla resident Codey Tallman, 24, on Cottonwood Loop just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, troopers said in a dispatch. According to an email from troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters, Tallman's truck had "multiple equipment violations" and was traveling at roughly twice the posted speed limit of 25 mph.
Instead of stopping, Tallman hit the gas in the 2005 Ford Ranger, leading troopers on a high-speed pursuit and blowing past a stopped school bus before bailing out of the truck on Pine Street. As a perimeter was formed in the area, Tallman ran into a homeowner, who realized Tallman was being pursued by the troopers.
"The homeowner told Tallman to stop," troopers wrote. "Tallman shoved the homeowner, causing the homeowner minor injuries. Tallman eventually charged the homeowner and the homeowner pulled a firearm and shot at Tallman."
Troopers said Tallman was struck in the leg by the gunfire, according to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. The homeowner had put his gun away by the time troopers reached the scene.
"No charges are filed against the homeowner at this time," Peters wrote.
Tallman was treated and released at a hospital, then arrested on charges including drug-based DUI, felony eluding, reckless driving and endangerment, and passing a school bus with its red lights activated -- as well as violating conditions of his release, and fourth-degree counts of assault and controlled substance misconduct.
He was initially held without bail at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.