A wanted Ketchikan man charged as a fugitive after fleeing Alaska engaged in a high-speed chase with police in Washington state before he was apprehended in Indiana on Thursday, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Ketchikan police arrested 41-year-old Joel Pilgrim in early May on charges that he violated a domestic violence protective order filed against him by a woman that said Pilgrim was stalking her. He was later released from Ketchikan Correctional Center on bail.
But Lt. Jack LeBlanc with the Alaska State Troopers said, less than a week later, Pilgrim disappeared.
“Pilgrim had cut and removed his electronic monitoring device and fled the state of Alaska. An arrest warrant was issued for Pilgrim. Investigation revealed that he was in Bellingham, Washington,” said LeBlanc.
Pilgrim likely took the Alaska Marine Highway to Washington – at least, that’s what local authorities told the Bellingham Herald, which reported Pilgrim was spotted getting into a car at a grocery store in historic Fairhaven. Troopers say that when Bellingham police and Washington Highway Patrol officers tried to stop the vehicle and arrest Pilgrim, a high-speed chase ensued.
“Which was ultimately terminated due to safety concerns,” said LeBlanc.
Two days later, Pilgrim turned up in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Porter County, Indiana police told the Times of Northwest Indiana they caught Pilgrim at a Hilton Garden Inn driving a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer with Alaska license plates, the same car that had eluded officers in Washington.
When officers entered Pilgrim’s hotel room and apprehended him, they allegedly found methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia. The Times reported that Pilgrim was remanded to Porter County Jail on drug possession charges.
Alaska State Troopers said Pilgrim is being held in Indiana and awaiting extradition to Alaska for his escape warrant.
Troopers said that additional criminal charges against Pilgrim are expected as the investigation continues.
