Alaska man who tracks down stolen vehicles enters plea deal

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska man has agreed to a plea deal that includes a promise to stop chasing after stolen vehicles.

Officials said that 54-year-old Floyd Hall pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment resulting in a 30-day suspended sentence and a $500 fine, the Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday.

The terms of Hall's three-year probation sentence include a pledge to refrain from chasing anyone driving a suspected stolen vehicle, officials said.

The newspaper reports that Hall can remain involved with a citizens' group calling itself the "A Team" that relies on tips from social media to recover stolen automobiles.

Hall engaged in a 19-month court case resulting from an August 2017 charge of reckless driving for what police say was a high-speed chase but Hall contends only involved following the vehicle.

Joshua Fink, Hall's attorney, said prosecutors initially requested that Hall not be allowed to "chase, follow or otherwise pursue" suspected stolen vehicles during his probation, but agreed to scale it back to simply "chasing." The difference is the "high rate of speed," Fink said.

The prosecuting attorney declined to comment.

Hall said the A Team previously broached the possibility of a partnership with police without success.

Anchorage Police Capt. Sean Case said that while police appreciate information from the public and regularly partner with community watch groups, they draw a line when citizens might harm themselves by becoming involved with suspects.

"You don't know (a suspect's) criminal history, you don't know how violent they are, you don't know if they're armed," Case said.

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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com