Elijah Nelson and Claude-Devon Lupas facing several charges after road rage incident

At 8:26 PM on August 29, 2022, a citizen driving a white GMC truck called APD Dispatch to report that another driver (in a red Kia SUV) had brandished a gun and yelled while they were stopped at the stop light at the Tudor Road and Minnesota Drive intersection.  While on the phone with Dispatch, the victim caller gave Dispatch location updates and stated the Kia’s driver was tailgating him in traffic.  The victim caller told Dispatch he was in fear for his safety due to the actions of the other driver.

While the first caller was on the phone with Dispatch, the passenger in the Kia also called into Dispatch.  The passenger claimed the GMC’s driver intentionally rammed the Kia and that they were chasing the GMC in traffic.  The dispatcher told the Kia’s passenger that they needed to pull over and stop following the GMC; the driver of the Kia refused to follow those instructions.

Officers were dispatched to the call; they conducted a traffic stop on both vehicles near the Seward Highway and Tudor Road.  Just prior to conducting the stop, and while the officers were catching up to the involved vehicles, the officers witnessed both drivers travelling at a high rate of speed.  They saw the red SUV following the GMC truck so closely that there was less than a car length’s distance between them.

One of the responding officers contacted the adult male driver of the GMC truck; he had two juvenile passengers with him.  All three occupants were visibly upset.

Other officers contacted the driver of the red Kia SUV, identified as 22-year-old Elijah M. Nelson, and the passenger in the Kia, identified as 21-year-old Claude-Devon A. Lupas.  The officer asked the two where the gun was; Claude-Devon indicated the weapon was in the passenger side door pocket.  Both men were compliant while the officer secured the loaded handgun. 

While Elijah was still seated inside the Kia, an additional officer began taking pictures of the outside of the vehicle.  The officer saw drug paraphernalia sitting out in plain view inside the SUV.  Elijah noticed what the officer was seeing and attempted to hide the items inside the car.  Elijah then became agitated and uncooperative; Elijah expressed his displeasure of the photos being taken.

Initial indications are that the GMC truck was stopped at the traffic light at Tudor and Minnesota when the red Kia SUV pulled up next to the truck.  Elijah began yelling at the GMC’s driver.  When the light turned green, both vehicles pulled away with Elijah continuing to drive right next to the GMC.  At some point Claude-Devon (the passenger in the Kia) brandished a handgun and waived it around.  Due to being in fear of being shot, the GMC’s driver accelerated to get away from the Kia.  The GMC’s driver called APD when he realized Elijah was not going to stop following him in traffic.  The GMC’s driver slowed down when he saw officers arriving to help.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers searched the Kia and located several items which they seized for evidence to include fentanyl.  No evidence was found of a collision between the Kia and the GMC.  There is no indication the occupants of the two separate vehicles were known to one another.  What caused the disturbance to begin in the first place is still under investigation.

The Kia’s driver, Elijah Nelson, was remanded at the Anchorage Jail on the charges of Reckless Driving, three counts of Assault III, Hindering Prosecution I, and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance IV. The Kia’s passenger, Claude-Devon Lupas, was remanded on the charges of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance IV and three counts of Assault III.

APD Case 22-28142

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