At 2:32 AM on November 18, 2021, a citizen called APD Records to report the theft of a gold 2004 Cadillac Deville from a business parking lot on the 600-block of E International Airport Road.  The citizen stated the theft had just happened; the male suspect got into the car that had been left unlocked and running with the keys inside and drove away.  A citizen saw the theft happen.  That witness followed the suspect in their own vehicle while giving location updates to Dispatch.

 Officers caught up to the stolen Cadillac at E 36th Avenue and the Old Seward Highway.  Officers stopped the vehicle and blocked it in at the intersection of 36th and Denali.  The suspect driver, later identified as 56-year-old Sean P. Fitzgerald, was slow to follow commands and had a difficult time walking once he was out of the car.  While officers applied the handcuffs, they could smell alcohol on Fitzgerald; they noticed other signs of impairment as well. The officers drove Fitzgerald to a nearby parking lot where they could administer Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), however Fitzgerald refused to participate.  The decision was made to charge Fitzgerald with Operating under the Influence.

 Once they were at the jail, Fitzgerald would not give a breath sample.  A search warrant was obtained, and Fitzgerald’s blood was drawn.  Fitzgerald was subsequently remanded on the charges of Theft II, DUI, Vehicle Theft I, and Refusal.

 APD Case 21-37407