An Anchor Point man faces federal charges for allegedly threatening law enforcement over the radio.
Larry Clarence Volz Jr., 58, was arrested Thursday during a Federal Bureau of Investigation search of his home on the 41000 block of the Old Sterling Highway in Anchor Point. An FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant as part of a Safe Streets Task Force investigation, according to a statement from the FBI’s Anchorage office.
Volz was arrested on weapons charges and threats of violence against law enforcement on pirated FM radio stations. The FBI had received multiple complaints about the broadcasts, according to the statement.
“Volz utilized these illegal broadcasts to express specific threats of violence towards law enforcement,” the statement said.
The FBI would not disclose further details about the case until after Volz’s initial hearing, according to FBI Anchorage Division spokesman Richard VanVeldhuisen.
This is not Volz’s first brush with the law. He has appeared in court in Alaska at least 10 times since 1989, according to court records, with a variety of charges ranging from reckless driving to trespassing.
The Homer Police Department has received calls about his broadcasts for some time, according to Homer Chief of Police Mark Robl. Volz kept his broadcasting equipment in his car, Robl said.
“I believe (the broadcasting) was sporadic,” Robl said. “When he came into town, we would hear it. We would monitor and try to find him.”
Homer police attempted to stop him in July 2012 to discuss reports of his threats over the radio, but he sped away and attempted to escape them in his car. After nearly hitting a jogger, Volz drove away and the Homer police decided not to give chase. Instead, they issued a warrant, and Volz was later arrested in Anchorage for reckless driving, failing to stop at the order of a peace officer and reckless endangerment, Robl said.
The broadcasts were very specific and threatening to law enforcement and firefighters, Robl said. At one point, Volz reportedly named several state troopers by name, he said. Earlier this year, he threatened to kill Homer police, firefighters and troopers, Robl said.
“We issued some warnings to our officers about him and to the firefighters to be on high alert,” Robl said.
The state troopers worked with the FBI on their investigation, and the Homer Police Department contributed their information, Robl said. The troopers coordinated the information, but the FBI was the lead agency on the investigation.
Volz is currently being held in the Anchorage Jail, according to an inmate search database. He was scheduled to be arraigned in the Anchorage courthouse Friday afternoon.
Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.
