Haines Borough interim police chief Simon Ford forwarded charges to the assistant district attorney last week related to the summer spree of car break-ins downtown.
Ford said this week he forwarded charges of criminal trespass, theft and criminal mischief for two suspects.
The suspects are Haines men ages 18 and 19,
More than 30 unlocked cars were raided during the June 17 break-ins. Items stolen included car stereos, cameras, cash, prescription medication, and miscellaneous electronics.
Ford said he doesn’t know when assistant district attorney Amy Williams will have a chance to review the charges.
“The file is the thickest file I’ve ever sent to Juneau; there’s a lot to go through,” Ford said.
Police processed more than 100 pieces of evidence, sent pieces to the crime lab for analysis, took fingerprints out of vehicles and conducted many interviews for the car break-in case, Ford said.
“With our staffing situation, it has taken a long time to prepare this. I understand the frustration of victims and the community in general about not seeing the thieves held accountable, but this was a very complex case and required a lot of detailed report writing,” he said.
Victims of the car break-ins still haven’t received their items back and won’t until the case is resolved.
“I understand people want their belongings back and the community wants to see some justice, and so do I. We’ve just been trying to be very careful to get it right.” Ford said.