Haines Borough Police charged a 23-year-old man last week with felony burglary and misdemeanor theft for allegedly breaking into a woman’s Comstock Road home Nov. 25 and stealing several hundred dollars’ worth of belongings.
A juvenile boy also allegedly participated in the burglary. The juvenile’s records are confidential, though police chief Bill Musser said he also has been charged.
The woman’s wallet, containing more than $100 and several credit cards, and a Samsung Galaxy Note II tablet were taken.
According to Musser, the woman didn’t report the crime to police. Dispatch started receiving phone calls Tuesday, Nov. 25, asking about the incident, rumored to be an armed robbery.
Officers responded to the area and investigated, ultimately contacting the woman whose home had been burgled. The woman said she hadn’t seen a weapon, and police took to Facebook to dispel the rumor.
According to charging documents written by officer Jason Rettinger, the woman woke up at 5 a.m. to find two people in her home. “(The two people) had torn the exterior plastic and crawled through a window to gain entry into the house,” Rettinger wrote.
Rettinger interviewed the 23-year-old man and the juvenile, but Musser wouldn’t say how Rettinger knew to interview the two suspects.
Both the 23-year-old and juvenile admitted to being at the woman’s home, but each blamed the other for going into the house and taking the items.
Rettinger showed the woman photos of the two suspects. “(The woman) told me that she was sure there were two people in the house and that (the 23-year-old) was one of them… She told me she was not sure if (the juvenile) was the other or not. She told me the second person was wearing a red bandana,” Rettinger wrote.
The two people ran out of the kitchen when the woman yelled at them.
A nearby resident came to the police station the same day of the break-in and turned in surveillance footage that caught the perpetrators on film.
The 23-year-old also allegedly provided alcohol and drugs to the minor, police said. “(The juvenile) admitted to being drunk and high on marijuana at the time this incident occurred. He told me that (the 23-year-old) had supplied the alcohol and the marijuana. He told me that he had gone to (the 23-year-old’s) place to return a marijuana bong,” Rettinger wrote.
Musser said there “may be a tie” between the Nov. 25 burglary and the recent car break-ins and thefts, though police are still investigating.
The 23-year-old, a 7 Mile Haines Highway resident, is being held at Juneau’s Lemon Creek Correctional Center on $5,000 bail.
First-degree burglary is a Class B felony and carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in jail and/or a $100,000 fine.
Third-degree theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor are both Class A misdemeanors and carry a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail and/or a $10,000 fine.