A Haines man previously charged with leaving the scene of an accident, after allegedly crashing into a Delta Western truck, and domestic violence assault, after assaulting an individual in the Haines Quick Shop parking lot, is now facing a felony theft charge.
Police arrested the man Tuesday morning after responding to an upper valley resident who reported his trailer stolen, according to court documents.
George Campbell reported to police that a friend working for the Alaska Department of Transportation called him to ask if he’d sold his trailer after seeing it towed down the highway by a green truck driven by the suspect, court documents say.
“Campbell…observed it was gone and then drove to (the suspect’s) residence where he saw his trailer hooked up to a green truck parked on the property,” the documents say.
Campbell told the CVN he called the Alaska State Troopers, but was told the crime was out of their jurisdiction. Campbell called the Haines Police and officer Adam Patterson and chief Heath Scott drove to the suspect’s residence and placed him under arrest for theft in the second degree.
The man appeared in court later that day and said he believed the trailer was abandoned, according to court records.
“Had (Campbell) asked me, I would gladly have taken it back to the side of the highway,” the man told the court.
Lynette Campbell said they parked the trailer at a pullout at 26 Mile because icy conditions made it difficult to pull it up their nearby driveway. She said the suspect tried to steal the trailer under the cover of darkness, but didn’t account for the Alaska Department of Transportation.
“We don’t need patrols out here we have DOT every morning,” Lynette quipped.
The suspect was held on a $6,000 bond and transferred to Lemon Creek Correctional Facility in Juneau.
Police also found 19 grams of methamphetamine in the suspect’s vehicle in connection with last November’s domestic violence assault charge. No drug charges have been filed yet.