PALMER — Three Valley men facing federal charges in Anchorage for possessing stolen firearms aren’t strangers to local burglary investigators.

A press release from federal prosecutors says Joshua Cowley, 30, Justin Anderson, 28, and Brian Bosch, 25, all of Wasilla, are charged with running a scheme whereby they’d burglarize area homes and pawn what they stole. The guns they allegedly pawned netted them federal charges that could land them up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Alaska State Trooper Investigator Curtis Vik said the charges all date back to a string of burglaries he busted them for in 2007. The corresponding state court cases date back to June, 2007. According to an affidavit Vik filed in state Superior Court, a homeowner on E. Birch Drive in Wasilla reported his home had been broken into and six guns and a fishing rod had been stolen.

Eventually, with help from a local pawnshop owner, troopers tracked down Cowley, Anderson and Bosch.

Vik’s affidavit linked the men to two other summertime burglaries in the Palmer and Wasilla areas. Items in those burglaries turned up at local pawnshops, where the men had signed pawn slips. The affidavit also spoke of a search of Anderson’s van that yielded more than a dozen pawn slips for items listed as stolen in trooper databases. All were signed by Anderson or Cowley.

As of Wednesday, Bosch and Cowley had $10,000 arrest warrants in their court files. Bosch had apparently not showed up for a single court hearing. Cowley had gotten as far in the legal process as pleading no contest to second-degree theft in exchange for a 23-month prison term but then never showed up to receive his sentence.

As for Anderson — he eventually pleaded no contest last year on the day after Christmas to two counts of theft and received a year in prison. State law allows for a one-third reduction of a sentence for good behavior in prison as well as time served in jail awaiting trial to be deducted from a sentence.

According to Vik, upon getting out Anderson was right back to his old tricks.

“He had been released, he had been convicted, served his sentence and was committing burglaries,” Vik said.

In a case filed Oct. 1 in Palmer Superior Court, Anderson was hit with 14 charges including theft and burglary.

In an affidavit Vik filed with the case, the investigator writes that on Sept. 4 a man returned home to Lee Ann Drive in Palmer to find a young man standing in his yard.

“The person stated he was at the residence looking for ‘Shirley,’” Vik wrote, based on the homeowner’s account.

Troopers believe the man in the yard was Anderson. According to the homeowner, Anderson tried to leave but the homeowner wouldn’t let him. That’s when he noticed his front door had been kicked in. Anderson bolted.

Later, the homeowner told troopers that 15 videogames had been moved close to the door of the home but nothing had been stolen. A friend helped him repair the door, a project that cost $250. 

The homeowner gave troopers a description of the Ford Ranger that Anderson drove off in. They tracked down its owner, who turned out to be Anderson’s twin brother who, at the time, was living at Nugen’s Ranch. He told troopers he’d been letting Anderson use the pickup while he underwent alcohol treatment.

Anderson drove the same Ford Ranger to an interview with troopers at the Wasilla Police Department two days later.

During the interview, Anderson denied any knowledge of the burglary, saying he’d been in Anchorage that entire day with his girlfriend and had no idea why his pickup was spotted at the scene.

Anderson matched the homeowner’s description better than his twin, and the homeowner picked him from a photo lineup.

Vik’s affidavit went on to link Anderson to four other burglaries in Palmer and Wasilla between July and September. In each instance, items stolen in the burglaries ended up pawned in Anchorage with Anderson’s name on the pawn slips.

   

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.