Big Lake burglars face laundry list of charges

PALMER — Between two cases in the last week, prosecutors have hit a pair of accused burglars with more than 50 charges.

But there is no indication that the two cases are related from what little is contained in court files.

A Palmer grand jury on Feb. 8 hit Joshua R. Beaty with 33 charges, nearly all of them burglary or theft. The lone exception — cruelty to animals, which, judging by earlier accounts, likely relates to a Pomeranian snatched in one of the burglaries that was later found shaved.

Beaty was taken into custody Oct. 26, 2012, when a pair of friends caught him in the act of robbing James Conner’s Big Lake Home.

Beaty allegedly nearly ran over one of the men, at which point the man he was aiming his vehicle at, Jim Bowe, drew down on Beaty with a pistol, firing a warning shot.

In a Frontiersman interview soon after they apprehended Beaty, Bowe and his friend Chris Harris related what Alaska State Troopers had told them — that evidence uncovered in Beaty’s home traced back to other burglaries in the area.

The idea then was that troopers would eventually charge him with more burglaries, which is what happened Feb. 8.

All of the burglaries he allegedly committed occurred in either Big Lake or Wasilla, according to the charges. Dates on which he was alleged to have committed burglaries include Aug. 14, Sept. 5, Sept. 7, Oct. 10, Oct. 18 and Oct. 22.

Also named in the case is Nicole South, who is charged with a single count of evidence tampering alleged to have happened Nov. 5, obviously after Beaty was already in jail.

The men who subdued Beaty mentioned his girlfriend as a possible accomplice.

Also charged this month was Robert Crawley II, who a grand jury charged Feb. 15 with 24 counts, including numerous counts of theft, vehicle theft burglary and criminal mischief

Crawley’s burglaries allegedly occurred in Wasilla, Houston and Big Lake and ranged from Oct. 11, 2011, to March 21, 2012. Details in his court file were scarce.

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