Burglar ditches ankle monitor

PALMER — An accused burglar is again at large after homeowners made him briefly Facebook famous after they caught the break-in on a security camera.

“His behavior is very unpredictable so please stay aware and be safe!” reads an alert those same homeowners put out this week.

James Wolsterman, 30, and Dennis Pickens, 30, were arrested at 10:15 a.m., Jan. 23 at a traffic stop on Seldon Road.

Troopers had been looking for him for just a day at that point after the burglary was reported on Sulatna Bay.

An affidavit filed in the case against Wolsterman spends a significant amount of time detailing the various videotapes homeowners let him watch.

“Wolsterman tried the doorknob multiple times,” the affidavit states. “One minute after knocking on the door, Wolsterman kicked the front door 9 times in an attempt to gain access to the residence.”

At some point Pickens gets out of the car, looks around to see if anybody’s watching, and looks through the front window of the house.

Eventually Wolsterman got in through a balcony door connected to the master bedroom. He stopped to grab a laptop off a counter in the kitchen, goes out of sight of the cameras, then exits the house.

The homeowners reported the laptop stolen, as well as a Motorola Razor phone and a Canon digital camera for a total loss of $849.

Troopers circulated pictures of Wolsterman and Pickens through the department and got a tip from a trooper who’d pulled them over three days prior. The suspects’ vehicle was also caught on the camera and with a description of it troopers were able to stop the car on Jan. 24.

The two men were taken back to the Palmer trooper post for an interview.

“Wolsterman was showed a screenshot photo of himself at the victim’s residence and Wolsterman just hung his head. Wolsterman denied breaking into any houses,” according to the affidavit.

Pickens was apparently more talkative.

“Pickens stated that he has known Wolsterman for one year. Pickens stated Wolsterman drives him around because Pickens has seizures. Pickens admitted to going to the residence on Sulatna Bay and stated he thought it was Wolsterman’s mother’s house,” according to the affidavit. “Pickens stated he did not go inside the house with Wolsterman because he didn’t want to be rude to Woslterman’s mother.”

Both men were charged with burglary and theft. They were initially jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility but Wolsterman eventually made bail.

On Monday he was charged with violating his release conditions. The notice from the homeowners claim he cut himself badly enough to bloody up his ankle monitor as he cut it off.

On Thursday a new warrant was issued for Wolsterman’s arrest. Report information about Wolsterman’s whereabouts to Alaska State Troopers at 745-2131.

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