Burglary arrests made

SUTTON -- Alaska State Troopers have arrested two Anchorage men in connection with a rash of burglaries from Willow to Chickaloon.

Carlos Navarro, 20, and Cyrus Taylor, 18, were apprehended Feb. 4 during a burglary in progress in Sutton, troopers said. They were charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass for that incident, according to troopers.

A subsequent investigation by the troopers' burglary suppression and patrol units revealed that Navarro and Taylor allegedly committed at least four other burglaries Feb. 3-4 in Willow, Sutton and Chickaloon. Troopers allege the men stole firearms, jewelry and other items with a total value of more than $4,000.

Guns stolen during a Feb. 3 burglary in Willow included a .44 magnum handgun, a .243 rifle and a .22 rifle, according to charging documents. In those documents, Trooper Dave Willson said Navarro was identified by a burglary victim as being one of two men who tried to enter her house in Sutton.

He and Taylor were subsequently arrested on the Glenn Highway six miles from the woman's residence. Charging documents said Taylor's shoes matched footprints that Trooper Sgt. Mark Ridling found in the snow near the house.

Navarro said during an interview with Willson that he had spent the past few days breaking into houses to get money because he is unemployed, charging documents said.

Willson noted that a barking dog apparently scared off the men after they had targeted the Sutton residence for burglary. Willson spoke recently to the Palmer Lions Club about crime prevention techniques and said dogs are effective in home protection.

Charging documents said the Sutton woman was at home but lights were out when two men knocked on her door Feb. 4.

"When there was no response, they knocked loudly and then pounded and kicked on the front door until her yellow Labrador dog barked loudly from inside the house and ran to the front door," charging documents said, adding the men left soon afterward.

Additional charges against Navarro and Tayler being forwarded to the Palmer District Attorney's Office include four counts of first-degree burglary, seven counts of second-degree theft, third-degree theft and three counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, troopers said.

In addition to the most recent charges, records show Navarro received a suspended imposition of sentence on July 18, 2003, from an Anchorage judge for a charge of third-degree theft.