Forestry vandal draws 12 years

PALMER — Before receiving his 12-year sentence Friday, Stephen Foster sought forgiveness from the victims of his rampage of vandalism through an Alaska Division of Forestry building last summer.

“I went back multiple times and violated you guys’ stuff,” Foster said, wearing yellow prison scrubs and a goatee, facing a courtroom gallery containing 11 Forestry firefighters. “I just hope you guys could forgive me. I don’t know if I could.”

Matt Jones, superintendent of the Pioneer Peak Hotshot crew, said both in person and in a written statement Assistant District Attorney Kerry Corliss read aloud that Foster’s actions created a major distraction at a time when his crew was busy fighting wildfires in the state’s Interior. Working on a fire line demands focus.

“Any slight distraction can compromise our ability to work safely,” Jones said.

They had to pull back from the fire to talk via satellite phone to Alaska State Troopers who were trying to get a handle on what all was stolen from the crew’s base behind Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Fire crews store personal belongings at their base when dispatched to a fire. Lockers contained passports and iPods, computers and clothing.

Jones said he’d been told Foster had assembled a crew to help him do the job and that he played the role of ringleader. That, to him, indicates Foster isn’t the kind of person who needs to be out roaming the streets.

When firefighters left the fire early to deal with the break-in — sacrificing wages to do so — they found their base trashed. Some of the damage just amounted to disrespect; Jones mentioned clothes were piled on the floor and urinated on.

For his part, Foster said he it was actually an Igloo cooler of water that had tipped over on the clothing.

“I never urinated on your guys’ stuff,” he said.

And he maintained that he acted alone. To steal five vehicles from the parking lot, he returned multiple times.

Foster’s attorney sought a 12-year term with six suspended since Foster was a raging drug addict at the time seeking to fuel his habit and had never committed a violent crime against a person.

Corliss, pointing out a lot of the damage seemed to go beyond what is necessary to break into a building and arguing that Foster was among the worst offenders in the burglary/thief category, asked for a 15-year term with no suspended time.

Superior Court Judge Eric Smith chose a sentence closer to Corliss’ recommendation and imposed 20 years with eight suspended for 12 to serve. He said mostly he was seeking to condemn Foster’s actions and to isolate him from society.

“It’s particularly bad to break into their facility, trash everything and steal their belongings when they’re out putting their lives on the line,” Smith said.

Noting that Foster had been a thief and an addict for most of his adult life — Corliss had mentioned Foster stole a school bus at age 13 — Smith said he hoped Foster had hit rock bottom with his drug addiction and could being recovery.

“Until you hit bottom, it ain’t gonna happen,” Smith said.

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