Fourth candy caper suspect arrested

BIG LAKE — A fourth suspect in the Halloween armed robbery of young Talkeetna trick-or-treaters was turned in by anonymous tipsters and found hiding in the crawl space of a Big Lake home.

Alaska State Troopers say Kendra Butts, 18, of Wasilla was apprehended Tuesday afternoon and remanded to the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in Palmer. Bail was set at $75,000 for six counts of first-degree robbery and seven counts of third-degree assault. Butts is also charged with a Class A felony involving the use of a weapon during the commission of a crime, according to court records in Palmer. She was arraigned Wednesday at Palmer Criminal District Court.

Troopers had been chasing reports that Butts was in the Big Lake area, AST spokesperson Megan Peters said. A second suspect was arrested Friday evening in Houston. Detectives had checked other residences believing Butts was hiding out locally, “But we were obviously a step behind her,” Peters said.

Butts had never been identified publicly by troopers as a suspect, but was named in a court document filed by an investigator as a girlfriend of one of two men arrested in Talkeetna last week in connection with the robberies. In an affidavit filed with the court, one of the men identified Butts and another women as their girlfriends and said they admitted to robbing the youngsters.

Peters said Butts was coaxed from the crawl space of an acquaintance’s home and taken into custody. Troopers are trying to ascertain Butts’ whereabouts between Halloween night and the time of her arrest.

Talkeetna children who were among the victims were subpoenaed by the grand jury and will be interviewed about the events. Those at the Talkeetna elementary school all the victims attend say authorities have been sensitive and thorough throughout the investigation.

Talkeetna Elementary School Principal John Brown said the children involved have been interviewed fully and reassured by troopers and the District Attorney’s Office that the suspects troopers sought are in jail. Brown said the students deserve a lot of credit for how they reacted during and after the event, and for the way they have stuck together during the investigation.

The final suspect’s arrest follows the discovery of about $70,000 worth of good stolen during other area burglaries around Halloween. Troopers report spotting the stolen items from the air on land near Montana Creek Road, which is off the Parks Highway near Talkeetna. Investigators have not charged any of the four suspects arrested since Halloween night with the burglaries, but have said they believe the crimes are linked. Among the recovered items are a Polaris all-terrain vehicle, a pickup truck, two travel trailers and some tools.

The other robbery suspect, Amber Martin, 20, of Wasilla, was arrested after being stopped by Houston police Capt. John Rhyshek late Friday night. Martin was one of four people in a 1978 Ford truck that had a headlight out. Troopers later impounded the truck. Martin and the other occupants were detained on the scene until Troopers arrived.

“If I was to stop one vehicle that night, that’s the one I should have stopped,” Rhyshek said, noting that an officer never knows what will turn up during a traffic stop.

“We keep a pretty tight reign on our citizens out here,” Rhyshek said. “If someone has a warrant we’ll track them down.”

Martin was remanded to Mat-Su Pre-Trial facility and is held on $50,000 cash bail.

Martin’s preliminary hearing has been set for 2 p.m. Nov. 13 before Judge David L. Zwink at the Palmer courthouse, 435 S. Denali St. She is represented by the Public Defender’s Office.

Also in custody in connection with the robberies but not named as suspects are Michael Scott Wilson and Aaron Tolen, both 24. They were arrested Halloween evening at the Latitude 62 restaurant and bar in Talkeetna about two hours after the crime on felony warrants and for hindering the investigation, according to a court affidavit. Tolen also faces a third-degree theft charge, as a badge taken from a trooper hat after Tolen was already in custody was reportedly recovered from him during a search.

Tolen also faces a preliminary hearing 2 p.m. Nov. 13 before Judge Zwink. He was arraigned Nov. 1 and also arrested again on a bench warrant on two unrelated felony and one misdemeanor charge.

Contact John R. Moses at john.moses@frontiersman.com or call 352-2270.