Houston couple indicted in string of thefts

Oct. 16, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -A Palmer grand jury recently indicted a Houston couple accused of accumulating tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools, toys, electronics, kayaks, canoes, generators, water skis and other outdoor gear during a burglary spree in the Big Lake and Talkeetna areas last year.

Nathaniel A. Day, 27, and Lua L. Smith, 27, were indicted together Sept. 29. They face 18 counts of felony theft and two misdemeanor counts for possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief.

The case broke when Alaska State Trooper Andrew Adams received a tip that some items stolen from the Upper Susitna Gun Club were in a pawn shop and informed a team from the Mat-Su property crimes unit of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.

After learning Day sold the items to the pawn shop, the team - which included police from Talkeetna, Big Lake and the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement - went to Day's house Feb. 25.

The team found loot there from &#8221most of the burglaries that have occurred between Big Lake and Talkeetna in the last year,“ according to investigator Curtis Vik.

One of the burglaries occurred at the Upper Susitna Gun Club the day after Christmas 2004. The club's building was damaged to the tune of about $12,000 when thieves left the building without heat after stealing stoves, air rifles and a printer. Some of the stolen items were pawned at shops in the Valley and in Anchorage, but investigators still found plenty of goods at the house, including hand tools, electric tools, construction tools, model railroad equipment, radio-controlled-aircraft equipment, water skis, electronics, canoes, kayaks, all-terrain vehicle equipment, generators, two stoves, a Lexmark printer and several air rifles.

In addition to the stolen property, the team also found a marijuana grow operation and arrested Day at the house.

Troopers arrested Smith during a traffic stop on March 9. She faces an additional felony count of tampering with physical evidence for trying to hide marijuana from investigators, according to the indictment.

Day also faces charges of second-degree assault and two counts of third-degree assault from February 2000 and another misdemeanor theft charge from January.

The couple are not in custody and are scheduled for trial Nov. 14.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.