Man charged with burglaries in Valley, North Slope

ANCHORAGE — Having made a court hearing in Barrow on burglary charges, Alaska State Troopers say they picked up a 19-year-old Palmer man at the airport, charging him multiple crimes in the Valley.

According to an AST press statement, Forrest French was arrested Friday at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, “where he was being transported back from court appearances in Barrow.”

Troopers putting the cuffs on him were members of the troopers’ Criminal Suppression Unit, formed to combat property crimes in the Valley.

French’s alleged offenses in the Valley were broken into separate cases at the Palmer courthouse. One charges him with burglary and theft. Under “date of offense,” online court records list Jan. 6, 2013. The second case is for a March 9, 2013, vehicle theft. The third case is for burglary, theft and criminal mischief that happened Feb. 3, 2014.

The Barrow case, meanwhile, is for burglary and theft with a date of offense of Jan. 6, 2013.

Beyond that, with state courthouses closed for President’s Day, little information on the cases was available.

The Barrow courthouse handles cases for a huge swath of the state’s northern reaches from the Chukchi Sea to the Canada border. In addition to Barrow, communities served there include Kaktovik, Wainwright, Atqasuk, Nuiqsut, Anaktuvuk Pass and the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay.

In Palmer, French’s bail was set at $13,000. As of Monday afternoon he was listed as an inmate of the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.

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