Neighbors catch burglar in the act

February 28, 2006

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Alert neighbors thwarted a burglary in progress Saturday night, holding an alleged burglar until police arrived, and, perhaps, giving people in the Meadow Brook subdivision some respite from the seemingly relentless thefts that have plagued them for months.

When two young men came to his door Saturday evening offering to shovel his driveway, Josh Walker got an uneasy feeling.

&#8220They offered to shovel snow,” Walker said. &#8220But they didn't have any shovels, and one of them was wearing shorts.”

Walker's house had been burglarized Dec. 1, while the family was getting their Christmas photos taken, he said. Walker was glad the burglars didn't wreck the inside of his house then. But besides losing jewelry, financial information and a portable DVD player to the thieves, the Walkers lost their sense of security.

&#8220I was flabbergasted because the house is right on the corner,” Walker said. &#8220It is so wide open. But there were two other houses hit the same night. Now everybody feels insecure in a neighborhood they expected to feel secure in.”

Walker watched the pair, who he estimated to be in their late teens to early 20s, as they left his house and went to four other houses. The whole time he watched them, he said, was only about 20 to 25 minutes.

Then they got to Jake Boothby's house.

Boothby said he had been gone all day from his home on Megan Way, and since he would be gone a while longer, he returned home about 7 p.m., he said, dusted off his cars, turned on lights and made his house look as if he was home because burglars had hit the area so often.

&#8220There have been about 20 houses hit since September,” Boothby said.

Boothby drove to his father's house, just two blocks away, to take his dad to the airport that night. He figured he had been gone only about 45 minutes before they drove out of the subdivision and saw cop cars at his house, he said.

When Boothby returned to his house, Alaska State Troopers had Casey J. Donn, 19 of Palmer, in the back of a squad car.

&#8220I told him that if I had been the one who got him, he wouldn't be in the back of the car,” Boothby said. &#8220I told him he would be in a body bag, and he started crying.”

Walker and another neighbor, Frank Anderson, had teamed up, stopping Donn as he fled from the inside of Boothby's house, Anderson said.

Anderson had been staying home with his baby, but when Walker called Anderson needing help, Anderson took off.

&#8220I handed my baby over to his wife and we took off after the guy,” Anderson said. &#8220Chalk one up for the good guys.”

In spite of the rapid response by Walker and Anderson, when Boothby got to his house, he said, it was totally vandalized. His 42-inch plasma-screen TV had been taken outside and dropped a few times.

They broke in through a garage door, pushed a dog kennel out of the way, then kicked in the house door, he said.

&#8220They trashed everything,” he said. &#8220And they took a Minolta digital camera that had our newborn son's baby photos. Maybe the troopers have it, maybe it's out in the snow. But we'd really like that memory stick back.”

Others were involved in the burglary, but Walker said they didn't come close to catching the others.

Boothby and several other neighbors said besides offering to shovel snow, with no shovels, a few people have also been coming to homes trying to sell subscriptions to the Anchorage Daily News.

&#8220But they never have subscription forms,” he said. &#8220They told my fiancee they would call back.”

The burglaries have changed the neighborhood, making everyone more alert and getting neighbors who didn't know each other to start talking, according to both Walker and Anderson.

It's gratifying to actually get one of those guys,” Anderson said. &#8220I hope this sends a message to the rest of them. &#8220We are unified, and we're not going to put up with it. It was good to catch the kid, and I think he got lucky because we had our wits about us. He could have been in a lot worse shape if he ran into someone who didn't care.”

Anderson said that even after they phoned troopers to say they were holding a suspect, it still took about 25 minutes before the troopers arrived.

&#8220I don't want people to put themselves in harm's way,” he said. &#8220But it is up to the people. The troopers are spread pretty thin.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.