Scrap over coat gets Wasilla man 120 days in jail

PALMER — A Wasilla teen charged with robbery will serve 120 days in jail with a potential for three more years behind bars if he doesn’t keep his nose clean.

Harley Keller, 19, and Steven Weeg, 21, were arrested in October and charged with robbery after they allegedly assaulted a man on Crusey Street near USA Circle and took the man’s coat and hat.

Keller appeared before Superior Court Judge Vanessa White last week having agreed to plead guilty to assault and theft and have his robbery charge dismissed.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat said that while the crime fit the legal definition of a robbery, really it was much closer to a theft.

“Mr. Keller and his co-defendant knew (the victim). They stopped him, there was an altercation,” Gernat said. “There was a dispute as to who actually owned the jacket. Honestly, from the information I have, I can’t tell whose jacket it was.”

She also said that, given his history, it was probably Weeg who directed much of that day’s events.

Keller’s attorney, Krista Maciolek, said the victim was actually homeless and that Keller and his mother had taken him in.

“At one point they came home and found a bunch of their property missing,” she said.

Later, Keller spotted his one-time friend walking and wearing his coat, which had gone missing in the burglary.

“Mr. Keller took it upon himself to get his property back rather than going through the proper channels,” she said.

White eventually accepted the agreed upon a 120-day sentence.

“Engaging in violence as an act of self-help is a crime,” she said. “Mr. Keller needs to accelerate the process of maturing.”

Weeg is set to enter a guilty plea this week.