Suspect charged in Grant Metal Recycling robbery

PALMER — A man who made off with about $1,000 cash and an iPhone now faces robbery and theft charges, court documents show.

James V. Pistro, 24, of Wasilla, is charged with one count each of second-degree robbery and fourth-degree assault, as well as two counts of second-degree theft. A grand jury indicted Pistro April 10. The charges arose from a reported robbery at Grant Metal Recycling, near the intersection of North 49th State Street and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. The center is a private business that buys scrap metal, unlike the Valley Recycling Center, a well-known nonprofit recycling organization located in the same neighborhood.

A man known only as James — later identified by witnesses and victims as Pistro — arrived at the Center about 2 p.m., March 24, according to an affidavit written by Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Michael Henry. Pistro told one employee he forgot his recycling that day. The employee told Pistro he could return later with his recycling, and Pistro got in a red Dodge Dakota pickup truck and started the engine. The employee then turned his back, Henry wrote.

“Suddenly, (the employee) was struck by an unknown object on the back of his head causing him pain,” Henry wrote.

Pistro stood over the employee and demanded money, so the employee gave him about $1,000 cash in his pockets, according to the affidavit, Henry wrote. Pistro also demanded the employee’s cellphone to prevent him from calling the troopers. Ultimately, another employee called the troopers. While the other employee did not witness the assault or theft, both positively identified Pistro from photos, according to the affidavit.

Troopers eventually recovered the undamaged iPhone from the side of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

When troopers contacted Pistro, he denied involvement, according to the affidavit. Instead, he claimed he was on his way to work in Anchorage for work when the pickup started running rough, so he drove to a friend’s house (the friend later agreed). He first claimed he had never been to the business, then said he’d there once in 2013.

He could not explain how receipts kept by the center showed he had visited the business twice, and that on both instances his phone number and license plates for the truck had been written on the receipts, according to Henry.

Troopers also matched tire tracks at the scene to the tires of the Dakota, according to the affidavit.

When Pistro’s friend began to recant the alibi, admitting he had lied on Pistro’s behalf, troopers interviewed Pistro a second time April 2. Pistro still denied any involvement, and troopers arrested him April 3.

He remained in the Mat-Su Pretrial Thursday on $20,000 cash and corporate bond, $1,500 cash performance bond, and court-appointed third-party requirements. His next scheduled court appearance is set for May 22 for a pre-trial conference, court documents show.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.