Suspect in burglaries nabbed

PALMER — A homeless woman burgled and pilfered her way across the central Valley and Anchorage, and racked up almost $20,000 in property crimes in the Valley, authorities said.

Mary L. McLinn, 30, faces 12 counts stemming from alleged property crimes between roughly mid-June, and July 24, when Alaska State Troopers with the patrol and Criminal Suppression Units located and arrested her. Authorities arraigned McLinn on Monday in Superior Court on two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree burglary, three counts of second-degree theft, one count of first-degree vehicle theft, two counts of second-degree vehicle theft, one count of theft of an access device, and one count each of third-degree and fourth-degree criminal mischief. McLinn also allegedly told police she played a role in several crimes in Anchorage.

An affidavit written by trooper Eric Taylor lists a series of thefts stretching back to June 14. Taylor wrote that McLinn told troopers she stole a Yamaha Raptor all-terrain vehicle from an address along 3 Bee’s Road in the Meadow Lakes community. The ATV’s owner valued the Raptor at between $1,000 and $1,500. McLinn allegedly told troopers she sold it for $100.

Two weeks later, at a residence on Aimees Circle, McLinn was among a group of people stopped after a tipster spotted a red pickup truck with a taped back passenger window leaving the scene of an apparent theft.

An incarcerated male called troopers July 8 to report that McLinn stole his 2002 GMC Sierra pickup, and about $750 worth of clothing and tools from his house while he was in jail.

“McLinn confessed to entering [the inmate’s] residence, and taking [his] truck, but claimed she had permission,” Taylor wrote.

McLinn allegedly foisted a Polaris Sportsman 500 ATV from a residence in Big Lake July 19, and admitted playing a part in the theft when interviewed by troopers shortly after her arrest. The theft did not go smoothly, Taylor wrote.

“McLinn stated she didn’t steal the ATV, but knew it was stolen and while riding it to a residence in Palmer to sell the ATV, she tipped the ATV onto its side and could not recover it to continue, so she abandoned it in the woods,” he wrote.

Troopers say McLinn told them she used a rock to break a window on a house near the seen of the rollover.

“McLinn confessed to breaking into the residence … to clean herself up from injuries sustained during the crash as well as taking items from the residence,” Taylor wrote.

Troopers later recovered the ATV.

McLinn allegedly struck again July 19, when troopers say she tried to take a Kubota utility vehicle and several tools from property owned by the NANA Corp. McLinn used the utility vehicle to ram open a gate on the property and drove off, only to be spotted and confronted a few hours later by someone who knew the vehicle to be stolen. McLinn fled on foot into the woods, leaving behind the utility vehicle and some items taken from a house, according to the affidavit. The person who confronted McLinn identified her later among faces in a photo array.

Troopers arrested her July 24 and transported her to Mat-Su Pretrial, where she remained Wednesday on $5,000 cash or corporate bail with a court-appointed third-party custody requirement. When arrested, McLinn was carrying credit, debit, and identification cards that did not belong to her, according to Taylor.

“During a recorded interview … McLinn stated she knew the purse and items inside the purse were stolen and she was told to use the credit cards but hadn’t done so yet,” he wrote.

McLinn’s next scheduled court appearance is Aug. 28 for a pre-trial conference, according to court documents.

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