Suspected truck vandals arrested

MAT-SU -- Alaska State Troopers arrested three men after responding to a call from a concerned camper near Jim Creek along the Knik River in the early morning hours Sunday. The camper reported a party with juveniles, according to an AST press release.

Troopers were called to the area at about 3 a.m. and found two pick-up trucks that were stolen from an Anchorage U-Haul rental business had been destroyed. Both vehicles were totaled, and one was set on fire and burned, troopers reported in a press release Monday morning.

Troopers arrested 18-year-old David E. Carlson, 19-year-old Bruce A. Sledge and 18-year-old James E. Stinson and took them to Mat-Su Pre-trial Facility. All three men are from Anchorage, and all three were initially charged with two counts of first-degree vehicle theft and two counts of third-degree criminal mischief. Troopers said several other charges are pending and that more people may be charged in the incident.

The area near Jim Creek -- upriver from the Old Glenn Highway along the Knik River riverbed -- has long been a popular spot for under-aged drinking, illegal shooting ranges and legal activities such as camping, fishing and riding off-road vehicles on the system of trails along the river. It is not uncommon for stolen and abandoned vehicles to be found torched along the riverbed.

"You don't leave nothing back there. It's been like that for years," said Georgia Hines, a convenience store clerk and area resident.

Hines -- who said she visits Jim Creek area only rarely -- said it was her impression that arrests such as the one last weekend are still uncommon, but that patrols have increased in the area.

"The cops have been going back there more," Hines said. "They're working to get things cleaned up."

The U-Haul pick-up trucks were both late-model GMCs. One was model year 2000 and the other a 2002, according to AST. The loss to the business is approximately $36,000. The three accused men are being held on $30,000 bail, according to AST.