Troopers allege man pawned burgled items

PALMER — Alaska State Troopers arrested a Wasilla man Wednesday, alleging he’d pawned items stolen in at least four area burglaries.

Jacob L. Melton, 23, was charged with burglary, theft, theft of a firearm and four counts of forgery.

According to an affidavit trooper Robert Lawson filed in the case, Melton was arrested at his girlfriend’s house on Kalli Circle. The girlfriend initially said he wasn’t there but troopers spotted him jumping out of a window.

The girlfriend told troopers she had just been released from jail.

“Matter of fact, she had only been home about 20 minutes from jail when [troopers] arrived,” Lawson said.

Lawson writes that that burglaries on Feb. 13, 2008 on Lakeside Drive, on Dec. 11, 2008 on Ebro Circle, on Dec. 11 on Serendipity Loop and on Dec. 15 on Escondido Avenue all tied back to Melton.

Items reported stolen in the burglaries that turned up at pawnshops with Melton’s names on the slips included televisions, a Mossberg 12-guage shotgun and a Wii video game system.

On Jan. 5 troopers pulled over a vehicle being driven by Kerry Niles, whose name also turned up on pawn slips tied to items stolen in the burglaries.

Troopers searched the vehicle with Niles’ consent, Lawson wrote, and turned up a check in the amount of $100 written to Melton. The check had the name of one of the burglary victims, who told troopers his checks had gone missing and that he’d never written one to Melton.

The day of his arrest, troopers searched Melton’s girlfriend’s mother’s car, which Melton had borrowed a week prior.

Inside they found three of the girlfriend’s checks, all made out to Melton totaling $140.

The girlfriend told troopers, “the dates on the checks were made out during the time she was [in] jail and could not have written them. She did not authorize Melton to write them or cash them.”

Lawson wrote that Niles has also been arrested. Court records show he was charged Jan. 22 with theft and burglary.

Melton was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility on $5,000 bail. Prison records late Friday showed he was still there.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.