Troopers arrest smash-and-grab theft suspects

PALMER — Alaska State Troopers with the Criminal Suppression Unit arrested 34-year-old Jessica Rose Jones, of Kenai, Jan. 21 at the Crevasse Moraine trailhead in Palmer.

The CSU had begun an investigation into the massive amounts of thefts occurring at Mat-Su Valley trailheads in January, and Jones was taken to Mat-Su Pretrial on an outstanding $1,000 felony arrest warrant for failure to comply with conditions of probation on the original charges of second-degree theft, fraudulent use of an access device and second-degree forgery.

AST reported that further investigation from the Jones arrest led to the arrest of 31-year-old Paul Joseph Ahrens, of Palmer. Ahrens had an outstanding $1,000 warrant for failure to comply with conditions of probation on the original charge of tampering with physical evidence and a separate $1,000 warrant for failure to comply on the original charges of second-degree theft, first-degree theft , scheme to defraud, second-degree theft , tampering with physical evidence and six counts of violating conditions of release.

AST reported that subsequent search yielded 17 identification cards including passports, military ID’s, voter registration cards and drivers licenses, 34 gift cards and debit cards and numerous cell phones connected to victims of trail head thefts.

On Jan. 19, AST posted to their daily dispatch that Palmer Patrol and the CSU were “attempting to identify and locate the suspects who have consistently broken vehicle windows and stolen items from inside vehicles parked at these trailheads.”

Troopers specifically noted Crevasse Moraine and Reflection Lake as hotspots for smash and grab thefts.

“Anybody who sees anybody acting suspicious at either of those trailheads to keep track of the description of the person, any vehicle descriptions and the time of day and the day of the week that they’re out there and then call and report that into the troopers so that way they can help kind of build up that case in the timeline for when these smash and grabs are occurring,” said AST Public Information Officer Austin McDaniel.

Jones was arrested on her active warrants and additionally charged with second-degree theft and providing false information to a peace officer. Ahrens was also additionally charged with second-degree theft and violating conditions of original release, and troopers report that further charges will follow for both Ahrens and Jones. Troopers will be contacting the victims to return found property.