Troopers nab alleged boat motor bandit

WASILLA — A man who stole five boat motors over the course of two months is now behind bars, authorities said.

Joshua Fleetwood, 28, faces one count of scheme to defraud and five counts of second-degree theft in the Palmer Court after a months-long investigation into a series of boat motor thefts in Wasilla and Eagle River. Alaska State Troopers first spotted a pattern of stolen boat motors in early May, after a series of thefts stretching back to late March, according to an affidavit written by Trooper Eric Taylor.

The owner of two of the stolen motors posted an announcement on Craigslist that motors had been stolen, and received three anonymous tips that Fleetwood was responsible, according to the affidavit.

Another owner of a stolen motor spotted an advertisement featuring a boat motor he thought was his, as well as another post saying the motor appeared stolen. The owner contacted author of the second post, who told him the motor had several cut wires on the side and appeared stolen.

The author of the second post said he’d met a girl in a Sears parking lot and looked at the motor. The man wrote down the license plate number of the truck and identified the woman who tried to sell the motorboat from a lineup. The truck was eventually tracked to Fleetwood. The girl was later identified as Fleetwood’s girlfriend, according to the affidavit.

Troopers arrested the girlfriend, Ariel Knutsen, 24, of Anchorage, May 13, after stopping Fleetwood for a traffic violation.

Troopers spotted Fleetwood’s vehicle in the area of another theft May 20. Fleetwood was on felony probation for a second-degree theft case involving boat motors.

“A check of Craigslist confirmed the advertisements for the suspected stolen boat motors in question contained the same telephone number Fleetwood had given his probation officer in April 2015,” Taylor wrote.

When Fleetwood’s grey Nissan Titan parked at an Eagle River RV storage business May 27, a responding trooper spotted a 15-horsepower Yamaha motor attached to a boat backed up against a fence with a big gap. Before the motor was stolen, an advertisement for the motor, complete with a picture, showed up on Craigslist. Troopers unsuccessfully tried to call the seller several times, according to the affidavit.

The next night, troopers watched as Fleetwood crawled under the fence, disconnected the motor, and loaded it in the back of his truck.

Troopers found two other boat motors Fleetwood had sold at local pawnshops.

Troopers arrested Fleetwood the next day at Alaska Native Medical Center on four parole violations, as well as the theft and scheme charges.

Fleetwood “admitted to stealing multiple boat motors in the Anchorage and Mat-Su Valley,” Taylor wrote. “He advised his modus operandi was to drive around neighborhoods locating boat motors, stealing them, and posting them for sale on Craigslist.”

Fleetwood was helping troopers recover motors previously sold on Craigslist, according to Taylor.

Court records show Fleetwood previously pleaded guilty to second-degree theft.

Fleetwood remained in Mat-Su Pretrial detention facility Monday afternoon on $10,000 cash or corporate bond with court-appointed third-party custodial requirements.

Altogether, the boat motors reported stolen are worth about $11,000, according to the affidavit.

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