A case of a burglary in Sterling was recently solved when the victim stopped by a local pawn shop and got information that led Alaska State Troopers to arrest a suspect.
On November 5, Alaska State Troopers received a report of a burglary from a property located in the Robinson Loop area of Sterling. Several items were reported stolen totaling around $2,000.
Trooper Ronny Simmons stated in an email, “The case was assisted when the victim located his stolen chainsaw at a local pawn shop. I was able to obtain information as to who pawned the item and go from there.”
The investigation found several more items that had been reported stolen at the suspects home and Troopers ultimately arrested 32-year-old Sean Martin of Sterling.
Martin was remanded to Wildwood Pre-Trial Facility on the charges of Burglary II, Theft II, and Criminal Trespass I where he was held without bail.
Many of the stolen items were recovered and returned to the victim but not all of them.
Trooper Simmons says anytime a property is burglarized he encourages the victims to monitor pawn shops and internet sites.
He says one action that speeds up the recovery of items is for people to have the serial numbers on hand, that way they can easily identify that the item is definitely theirs.
