A Kenai man was arrested early Friday morning for stealing tires, less than two hours after a burglary was reported at a Soldotna tire shop.
Bradly M. Luke, 24, was pulled over along Kenai Spur Highway near Sport Lake Road at approximately 5 a.m. Friday morning with five brand-new tires in the back of his truck and prying tool in the seat next to him, according to an Alaska State Trooper affidavit filed with the court.
Troopers had responded at approximately 3:30 a.m. earlier that morning to a report of a commercial alarm sounding at Alyeska Tire in Soldotna. On the scene, troopers reported that a trailer on the property had been broken into and ransacked and that several tires from the trailer’s inventory appeared missing.
Troopers pulled Luke over after spotting a truck with new tires in the back and an obscured license plate, according to the affidavit.
The tires in the back of the truck were later identified as those from the burgled tire shop, according to the affidavit. Each tire was worth at least $400 each, troopers reported.
Luke allegedly told troopers he didn’t know how the tires had gotten into the back of his truck. He later admitted they were stolen, but didn’t know how they had gotten there, according to the affidavit.
Luke was arrested and taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility. He was charged with one count of second-degree burglary, a class C felony; one count of second-degree theft, a class C felony; one count of possession of burglary tools, a class A misdemeanor; and one count of criminal mischief in the fifth-degree, a class B misdemeanor.
