A Nikiski resident was arrested last week on charges of theft and criminal trespassing for a February theft of tools worth more than $5,000 from a Nikiski construction site.
According to an affidavit by Alaska State Troopers, included in charging documents, they were first contacted about a theft at the site in Nikiski on Feb. 4. They were told that the tools had been taken overnight — between when the crew left at around 2:30 p.m. and returned in the morning around 11:30 a.m.
The tools were stored in totes in a trailer at the site, and troopers were told that the items taken included a generator, organizers, lights, saws, nail guns and a compressor, among other things. The value was assessed, the affidavit says, at greater than $5,000.
The man at the construction site said he had identified tracks in the snow moving from the trailer to a nearby property. Those tracks had been covered by a vehicle before troopers arrived that day.
The tracks led to the home of 51-year-old Glen Carlson. The affidavit describes several discussions troopers had with various people who knew Carlson. Many of the tools — though not the compressor — were returned to the site on Feb. 21, having reportedly been purchased from Carlson.
Carlson was not located by troopers until March 6, over a month after the theft was reported. The affidavit says he was operating a truck with a snowplow on his property. Carlson told troopers that he didn’t know anything about the theft besides what he had seen online, and that he had been at a friend’s house that night.
The affidavit says that when troopers asked Carlson why he had attempted to sell the tools, he “stated he didn’t want to talk any further.”
Carlson was arrested and taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility for second-degree theft, first-degree criminal trespass, fifth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance for the possession of methamphetamine and violating conditions of release from an open December case of driving with license canceled, revoked or suspended. No bail amounts or conditions of release have been published, but Carlson has a hearing scheduled for March 18. Carlson also has court dates set this month for three other open criminal cases.
Additional charges were brought against Tanyalin Christopher — identified as Carlson’s girlfriend in charging documents — on Monday. A separate affidavit says that she was arrested on a warrant for an unrelated case, but while at Wildwood Pretrial she spoke to troopers and said that Carlson had come to her for help the night that the tools were taken. She said, per the affidavit, that the tools were in his truck and that she went with him to sell them. Christopher is charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit second-degree theft. Conditions of release filed Tuesday say that an appearance bond was set at $5,000 and a performance bond was set at $150, as well as a requirement for GPS monitoring. A bail hearing is not listed in CourtView, but a preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 22.
The second affidavit says the compressor and a nailgun remain unaccounted for.
This story was edited on Wednesday to add details about additional charges brought against a second person.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
