Anchorage police have arrested a man accused of stealing bicycles from a nonprofit that provides recreational gear to people with disabilities.
Challenge Alaska said more than a dozen cycles were stolen, worth nearly $100,000.
According to a Thursday statement from police, the items were taken from a shipping container outside Challenge Alaska’s Mountain View office at 3350 Commercial Dr. Officers found the container, with its locks forcibly removed, at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police got a surprise break in the case a few blocks east at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, when officers spotted 29-year-old McKayla Ernest outside a home on the 400 block of North Pine Street. Police said Ernest, who was wanted on unrelated warrants, hid inside the home. Officers entered and arrested her with the homeowner’s permission, according to the statement from police.
“While at the home, officers saw bicycles on the property that had been stolen from Challenge Alaska four days prior,” police said. “After obtaining a search warrant, the home and property were searched by APD Detectives. Three of the bikes taken in the burglary were recovered.”
Investigators determined that another resident of the home, 31-year-old Andrew J. Jordan, was involved in the Challenge Alaska burglary. He is being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on second-degree burglary and theft charges.
Police spokesman Cherie Zajdzinski said Thursday that details of the case, including whether any more of the stolen bikes are recoverable and whether anyone else may face charges in the theft, remain under investigation.
Challenge Alaska thanked police for their assistance in a Thursday Facebook post. It also asked Anchorage residents to keep an eye out for any of the stolen items which haven’t been recovered.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
