A man has been charged with four counts of felony vehicle theft for an alleged boat theft spree on the lower Kuskokwim River.
According to charging documents, 20-year-old Joshua Jackson allegedly stole boats in Kwethluk, Akiachak, Tuluksak, and Lower Kalskag during a roughly one and a half month period beginning in June 2024.
In each of the alleged thefts, the boats were recovered. Some were recovered on the same day, and some were recovered with items missing. One of the boats mentioned in the charges was apparently stolen both in Akiachak and Kwethluk on separate occasions. A boat stolen in Tuluksak in early July was recovered later in Bethel, and a boat reported stolen in Lower Kalskag was later recovered in Kwethluk.
According to a Alaska State Trooper affidavit, in early August, Jackson admitted to stealing multiple boats from the four communities. He also offered a timeline that included other boat thefts not yet confirmed by state troopers, the affidavit says.
Jackson is currently being held at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14 in Bethel Superior Court.
