A woman became violent after being caught stealing from a downtown jewelry store in July, according to charging documents, and she was indicted on robbery and theft charges.
A Juneau grand jury indicted Katherine Susan Milton, 48, for second-degree theft and fourth-degree theft, in an indictment dated Aug. 1. Juneau Police Department Alexander Smith wrote in a report that Milton hit a Hickok’s Trading Company manager in the face after the manager caught Milton stealing.
According to the report, Milton was caught stealing an estimated $225 worth of merchandise from the shop, located on South Franklin Street, at about 1:30 p.m. July 31. Store manager Lauree Dicario followed Milton out of the store to try and recover the property, according to charging documents.
At that point, Milton punched Dicario in the face and hit her multiple times with a backpack, according to charging documents. A witness reported that Milton threw the stolen property into the street in the path of a tour bus, according to the indictment. This witness also reported hearing Milton threaten to kill Dicario, according to Smith’s report.
Dicario was able to stop the tour bus before the bus ran over the merchandise, according to the indictment. Dicario continued to pursue Milton until JPD officers caught up with the two of them by the downtown library, according to Smith’s report.
Smith wrote that Milton was hostile toward the officers and they handcuffed her. While officers were handcuffing Milton, she dropped a gold coin and a ring that were in her hand, according to charging documents. Milton tried to kick the coin off the dock and into the water, Smith wrote, and Dicario identified the coin and ring as stolen property.
Second-degree robbery is a class B felony and fourth-degree theft is a class B felony.
Mayabess Lovella Brown, 31, was indicted for second-degree theft for multiple thefts that occurred Aug. 3. At about 4 p.m., according to a report from JPD Officer Jim Esbenshade, JPD Officer Ron Shriver saw a black Subaru Legacy driving down Douglas Highway near the Breeze-In.
This car, according to charging documents, had been involved in a hit-and-run about 20 minutes earlier in the downtown area. Esbenshade and Shriver (who is currently in training) pulled the car over and identified Brown as the driver, according to Esbenshade’s report.
Dispatch then told the officers that Brown was a suspect in a theft that had happened just 10 minutes earlier at Taku Harley-Davidson, according to charging documents. Officer Smith interviewed staff members at Harley-Davidson and found that Brown, a former employee of the store, had been seen taking shirts that day, according to the indictment.
Meanwhile, Brown let Esbenshade and Shriver recover eight shirts from the back of her car, all of them with price tags from Taku Harley-Davidson still attached, Esbenshade wrote. The shirts were estimated to be worth $467.
While the two officers were talking to Brown, dispatch then called them again to tell them Brown was also a suspect in a theft of two iPhones from the AT&T store on South Franklin Street at about 3:30 p.m. that day, according to charging documents.
Esbenshade wrote that Brown took two cellphones out of her center console and handed them to Esbenshade and told the officers that she wanted to cooperate with them.
Second-degree theft, according to the indictment, is the theft of items estimated to be worth between $750 and $25,000. It is a class C felony.
Charity J. Berkley, 27, was indicted July 23 for one charge of first-degree vehicle theft on July 16. First-degree vehicle theft is a class C felony.
Kelly R. Crowder Jr., 31, was indicted for one charge of first-degree promoting contraband. According to the indictment, Crowder either took or attempted to take marijuana and methamphetamine into a correctional facility on Oct. 16, 2017. First-degree promoting contraband is a class C felony.
An indictment is not evidence of guilt, but is the formal accusation of a crime. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
