Juneau Police Department officers arrested a man who allegedly swung a hatchet at Sportsman’s Warehouse employees when they tried to stop him from stealing, according to a JPD release.
Pavel Bogatko, 28, was arrested on Wednesday after officers responded to a reported robbery at the store inside the Nugget Mall, police say. The 911 call came in at 1:34 p.m. Wednesday, with an employee reporting they had tried to stop a man, later identified as Bogatko, who had left the store with a basket of stolen items.
When employees tried to stop the man, he took a hatchet from the basket and swung it at one of the employees, the release alleges. The man then dropped the stolen goods (but still held onto the hatchet) and took off on foot, according to the release. Employees picked up the stolen items, which were valued at $930.05.
When officers arrived at the scene, they were directed toward storage units on Jordan Avenue where the man was last seen. Officers searched the area and talked to a witness, who told them they saw the man jump a fence which led to the area of Ka-See-An Drive and Sheiye Way, the release states.
Officers went to Ka-See-An Drive and saw a man who matched the description of the suspect, and identified him as Bogatko, according to the release. Bogatko didn’t have the hatchet at the time, police say, but they were able to confirm his identity by talking to Sportsman’s Warehouse employees and by watching surveillance from the store. Police found the hatchet in the woods near where Bogatko was seen jumping the fence, police said.
Bogatko was arrested for second-degree robbery and second-degree theft, and was taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center and held without bail, according to the release.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
