A Juneau grand jury on Wednesday indicted two men reportedly caught in the act of burglarizing a woman’s home.
Joseph Corry Tong, 48, and Derek Hunter Goodman, 43, have each been charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree theft in the May 23 burglary, in which the homeowner allegedly confronted them, chased them out of her home and then followed their getaway van.
They were arraigned in Superior Court Thursday afternoon and a trial date was set for Aug. 14.
According to the criminal complaint filed against the two men, Juneau Police Department Officer Jason Van Sickle responded to a burglary call at 7:13 p.m. May 23 from the woman in the 3200 block of Bresee Street in the Mendenhall Valley.
The woman told Van Sickle that she came home to find her front door cracked open and two men inside. When she confronted the two men, they dropped what was in their hands and left, and that she followed them as they got into a green Dodge Caravan. She then followed them in the van, which she lost sight of for about three minutes.
Van Sickle stopped the van on Trinity Drive and detained the driver and three passengers. The homeowner reportedly identified Tong and Goodman as the two men who were inside her house.
Tong, Goodman and one of the passengers were interviewed and gave conflicting statements, according to Van Sickle’s report.
Tong and Goodman both were initially arraigned in Juneau District Court and pleaded not guilty to first-degree burglary. At that arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige noted that Goodman had a lengthy theft-related criminal history including eight to 10 convictions for larceny. Paige said that Tong had a shorter criminal history with six prior convictions that included DUI and theft; she added that he has a pending case from May 9 in which he allegedly shoplifted from Foodland IGA.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
