Two days after he was arrested as a suspect in three burglaries, a Juneau man attempted to escape while being transported from his court hearing to Lemon Creek Correctional Center, according to law enforcement agencies.
The Juneau Police Department arrested William Eric Moy Jr., 25, Monday, according to a JPD press release. Moy was identified as a person of interest in a trio of burglaries this month, police say. Moy was arraigned at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to electronic court records.
About 2:33 p.m., according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch, Moy and other inmates were riding in a Troopers transport van to LCCC. Just before the van reached Anka Street in Lemon Creek, Troopers say Moy kicked out the side security window screen and door window, jumped through the opening and fled on foot.
The Troopers dispatch did not mention Moy by name, but JPD Lt. Krag Campbell confirmed that it was Moy who kicked out the window and fled.
Troopers, JPD, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Alaska State Park Rangers all responded to the scene, according to the Troopers dispatch. They established a perimeter and began searching for Moy, who was still wearing belly chains and an LCCC inmate uniform, Troopers say.
About 20 minutes later, Moy was found hiding in an abandoned car on Jenkins Drive and taken back into custody without incident, according to the dispatch. Troopers estimate that the damage to the van is more than $3,000.
Moy was being held on three counts of second-degree burglary, three counts of second-degree theft, two counts of third-degree criminal mischief, one count of third-degree theft and one count of resisting or interfering with arrest, according to the JPD release. After Wednesday’s escape attempt, Moy was additionally charged with escape and criminal mischief.
Police say Moy was a person of interest in three burglaries, the first of which was reported Aug. 6. The Scuba Tank, a dive shop on Airport Boulevard, reported that the business had been burglarized and about $2,000 worth of equipment was stolen, according to the release.
Four days later, Southeast Extinguishers — a fire and emergency safety store also on Airport Boulevard — reported that the business had been burglarized, police say. The store reported that the back door had been damaged when the suspect forcibly entered. The replacement cost of the door was estimated at about $3,000, according to the release, and cash and other property valued at about $2,000 had been stolen as well.
Three days after that, Southeast Extinguishers reported another burglary where a suspect broke an exterior window, according to the release. The window was valued at about $1,000, and a .22-caliber revolver and $525 in cash was also reported stolen, police say.
This Monday, which was a week after the second Southeast Extinguishers burglary, JPD tracked Moy down at a motor home in the 8400 block of Nugget Drive, according to the release. Moy tried to escape out a back window, police say, but they were able to stop him and arrest him.
JPD detectives served a search warrant on the motor home, according to the release, and found stolen property related to several different burglaries.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
