A Juneau resident broke into OfficeMax in the Nugget Mall two times Friday morning to steal office supplies; the Juneau Police Department later tracked him down and arrested him.
At 1:19 a.m. Friday, the burglar alarm went off at OfficeMax, but when officers arrived the store was empty. The front door had been smashed, and the store’s surveillance footage had captured an image of a man breaking through the door and stealing approximately $20 in office supplies.
Gary William Bell, 53, was identified as the suspect, but officers couldn’t locate him immediately after the initial break-in. JPD Deputy Chief David Campbell said Bell used a rock to smash the front door. The value of the broken front doors has not yet been determined.
At approximately 7:06 a.m., Bell returned to the scene of the crime, seeking more office supplies. Campbell declined to specify what supplies were taken, but said the second break-in was for the same supplies as the first. It was unclear if the crime was motivated by drug use.
Bell entered the store through the broken front door, though Campbell said he believes efforts were made to temporarily secure the door. Bell stole more supplies and then left on foot toward Trout Street. JPD determined that Bell was staying in a hotel located on Trout Street.
Officers located Bell in a hotel room and he was arrested for two counts of second-degree burglary. He did not resist. He was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital as a precaution, Campbell said, and then to Lemon Creek Correctional Center and held on no bail.
