A Juneau man has been convicted of stealing a convenience store truck and crashing it into a local brewery to grab some beer. A jury came back with a verdict Monday afternoon in the case of 54-year old Michael Rae.
Rae was accused of first degree vehicle theft, second degree burglary, third degree theft, and third degree criminal mischief in connection with last April’s incident at Alaskan Brewing Company. The vehicle was a box van taken from the Lemon Creek Breeze-In and run into the front door of the brewery’s tasting room and gift shop. The truck’s front bumper was left behind after the crash. Several six-packs, a case, and two five-gallon kegs of beer were taken from the shop.
After deliberating a total of thirteen hours over two days, jurors returned Monday afternoon with a guilty verdict on all four charges. Just before reaching a verdict, the eight-woman four-man jury sent out a pair of notes that seemed to ask if they could reach a unanimous verdict on some counts and remain undecided on others.
The trial started with jury selection on Tuesday, January 17th.
Sentencing of Rae is scheduled for March 28th.
