A Juneau business owner is glad she had security measures in place after her Mendenhall Valley shop was burgled late Wednesday.
Lisa Ibias owns the local consignment store chain Alaskan Dames. She said the store has had shoplifters before, but this was the first break-in.
“I recommend cameras and I recommend security. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot,” Ibias said, of the Dames’ security systems. “It’s pretty minimal to protect yourself, but I recommend it.”
Police arrested Jared P. Fortin, 32, of Juneau, on Thursday morning after police investigated the burglary.
According to a department news release, Juneau police were called about the burglary on Crest Street at about 11:22 p.m.
An employee told police a security alarm was triggered. Police said a door was forced open and an undisclosed amount of money was stolen.
Ibias said store employees watched the tape for the first time with police.
“We were actually looking at it as they were here,” Ibias said. “We didn’t recognize him. But JPD did, they knew exactly who he was.”
Shortly after midnight, police located Fortin about 2 miles away in the back of a vehicle on Glacier Highway.
In addition to having the security devices, Ibias said she was glad JPD was so responsive.
“I’m just really impressed with JPD, they made it so easy. They came in and they knew exactly who he was and they went and got him,” she said. “I was also expecting to not get my property back, they made that easy, too. They found the money, they found my consignments. They found the clothes that were stolen and they gave it right back that night.”
Fortin is being held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center. He faces charges of second-degree burglary, third-degree theft and third-degree criminal mischief. All three counts are class C felonies.
According to online court records, an arraignment was scheduled for Fortin on Wednesday.
An investigation is ongoing.
