ANCHORAGE – A new trooper unit intended to cut back on property crimes in the Mat-Su Valley began the year by recovering an ATM stolen from a local business Wednesday.
According to trooper dispatch, members of the Criminal Suppression Unit arrested Palmer residents Luc Mackie, 22 and Almando Abarca, 22 on charges ranging from burglary to criminal mischief in connection with the Wednesday theft. After responding to an intrusion alarm at a business on the Palmer Wasilla Highway, troopers discovered a window was broken and the ATM – filled with cash – was gone.
Mackie and Abarca were arrested shortly thereafter, troopers said.
The Crime Suppression Unit, comprised of a sergeant and several additional troopers, was launched this year after a slew of property crimes in neighborhoods throughout the Mat-Su Valley. Troopers said members patrol areas of known criminal activity in marked vehicles and investigate area property crimes.