Police say at least 15 Weidner Properties facilities across town were broken into beginning on Jan. 4, with lock boxes, petty cash and keys stolen. In one case, the thief used the keys to empty change from all of the coin-operated laundry machines, police said.
Apartment storage units and a Midas auto shop were also burglarized with thousands of dollars worth of tools and computer equipment taken, police said.
Then on Tuesday, police pulled over a blue Plymouth Voyager driven by Mebius at Old Seward Highway and Benson Boulevard. Inside were tools, clothes, keys, an acetylene torch, a woman's backpack and jewelry, police said.
He said the jewels belonged to his girlfriend but neither she nor he could describe them, police said.
Mebius, who was wearing a jacket that appeared to have been stolen during one of the heists, also matched the description of the thief seen in security footage, police said.
Police say they recovered goods from at least 19 burglaries while serving search warrants on the vehicle and Mebius' home and that it will be days before they can match the property with the place of theft.
Mebius was booked in the Anchorage jail with bail set at $40,000, with an initial appearance scheduled today.
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