Alaska News

Skagway man goes on tire-slashing rampage, targeting law enforcement

Skagway police arrested a 21-year-old man last week after he allegedly went on a late-night rampage, slashing the tires of nine vehicles, many of them owned by law enforcement, and setting one ablaze.

The night began with a call around 1 a.m. on May 7. A neighbor of Police Chief Ray Leggett dialed 911. He told the dispatcher that he heard someone slashing tires at Leggett's home and then saw a man running from Leggett's property. The man stole one of the caller's bikes, an "old fashion blue girls bike with a basket on the front," charges say. It was worth about $40.

About 40 minutes later, a dispatcher at the Skagway Police Department looked outside and discovered her vehicle was on fire. All four tires had been slashed, charges say.

Meanwhile, Leggett noticed a man in front of his home pedaling a blue girl's bike with a basket. The man was headed north. Another officer arrested him about 10 blocks away. He kicked the officer and tried to pull away.

The man was identified as Casey Collom. Collom was carrying three steak knives, a box cutter, two unopened beer cans and a cigarette lighter, according to charges.

His speech was slurred, his eyes appeared bloodshot and he smelled of alcohol, charges say.

In Skagway, a town of nearly 1,000 people about 90 miles northeast of Juneau, prosecutors say Collom managed to cut the tires of three vehicles at Leggett's home, burn the dispatcher's vehicle, and slash the tires of two more patrol vehicles and three personal vehicles.

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Collom is being held at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau. He faces nine counts of criminal mischief, felonies, among other charges.

Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.

By TEGAN HANLON

thanlon@adn.com

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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