PALMER --Two Big Lake teenagers have been charged in connection with a November armed robbery in Houston, according to court documents
William Beasley Jr., 18, is accused of holding up Miller's Market off the Parks Highway, demanding money with a shotgun, Alaska State Troopers say. Two young women working the popular store were described at the time as being shaken but unhurt.
Beasley ran out after grabbing cash estimated at about $150, according to Sgt. Tony Wegrzyn, who heads the troopers' Palmer-based criminal suppression unit. Joseph D. Scott, 19, drove the getaway car, Wegrzyn said.
The two were found at different residences in Big Lake between May 17 and May 20. A tip that surfaced in early April during a separate investigation led troopers to request search warrants for evidence supporting Scott and Beasley's involvement in the robbery, Wegryzn said..
Police or troopers arrested Beasley and Scott for additional thefts in Palmer and Anchorage this year, according to a state court records database.
A Palmer grand jury on Friday indicted both on felony charges of first-degree robbery and third-degree assault. Scott was also indicted on a misdemeanor charge of third-degree theft.
Beasley and Scott both entered not guilty pleas at a Tuesday hearing. Palmer Superior Court Judge Gregory Heath set Scott's bail at $75,000 cash/corporate and release to a third-party custodian. Heath set Beasley's bail at $50,000 cash/corporate and release to third-party custodian.