Crime & Courts

3 stolen vehicles recovered from Anchorage couple’s home

Three stolen vehicles reported missing last year were recovered at one Anchorage couple's home this week, according to officials.

Vernae and Shannon Perkins, both 30 years old, were arrested Monday after an Anchorage Police Department officer spotted a car with a swapped license plate, which led police to discover the other stolen vehicles.

"Of the five vehicles in the Perkins' driveway, three were stolen," charging documents say.

On Monday around 9:10 a.m., a police officer saw a Nissan Pathfinder with a license plate belonging to another year and model of car.

Vernae Perkins was driving the Pathfinder. She parked and started walking toward her East Anchorage home in the 1000 block of Boniface Parkway. She told an officer that she never got new plates for the car, but that her husband might know more about it.

Shannon Perkins, who was at home, first told police that the car was registered to his mother. Then he said it was registered to him. Perkins said he had bought the car about a year earlier for $6,000, but he couldn't remember the name of the person he bought it from and said he was never given the title.

"However he was unable to produce a bill of sale, title, or any other proof of ownership," charging documents say.

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After running a computer check, police found the car had been reported stolen in early 2017 by Hertz rental car company at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, documents say.

The couple "both claimed to have no idea the vehicle was stolen," charging documents say.

Four other vehicles were parked in the couple's driveway, according to charging documents. Two of them — a green Ford pickup and a white Ford van – had both been reported stolen. The green pickup was reported stolen in July from the 9400 block of Brayton Drive. The van was reported stolen in November from the 600 block of West 34th Avenue. License plates had been swapped on the van.

Two other vehicles were parked in the driveway. Shannon Perkins told officers that one belonged to his brother, who had been arrested. The other vehicle, a van, had been "left by an acquaintance and (Perkins) could not remember a name," charging documents say.

Vernae and Shannon Perkins were charged with vehicle theft and theft in the second degree. Both had posted bail Wednesday, online records show.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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