Crime & Courts

Man burglarizing Sterling home by headlamp busted by troopers

Troopers showed up at a reported home burglary in Sterling Saturday to find the thief in the house, wearing a headlamp, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Soldotna-based troopers were called to an “active burglary" at a home in the Sterling area at 7:04 a.m. on Saturday, troopers wrote in an online dispatch Sunday.

“There was an individual in a resident with a headlamp on,” the dispatch said. “Upon attempting to contact the male the individual attempted to flee by jumping out a side window.”

Troopers caught up to Jesse Rice, 44, of Sterling. A woman named Jennifer Friendshuh, 47, of Sterling, was arrested too, for being a felon in possession of a handgun.

Rice is charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, criminal mischief and misconduct involving a weapons charge, as well as a theft charge. Friendshuh was charged with misconduct involving a weapon.

Both were taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility in Kenai.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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