A burglar targetting homes in Anchorage’s East 19th Circle neighborhood was arrested and charged following a call-in from a homeowner who was alerted by his remote surveillance system on Wednesday afternoon, APD reported.

The call from the homeowner at 4:36 pm on Wednesday indicated he was not a home but was alerted by his system and so accessed his cameras at him home. The homeowner reported that the suspect, who would later be identified as 20-year-old Mark A. Shetters, was at his front door with a crowbar and holding what appeared to be a handgun in his other hand. As officers were en route and the call progressed, the homeowner reported that Shetters had gained access through the back door.

When police arrived on the 8200-block of East 19th, they set up a perimeter and observed the burglar through a window in the back of the home’s garage. Commands to give up were ignored by Shetter as he made his way to the front of the garage and overhead door. He opened the garage door while still holding the handgun in his left hand. Orders to drop the  weapon were given and Shetters shifted the weapon from his left to right hand before setting it on the ground. He was handcuffed without incident.

The weapon was retrieved by officers and found to be an airsoft pistol.

As he was being transported to the department for questioning, Shetters attempted to slip his cuffs several times and attempted to open the rear patrol car doors but was unable to do so.

Officers canvassed the neighborhood while Shetters was at the department undergoing questioning. They found two additional homes that had been targeted. One homeowner on the same block where Shetters was apprehended told officers that he confronted Shetters as he was trying the door handle to the home. Shetters was told to leave, which he did.

A second homeowner advised police that his garage side door doorknob had been pried off and that a set of silver tie down bars were missing. Those tie downs would be found at the scene where Shetters was arrested.

As a result of the investigation, Shetters was charged with felony counts of Burglary I and two counts of Burglary I-Attempted.

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