Juneau police reported on Saturday that they arrested a former employee of Fred Meyer on Burglary charges on Friday.

JPD was alerted to an early morning burglary on February 10th. The report came in at 8:15 am when staff told police that $32,000 was taken from their safe at approximately 2: 50 am that morning.

Security cameras videoed an unknown man making entry through the employee entrance and de-activating the security alarm using the passcode for the area. The burglar then went to the store safe, opened it, and took the cash from it. After removing the money, the man then re-activated the security alarm and left the store.

As the investigation into the theft progressed, 34-year-old Juneau resident Ryan Christopher Otness, a former employee of the store became a person of interest in the case. 

On Friday, February 17th, Juneau police contacted Otness when he exited a residence on Vista Drive and got into his vehicle. He was taken into custody and charged with Burglary II and Theft I. During the contact, approximately $5,580 was found in his vehicle.

Otness was taken to the Lemon Creek Correctional Center and remanded there on the charges.

  Alaska, burglary, fred meyers, juneau, ryan otness, theft