Halloween robbers may be women
By John R. Moses
The "gunmen" who robbed eight Talkeetna children of their
Halloween candy Wednesday may be women. KTUU Channel 2
News broke the story last night, Nov. 1, naming two suspects in the
case.
Two people jumped from a black Dodge truck at about 5:20 p.m.
Wednesday and brandished a pistol, pointing it toward at least one
of the children.
Troopers confirmed that at least one shot was fired into the air. A
$500 iPhone was also stolen from one of the children . It was inside
a sack of stolen candy.
Troopers arrested two men at the Latitude 62 lodge and witnesses
say a gun was recovered at that time. Troopers are now searching
for two women, Amber Martin and Kendra Butts, whose ages and
cities of residence were not immediately available. Authorities
believe they are girlfriends of the men who were arrested.
Aaron Tolen, 24, was connected to the suspect vehicle and arrested
after troopers said he gave them a false name. He had an
outstanding no-bail felony arrest warrant and faces charges of third-
degree theft from another incident, providing false information and
hindering an investigation.
Michael Scott Wilson, 24, was arrested for suspicion of hindering an
investigation. Wilson was also found to have outstanding no-bail
arrest warrants for parole violations stemming from original charges
of theft, burglary, false report and unlawful evasion, troopers report.
Both men, identified as being from Wasilla, were taken to the Mat-Su
Pre-Trial Facility. They were never named as suspects in the
robbery.
Talkeetna Elementary School had hosted its fall carnival and the
eight trick-or-treaters left the campus promising to meet their
parents downtown after making the rounds in the neighborhood on
their own while it was still light.
After the crime they resumed trick-or-treating with adult escorts.
The robbery happened across the road from the Mahay's charter
office near the Post Office.
The elementary school was reopened as a “safe zone” for parents
and students until 10 p.m.
On Thursday, Talkeetna Elementary School's staff brought in a
district crisis counselor to talk to students, parents and staff.
“The main message for us is to let the kids know that they’re safe,
that this school is safe, and that Talkeetna is a safe place to live,”
Talkeetna Elementary School Principal John Brown said. “And, to
celebrate the fact that our kids made some good decisions.”
All of the children are 11 or 12 and attend Talkeetna Elementary.
They took a cell phone and walked in a group. They took down the
license number and went Nagley's Store for adult assistance, Brown
said.
At first, people in the campus safe zone hoped the robbery was “a
stupid Halloween prank,” Brown said.
Then witnesses saw troopers recover a gun.
“That changed everything once the reality hit that it was a live
weapon,” Brown said.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Sgt.
Craig Allen with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation in Palmer, or call
Crime Stoppers at 745-3333.
NOTE: A different version of this story appeared in the Thursday
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Please check www.frontiersman.com
for updates on this story. The facts changed after deadline, and
we'll keep you posted.