Two people arrested for "massive amount" of Mat-Su trailhead thefts

Alaska State Troopers have made two arrests connected to what they call a “massive amount” of thefts that took place near trailheads in the Mat-Su.

On Friday evening, Troopers contacted 34-year-old Jessica Rose Jones of Kenai near the parking lot for Crevasse Moraine.  Jones allegedly gave Troopers a false name, initially.  She has outstanding warrants for parole violations on charges of theft, fraud, and forgery.

Troopers later arrested 31-year-old Paul Joseph Ahrens of Palmer, who also has multiple outstanding warrants.

A search related to the arrests turned up seventeen IDs, including passports, driver’s licenses, military IDs, and voter registration cards as well as multiple cell phones linked to thefts that occurred at various trailheads.

In addition to their outstanding warrants, Jones and Ahrens were arrested on charges of second-degree theft.  As of Saturday, Troopers were in the process of contacting theft victims to return their property.