STAFF WRITER

Anchorage Police on Monday arrested a second suspect in the theft of a Homer Police officer's handguns and gear. Arrested was Tam Farrow, 20, of Homer, on second-degree theft and evidence tampering charges.

Homer Police on Saturday arrested Anastasia K. Leach, 18, for stealing a bag containing Homer Police Officer Stacy Luck's equipment - including two Glock .40-caliber handguns - from Luck's personal car parked outside his home early the morning of Dec. 15. Leach was charged with second-degree theft, tampering with physical evidence, both felonies, and tampering with or damaging a vehicle.

A summons also was issued for another man involved, William Gilbert, 23, Farrow's housemate, for evidence tampering. Anchorage Police contacted Gilbert and searched his hotel room in Anchorage, where they found several ounces of marijuana.

Police did not arrest Gilbert and referred drug charges to the district attorney, APD spokesperson Anita Shell said Tuesday.

A tip from a father who found a police officer's duty belt in his son's bedroom helped Homer Police identify all three suspects in the theft.

"The key that broke the case for us was when we received a phone call from a Homer man who observed the officer's gun belt in the possession of his son," said Homer Police Chief Mark Robl.

Police recovered Luck's duty belt, but a Glock Model 22 .40-caliber handgun, a Glock Model 27 handgun, a police uniform badge, two ammunition magazines, a Motorola XTS-5000 portable radio, handcuffs and Capstun pepper spray remain missing as of press time on Wednesday.

A pedestrian walking on East End Road about 2 p.m. Dec. 15 also found a gear bag with Luck's second badge, what police call a flat badge, to be carried with police identification in a wallet.

Police are pursuing leads toward the recovery of the stolen items, Robl said.

In a criminal complaint filed last week, Sgt. Lary Kuhns, one of the investigating officers, outlined the case against Leach.

Police allege that about 1 a.m. Dec. 15, Leach stole the gear bag from Luck's personal car, a 2001 Honda Infiniti SUV, parked outside of Luck's home off East End Road. Robl said Luck's car had been unlocked.

Robl said last week the department has policies regarding securing police gear. Storing gear in an officer's car would be acceptable depending on how it was stored, Robl said. Citing employee privacy, Robl declined to say if Luck had been disciplined.

Police said they believe Leach had been going through vehicles in the neighborhood looking for money and items to sell after her Dodge pickup truck ran low on gas. Robl said police also suspect Leach was involved in other thefts from vehicles in the area on Dec. 15.

"We believe she was simply looking for gas money," Robl said. "This wasn't done by someone out to target a police officer and specifically steal a police officer's weapon."

Police identified Leach as a suspect after the father of an 18-year-old boy said he saw the duty belt in his son's room and made an anonymous call to police.

Kuhns and Officer Ed Stading interviewed the teenager. He told them he found the belt while walking on East End Road near Mariner Drive on Dec. 15. The young man said he had seen Leach earlier at Subway restaurant and Leach gave him a ride after he found the belt.

Police have not charged the teenager with any crimes.

After police called Leach, she voluntarily came to the police station for an interview. Police alleged Leach gave conflicting statements in several interviews. In one interview she said she dropped off a friend, a 17-year-old girl, at her home on Heidi Court, a street near Luck's home, and then drove out East End Road, where she ran out of gas. Leach claimed she didn't see the belt being carried by the 18-year-old, but he later told police he carried the belt slung over his shoulder when Leach picked him up.

Police also interviewed the 17-year-old girl. Kuhns said the girl told them she was with Leach and a man named Taw in Leach's truck. Leach left them in the truck parked near the girl's house on Heidi Court. Leach came back with a duffel bag. Leach left the truck, and while she was gone the girl looked inside and saw the guns and realized it was a cop's bag. The girl said she told Leach she should return it and that she didn't want anything to do with the duffel. The girl then went home.

Police did not charge the girl with a crime or refer her to juvenile authorities, Robl said.

In another interview with Leach, police said she told them she had entered Luck's truck and stolen the gear bag. She said after the 17-year-old girl left, she intended to put the bag back in Luck's car. However, she and Taw Farrow drove out East End Road and the pickup ran out of gas near Mariner Drive. She said she panicked and threw the bag into trees off the side of the road. Leach and Farrow then walked to his home on Little Fireweed Avenue, where he lives with Gilbert, and spent the night.

Robl said police believe Leach took the handguns out of the bag before she threw it away.

While on patrol the afternoon of Dec. 15, Officer Luck found Leach's truck out of gas on the side of East End Road. A man walking near the truck told Luck he found the duffel bag with Luck's flat badge.

Police said Leach told them Gilbert saw police at Leach's truck and told Leach and Farrow they had to leave. Leach claimed Gilbert said he had thrown a stolen gun "down the outhouse." She said she thought Farrow had one of the guns.

Homer Police put out an alert to Alaska law enforcement for Gilbert and Farrow. On Dec. 17, Anchorage Police found Gilbert and another man in his truck. Anchorage Police got a warrant to search Gilbert's hotel room, where they seized several ounces of marijuana. Anchorage Police also spoke to Gilbert. Kuhns said Gilbert told Anchorage Police he had seen Leach and Farrow handling the stolen firearms and that he also handled them.

When he realized they were a cop's guns, he said he wiped his fingerprints off them and told Leach and Farrow to get the guns out of his house. He said he did not throw any guns in an outhouse.

Anchorage Police later found Farrow and arrested him on a warrant on Monday.

Robl urged anyone with information on the stolen guns to contact Homer Police at 235-3150 or Crimestoppers at (800) 478-8477.

"I still think there are folks out there who have information on where the stolen property is and we'd urge them to come forward," Robl said.

The stolen guns and radio are a Glock model 22, .40-caliber pistol, serial number CYL856US; a Glock model 27, .40-caliber pistol, serial number MVU041; and a Motorola XTS5000 black handheld portable radio, serial number 320CEG5937.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.