Wasilla bingo-hall worker followed woman home to steal her winnings, troopers say

An Alaska State Trooper SUV (Joey Mendolia/Alaska Public Media)

An worker of a Wasilla bingo hallway is accused of pursuing a victor to her location Wednesday nighttime and stealing nan money she had conscionable won, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers said successful an online dispatch that they arrested Jeremy McMillan, 36, connected charges of second-degree robbery and theft, arsenic good arsenic tampering pinch beingness evidence. McMillan’s woman Alexandria Oberholzer, 34, was charged arsenic an accessory to those crimes.

Sandy Powers, nan proprietor of Big Valley Bingo and president of nan Alaska Charitable Gaming Alliance, said Thursday day that she was “deeply saddened” to perceive astir nan allegations against McMillan. She said he was hired conscionable 2 weeks agone aft undergoing modular inheritance checks and had worked arsenic a gaming attendant, assisting customers passim nan facility.

According to a charging archive against McMillan, troopers initially responded astatine astir 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to a reported robbery astatine a Wasilla home. A female location told troopers that she had travel location and was stepping wrong erstwhile a man wearing achromatic apparel approached her and demanded her purse, which contained astir $1,500 – astir half of it won astatine Big Valley Bingo.

“She stated no, and nan antheral grabbed it and started pulling connected her purse,” troopers wrote. “(She) pulled backmost erstwhile nan purse came disconnected her shoulder.”

After nan purse was taken, she told troopers nan man sewage into a conveyance and left. Troopers besides said pinch a neighbour who saw nan man leaving and described nan conveyance arsenic a acheronian Chevrolet Tahoe SUV pinch tinted windows, adding that he besides saw a female inside.

When troopers headed to Big Valley Bingo, they recovered a Tahoe matching that explanation registered to McMillan successful nan parking lot. Surveillance footage captured nan conveyance leaving nan business astir nan aforesaid clip arsenic nan victim, according to nan charges.

Both nan unfortunate and nan neighbour identified McMillan arsenic nan fishy successful a photograph lineup, troopers said.

Troopers said McMillan and Oberholzer some agreed to speak pinch them. McMillan allegedly denied being nan robber, claiming he had loaned his conveyance to a friend soon earlier it happened. He said that man must person robbed nan victim, since nan 2 looked alike – but a records hunt by troopers revealed that he “looked nan other of Jeremy,” according to nan charging document.

According to troopers, Oberholzer admitted that they went to nan victim’s house, though she besides denied engagement successful nan robbery.

A hunt of nan conveyance turned up a achromatic sweater, troopers said. McMillan’s wallet contained $687 astatine nan clip of his arrest.

Powers astatine Big Valley Bingo said that though level labor often go intimately acquainted pinch customers, McMillan would not person had entree to winners’ individual information.

Asked if immoderate akin incidents had occurred astatine nan Wasilla hall, Powers said it was a first for her and her hubby John, who owns Tudor Bingo Center successful Anchorage, arsenic good arsenic her different contacts successful nan Alaska gaming industry.

“We’re conscionable dumbfounded,” Powers said. “We’ve ne'er heard of thing for illustration this before.”

Powers said guidance astatine Big Valley Bingo was moving to terminate McMillan’s employment successful nan aftermath of his arrest.

McMillan was being held Thursday astatine nan Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.