The lenient arm of the law: More ‘catch-and-reoffend’ car thievery

5
556

Must Read Alaska readers will remember the case of Saliloimanatu Toilolo, who was caught stealing cars repeatedly in Anchorage, only to be released by a court order, so she could get caught stealing again.

To review: On Oct. 26, she was stopped  by Anchorage police in a stolen silver 2003 Cadillac Escalade on West 44th Avenue. She already had a list of priors that included attempted car theft as far back as 2004. Toilolo was definitely known by the criminal justice system.

[Read: Catch and release through the court system]

The driver of that vehicle was Shane Muse, who drove recklessly throughout the Midtown before ramming police vehicles in an attempt to evade arrest.

Officers arrested Muse, 28, and passengers Crystal Tui, 24 and Toilolo, 32. They faced multiple charges including vehicle theft 1 and vehicle theft 2.

Toilolo soon was out and back to her old ways. She was busted driving a stolen car on Jan. 11, but under new relaxed pre-trial guidelines, she was released on Jan. 17, ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor. She never plugged it in, and was busted in February driving another stolen car.

Shane Muse was released by the judge after being charged with numerous Class C felonies in this case and prior felony charges relating to an arrest a month earlier.

MUSE BACK AT IT

Muse wasn’t busted again until this week, when he was caught in a 2006 black GMC Yukon that had been reported stolen Feb. 25 from a parking lot on East Tudor Road.

[Check out Toilolo’s eye roll during court hearing]

On March 6, 2018, police saw the stolen GMC Yukon in a church parking lot at E 11th Avenue and Ingra Street. The Yukon was parked next to two other vehicles: a silver GMC pickup truck and a silver Chevy Malibu. Both were occupied.

As the officer who spotted the activity waited for backup, the drivers of the three vehicles noticed him, and started to leave. With all three vehicles now evading the law, patrol units were on the tail of the Malibu and the GMC pickup, while another officer used a maneuver to force the Yukon into a snowbank at 10th and Juneau.

Officers arrested the driver, 25-year-old Crystal A. Tui, on charges of eluding, vehicle theft 1 and vehicle theft 2. They also arrested the passenger, 28-year-old Shane Muse.

At some point in the proceedings, numerous shots were fired not far from the police officers. No one was hit. Officers found a stolen handgun inside the Yukon, tucked beneath the seat where Muse had been sitting.

Muse was booked on criminal mischief 5, two counts of theft 2, vehicle theft 1, and misconduct involving a weapon 3 (felon in possession).  He also had an outstanding felony warrant.

After Tui and Muse were cuffed, officers began looking for the source of the fired shots and found shell casings about 150-200 feet from the scene.

Although official charges are not yet recorded, Muse has previous charges that he has not yet gone to trial on, including forgery and fraudulent use of a stolen access device.

Both Tui and Muse are housed in the Anchorage Jail for now. They’ll undergo a pretrial assessment to determine whether or not the justice system finds them at risk of reoffending.

Readers of Must Read Alaska may provide their own “pretrial risk assessment” below.

5 COMMENTS

  1. It is the same thing with our son. He’s been repeatedly involved with APD. Multiple arrests, multiple bails. He has skipped on every bail, failed to show at court hearings and yet, every time he has contact with officers, he’s back on the street with in 48 hours repeating the same behaviors.
    We want him arrested and offered a rehab program. He has been shot at and hospitalized. We are scared of getting “that” phone call one day.

  2. It’s the Wild, Wild West out there, stay safe kids, these miscreants don’t value you or your life.

    Keep up the good reporting Suzanne !

  3. I am currently in Anchorage, and I have not been here for at least a year, if not two. There seems to be a visible difference in the perception of safety, especially here in the downtown area. The upside is that I have noticed a significant increase in private security presence when visiting various establishments. However, I have not seen or heard a single cop since I arrived on Tuesday night.

Comments are closed.