Alaska News

Man arrested in Anchorage robbery was halfway house escapee

One of the men arrested in an armed robbery at a Mountain View smoke shop Saturday night had escaped nearly two weeks earlier from an Anchorage halfway house.

Police said they got a call about 7 p.m. Saturday that a male armed with a gun demanded money from an employee at Smoke King and then fled the scene in a car.

Witnesses gave police a description of the vehicle, which police then found at 340 Concrete St. Several people ran from the car; police arrested a person who was identified as the robber, they said.

Police say Siaosi Sila, 21, and Solomon Travita, 22, were arrested in connection with the robbery.

Sila was charged with first-degree robbery, third-degree misconduct involving weapons, two counts of third-degree assault and violating conditions of release. His bail was set at $100,000, with a $5,000 performance bond and a third-party custodian.

Travita was charged with first-degree robbery and failure to stop at the direction of an officer. His bail was set at $40,000, with a performance bond of $1,000 and a third-party custodian required.

Sila also faces a charge of felony escape.

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According to a complaint in the escape case, Sila was being held at the Cordova Center, a downtown halfway house, until he jumped out a second floor window April 4.

Sila was already facing 29 felony charges for a pair of armed robberies at a hotel and gas station in 2013. Earlier that year, he made headlines for running from police and onto thin ice at Cheney Lake.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers on the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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