PALMER -- A 30-year-old Wasilla man arrested this week is accused of forcing his way into a Meadow Lakes home and assaulting and kidnapping the resident last month over claims they stole money.
Jake Russell Lish was taken into custody by Wasilla police Wednesday on a $50,000 arrest warrant after a Palmer grand jury indicted him on first-degree robbery, kidnapping, second-degree assault, vehicle theft and coercion, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch updated Friday.
Officers found him after they got a tip about a driver passed out behind the wheel at a local business, a Wasilla police spokeswoman said.
Lish was arraigned Thursday in Palmer Superior Court, where his bail was set at $250,000 plus electronic monitoring, troopers say.
Lish showed up at a home on Pittman Road on Nov. 22 and accused a resident of stealing money before he forced them inside at gunpoint, according to troopers. Lish and two or three others assaulted the person, including with the weapon, to the point they almost lost consciousness. Then they forced the victim at gunpoint to their vehicle, and forced them to drive to a nearby location where they were dropped off and the vehicle was stolen. It was later recovered.
The case is the second recent one in Mat-Su where accusations of theft sparked an assault. Six people have been arrested on charges including assault, kidnap, robbery and murder of an unborn child after a couple was badly beaten and a neighbor grazed with a stray bullet near Wasilla on Dec. 5 over claims they stole from their former roommate. One of the victims was pregnant at the time of the attack, though authorities say it doesn’t appear the people involved in the assault knew that.