Fairbanks man charged with series of robberies
by Chris Freiberg / cfreiberg@newsminer.com
Nov 09, 2009 | 3795 views | 8 8 comments | 12 12 recommendations | email to a friend | print
FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks man has been charged in connection with a string of armed robberies that terrorized businesses in west Fairbanks last year.

Already accused of robbing the Spirit of Alaska Federal Credit Union on Geist Road in June 2008, a grand jury indicted Jonathan W. Millington-Walton, 26, last week on six additional counts of robbery and two additional counts of theft. All of the new charges are felonies.

Prosecutors also requested his bail be raised by an additional $250,000.

The new charges tie Millington-Walton to two robberies of the Oaken Keg on College Road in October 2007 and May 2008 and two robberies of the Denali State Bank on Chena Pump Road in February 2008. He also is accused of robbing ETZ Video in January 2008 and the Movie Gallery in late December 2008.

In each case, a skinny white male described as being in his late teens or mid-twenties claimed to have a gun and demand money. No weapon was seen in any incident. In each case, the man covered his face, and he sometimes wore a hoodie.

Local law enforcement set up perimeters around several of the robbery sites, but in each case the robber was able to evade them.

Authorities began to take a closer look at Millington-Walton in May, when he was charged with felony assault on his girlfriend.

The Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory in Anchorage matched his DNA to DNA on the clothes worn by the robber of the Spirit of Alaska Federal Credit Union. Those clothes, as well as a 9mm pistol, were found at a University Avenue campground shortly after the robbery.

Millington-Walton was convicted last year of stealing his truck from the city impound lot days before it was go to auction. In that case, he was put on probation and given a suspended sentence.

Troopers would not publicly connect Millington-Walton to any of the other robberies after he was accused of robbing the credit union earlier this year. Troopers credited last week’s indictment to a yearlong joint investigation between the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Fairbanks police, University of Alaska Fairbanks police and the FBI.

Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at 459-7545.
Comments
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Pearl=W
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November 10, 2009
escoria - the Troopers can have material processed, free of charge, by the FBI lab. All the Troopers have to do is ask . .IF they've handled that evidence in the proper manner [up to standard] to insure it's integrety.

The Troopers rarely do this.



fairbanks
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November 10, 2009
test
Glockster
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November 10, 2009
He can not stay out of trouble. Maybe this time he will do some time.
1aframe
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November 10, 2009
Im sitting here laughing that ol John Boy Walton got caught robbin folks. This is too good.
hrdharry
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November 10, 2009
Hello? The police were waiting for you to give them some money. Money seems to motivate people.
MJHemple
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November 10, 2009
escoria - "The reason that they dont use DNA down here is because this is a socialist run country..."

I am really sorry your home was invaded, and that guns were held to your childrens' heads, but what a load of crap you spew! Lots of "socialist" countries have excellent crime labs and police departments, so how about you just keep your idiotic political diatribes to yourself?

This guy is a real piece of work. Good job on the LEOs' part to have gotten him off the streets. It looks like there are enough charges to keep him in prison for a good long while.
escoria
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November 10, 2009
Pearl=W- I am assuming that this is the same pearl who has posted before judging by the tone to your comments. Usually I give find myself disagreeing with you but today you are spot on and even made me laugh, that is poetic justice.

My family and I went through some things on June 30th this year, we are in Brazil and went through a home invasion. After the men put guns in my kids face and stole everything out of the house and put in my car, which they stole to carry the things that they stole from us, my brother and law smashed the window out of the room we were locked into and we called the Federal Police down here. Two came up, one goes inside to talk with my brother in law, sees the wine on the table and says 'oh I like this brand' and proceeds to drink a couple small glasses asking questions. At one point my wife says, "Are you going to check for DNA or anything?" The Federal Police down here says "DNA, that would just be marvelous if we had that, just marvelous". That statement became even funnier to my wife and I when I shared with her the cop who stayed outside and questioned me, In portugese, without writting a thing down and then showing the pictures on his cell phone of his dog because he thought that it would calm us down. I got mad and asked him if they were going to call ahead to the toll boths on the highway and let them know about my car and he said, "that technology would be marvelous"

But Pearl the answer to your question is in my story believe it or not. The reason that they dont use DNA down here is because this is a socialist run country and that is not in the budget. It costs money to send DNA from old closed cases and if there has not been something of suspicion to make them look that is a lot of DNA samples to send in and wait for an the other end to possibly show up.
Pearl=W
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November 09, 2009
Busy man. Seems like he had quite the career going, until he assaulted his girlfriend. Poetic justice, perhaps.

Wonder why the Troopers don't try collecting and using DNA more often, like in some of their long unsolved murder cases, where such material was collected but never processed?
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