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Man charged in burglary of safe at Kwethluk Inc. building

Kuiggluum Kallugvia, Kwethluk Incorporated in Kwethluk, Alaska.
Gabby Salgado
/
KYUK
Kuiggluum Kallugvia, Kwethluk Incorporated in Kwethluk, Alaska.

A Kwethluk man has been charged with multiple felonies after a safe pulled from the community’s village corporation building was found cracked open and emptied of its contents a short distance away on the banks of the frozen Kuskokwim River.

Thirty-three-year-old Marvin Nicori has been charged with felony first-degree theft, second-degree burglary, and third-degree criminal mischief for the Jan. 28 incident that resulted in the theft of as much as $50,000 in cash from the Kwethluk Inc. building, according to Alaska State Troopers.

According to a trooper statement in support of the charges, troopers who responded to the banks of the Kuskokwim a short distance from Kwethluk on Jan. 28 found a large safe with its door cut off and a piece of green rope wrapped around one of its wheels. Troopers observed drag marks from the safe and tire tracks from two different vehicles leading to the site, as well as footprints leading to a snowmachine track following the treeline along the river.

The incident came just days after the Kuskokwim Ice Road had been deemed safe for vehicle travel among lower Kuskokwim River communities.

When troopers responded to the Kwethluk Inc. building that same day, they reported finding the entry door forced open, damage to electronics and computers, and the security camera ripped from the wall and missing. According to the trooper statement, footage from a nearby fuel station showed a white truck headed toward the ice road dragging a safe behind it.

On Jan. 29, troopers said that they observed a white pickup matching the one seen on the security footage in the driveway of a home in Bethel. According to the trooper statement, the truck had a green tow strap attached to the trailer hitch matching the one found attached to the safe, along with an assortment of coins and paper clips that appeared to match items recovered alongside the safe.

Troopers executed a search warrant for the home in Bethel and seized a backpack containing burglary tools, a large amount of rolled and loose coins, and keys tagged as belonging to Kwethluk Inc. A resident of the home told troopers the truck had been loaned to another man two days before the incident, and had been returned to the home by a separate man on the day of the incident. That resident told troopers he had helped unload the backpack from the truck in Bethel on the day of the incident, but that he did not know what was inside the backpack.

Several days later, troopers said that they questioned the man who returned the truck, who then told troopers that he, Nicori, and two other men all participated in the theft and breaking open the safe. He told troopers that he did not personally take any of the money, and that the three alleged accomplices divided cash in small gray boxes among themselves.

According to court records, Nicori is the only person mentioned in the trooper statement who is currently facing charges related to the incident.

A summons for Nicori was issued on Sept. 20, but according to court records he is not currently in custody. Nicori’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 28 in Alaska District Court.

In April, the safe from the nearby Kwethluk Native Store was also reportedly stolen, but was later recovered at a nearby fish camp with evidence of an apparent unsuccessful attempt to break it open, according to another trooper dispatch.

In August, another burglary reportedly took place at the Kwethluk Inc. building. A trooper dispatch from the time provided no additional details and said that incident was still under investigation.

Evan Erickson is a reporter at KYUK who has previously worked as a copy editor, audio engineer and freelance journalist.