A Juneau man arrested for breaking into the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center will be sentenced March 30.
Mack Parker, 52, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree burglary, a felony, and violating conditions of release, a misdemeanor. Other charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief were dropped as a part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Officers responded to an intruder alarm July 2 at the center. They found a broken window, but a burglar could not be immediately seen inside.
According to two officers’ reports about the incident, a sedan associated with Parker was the only vehicle in the parking lot.
Officers saw a stool, a sleeping bag and merchandise from the Discovery Southeast store inside the vehicle. Officers believed those items were taken from the center.
Officers heard sounds suggesting somebody was barricading themselves inside the visitor center, and SWAT members were called to the scene.
After officers searched the building, they spotted a man in dark clothing walking into the woods near Nugget Falls.
According to a report by Sgt. Dominic Branson, the entire downstairs area had been ransacked.
Branson wrote that someone had gone through file cabinets, desk drawers, employee lockers and backpacks. Employee laptops, usually kept on their desks, were missing. A can of bear spray had been discharged.
Branson reported the gift shop cash register had been damaged and cash from a donation box was strewn about the floor.
Officers found backpacks outside the center that contained some of the computer equipment and a missing spotting scope. A set of dentures labeled with the name “M Parker” was found in one of the backpacks.
The next day, Mack Parker was taken into custody at his residence.
He told officers that he didn’t hate the glacier and didn’t intend for any financial profit.
Branson reported that Parker said he was “under pressure and when he is under pressure he does ‘stupid s—.'”
The judge in the case is expected to consider Parker’s prior convictions for robbery and larceny while handing down a sentence.
