A Sitka Grand Jury indicted seven folks in August and September on charges ranging from robbery to fraud. Raven News already reported on one case- an alleged assault during a protest in late August. Here are the other indictments from the past two months:


On September 10, 29-year-old Keith Nelson Jr was arrested after he allegedly stole an item from a local grocery store. According to court documents, shortly after 10 a.m., police received a report of a shoplifter at Market Center in downtown Sitka.

Officer Mitchell Boord responded and located Nelson walking away from the store. According to a sworn police affidavit, Nelson began running down Oja Street, and after a brief pursuit in his patrol vehicle, Boord caught up with Nelson and handcuffed him. Two Market Center employees told Boord that they confronted Nelson after he dropped and broke a bottle of cooking wine, and placed a second bottle in his pocket. Nelson allegedly threatened to hit the employees with the wine bottle before exiting the store.

On September 18, a Sitka grand jury indicted Nelson on one count of robbery, a Class B felony.

Earlier in the month, on September 4, police arrested 61-year-old Vicente Gaspar Carlos after he allegedly broke into a former family member’s apartment, and began yelling for a key to access his guns. Officer John Waldron responded and interviewed Carlos in his apartment above the home he’d broken into. According to a sworn police affidavit, Carlos had a large hunting knife on his hip, and Waldron said that after asking Carlos to remain still and allow him to remove the knife multiple times, Waldron took Carlos to the floor and handcuffed him.

On September 11, a grand jury indicted Carlos on two counts of felony burglary, and one count of felony assault.

In August, several Sitkans were indicted for drinking-and-driving, felony assault, and theft charges. On August 13, police arrested 26-year-old Sergio Sanchez after he allegedly hit a rock wall while driving under the influence of alcohol on Sawmill Creek Road. On August 21, a grand jury indicted Sanchez on one felony count of driving under the influence, and a separate felony for refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test.

51-year-old John Clayton Summer was arrested on August 5 after he allegedly assaulted a woman on his boat in ANB harbor. On August 14, a grand jury indicted Summer on three counts of felony assault.

The same grand jury also indicted 38-year-old Eric James Mason on one felony theft charge. That’s after, on June 11, Mason allegedly stole $2,500 dollars out of a vehicle parked in the Eliason Harbor parking lot, then later the same day took a drink from A/C Lakeside without paying for it. Later in August, Mason was indicted on additional theft and criminal trespass charges, both misdemeanors.  


Also in late August, a grand jury indicted 42-year-old Sharlymae Lozada on charges brought forth by the Sitka District Attorney’s office. According to the indictment, the DA alleges that from July 2023 to July 2024, Lozada was engaged in a defrauding scheme. Lozada was indicted on two felony counts of fraud, one count of misdemeanor forgery, one count of falsifying business records, and one count of felony theft for allegedly stealing over $25,000 in the defrauding scheme. KCAW has reached out to the District Attorney’s office for more information on the case. 

As of press time, all of the defendants have trials tentatively scheduled for early November, but those dates are subject to change.