Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff's office reports about 350 December calls; council urged to document suspicious solicitors
Summary
The sheriff's office told the East Bethel City Council it handled roughly 350 calls in December, highlighted several incidents including a theft and an enhanced second‑degree DWI, and advised residents to document suspicious door‑to‑door solicitors and report them to deputies.
The sheriff's office told the East Bethel City Council at its January meeting that deputies handled roughly 350 calls in December, including seven assaults, one theft report and 33 arrests.
The department described several incidents that month: a reported theft of tires from Northway Sports in which deputies used surveillance video to confirm the items came from a business dumpster and issued a trespass notice; a juvenile runaway at a Skylark Drive residence who provided false names and was later taken to a juvenile detention facility; and a vehicle in a ditch on Highway 65 where the driver, who admitted intoxication and lacked a valid license, later recorded a 0.20 breath test and had the case enhanced to second‑degree DWI.
"December had a total of 350 calls in our city," the sheriff's office representative said, and summarized changes over the year: total calls for service in 2025 were 4,867, down from 5,127 the prior year. Property crimes were largely steady, thefts ticked up slightly, and crashes with injuries decreased while traffic stops rose.
Councilmembers raised reports from residents about people approaching driveways wearing high‑visibility vests, ski goggles and masks. One councilmember said he had home camera footage showing a person who left when they saw the camera. The sheriff's office urged residents to call deputies and said the department is recording such reports to build a paper trail that can help verify whether solicitors are legitimate.
City staff later noted the municipal code provision used for peddler licensing (Section 18‑231) would require state or county credentials plus a city application; staff said applicants would have 30 days to apply and would undergo background checks.
The council did not take formal action on enforcement at the meeting; staff advised residents who encounter suspicious door‑to‑door visitors to contact the sheriff's office so deputies can document incidents and, when appropriate, investigate.
