Soldiers accused of stealing inflatable boat after argument about war
Published Saturday, August 30, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Two Fort Wainwright soldiers are accused of stealing an inflatable boat in retaliation against a man who argued with them about the military and the Iraq War.
Tyler Brock, 24, and Michael Metzger, 22, both of the 472nd Military Police Company, have each been charged with one count of first-degree vehicle theft.
The two soldiers were at the Boatel bar on Tuesday night when a couple arrived at the pier in an inflatable boat. The couple and the soldiers began arguing about the military and the war in Iraq and had to be separated by the bartender, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.
Brock and Metzger then decided to float the boat down river and call another soldier to pick them up.
The owner of the boat said he was certain it had been stolen and later spotted the boat in the back of a pickup truck on Airport Way. He followed the truck to the parking lot of Garden Island Deli where a “heated verbal exchange” took place just before Alaska State Troopers arrived, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.
The two soldiers said they stopped after being chased and were going to return the boat, valued at about $1,500.
The driver said he did not know the boat was stolen and was not charged with any crime.
