FAIRBANKS — Three teenage boys have been charged as adults for allegedly assaulting and robbing three people Monday morning while roaming on bicycles in north Fairbanks.
The group allegedly robbed one man outside the Tanana Chiefs Conference building, continued to an area behind Fred Meyer East, where they allegedly robbed and beat up two men before riding downtown where they were apprehended, according to the criminal complaint against them.
Fairbanks residents Jerald D. Burton, 17, Chaquille Gober, 17, and Michael J. Reynolds, 16, were arraigned Wednesday afternoon on charges including felony robbery and multiple counts of misdemeanor assault.
They were charged with the most serious type of robbery because Burton was found with a .357-caliber revolver in his bag, even though he did not use it, said Fairbanks police Sgt. Eric Jewkes.
The two robberies and the arrests all took place Monday morning, according to police records.
The first victim was a 36-year-old man who told police he was walking to the soup kitchen on Cushman Street at about 8 a.m. when he was approached by the three teenagers on BMX bikes, according to the criminal complaint.
He told police that Burton came up and asked him for money while the other two hung back. The man said Reynolds, seeing the man had no money, punched him in the face and Burton threw a bike at him. The man said the punch was a glancing blow and that he was not hurt.
The scene was captured by a security camera at the Tanana Chiefs Conference building. Police said all three defendants are identifiable in the video.
The second robbery was reported at about 8:40 a.m. and the victims were a 56-year-old man and a 35-year-old man.
These men told police that three teenagers rode up demanding money and attacked them when they said they had none.
They said the three punched them in the face and then kicked them while lying on the ground.
Police said both men had split lips and complained of chest and rib pain. One had a large bruise on his left eye.
The men said they were in Fairbanks to fight fires and that the three teenagers took a bag with all of the victims’ clothing in it.
Police found Burton, Gober and Reynolds riding across the Cushman Street Bridge later on Monday. Two were arrested near Immaculate Conception Church, but Burton rode away from police and was detained near Sadler’s Home Furnishings, according to the criminal complaint.
Burton also is charged with giving police a false name and weapons misconduct for reportedly not telling police about the revolver found in his bag. Burton told police he found the gun under the Steese Highway Bridge.
The three were interviewed in the presence of parents or grandparents and either refused to talk or denied robbing anyone, according to the criminal complaint.
A bail hearing for the three defendants is scheduled for Friday.
Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545.
