UPDATE:

Juneau Police Department officers have arrested 29-year-old Juneau resident Joseph A. Allen, a "person of interest" in a string of crimes robberies that began Monday.

"Allen has been lodged on charges stemming from unrelated crimes at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center. Allen is charged with one count of Burglary in the 1st degree, a class B felony punishable by a fine up to $100,000 and a maximum of ten years incarceration," Juneau Police said in a press release this morning.

Allen is also lodged on one count of theft in the second degree, a class C felony punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years incarceration.  

Police are asking the community to be on the lookout for a man considered armed and dangerous who is believed to have broken into three different houses — and to lock their doors and windows.

“I think the biggest thing is to keep an eye out for him, and the other thing is to lock your house,” Juneau Police Department spokeswoman Cindee Brown-Mills said. “And if you see anything suspicious, call police.”

JPD has not released the name of the suspect, wanted on suspicion of burglary and vehicle theft, as of late Tuesday afternoon because his identity has yet to be confirmed, Brown-Mills said.

“We’re not sure who he is,” she said.

A photograph or sketch is not available, but police do have a description of the man. JPD said in a release he has been described as looking 20 to 30 years old, 6 feet tall and Native or Filipino with very short black hair. He may also have a mustache, the release said. He was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, snow boots and a black mask, the release stated.

“I’m guessing it was a stocking cap kind of ski mask but I don’t know that for sure,” Brown-Mills said.

JPD said in a release the man is suspected in three separate break-ins on Monday. The homes are all situated in the valley off Mendenhall Loop Road.

“This man is considered armed and dangerous,” the release stated. “If you see him do not contact him and call police immediately.”

Brown-Mills said JPD received a call at noon on Monday from a 31-year-old woman in the 8000 block of Thunder Street reporting a man armed with a rifle came into her house, pushed her to the floor and pointed the gun at her. The woman told police she was able to run out of the house to a neighbor’s residence, where she then called police.

As police were responding, the witnesses said they saw the man get into the woman’s car, a silver 2011 Honda Pilot that was later recovered, and leave, the statement read. The woman also discovered her purse was missing once back inside her home.

Then, at 4:12 p.m. on Monday, JPD said it received another report of a burglary-in-progress in the 4500 block of Wood Duck Avenue, according to the release. A 25-year-old woman had returned home and found a man in the house, Brown-Mills said. The woman said she ran out of the house and called police, the release said.

Once on scene, police found a chair pushed up against a back window with the window screen removed, the statement said. The house had been rifled through and a handgun was missing, police said.

Items missing from the woman’s house on Thunder Street were found inside the home on Wood Duck Avenue, and the stolen vehicle was found on the street (Wood Duck Avenue).

Police say they received a third report of a break-in at 8:30 p.m. A 60-year-old man had called JPD saying he went into his garage in the 4400 block of Columbia Boulevard and found a man sleeping there, according to Brown-Mills. The 60-year-old man went back into the house and called police, the release said. The sleeping man was gone by the time police arrived, the release said.

Brown-Mills said JPD shared the man’s description with other law enforcement agencies that JPD partners with, such as the Alaska State Troopers. She said as soon as the police nab the suspect another release would be sent out.

Anyone with information can call JPD at 586-0600 or leave an anonymous tip on the Juneau Crime Line at juneaucrimeline.com.

• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.