Anchorage business owner thrown from car while chasing thief

Monday night, an Anchorage business owner, who was determined to stop an apparent thief from getting away with his merchandise, took matters into his own hands.

Jason Borgstede owns the Blue & Gold Boardshop in south Anchorage.

"The crime rate is going crazy in this town, right now," he said. "It's not the Anchorage most of us grew up in."

Borgstede said Monday wasn't the first time his business was hit by an apparent thief, but this time the adrenaline-fueled moments were captured on video.

The store owner said he noticed a man pull up to the side of the shop and leave his car running, with the door open.

At this point, he said that's when the suspect hopped out and grabbed several hundred dollars worth of clothing, from racks outside the store.

"I end up holding onto the (car) door, as he hits the gas as hard as he can," said Borgstede. "Then I feel it get a little too fast, and I know that I have to bail out of there. So I just hit the ground and end up getting flung - sliding about 20 feet across the pavement."

He said the man made off with a few hundred dollars worth of clothing items.

"Obviously, I would never encourage anyone else to take these actions, but I have my entire life savings - and everything that I am - poured into this business, so that I can create something a little bit better for our community. And for somebody to try and take that - I just cant allow that. "

Borgstede ended up with a few minor injuries, but he primarily wanted to let criminals know how much impact their actions could have on the small businesses, in the city.

"All I'm really hoping is that people understand," he said. "We're a small biz. We're doing the best we can to stay in biz and service this community. And that they (thieves) take that into consideration, and hopefully this behavior stops."

Anchorage police say they don't have a suspect, and this is still considered an open case. If you have any information that can help, contact the Anchorage Police Department at (907) 786-8900 or Crime Stoppers at (907) 561-7867 to remain anonymous. The APD case number is 17-28519.