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Togiak clinic closed after Monday night burglary

Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation says damages done during break-in may keep clinic closed for several days, limiting medical services in the village.

DILLINGHAM:  The Togiak Health Clinic was vandalized during an apparent burglary late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, and two young men have been identified as the suspects. The only health facility for the village of 900 residents remains closed Wednesday on account of the damages to electrical and communication systems.

Brett K. Pauk, 18, was arrested Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday on three charges: felony criminal mischief, felony burglary, and misdemeanor theft. The magistrate judge ordered him held on $2000 bail.

Pauk’s alleged co-conspirator is a 17-year-old from Togiak. As a minor, he was unnamed in court documents, but troopers said charges will be referred to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

At least $100 cash and a pair of headphones valued at $160 were stolen from the clinic and later recovered. An attempt was made to gain access to the pharmacy, but the investigation has not revealed more than a few over-the-counter drugs missing so far.

A trooper investigating in Togiak on Wednesday told KDLG News that the two men had ripped electrical wires out of the wall in an apparent attempt to knock out the clinic's surveillance, “annihilating” the clinic’s communication and electrical systems. That damage has severed medical communication between the remote clinic and the Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham.

A hospital spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the clinic may remain closed for several days as crews scramble to make repairs. The hospital was hustling to reestablish basic emergency services in the village early Wednesday.

**Update: BBAHC said Wednesday afternoon that "good progress" was being made on the repairs, and the clinic may reopen by Thursday.

At Pauk’s arraignment, assistant district attorney Beth Oates said the vandalism had shown “blatant disregard for the trouble and impacts it will have on the community.”

The two men also discharged a fire extinguisher at the scene. Their shoe prints, both in the extinguisher foam and the snow outside the clinic, led the investigating Village Public Safety Officer directly to their home, where stolen items were found and shoes were confirmed to match the prints.