Muddy footprints
A man called police to report his house had been broken into at 2 p.m. on Jan. 5. Police arrived to the house, located in the 2300 block of West Raye Street, shortly after. Officers checked the house for people; nobody was inside.
There was a broken window in the back of the house. There were muddy footprints on a table underneath the window and the floor in front of it. There were matching footprints throughout the house and in the back yard.
The victim's belongings were strewn around the apartment. He told police the only thing he believed to be missing was his iMac laptop, valued at $1,200.
The officers at the scene told the victim it would be a good idea to go get a cup of coffee while they dusted for prints. He did.
Moments later the officers received a call over dispatch saying the victim had seen somebody wearing his backpack get onto a bus. He followed the bus northbound until he saw the suspect get off on the 2600 block of Northwest Market Street where an arrest was made.
Holiday burglary
A woman returned home after being out of town for several weeks to find her house had been broken into. Police responded to the house, located on the 2600 block of 23rd Avenue West at around 8 p.m. on Jan. 4.
When police arrived they saw the victim's belongings scattered throughout the house.
The victim showed police where the burglars had entered the house. At the downstairs back door there was a butter knife and a dry, brown grocery bag outside. The victim told police she uses knives to wedge the door shut for extra security.
Every room had been rifled through with belongings thrown on the ground. The victim said three jewelry boxes had been taken from the master bedroom.
She said she had taken her valuable jewelry with her, so only costume jewelry had been stolen. She estimated the value of the jewelry to be $200. Her cell phone was also stolen from the bedroom.
At the front door were several pieces of mail. Some of it was opened. In the kitchen there were several checkbook carbon copies on the floor. The cupboards had been rifled through and the refrigerator had been left open.
Police were able to lift four fingerprints from inside the house. The victim told police she had been out of town for a few weeks. Her son had been at the house on Dec. 28 around noon to bring the mail in. She said he hadn't mentioned anything being out of place.
You Forgot Something
The manager of a business located in the 2200 block of 15th Avenue West called police to report his business had been burglarized at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 2. The manager said a witness noticed equipment sitting outside on a loading dock and knew it wasn't supposed to be there.
The witness phoned the manager, who had been away for Christmas and New Years Eve. He arrived at his business to discover several items had been stolen from inside the workshop.
Employees of the business found a shoebox sitting on the bed of a truck. Inside the box was the registration and insurance paperwork for a reported stolen car out of Shoreline.
There were pry marks on the front door of the building. There is no alarm or surveillance in the building.
Interrupted Burglary
At 11:35 p.m. on Jan. 3 a police officer was patrolling when he was flagged down by a pedestrian in the 1400 block of West Dravus Street. The complainant wanted to report a burglary he'd just interrupted. He directed the officer to a building under construction in an alley, located on the 3200 block of 15th Avenue West.
The complainant said he arrived at the building at around 11 p.m. He entered through a padlocked gate and said he thought he heard some noise coming from inside the building as he approached. He opened the door loudly and as he reached the office he saw a person running for the balcony.
The complainant ran after the person, who was wearing a backpack and a stocking cap, who ran onto the balcony and jumped over the side. There were two paper grocery bags full of wires and computer equipment the victim believed the suspect was trying to steal. Police discovered a padlock on one of the gates outside of the building had been cut. The victim wasn't sure if anything was missing from the building.
Smash and Grab
Some time between 7 p.m. Dec. 29 and 10:30 a.m. Jan. 2 somebody burglarized a business located on the 2200 block of West Commodore Way. The suspect broke an office window and stole a computer from a desk inside the business. Nothing else of value was taken. There are no suspects.
Tiny Burglar
A woman left her home at 11 a.m. and returned home around 1:53 p.m. on Dec. 31 to find it had been broken into. The house is located on the 3200 block of 26 Avenue West. She first noticed her laptop was missing. Upon further investigation she found a rear window had been broken. Besides her computer, her camera and a pair of earrings were also missing.
Responding police officers discovered the suspect had ripped the screen off the window and then used a brick to break the window. The window is very small, so the suspect must also be a very small person. The suspect had moved three pieces of glass from under the window and placed them around a planter box. The pieces of glass were taken by police for fingerprinting.
The laptop and camera were taken from the first floor. The suspect then entered a bedroom on the second floor and looked through two jewelry boxes. The victim said only one pair of earrings was missing. The jewelry boxes were also taken for fingerprinting.
Police were able to lift two fingerprints from windows in the house. The victim informed police that her neighbors were out of town. Upon investigation it was determined the neighbor's house had been burglarized as well.
House Sitting
Police responded to a burglary at a home located in the 1000 block of West Armour Street around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1.
When they arrived they spoke to the complainant who had been watching the house since Dec. 27 while the owners were away. He said he left the house around 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 and returned at 1:20 a.m. to find the back door slightly ajar and the back sliding window on the ground. The window appeared to have been pried open.
The complainant said the suspect rifled through drawers downstairs and ripped a Sony flat screen TV off the wall. He said the downstairs door was left open as well. Officers dusted for fingerprints with no success. They assumed the suspects were wearing gloves, because there were smudge marks on the windows.
Comic Book Thief
A woman reported to police that her home had been burglarized. She told police she works at night. She left for work around 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 31 and returned home at 4:51 a.m. to find her house, located in the 3200 block of 34th Avenue West, had been ransacked.
Police found that the north side window had been broken and the downstairs door was open. The woman told police a collectable doll was missing. Also taken were comic books and vinyl records.
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