NE Seattle blockwatches are calling on neighbors to be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles near homes after two daytime burglaries in which burglars parked their vehicles in house driveways, kicked open doors and then loaded up vehicles to make off with tons of items, including TVs, other electronics and jewelry.
On Monday in the area of NE 60th Street and 52nd Avenue NE, a black SUV was parked in front of a house around noon, the report said. Acting as though they were movers, the burglars used pillow cases and sheets to conceal items as they loaded them into the vehicle, said the report.
Taken were two TVs, a laptop, an Xbox, Nintendo DS, computer games, new clothes in a bag, numerous purses, a vacuum and jewelry, including a wedding ring.
Last Thursday, a home in the 7300 block of 44th Avenue NE was broken into between 10:30-11:30 a.m. A “nice-looking, clean white van” was pulled into a driveway in a car port, blocking the view of a side entrance door, said the victim. Burglars kicked open the door and loaded up the van, taking a 52-inch flat screen TV, iPods, cameras, other electronic equipment and jewelry, she said. They also used sheets and pillow cases, she added.
A neighbor saw the van but thought it was someone at the house doing work, she said.
The woman said electronic items were cleanly disconnected. The only mess, she said, was that items were pulled out of top drawers and off the tops of closet shelves. The woman said her husband believes they were looking for firearms.
A patrol officer and a detective, who spent more than an hour at the house, were unable to find any fingerprints at the scene, she said. She said police also told her that her case was similar to another burglary in the Laurelhurst-Windermere area.
The two crimes come after a rash of middle-of-the-night burglaries at homes with family members present. In addition, a third case was reported on NE 57th Street near 35th Avenue NE in which three kids were seen leaving a house with a flat screen TV and other electronics.
While NE Seattle seems to be experiencing a spike in burglaries, Seattle police say there is no indication of that, though they are looking for connections among the cases.
“The reality is that we live in a big city and we do have burglaries,” said Mark Jamieson, spokesman for Seattle Police. “Especially in highly residential areas where there are mostly all homes and not a lot of businesses.”
Diane Horswill, crime prevention officer for SPD’s North Precinct, said it’s possible that there seems to be more burglaries because the same incidents are being referenced multiple times in the media. Overall, the North Precinct is down for burglaries in the first two months of this year compared to last year.
However, stats aren’t kept for specific neighborhoods and View Ridge, in particular, appears to be experiencing a spike.
The North Precinct has seven detectives assigned to investigate burglaries but the North Precinct is about half of the city, including both Northwest Seattle and Northeast Seattle. Jamieson said that so far he’s not aware of extra detectives being assigned to the NE Seattle cases. Nor is he aware of whether any extra efforts are being made in crime prevention or community outreach.
“It’s way too soon to know whether these are related or not but detectives are looking at all of the cases,” he said. “The best thing people can do is lock their windows and doors and make these types of crimes as preventable as possible.”
