Many burglaries in Ballard, some more successful than others; man attacked for no apparent reason
Fri, 03/22/2013
By Cassandra Baker
9:02 a.m., March 14. 58th block of 24th Ave NW
A restaurant owner called police after he arrived at work in the morning to find that his restaurant had been burglarized overnight. The rear door of the restaurant had been forced open. The burglar also cut the phone lines, turned off all of the breakers in the power box, and damaged the alarm. The safe had been forced open with an electric saw, leaving an odor of burning metal. No fingerprints were found at the scene. The restaurant owner did not suspect anyone of the crime.
1:00 a.m., March 13. 75th block of 24th Ave NW
A burglar with high standards ended up empty-handed. The suspect entered an apartment building storage area and used bolt cutters to cut the latches off of about 20 storage units. The burglar left without taking anything, apparently not having found anything considered worth stealing. The burglar did not leave any fingerprints.
6:19 p.m., March 12. 3rd block of NW 53rd St
Jewelry and electronics evidently weren’t good enough for one Ballard burglar. The victim in the incident returned home and found that her back door was unlocked, then noticed several pieces of her jewelry sitting on the stairs. She called 911, and the responding officer determined that the back door of the residence had been kicked in. Only a closet appeared ransacked, with empty jewelry boxes strewn about. Several high-value electronics were sitting in plain view, undisturbed.
12:31 a.m., March 12. 63rd block of 8th Ave NW
Police responded to reports that a man had been beaten up by four suspects after midnight on March 12. Officers arrived at the scene and spoke with the victim, who said that he was walking along 8th Ave when four individuals attacked him from behind. He said that the suspects punched him in the face several times and kicked him when he fell to the ground. He had no idea why he was attacked and said he would not be able to identify the suspects.
Seattle Fire responded to the scene and treated the victim for cuts above his left eye and on the side of his head. They determined that he might have a concussion, and he was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
A witness who lived in a nearby residence said he had heard yelling and looked out the window. He saw a white Toyota pickup pull up, and two males approached the victim. At the same time, he said, a male in a red sweatshirt began to attack the victim. A white female also approached the scene. The witness believed that all four individuals spent time in a nearby house that had been a source of trouble in the past.
The witness only saw the suspect in the red sweatshirt attack the victim, and he said this was the only one he would be able to identify. He said that he had video-recorded the pickup approaching the scene but then stopped recording so that he could call 911. The suspects were not found in the area.
7:51 p.m., March 11. 44th block of 2nd Ave NW
A burglar made off with everything from expensive jewelry to a jar of coins in a residential burglary on March 11. The victims left the house at around 1:30 that afternoon and returned home at about 5:30 that evening to find that their home had been ransacked. Items stolen included: an antique 24-karat gold watch with diamonds, valued at $15,000; one victim’s old driver’s license, passport and credit cards; and approximately $300 worth of change. There were no signs of forced entry, and no fingerprints were found at the scene.
4:49 a.m., March 10. 87th block of 15th Ave NW
A convenience store burglar was arrested early on the morning of March 10. Police responded to the store after an anonymous caller reported that a male was cutting a chain-link fence behind the store and rolling it up. The suspect was described as 6’2” with a shaved head and wearing a black hooded coat. Police arrived at the scene and heard a crash, and a moment later a man matching the suspect’s description came out the back door of the convenience store.
The male squeezed through the hole in the chain link fence, at which point police promptly handcuffed him, questioned him, and arrested him for burglary. Officers later spoke with the convenience store’s owner, who said that he knew the suspect as a customer and had not given him permission to be in the store at that time.
The store’s cash register was open, and both the front and back doors had pry marks. The suspect’s coat pocket contained $104.71 in small bills and $13.50 in quarters. The suspect also had a pair of wire cutters. He was later booked in King County Jail.
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