By Cassandra Baker

2:30 a.m., April 1. 77th block of 24th Ave NW

Two burglars at a Ballard restaurant didn’t bother trying to break open the restaurant’s safe, instead choosing to take the entire safe with them. The burglars pried open the front door, and one of the burglars left two footprints in the front hall, possibly due to stepping in drywall. The two burglars stole the restaurant’s safe, with contents estimated at $10,000 in value. Surveillance video showed two males lifting the safe into a pickup truck parked in a nearby alley.

10:16 a.m., March 31. 59th block of 17th Ave NW

A patrol officer was called to respond to an incident involving two damaged vehicles and a man throwing rocks. The victim said that his friend was following a suspect, and the officer located the subject and took the victim to the scene, where he said that the subject was not involved in the incident. No other subjects were located in the area.

The officer then observed the damage to the vehicles and heard the victim’s story. The victim said that he was making breakfast when he saw a garbage can lid come flying out of a nearby alley. The suspect then came out of the alley and kicked the victim’s vehicle. The victim said that when he went out to confront the suspect, the suspect picked up several large rocks and threw them at him. While trying to escape, the victim stumbled, falling over the curb and injuring his foot. Instead of hitting the victim, the rocks hit another vehicle. Police conducted an area check but did not locate the suspect.

10:21 p.m., March 30. 3rd block of NW 74th St

A family returned home from vacation to find that their home had been burglarized. The back door had been forced open and the house was ransacked. The burglar took a large quantity of jewelry and other valuables, including: 3 rings, 1 necklace, and 6 sets of earrings, together valued at approximately $4100; two solid silver cups, estimated at $200 each; and about $30 in change from a jar. No fingerprints were found at the scene.

3:25 a.m., March 30. 51st block of Ballard Ave NW

Police responded to a strange tale of a potential inside job burglary at a Ballard bar involving a drunk employee and a late-night trip to the bar that ended with missing money. The bar owner said that one of his employees was off duty and drinking at the bar on the night of March 29/early morning of March 30. He said that this employee helped to lock up the bar and set the alarm before going home to his apartment a block away.

The employee told the owner that he later looked out of his apartment and thought he saw a male exiting the bar. He said that he went over to investigate. He told the victim, the bar owner, that he turned off the alarm system to enter the bar and then looked at several money bags, verified that all were present, and left the bar. The employee said that he did not reactivate the alarm system and did not contact the victim because it was late.

The employee called the bar owner at 11:45 a.m. on March 30 and described the incident. When the owner asked why he did not reactivate the alarm, he said it was because he was so drunk that he forgot. The owner went to the bar and found that a cash bag, containing $1000 and two checks, was missing. He told police that he was not sure whether he believed his employee’s story or not.

9:20 p.m., March 27. 85th block of 15th Ave NW

A store clerk called police on March 27 to report that a shoplifter had put on clothes from the store where she worked and refused to pay for them. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s, 5’5” with a thin build and unprofessional-looking tattoos on his head and face, wearing a red plaid shirt, black pants, and a red backpack. When the victim called, the suspect had just left the store and headed toward Mary Ave NW. He was not located.

The following day police contacted the victim about unrelated cases and learned that the incident from the day before was in fact a robbery. The victim provided a more complete description of the incident. She said that the suspect came into the store just before closing time, took a large quantity of clothing, and went into the dressing room and layered it under his own clothing to conceal it.

The victim confronted the suspect and told him to take off the clothing and leave the store. She followed the suspect to the front of the store and rang up the items, but the suspect began arguing with her, and another clerk was called to verify the total. The suspect became angry and reached into his bag. Both the victim and the witness believed that he was reaching for a gun. The victim called 911. She said that the suspect removed his hand from his bag and said, “Give me all your money,” then laughed and said he didn’t care if she called the police and that he would be back. He then grabbed the clothing and left the store without paying.