Crime & Safety

Burglary Ring Linked to Crimes in Kirkland and Kenmore

Police say a couple from Pierce County broke into at least 66 homes stretching from Mill Creek to Oregon.

Update, Aug. 13: Sammamish Police Detective Bill Albright said police believe they have now linked 66 burglaries to the Pierce County couple arrested last week, but he urged the public to be patient in recovering their stolen belongings and not contact the police directly.

"We will be contacting those identified victims and returning their property to them," he said. "Once we have matched up as much of the property we can to the victims, whatever is left over we will try to match belongings to victims via photo bucket or some other online method."

—Kendall Watson

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Original post, Aug. 12:
 Police in Sammamish have linked a widespread burglary ring to crimes in Kirkland, Kenmore and throughout the Puget Sound region.

Sgt. Jessica Sullivan of the Sammamish Police Department said Monday that police have now attributed 59 break-ins to a Pierce County couple. Working with the Bellevue Police Department, Sammamish Police brought the man and woman—both 26—into custody after the male suspect was identified using video surveillance from a Bellevue victim's home.

Police issued a news release last Friday saying detectives in Sammamish had recovered 66 bags, bins, safes and suitcases full of stolen property from a storage facility in the Puyallup area. Stolen items included jewelry, silver, sports memorabilia, personal documents, photographs and military medals—including Purple Heart and Bronze Star awards.

At least seven firearms from the burglaries are still missing, police said.

As of Monday, police have identified victims in the following areas: Kenmore, Woodinville, Newcastle, Maple Valley, unincorporated King County, Bellevue, Bothell, unincorporated Snohomish County, Kirkland, Redmond, Mill Creek, unincorporated Pierce County, Tacoma, Thurston County, Fircrest and Olympia, as well as Portland, Tigard and Beaverton, Ore.

Police said they expect to file numerous charges against the couple, including residential burglary, theft and possession of stolen property. Patch typically does not name people who have been arrested until they are formally charged with a crime.

The earliest burglary linked to the case so far took place in June 2012.

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Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story advised the public to contact the Sammamish Police Department, but the SPD has subsequently contacted Patch and requested the public not directly contact them regarding the recovery of their belongings related to this case.


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