Crime & Safety

Serial Burglar Sentenced to Exceptional Sentence of 15 1/2 Years

Keith Blair broke into numerous homes and stole at least a $1 million worth of items.

A Bothell-area man who burglarized multiple homes in King and Snohomish counties, including in Kirkland, faced a parade of his victims in King County Superior Court Friday afternoon before being sentenced to an exceptional term of 15 1/2 years in prison.

Prolific burglar Keith Blair was convicted last month on 13 charges after stealing property valued worth at least a $1 million from homes in Shoreline, Seattle, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Medina and Kirkland.

Judge Mariane Spearman agreed with deputy prosecutor Mafe Rajul that the exceptional sentence was allowed for under the law because of the sheer number of burglaries--10--that Blair was convicted of committing. He was sentenced for 84 months concurrently on the residential burglary, auto theft and trespassing charges and 102 months on a theft of a firearm charge. 

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Blair has 30 days to lodge an appeal. 

His victims stood before him Friday and talked emotionally about having their homes invaded and ransacked, and the fear they had for their families' safety. They recounted the massive amount of items taken that were irreplaceable such as family heirlooms like wedding rings. Other items stolen included a Porsche worth $80,000 and a custom-made Rolex worth $50,000.

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Blair burglarized the Richmond Beach home where Pam LeCount and her family live on Aug. 5, 2010. Nearly $75,000 worth of items were taken, including all of her jewelry and her husband's gun. 

LeCount spoke about the theft's impact on her family and was pleased with the judge's ruling.

"It was awesome, that's an exceptional sentence," she said. 

The gun and an X-Box were eventually found but the jewelry is gone, she said.

"This was absolutely extraordinary from the beginning, the sheer amount of losses," said Cary Coblantz, the Shoreline Police detective who investigated the case and who was in court Friday.  

Coblantz said a small percentage of things were recovered but most of it is probably gone for good. 

Blair sat stoically throughout the sentencing next to his lawyer, looking occasionally at the people whose homes he broke into, but most of the time he stared straight ahead or looked down. 

The rash of burglaries that Blair was sentenced for occurred while he was out on bond after a Bellevue case that included three charges that were dismissed and a minor felony count where he was jailed only for time served. 

Coblantz said a plea deal for significantly less time than the 15-plus years Blair got was on the table if Blair admitted to more crimes, but Blair wouldn't take it.

Blair's wife, who is facing possible charges, was in court Friday, along with his mother, stepfather, wife and sister. Blair's sister sobbed throughout the sentencing. 

More open cases are pending in Snohomish County, with more charges possible, Coblantz said. 

"I'm not going to stop," Coblantz said. "I'm going to look into ones I had open."


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