APPLE TREE- Suspicious Person and Burglary Attempt

Suspicious person in Apple Tree. While leaving their house in Thursday morning, April 12, a neighbor spotted a vehicle entering the neighborhood (46th Ave) at a slow rate of speed. It attracted the neighbor's attention and when they slowed to take a closer look, the driver (who was wearing sunglasses) looked down and away. The neighbor drove a bit further and stopped. The driver of the other vehicle did a U turn and left the neighborhood. It appears that he did not belong in the neighborhood and was uncomfortable that he had drawn attention to himself. The vehicle was an older model dark green Chevrolet pick-up, black canopy, with a damaged right headlight. The license started with A153. The driver was mid to late 20s, black hair, was wearing oversize sunglasses, was of dark complexion (perhaps Latino?), and appeared to have a bandana around his forehead. If anyone else spots this vehicle in the neighborhood, they should pay attention.

Burglary attempt in Apple Tree. A homeowner received a call at work on Monday evening, April 9, from their neighbor who said their alarm was going off. A white male had been spotted coming from the backyard through the trees and another neighbor was chasing the suspect down the street on foot.  (NOTE: It is NOT advised to try to catch a suspect yourself...just get all the details you can, like license plate, description, photo, and call 9-1-1). A getaway vehicle rushed down the street for the suspect to jump in. Another neighbor driving into the area saw what was going on and followed the suspects by car and called 9-1-1. The homeowner's glass on the back door behind the house was smashed, causing the alarm to sound. It is unknown if anything was taken.

Deputies caught at least one suspect, who it is said, lives in the area and is well known to police.

GOLD CREEK- Package Stolen

At 5:30, on Friday, April 13, a large (6 x2 ft) package was stolen from the front porch of a home in the 15200 block of 67th Ave SE in Gold Creek.

The package had arrived just a few minutes earlier and the occupants had checked on it at 5:25. At 5:30 they were heading out to the front when they saw a woman wearing a baseball cap get into a new Ford Edge (sea foam green with 5-spoke wheels) that was parked at the curb directly in front of the house. As the woman drove off to the south she even waved at the occupants.

The car being parked there seemed suspicious so they checked and found the package had been stolen.

Although there did not appear to be a passenger in the car, surveillance cameras on the next house south of theirs confirmed the description of the car and showed a passenger in the front seat – but were not able to get the license plate number.

The police responded and looked at the video to confirm the car’s description.

BURGLARIES- Burglars Finding Your Home Through Your Car Registration

Last week, the local media covered a series of burglaries on the east side where the victims went out to see a movie only to return to their cars and discover that it had been broken into. When the police arrived, they asked if the owners had their car registration. Then they made a discovery that the registration had been stolen. On a check of the house, the police and the victims discovered that their houses had been burglarized. The burglars, went to the cinema parking lot, took the registration where they could see the victim’s home address, and then made a beeline to the house while the victims were at the movies.

The press depicted this as a new technique. However, this method of burglary has been going on for a few years but has not received much publicity. Theft of your car registration can be used not only to burglarize your house while you are at the movies, at a restaurant or shopping, but also for ID theft.

Ways to prevent theft of your car registration include locking it in your glove box, or taking it with you in your wallet or purse.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/new-crime-trend-gives-bad-ending-night-movies/nMThb/

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Car-registration-fueled-thefts-spreading-on-Eastside-146747445.html

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Thieves-may-be-targeting-people-they-see-heading-into-movie-theater-146612045.html

SHERIFF'S OFFICE- Partners in Crime Prevention Newsletter

This March/April issue of the "Partner's in Crime Prevention" newsletter from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office talks about juvenile crime and support issues:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/MarApr12.pdf

SULTAN- Crime Prevention Meeting

On Wednesday, March 21, the city of Sultan held a community safety meeting.

In it, city officials encouraged the participants to form Neighborhood Watch Groups. They also encouraged people to give their names when calling 911. Having a name ensures that information given to the police is not second hand or rumors. Chief Jeff Brand also noted that three-quarters of home burglaries around Sultan involve unlocked doors or windows.

For more information about this meeting go to:

http://heraldnet.com/article/20120323/NEWS01/703239893/1131/NEWS08#Sky-Valley-neighbors-learn-tips-to-fight-crime

SOUTH SOUND- Car Prowls Up

According to a recent news report by KING 5 TV, car thefts and car prowls are up in the South Puget Sound region. Police agencies in Snohomish County have not made any announcements about car prowl levels recently.

In Puyallup, the car thieves and car prowlers target strip mall parking lots, gyms and apartment complexes. On bicycles and wearing backpacks, they will scope out cars, break into a promisng target, then quickly ride away. Many are not breaking windows, but are using "jiggler" keys to enter the cars. Top targets are older model Hondas and Acuras.

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/tacoma/Car-prowls--thefts-spike-in-South-Sound-143806656.html

To avoid becoming a car prowl victim remove everything from view in your car! For more information on car prowl prevention take a look at this Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Tip Sheet:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Vehicle%20Prowl.pdf

To prevent your car from being stolen, be sure to lock your car and take your keys with you. Also, devices such as The Club on your steering wheel can help deter potential car thieves. This Tip Sheet gives more ideas to prevent your car from being stolen:

http://sheriff.snoco.org/Documents/Auto%20Theft.pdf

BURGLARIES- Burglaries Can Be Dangerous

Burglaries can be dangerous for the burglar. The burglar can face an irate homeowner who does not like strangers in their house. As a result the burglar can risk arrest and/or physical harm. The ideal for the burlgar is not to have anyone around when he/she enters the house. In our modern age, the best time is during the day to enter a house when both the man and the woman are most likely at work and their kids are at school. So, as burglars goes down the street, they have to determine which house has the least risk. Which house does not have anyone around. So, when they decide on a target house, knocking on the door makes sense. If someone shows up, make an excuse then go to the next target. If not, enter the house.

If the burglar miscalculates it can be bad for both the burglar and the victim. The local press has reported on two burglaries where the victims were hurt or came close to being hurt.

In Tacoma a woman heard noises in her home and saw a man with a bag run away. She chased after him. The burglar fired one or two shots at her from a gun. The burglar was arrested later in the day.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/surprised-burglar-opens-fire-tacoma-homeowner/nLY3Y/

Earlier in the month, in Burien, an 80 year old homeowner came home to find two burglars in his home. They struck him in a brief confrontation. One of the burglars was arrested by police.

      Police dog finds burglary suspect:

http://today.seattletimes.com/2012/03/suspected-burglar-caught-by-k-9-dog-in-burien/

http://burien.komonews.com/news/crime/728845-man-injured-after-coming-home-burglary-progress

While circumstances can be different, recent meetings held by local police agencies have recommended the following:
If you come home and the door is ajar or you think a stranger is in your home-

• Don’t go in! Stay outside!
• Call 911 immediately. This will become a priority call.
• Don’t confront the burglar. Burglars do not want to be caught. They can hurt you trying to get away.

If you are home and you hear an unexpected knock at the door- This is often a quandary for citizens. Do you go to the door or do you run and hide? Burglars often will go to a target house and knock on the door to see if someone answers. If someone does answer, they will make up a story (some better than others) that they are selling something, or they are looking for someone, or they need some sort of help. If no one answers, then they will try to kick in the front door or they will go to the back of house and break a window or enter through the sliding glass door. If you want to maximize your safety in this situation:

• Look through your peephole to see who it is.
• If you don’t recognize them, yell through the door that you are not interested. If the person outside refuses to leave or gets surly, tell them to leave and that you are calling 911.
• Noisy alarms usually cause burglars to leave. If the person on the other side continues to not leave, press the panic button on your car’s key fob. That makes the horn or other alarm sound from your car. That should convince the person to leave. It also helps alert any neighbors who may be around that you need help.
• Call 911 and report what happened. A good description of the suspicious person on the other side of the door can be very helpful to deputies.

Single women- Make it look like a man is around. If someone that you do not recognize is at the door, come to the door with your phone in hand like you are talking to someone on the phone.