Sammamish detectives recover property stolen in at least 59 burglaries around the region

Loot in the storage locker
was linked to 59 burglaries

Detectives from the Sammamish Police Department have tied property seized from a South Hill (Puyallup area) storage unit to more than 59 burglaries from Mill Creek to Beaverton, OR and including at least one in Kenmore.

The earliest burglary linked to this case happened in June of 2012. Police have identified victims from Kenmore, Woodinville, Newcastle, Maple Valley, Unincorporated King County, Bellevue, Bothell, Unincorporated Snohomish County, Kirkland, Redmond, Mill Creek, Unincorporated Pierce County, Tacoma, Thurston County, Fircrest, Olympia, as well as Portland, Tigard and Beaverton, OR.

Detectives discovered 66 bags, bins, safes and suitcases loaded with stolen property after serving a search warrant at Pierce County storage facility on Tuesday. Many of the bags contained jewelry, silver, sports memorabilia, and personal documents and photographs. One bag contained a soldier’s Purple Heart and Bronze Star military medals. At least seven firearms are still missing.

The search warrant is the culmination of joint investigation with Bellevue PD detectives that began over two weeks ago when a male suspect was positively identified based on video surveillance from a Bellevue burglary victim’s home. The suspects, a 26-year-old male and his 26-year-old girlfriend, are both Pierce County residents. 

Detectives are in the process of identifying and contacting the victims and will make arrangements to return their property the coming weeks. They expect to file numerous additional criminal charges including residential burglary, theft and possession of stolen property against the two suspects. The male is currently in custody at the King County Jail. The female was booked and released.