West Seattle Crime Watch: “Break-in on Mother’s Day”

| Crime | West Seattle news

That’s the subject line Jeff wrote on his e-mail about the break-in at his house in the 9200 block of 20th SW (map):

It happened sometime Sunday sometime between 1 and 9 pm while we were away for Mother’s Day festivities. They broke in through the dog door in back of the house. They had to be pretty small since the dog door isn’t very big. They stole an iPod and Dewalt drill.

And that wasn’t all, Jeff found out after the first note – $1,500 in jewelry too. They did call police; of the response, he told us, “Officer Sperry responded quickly, made a report and dusted for prints around where
the iPod was taken from. I can’t say enough about how helpful and reassuring he was during such a stressful time.”

Will May 12, 2009 (11:11 am)

Sometimes I worry about our dog door but it’s big. I’m thinking they’d have to be pretty brave to go in the door that the pitbull uses.

Mustafa May 12, 2009 (11:47 am)

It’s either a stupid kid or a really lanky meth head. Kids get too bold these days. Presumably went out the same way they went in.

Keep in mind, the mindset of the burglar. They have entered a foreign environment of another dimension. Their entire being says they don’t belong, and that they are at personal risk of safety for going ahead. Somehow they overcome that to rifle around for something small to pocket, with a heightened attention to being discovered or attacked by a dog. Whatever they obtained is not worth the threat of death that existed in that alternate reality.

WTF May 12, 2009 (4:08 pm)

As sad as it sounds. Also, make sure that anyone not “usually” in your neighborhood, knows YOU are watching THEM and that they aren’t going to be overly welcomed unless they prove they truly belong there. Makes me sad to say, but this IS what it’s come to. These AHs just didn’t randomly come across your house.

sarelly May 13, 2009 (1:48 pm)

But don’t get too carried away. I was once accosted by a resident in a neighborhood a few blocks from mine because I was out for a walk, enjoying the weather and scenery. This person demanded to know what I was doing there and where I lived – presumably because she didn’t like my wardrobe. You can’t act like you live on a private road if you don’t. I thought it was rude and a bit hysterical.

Sylvia May 18, 2009 (3:05 pm)

Burglers don’t crawl in through the dog door, they reach through it with a long stick and unlock the door. A friend had her house broken in that way.

Jeff May 20, 2009 (9:48 am)

RE: Sylvia
Burglers don’t crawl in through the dog door…

Yes, they did crawl through the dog door. Our back door has 2 locks that would be impossible to unlock with just a “stick”. There’s a deadbolt that requires a key from the inside and a turn on the door handle one would need to grip with their fingers to turn.

The only other possibility would be arms the length of Dikembe Mutombo’s, but that seems unlikely.

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