Ballard man catches burglar in act; plate leads to potential suspect

A victim interrupted a burglary in progress June 6 on the 3000 block of N.W. 113th Place. Police were called to the complainant’s parent’s house in North Ballard. He told police that he came home and found the suspect walking out of the master bedroom. The complainant described the suspect as a black male, 5'10", thin, 40-50 years old, wearing a pink shirt and beige pants. The suspect acknowledged the complainant and said, “Goodbye,” before fleeing downstairs and through the garage to his vehicle, which was parked in the driveway. Police found the front window of the doorway had been shattered. They believe the suspect entered there. The complainant reported that a 27-inch TV, DVD player, and 60 audio CD's were missing from the living room. The master bedroom had also been completely ransacked. The mattress was overturned and all drawers were pulled out. A jewelry box was dumped and sifted through. The safe in the closet had been tampered with but not opened. The complainant lives in his parent’s basement. He reported his room had also been ransacked and his Apple MacBook stolen.

The complainant was able to record the license plate of the vehicle the suspect drove off in. Police recognized the vehicle, which is some type of van and associated with numerous property thefts in the area. The registered owner of the vehicle matches the description of the complainant. Police drove to the man’s address on the 6900 block of 62nd Avenue N.E. They knocked on the door and heard a loud television inside. After the fourth knock they heard the television shut off. Police later left the scene. The property theft crimes unit will handle further investigations.

Suspect drinks victim's lemonade during burglary, leaves fingerprints

A Ballard woman is missing more than a piggybank after her house on the 8500 block of 20th Avenue N.W. was burglarized on June 2. The woman called police after she come home to her house being ransacked. Items were in the wrong places and drawers were pulled out. She reported that her Mac Book, Bose speakers and a piggybank were taken. Also, the suspect opened a bottle of lemonade from the fridge, drank some and left it on the counter. Police found a window had been opened and the screen was cut out. They found fingerprints on the lemonade bottle and the window.