We received reports of home burglaries from two readers over the past few days in Ballard. One was unusual, with the burglars stealing clothes and leaving theirs behind. In the other burglary, the burglars created a blind with yard waste bins so the neighbors couldn’t see them climbing through the kitchen window.
Here’s a report from reader Brian, who lost his clothes in the fiasco:
Our house was broken into and vandalized this past weekend in Ballard. The weird part is that whoever did it, left some of their clothes behind and appears to have taken some of ours.
…There were also other weird things done to the house in the path of destruction, such as taking a package or lights from the house and putting in our mailbox and twisting the metal mailbox flag around in circles, etc.
The other burglary was on the 7300 block of 18th Ave NW. Here’s Erin’s story:
…We were out but had a car parked in front of the house and neighbors around. They stacked our yard waste bins to create a blind (with the help of our out-of-control bamboo) and climbed in the kitchen window. They made quite a mess but were very selective with what they took. Jewelry and cameras were passed up and so far we can only tell that our Mac laptops are gone. The police were able to lift a few fingerprints and give us some advice, which included keeping vegetation cut away from the house (unless it’s a deterrent like holly), use motion sensor lights, lock windows and if you have windows in your door, consider deadbolts with a key requirement on the inside (and hang key close by for your own use). If you’re comfortable asking someone who looks out of place if they need any help finding something, he mentioned that can push someone out of the area. He also said not to hesitate to call if you see someone suspicious and to trust your gut. It will at least bring a patrol car through the neighborhood.
