An arrest in string of burglaries

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a series of burglaries that have occurred throughout the past several weeks across the Swinomish Reservation.

Swinomish Police Chief Rick Balam said a man in his 20s was arrested Friday and will face prosecution for burglary.

Police served a Swinomish Tribal Court search warrant on Friday at an address in Swinomish Village and recovered some of the stolen property.

In all, about a dozen homes were burglarized in the neighborhoods around Snee-Oosh and Pull-&-Be Damned roads and the Hope Island areas. Seven of the burglaries occurred in one 24-hour span Wednesday and Thursday last week.

“It’s not often we get that kind of cluster,” Chief Balam said.

The break-ins mostly took place at houses with absentee owners. Most of the items stolen, and those subsequently recovered, were electronics.

Chief Balam said police be-lieve the burglar sometimes tested to see if houses were empty by knocking on the door beforehand to see if anyone was home.

“People need to watch what’s going on,” he said.

Chief Balam did not rule out the possibility there had been other perpetrators.

Judy Booth, who owns a home that was burglarized two weeks ago, said that the burglar gained access by ripping a screen off a window, before stealing her flat-screen television.

Booth, who manages vacation rentals around the area, said she thought that her neighbor, who turned on an outdoor light, likely frightened the burglar off before more items could be stolen.

The Swinomish Police urge residents to watch out for any sort of suspicious activity, and to take precautions to safeguard houses from prospective thieves.

Also, “let people know when you’re going to be gone” said Chief Balam.

Police often see an increase in property crimes during summer months when people leave windows open while trying to cool down.

Chief Balam also noted the importance of writing down serial numbers of valuable electronics and other property, which makes it easier to identify and search for the items if they’ve been stolen.