Swinomish police halt burglary epidemic

Three arrests have been made so far in the swarm of burglaries that have kept residents in neighborhoods on the Swinomish Reservation on edge for the past several weeks

Swinomish Police Chief Rick Balam said the men arrested are all adults, and two are from the La Conner area, while the third is from Sedro-Woolley.

The burglaries apparently were not all related; police suspect that there were three different, unrelated groups of thieves. Police are still investigating and believe there are more suspects at large, though no new burglaries have been reported.

The burglars mostly struck in the middle of July, when seven occurred in one night. Some were also committed in June and August.

Most of the crimes occurred in the Snee-Oosh and Pull and Be Damned Road neighborhoods. Unoccupied vacation homes were a common target.

Chief Balam said previously that burglars may have been banging on the doors to test if residents were home before breaking in.

While it is not Swinomish policy to release the names of suspects, the newspaper’s own investigation has identified three men under investigation by Swinomish for burglary.

Two of the men are known to local law enforcement. According to Skagit County Sheriff’s Chief Chad Clark, two of the men arrested have previous theft-related arrests.