MOUNTLAKE TERRACE – A teenage boy who police believe has a hobby of breaking into homes is being held in a juvenile facility.
The boy, 17, is being held on suspicion of breaking into 11 homes in Mountlake Terrace neighborhoods over the past four months, Assistant Police Chief Mike Mitchell said Thursday.
To put that in perspective, the city usually averages about nine burglaries per month, Mitchell said.
“To actually have this guy with this many burglaries, that’s a high number,” he said.
Police arrested the teenager last week after a two-week investigation. Detectives tracked him down after they found something he’d allegedly stolen for sale in a pawn shop, Mitchell said.
The boy, who is being held at the Denney Juvenile Justice Center, reportedly told investigators he also broke into six homes in the Edmonds area, Mitchell said.
The boy reportedly stole laptops, jewelry and other things he could stuff inside his backpack. Most of the time, he sold his loot at pawn shops or to acquaintances, Mitchell said.
Police don’t expect to recover most of what was stolen during the burglaries. Too much time has passed, and many of the victims didn’t write down serial numbers of their possessions, Mitchell said.
Detectives are still trying to determine whether the boy is connected with other burglaries in the area.
“There are other burglaries that we’re looking into,” Mitchell said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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