Police: Serial Everett burglar busted by security footage

EVERETT — Twenty-five eyeglass frames, dozens of packs of smokes, candy bars, tools, electronics, and so on.

These were some things an Everett man is accused of swiping from local stores amid a three-month burglary spree.

The suspect, 27, was charged in December with five counts of second-degree burglary for breaking into Everett-area businesses.

Police suspected the man of stealing from more than 20 places, according to charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court. He removed panes of glass from window frames, police wrote. Several burglarized businesses also appeared to have been shot with a BB gun.

A thief found a way into the Silver Lake Eye Clinic on two occasions in September, stealing more than $500 cash and dozens of eyeglass frames.

Later that month, a woman showed up at 9 a.m. to start her work shift at an Ace Hardware. She called police to report the store at 11014 19th Ave. SE had a broken window, the charges say. Police arrived and wrote it looked like a pane of glass had been removed from the window frame and shattered in the process.

A total of about $590 worth of merchandise was reportedly missing, including a Craftsman chainsaw and three tool kits. The estimated cost to repair the damaged window was $700.

On Oct. 4, a man called police about a broken window at his Silver Lake art studio on 29th Avenue SE. He reported a Samsung tablet was missing.

A couple weeks later, 68 lighters and 26 packs of Marlboro Reds went missing from Silver Lake Smoke and Vape, the charges say. The front door lock had been drilled out, the business owner reported.

The next month, a Walgreens employee reported a pane of glass next to the main door had been removed, the charges say. Security footage showed the suspect arrived around 2:10 a.m. that morning, drove away, then returned. The suspect tossed a duffel bag inside the window through the opening, police wrote, then went into the store.

Forty-four packs of Marlboro cigarettes were stolen from the store, the employee said. That’s about $400 worth of cigarettes.

Later in November, the suspect reportedly stole a box of Snickers and a box of Reese’s candy bars from a Dollar Tree in south Everett. Security footage showed the suspect sitting on the sidewalk in front of the store just before 1 a.m., police wrote, using a knife to remove weather stripping and aluminum from the window frame. He then grabbed a red suction device from his bag to remove the pane of glass from the frame, the charges say.

The footage showed the suspect wearing an Adidas backpack and carrying a black umbrella.

In the weeks that followed, the suspect allegedly burglarized an O’Reilly Auto Parts store, a Rite Aid, a Subway and a thrift store off Broadway in Everett.

In late November, Everett detective Adam Gage was assigned to investigate more than 15 burglaries that were possibly linked. The detective compiled security footage and sent it out to regional law enforcement. Another detective recognized the defendant.

Investigators learned the defendant was living in the Extended Stay America hotel in Everett.

Some security video showed a stolen U-Haul box truck parked in the hotel lot, the charges say. The same rig appeared to be visible in security footage of some burglaries.

On Dec. 2, police served a search warrant on the defendant’s hotel room. The detective wrote they found missing merchandise from a slew of burglaries, as well as an Adidas bag and a red suction device, as seen on security footage at the Dollar Tree. A black Beretta BB gun was also found in the room.

The defendant was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of the burglaries.

“I’ll just be honest and tell you,” he said in a police interview, according to charging papers. “For starters, I do feel like a piece of (expletive) for doing what I’ve done.”

The Everett man reportedly said he was not the only one who committed the crimes. He speculated strangers watched him and copied his actions.

Later in the interview, the defendant reportedly admitted to burglarizing the Silver Lake Eye Clinic, the Silver Lake art studio, the Silver Lake Smoke Shop, Dollar Tree, an O’Reilly Auto Parts, a Subway and the thrift store.

“I would like to stop doing this stuff,” he reportedly told police. “Get my life back on track. Get a job. I’m tired of living this life. … I’m very regretful for all the damage and crime that I’ve done.”

The suspect was in custody Thursday with bail set at $30,000.

Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; edennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.