When a Lake Stevens boy was shot early Tuesday during an alleged burglary, it made real the fears of lawmen who spent months chasing another teen suspected in a string of break-ins.
The Lake Stevens shooting was exactly the sort of violent confrontation police on nearby Camano Island tried to avoid when they launched an intensive manhunt for Colton Harris-Moore, 15, now facing a dozen felony charges.
“It was the kind of situation we were afraid would happen on Camano Island,” Island County sheriff’s detective Ed Wallace said. “We believe we are very fortunate no one was hurt.”
Harris-Moore was arrested late last week after deputies surrounded a home where he was hiding. The capture ended a months-long hunt that left residents on south Camano Island with rattled nerves.
A growing number of teens are gambling with their lives by slipping into strangers’ homes, police and prosecutors say.
“I think a lot of these kids think it’s fun and games, a way to get stuff that isn’t theirs. I don’t think they really understand when you get shot in real life, you really die. Unlike a video game, you can’t push the restart button,” said Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Roe.
Across the state, burglary has been on the rise. That includes the number of break-ins committed by young people. In 2005, police arrested about 1,800 juveniles for burglary. That’s about half the number of adults who were arrested for the same crime.
“Some of them don’t think of it as dangerous or anyone is going to confront them because they’re kids. In a dark room, if you find someone in your home you don’t know if they’re 17 or 37 or what they are armed with,” Wallace said. “This isn’t a game. You could be hurt or killed.”
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies shot a 17-year-old boy who reportedly broke into a house north of Lake Stevens on Tuesday morning. A 14-year-old girl, who was home alone at the time, called 911 when she heard someone in the house, according to a court papers filed Wednesday.
The teenage boy was released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Wednesday, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
The boy was booked into the Denny Juvenile Justice Center in Everett for investigation of first-degree burglary, Goetz said.
The potential for that sort of confrontation was always present during the months that Harris-Moore allegedly was breaking into homes on Camano Island, Wallace said.
The boy was wanted in connection with numerous break-ins, and Harris-Moore reportedly declared war against deputies.
Harris-Moore was arrested Friday when a neighbor spotted a light on in a vacant home.
Deputies surrounded the house and found Harris-Moore inside, according to court records. He has been charged with more than a dozen crimes that could keep him locked up for the rest of his teenage years.
An alleged accomplice, Harley Davidson Ironwing, 17, was arrested Monday night at his Everett house. He also faces residential burglary charges.
The crime spree left residents on Camano Island on edge. About 150 people packed a community meeting Monday night to talk to police. People spoke about bolting their doors. Others said they’d armed themselves against intruders.
“Burglary is a high-risk profession. It’s like playing Russian roulette with people’s doors. One of those doors is going to be loaded,” Roe said.
Roe has tried numerous cases in which people have been terrorized by burglars.
The crime has a lasting effect on victims, he said.
“There’s nothing more sacred to people then their homes and families. There’s nothing worse when someone hurts or violates one or the other,” Roe said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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