A witness to one of more than 25 Redmond residential apartment burglaries this year has helped detectives and a sketch artist compose a suspect drawing.
The suspect is described as an “Asian male, mid to late 20s, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10, average build, short and spiky black hair, no facial hair, large eyes with prominent eyebrows and very white teeth.”
According to a Redmond Police Department (RPD) press release, in addition to the local crimes, several other surrounding agencies have reported similar burglaries in which entry is gained into the apartments by prying a hole in the door to access the deadbolt locking mechanism. Most of the incidents have taken place in the late morning or early afternoon, and the usual target of the thieves has been cash and jewelry. There have been nearly 70 incidents on the Eastside.
“Investigators continue to ask that residents call 911 when anything suspicious is seen or heard. History has shown that prompt action by alert residents greatly increases the odds of identifying a suspect and solving crimes such as these,” RPD said in the release.
The most recent Redmond burglary was on July 12, when a couple returned home after leaving their apartment about 25 minutes earlier and found a suspect inside their home at the complex in the area of Northeast 40th Street and Bel-Red Road.
The intruder saw the couple, ran out the door and jumped off the second-floor balcony. The suspect fled on foot with nothing from the apartment in their possession.
RPD received a call at 3:32 p.m. and upon arrival a few minutes later, began establishing a perimeter in the area and requested a K9 unit to search for the suspect. A Renton K9 unit arrived at 4:05 p.m. (Redmond’s unit wasn’t available at the time) and searched for about 13 minutes, making a short track off the property before losing the suspect’s scent.
The residents could not identify the suspect, who has not been located.
RPD asks residents to secure their valuables, get to know their neighbors and “report suspicious persons who seem to be lingering in the area or spending a lot of time and making noise at your neighbor’s door.” Police also encourage people to answer their door and acknowledge verbally that they are home and ask who is there before opening up their home.
If anyone has information on the person depicted in the sketch, or any other details related to the series of apartment burglaries, Redmond police ask that people call (425) 556-2500 and ask for detective T. Jones.
