Warning from neighbor after break in

April 28th, 2011 · 17 Comments

We got this note from Annemarie who wanted to warn Magnolia residents about a burglary in her neighborhood and a possible connection to a woman she saw in the area:

Last night my neighbor’s house was broken into (Tuesday evening) between 5:00-7:30. Pretty much the stereotypical kick a door in, ransack the place, take what you can fit (jewelry) into a pillow case (homeowner’s pillow case!) and run. They even took a car detail kit. We live close to the Village.

I was walking home from the Village at 5:35pm and passed a young woman, maybe early thirties, late twenties, sandy blonde/light brown hair, wearing a parka/vest (green) and carrying a clipboard, looking at homes and check-marking, or pretending to check-mark notes on her clipboard.

I know there have been other incidents where people are pretending to sell magazines, but they are really just checking to see who is home so they can burglarize their homes. I do not know if she was part of the burglary, but now that my neighbor was robbed around the time I saw her, I am suspicious of her and wish I had questioned her.

If anyone in Magnolia sees a woman walking around matching this description, could you please call the police or at least question her, take her photo, check to make sure all your neighbors are home and not being robbed?

We are told that the woman in the green vest said she was checking on cable reception. The burglary occurred at a home where she had earlier knocked on the door and found no one home. If you see anything suspicious, police encourage you to call 911.

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Cmfontenot1

on a side note… our cable reception has been better the last couple of days…
Sandy

Why would someone go door to door to ask if your cable reception was acceptable? No company cares that much. At least I’ve never had a Comcast person ask me….

CW

I live in an apt. building near Discovery and Comcast employees come by quite often (with a clipboard) and ask us how things are going & try to get us to upgrade our service. They do wear a vest (can’t remember what color) and I believe it says Comcast on it.

ScatCat

They’re supposed to wear an orange/yellow vest and have their employee ID clearly visible (they’d look almost like a utility worker).

GC

I have seen groups such as this near my home a few times as well. The last time I saw them – about a month ago – I stopped my car as they were coming down the steps of the home of an elderly female neighbor who travels frequently. I asked them if I could help them and asked them what business they had in the area. They told me that they were “passing out business cards” but when I asked if I could have one they could not produce one. I then very strongly told them that we had a vigilant neighborhood watch program in place and that I would be careful if I were them b/c there had been a lot of break-ins in the area and people were on the alert about anyone strange in the neighborhood and preferred not to be approached in the manner they were approaching people. I strongly informed them that we were all “watching” and that the local police were involved. By the time I parked in my driveway which is just around the corner from the house I had spoken to them at and unloaded my kids from the car, the entire group had simply “vanished”. I know this may sound paranoid, but I actually have made it a habit to take photos of these people and their vehicles with my cell phone if they are on my block. I try to make sure they see me doing it. They are definitely canvassing.
Mooses

A couple nights ago up here by the water tower I saw a young male and a young female with clipboards walking on opposite sides of the street. I saw the young woman go up to our neighbors house and stand making notes in the front yard. I thought she was coming here next but skipped my place. If I see them again I will definitely take some photos as I have a good zoom and it may help police ID the perps if in fact these kids are part of a scopeout/scam.

I lived over in Madison Park and we would always get a couple black females coming by to “sell magazines” while trying to peer inside.

I fear this sort of thing is gonna just get worse. I wish they put a couple cameras up at the “choke points” in to Magnolia to capture vehicles/plates. Would make a LOT of sense to do. Like putting a camera at the “watering hole”……

http://twitter.com/justindignation justindignation

The young female was with a painting company trying to drum up business. I can’t remember the company name but it was probably something like Starving Students.

Do you really want spy cams? What really helps is knowing your neighbor and everyone looking out for each other. Magnolia is a nice mixture of young and elderly. There is even some people who have retired comfortably. My point is that most blocks have someone home at all hours. Get to know your neighbors they can be your best resource.

ScatCat

The problem is like many people in Seattle, a good amount of folks in Magnolia are not social and are passive-aggressive. They keep to themselves…

Magnolia Res

haha! This is very true!

I have lived in the same place for more than 5 years now and have tried numerous times to make friends with my neighbors. We have to watch out for each other, that’s what community is about!

Come on Seattle, lets get friendly here!

jack

They were with Gold Standard Painting – I didn’t answer the door but they left a flier. Seemed pretty legit.

outer magnolian

A car was burgled around 6PM the same night (last night) while parked in front of the Ace Hardware. Might be connected.
maggiehood

I saw a man and woman with clipboards going door to door a few days ago, up here near Emerson on 32nd. I didn’t answer the door but watched them go south. I’ll keep an eye out.
gocougs

Sometime between midnight and 6 am on Monday, April 25, someone broke the two passenger-side windows of my car and stole my gym bag. In addition, they also took a black, suitcase-looking delivery item that was sitting on our front door stoop. The property theft was delivered by courier sometime after midnight. The car theft is one thing, but the theft on our property is another – extremely disconcerting. My car was parked on the street in front of my home. We live in the Carlton Park area of Magnolia.
jibs

I also have questioned myself about the odd circumstances of the comcast guy who came a month or so ago. He was in his early 20′s and had a vest, but began the interaction by spouting off a bunch of questions that I felt were inappropriate. He would ask me to verify my phone, account number, and when I stated I was not going to he tried to show his validity by disclosing my bill amount for last month etc. This was all without introducing himself or telling me the nature of his house call. I finally told him he was making me uncomfortable and that if he was legit he needed to work on his customer service. I should have called comcast to verify if they had someone in the area and if not I should have called the police to check it out.
little cars go beep beep

I’m going to make sure to always get photos of these people too, and share with the police. Always have my phone/camera on me anyway.
Magman

How about those guys going door to door with an ADT sign asking people if they need more ADT signs? I find them very suspicious and did call the cops once. They don’t seem to have any identification and don’t have any extra ADT signs. It is pretty clear to me that they are checking to see which houses have security systems and which do not.
Quietstreet

If you see something that appears non-legit, go ahead a call the police. They’ll send someone out. The cops need real-time tips like this. If it turns out to be legit, I’m sure the police will be respectful in their inquiries and no harm done. But if it’s not legit, these “canvassers” may have outstanding warrants or something else the police can act on right away. Never hurts to call the police in these situations.