RENTON, Wash. — Two single-family homes were robbed in Renton on Friday and Saturday and are believed to be by the same people, a report from the Renton Police Department said.
On Feb. 3 at 8:04 p.m., officers were sent to Hoquiam Place Northeast for a home robbery.
A video showed the two alleged burlers in the home.
The first was described as a Black man, around 5 feet 7 inches tall, 140 to 150 pounds, slim build, wearing a dark balaclava, black jacket, red underwear, and black pants.
The second was described as a Black man, around 5 feet 7 inches tall, 180 to 200 pounds, heavy build, also wearing a dark balaclava, black jacket, and black pants. He also had what looked like a handgun on his right-side waistband, the report said.
They got into the house by shattering the back sliding glass door.
A video shows an older silver Honda CRV and a dark-color SUV driving slowly past the house a few times. The SUV then parked across the street from the house and honked its horn.
At 7:55 p.m., the video shows the two men breaking the door and immediately going upstairs toward the bedrooms. The Honda is then seen pulling in front of the house. The men loaded the stolen gray-colored safe into the car and left with the SUV closely following.
On Feb. 4 at 9:23 p.m., officers were sent to a single-family home burglary on Lincoln Ave Northeast. The unidentified suspects broke the sliding glass door at the back of the house and ransacked all the bedrooms. Numerous valuable items were stolen.
A video showed one suspect approaching the outside of the home at 6:20 p.m. that night, with three suspects leaving the house 20 minutes later. The suspects all wore dark clothing and masks covering their faces. Their car was described as a silver-colored Honda CRV, closely matching the car in the previous robbery.
Renton Police said it’s important to note both of these robberies occurred during the evening when no one was in the house.
Police gave tips to prevent these types of robberies:
- When away from home or sleeping, keep a couple of lights on inside your home. Lights can be set on timers to switch up the timing, so different lights turn on at intervals throughout the hours of darkness.
- Keep a padlock on fenced gates so there is no easy access to the back of the house by simply unlatching the gate.
- Strengthen glass doors and windows in the home by installing security film. Security film is a polyester sheet that is applied to existing glass, which can help in deterring it from being easily shattered.
- Do not bring garbage containers out to the curb days ahead of pick-up, or leave them out following pick-up. This could be looked at as a sign you are away from home for consecutive days. Either plan ahead so you don’t need to utilize garbage pick-up while you’re away or make arrangements with a trusted friend or family member to set them out and pull them back following trash pick-up.
- Although video surveillance can be helpful, it is important to have a security system that broadcasts loudly when there is a breach at your home.
- Lighting remains the #1 deterrent to burglary. Police recommend photo-sensitive lighting in your front foyer and in front of your garage, and motion sensor lighting at the back and sides of your home.
- If there’s a safe in the house, it should be bolted firmly to the floor and/or a solid wall. If you have a small, personal safe, it should be tucked away somewhere discreet so that it can’t be easily accessed should someone break in.
“No neighborhood is exempt from being considered when it comes to burglary,” Renton Police said. “The goal is to make your home as inhospitable as possible for consideration when burglars are casing our community. It’s important to introduce two main elements into any safety plan. You want to make it really uncomfortable and/or really inconvenient for a criminal to decide to target you, your home, your vehicle, your business, etc. The more often you can introduce these two factors, the lower your risk will be for being targeted for a crime.”