I received the information below from Kim and Rich Amsden who live across 122nd from our Neighborhood. It is a sorry state that we live in today when things like this happen.  The Amsdens said that the police no longer have a person who can look through video recordings for relevant pictures. One way to solve this is to print out hard copies of the pictures they need to see and burn a disk with short clips showing the bad guys.  These will help if the police do catch the bad guys.

The homeowners in our area might consider an alarm system like one offered by SimpliSafe at SimpliSafe.com.  It is a do it yourself installation which is easy to install and can be monitored by SimpliSafe. The Police report Number for the break-in is 2224601550 (Burglary).  By the  way, the homeowner did just the right thing by calling the Police and waiting outside the house, because someone might have been still inside. Since the break-in the Amsdens have added an alarm system and have cameras and sensor lights installed.

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Just wanted to let you know that yesterday, September 3rd, between 10:30 am and 4:30 pm I came home to find that our house had been broken into, and items were stolen. Our garage door that opens to let your car in had been forcibly opened (it was open about quarter way when I arrived home). Our door into the house from the garage, that was deadbolted closed, was destroyed with wood shavings all over the floor, and the baseboard around the door wrecked. Inside, a wallet, a purse, and a new laptop were taken.

I immediately called the police, and two officers came (I waited outside for them to arrive in case someone was still in the house). With my credit card, they had already charged things at Safeway, Shell gas station, Walmart, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. My bank had contacted me when an attempt for $404.00 was made. Luckily, I notified the bank saying that this was not an authorized charge and had this credit card closed. The other items that were purchased will be credited back to our account (in time).

This was a terrifying thing to go to, especially since we had spent a fun day at the WA State Fair and I was returning home alone. We have lived in this neighborhood for over 15 years now, and the only people to come down our driveway are usually the mailman or Amazon.

We don’t have any security cameras, and even if we did, the police said that they don’t even have anyone to look at footage and look into it like they used to.

So, I just wanted our neighborhood to be aware and to report any suspicious activity or people wandering around that don’t look like they live here. We think that it being Labor Day weekend that whoever did this thought there was a good chance that we may have been out of town. We even had a car parked in our driveway!

Even with doors and windows locked, the police said that if someone wants to get in, they will find a way to do so. It could have been a lot worse—-they could have destroyed the inside of the house while looking for what they got.

There was a stranger in our Neighborhood this afternoon. He was spotted on several people’s property and approached at least one neighbor’s back door.

One of the neighbors took a photo of him and asked him his name. He said it was Darren Brewer and he appears to be in his early 20s and has been found on Facebook. He had a different story here at one neighbor’s house, another story when still another neighbor saw him between two and 3 o’clock today, and then had a third story when a third neighbor saw him.  A different story each time he was asked why he was in our Neighborhood. Apparently, he was walking around quite a bit because this was all in a period of at least 3 1/2 hours. The stranger appeared impaired.

The Police were called.  If you see this individual do not approach him. Call the Police immediately.

Picture taken in our Neighborhood

Pictures from Facebook

I was reading on the Internet about cars stolen in Bellingham and saw something which I thought I would pass along to all of you.

Kirk Hall

Murphy said many owners of recovered stolen cars tell police that they find large amounts of trash, including small squares of aluminum foil in their cars.

“Some of these cars are just full of the aluminum squares and little straws and pipes and needles,” Murphy said. “You have no idea if there are fentanyl crumbs in there, and we all know that fentanyl is extremely deadly. If it’s in a powder form, it can kill immediately.

“You’re going to need a company to come in and professionally clean that vehicle and very likely decontaminate it from methamphetamine fumes or fentanyl fumes. We recommend people be very careful. Don’t just hop in your car and drive it away, because you just don’t know. And if you see a bunch of drug paraphernalia in there, we would recommend getting it professionally cleaned so that stuff is thrown away properly.”

It’s also important to allow police crime scene investigators a chance to process a recovered car to look for forensic evidence, such as fingerprints, that could possibly lead to an arrest, Murphy said.

Last night (Sunday 9 Jan)  Wayne Flood called me around 10:30PM about a white SUV with one headlight that Cindy had scared away from her mailbox. Wayne suggested that anyone searching for mail on Sunday might actually be looking for mailboxes which were full of several days mail, indicating that the owners probably were away. They might have been marking homes for a burglary attempt later that night.

If you are going to be away overnight it would be a good idea to have someone pick up your mail, or have the Post Office hold it for you.

I came across an article (in red below) from Pennsylvania about an incident which happened there on 18 May 2021 and thought it was important enough to share with our Neighborhood. The main point I wish to get across is the fact that the police have a good chance of rounding up all of the people who took part in this Home Invasion.  The homeowner who was the target of the Home Invasion had Security Cameras, which recorded the images of the invaders.  Additionally, many of the man’s neighbors also have Security Cameras and the police were able to obtain further images of the invaders, presumably they also recorded the vehicle used by the invaders. With the ever-expanding population in our area, the steady growth of property crimes and the heavy load on undermanned area law enforcement departments it is essential that we take steps to safeguard our lives, property, and community. One thing all of us can do is invest in Security Cameras for our homes.

On the evening of May 18 in Smithfield Township, Pa., a 26-year-old man was home alone when he became the target of a home invasion.  A group of five individuals entered the home and began assaulting the lone occupant. During the assault the victim was able to get one of his guns and defended himself, shooting and killing one of the invaders and seriously injuring a second one. The remaining three suspects fled the scene, but their images were captured by the home’s security video surveillance footage as well as by many of the surrounding neighbors’ security cameras.

Comments I found in other articles are:

Helping the Police: Democratic Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is calling on residents to install security cameras to help track criminal activity, “Pointing the cameras towards the street and register it with the Oakland Police Department,” she said.

About Catalytic Converter thefts:  Ensure your video system at home captures where your vehicle is parked.

I received the information below from one of our neighbors. Stolen mail is a chronic problem these days.

I found both my mailbox and the neighbor’s open last Sunday morning after forgetting to get my mail on Saturday evening (10/16).  A package was likely stolen as Amazon stated it was delivered but we didn’t receive it.  We reported it with the USPS.  I just recognized this evening that Val and I didn’t receive our voting ballots for the upcoming election.  After looking it up, I find they were sent out on Friday 10/15 (the day before).  Now I suspect that maybe someone was collecting ballots for nefarious reasons.

I thought I might inform you as this might have happened to others in the neighborhood and folks might not recognize the didn’t get their ballot until it was too late to vote.  I sent an email to the Pierce County election office for guidance and then navigated to the  https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx   site to check my voting status.  I was able to have a new ballot mailed to me from that site (in the location where you view your voting status).  Hopefully I will have more information by tomorrow (Friday).  I’ll let you know if I receive more information.

A message from the Sunrise Terrace Homeowners Group

Dear Sunrise Terrace and Shawnee Homeowners,

We hope you can help us out this week by sending a brief email or phone call to Jason Arbogast at Pierce County Code Enforcement.  His phone number is 253-798-8582 and his email is jason.arborgast@piercecountywa.gov

The issue is the former caretaker’s lot, Parcel # 0419122068, 11715 136th Ave E.  The lot is now filled with junk cars, 2 RV’s, miscellaneous tent-like structures and garbage.  For reference in your email, Code enforcement case numbers are 71874 and 71875.  Jason Arbogast was assigned the case when these issues were first reported to Pierce County Code Enforcement in January 2021.  If you want to read more details check out the Pierce County Code Enforcement website, https://www.piercecountywa.gov/1571/Code-Enforcement

Scroll down to case search and enter number 71874 to see the status.

What’s changed since January is the addition of a 2nd RV on Oct. 1 which is now occupied (lights on at night), additional inoperable and damaged vehicles and more accumulation of solid waste and garbage.  In case you missed it we had an erratic driver on 136th Ave E the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 21.  The driver knocked over a “stop sign warning” sign, hit a tree, drove off the east side of 136th Ave over a rhododendron and straight into the gate code security post on the driveway next to 11715 136th Ave.  From what has been seen on the cameras a car similar to that of the erratic driver may now be parked inside the fence on the “junk” lot.

In January, 2021 the case was closed because the property owner said he would get rid of a vehicle and hire someone to cut down the vegetation but that has not happen.  The case was reopened on Monday, October 11.  If many of us express our concern regarding the code violations we hope the Code Enforcement team will come visit, re-examine the situation and not close the case until it is resolved.  If you have had a personal encounter or issue with the lot occupants that would also be beneficial information for Jason to know.

Thanks in advance for doing what you can to help.