King County Sheriff Warns Sammamish Residents of String of Thefts

The Klahanie Community as well as surrounding areas in Sammamish and Issaquah have been targeted by thieves lately, says the King County Sheriff's Department.

The department has been receiving reports that criminals are watching for deliveries at homes and apartments.  Once the UPS or FedEx drivers drop off packages and other items, the criminals are coming up and stealing the deliveries right off the porch.  

Klahanie deputies were called to the scene of one of these thefts recently and were able to track the property and criminals to a nearby hideout (outside of Klahanie). They recovered the stolen computer and peripherals and made an arrest within an hour or so of the incident.  However, this type of activity is continuing to occur in our area. As a result the department recommends that you have your merchandise shipped to a secure location, have an arrangement to have the property left with someone who is home, or otherwise make plans so that your property is not left unattended and vulnerable to theft.

Secondly, the department is seeing an increase in thefts from open garages and cars. Thieves are prowling about looking for unlocked cars, even locked cars that have property in plain sight, and for open garages, day and night. You can avoid the grief of losing your hard earned goods, getting car windows broken and having to replace purses, wallets and computers by doing a few simple things:  

1.  Never leave valuables in your vehicle.  
2.  Always close your garage when you are not in it.  
3.  Lock the doors to your vehicles, your house and garage, even during the day. According to the Sheriff's Department, a local woman recently had her purse, with credit cards, debit cards, cash and other valuables, taken from a hook in her open garage. Had she simply checked her garage to ensure it was closed she would not have had to replace all her cards, identification, etc. 

The holidays can be a fun time of year. However, don’t let criminals take some of that fun away. Lock up your belongings and keep an eye out in your neighborhood. If you see suspicious behavior please give the King County Sheriff’s Office a call right away at 9-1-1 or 206-296-3311. 

--Information from Sgt. Rob Mathis, King County Sheriff