Commodore resident confronts burglar during rash of break-ins

The Commodore neighborhood off High School Road had seven homes broken into early last Friday morning, according to Bainbridge Island Police.

Six of the seven homes were occupied by residents at the time of the burglaries, which occurred sometime between midnight and 7 a.m., said Bainbridge Police Cmdr. Sue Shultz.

She added that the suspect or suspects generally entered the homes through unlocked doors and took items such as jewelry, purses, alcohol, high-tech devices and other valuables that were readily available.

Shultz said one of the victims had a confrontation with a suspect, who was identified as a white male.

The island resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said he accidentally ran into a burglar at 4:30 a.m. in the den of his home.

"I got up early and went downstairs to do some things when I noticed some motion," he said. "He was big guy, wearing all black. But I had an impulse to confront him and I can be pretty scary looking. I guess I sort of rocked him back on his heels and he started backing out of the garage, where he'd entered."

The homeowner said he grabbed a baseball bat that was in the garage "and chased the man out of the house with the bat in hand," he said.

"He took off running down our driveway and then stopped when he realized I wasn't going to use it on him. He turned and started screaming obscenities and threatening me, saying that he knew where I lived and he'd be back," he said.

Shultz said that while there is obviously one suspect and there may be more odentified as the investigation continues.

"There was evidence gathered at the scenes and we have the one description, so we'll see where it takes us," she said.

There were a rash of similar burglaries in the Wing Point Way area a few months ago, but those were somewhat different than the ones in the Commodore neighborhood in that they happened over a few days and were a little more spread out.

"But they were similar in nature," Shultz said, "so we're handling them as possibly being linked."

She urged islanders to lock their doors, and added that people should realize these kinds of burglaries may occur successively.

"Once individuals commit crimes like these they may share what they did and the word gets out that Bainbridge Island homes leave their doors unlocked," she said.

Contact Bainbridge Island Review Editor Brian Kelly at editor@bainbridgereview.com or 1-206-842-6613.

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