Witness guides island police to burglary while watching from across Agate Pass

As if it were a scene taken from "Rear Window," a resident of Suquamish observed a Bainbridge Island burglary in progress as he peered across Agate Pass.

The man watched from his Suquamish home on the evening of Sunday, July 8 as the crime was being committed at an island residence off Reitan Road.

The tipster was able to see a man and a woman removing chairs and lawn furniture from the island home, and also enter a boat house and remove items from there as well. The caller was able to give a physical description to police of the suspects and the truck that they left in.

Police caught up with the suspects as they drove on Highway 305. The woman who was driving had no driver's license, but gave her name.

The two admitted to taking the chairs but said that they thought they didn't belong to anyone since they were just laying around, mostly on the beach in front of the Agate Pass home.

The Suquamish witness, however, observed the woman entering the boat house and not just roaming the beach for stray chairs.

The island victim was contacted and came to the scene to identify the chairs. He took them home with him.

As the conversation with the two suspects continued, police discovered that the woman had initially lied about her name and later said she was uncertain if she had warrants for her arrest.

When police looked up her name, they found that she had a $5,000 felony warrant for theft. She was booked into the Kitsap County Jail for the warrant, burglary, trespassing, theft and providing false information to police.

The man was released at the scene, but police requested that he be charged with accessory to theft, theft and possession of stolen property, as well as aiding in giving false information to police.

The truck that they two were driving was found not to be theirs, but borrowed from a friend.

The friend came to the scene to retrieve his truck, but found a backpack that he said was not his.

Police inspected the backpack and found needles used for intravenous drugs. The backpack was placed into evidence.

Contact Bainbridge Island Review Staff Writer Richard D. Oxley at roxley@bainbridgereview.com or (206) 842-6613.

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