A home invasion robbery took place Wednesday night (Feb. 8th) around 10:19 p.m., where a group of three knocked on the door of a house in the 13500 block of 6th Ave SW in Burien (map below), forced their way inside, physically assaulted a female resident, stole her credit cards, Xbox, games, jewelry and finally her car before escaping, according to Burien Police Sgt. Henry McLauchlan.

We were first tipped to this crime by a neighbor of the victims, whose door was knocked on first by the suspects. The suspect asked him “is Patrick there?” before being told they had the wrong house. The neighbor was immediately suspicious of the stranger, who quickly walked away.

According to our source, whose story was corroborated by the police, the suspects then went to the next house on the same block, where they asked the female resident if her husband was home. When she said no, they forced their way inside and robbed her. While the neighbor did not witness the home invasion, by then he had called the Burien Police non-emergency line, where the dispatcher told him there was a robbery in progress next door (our source was unable to intervene, as the perps had escaped by then).

The three suspects were described as a tall, thin African-American male (who knocked on the door), a younger Hispanic boy, and a 40-ish, heavyset African-American woman who was “clearly the ringleader” according to the neighbor.

The victim, a smaller-framed East Indian woman, told her neighbor the following details:

• No weapons were visible during the robbery, although force was used and the victim was physically assaulted.
• At one point during the robbery, the female ringleader threatened to kill the victim with the cord of a wall charger.
• The young Hispanic boy continually apologized to the victim as he pilfered through her belongings.
• At one point the boy referred to the female ringleader as “Momma.”
• One of the stolen credit cards was attempted to be used at the AM/PM Mini-Mart on Ambaum and SW 136th around 3 a.m. Thursday morning.
• The victim was hosting a friend from out of the country, whose credit cards and cell phone were also stolen.

“We love the blog and we want to make the community aware,” said our source, who prefers to remain anonymous. “Do NOT answer your door, even in the middle of the day, if you don’t know who’s there. Also, get motion sensor lights, or a dog, and other deterrents.”

Sgt. McLauchlan concurs:

“If somebody knocks at your door and you don’t know who they are, don’t open the door – you can talk to them through the door. The best words of warning I can give are make sure you have a peephole, make sure you identify the people before you open the door, If they want to use your phone or they need help calling do not let them in your house – make the phone call for them, and if you have any suspicions about them call 911 immediately.”

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UPDATE 8:44 p.m. 2/2/12: Sgt. Cindi West of the King County Sheriff’s Office just alerted us that “the 11-year old boy just showed up at home.”

So thankfully, the search has been called off.

PREVIOUSLY: The King County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding an 11-year old boy that was last seen at Hazel Valley Elementary School located at 402 SW 132 Street in Burien (see map below).

Jeremias “Mias” Juan was last seen around 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 on the school playground and possibly walked away from the school after he got in trouble on the playground.

Jeremias is described as approximately 4 feet tall, and 100 pounds. He was last seen wearing a green and black striped shirt, camouflage hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Jeremias likes to go to Walgreens and libraries and enjoys video games. He speaks very good English and Spanish.

The King County Sheriff’s Office’s Search and Rescue Team is on the scene searching for Jeremias.

If you have any information about his whereabouts you are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 or 911.

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Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer

by Jack Mayne

Burien’s police chief say he was a bit perplexed at recent increases in crime in the unincorporated parts of the North Highline Unincorporated area, but believes his department can easily police the area if the Burien City Council and the voters of the area eventually do approve its annexation to the city.

The annexation matter is still under consideration by the state Boundary Review Board for King County. If it approves the proposed annexation, the Burien Council must ask voters in the so-called Area Y to vote in favor of becoming part of the city.

During recent Boundary Review hearings, Chief Scott Kimerer said there were some “relatively minor increases” in crime in the northern half of the North Highline and the White Center business and residential area.

During a recent period, overall statistics for “Part One” crimes – more serious offenses such as assaults and robbery – were 54 incidents per thousand residents in Burien, while the number for North Highline was 65 incidents per thousand people.

“Not a huge difference,” he said, but in the past both areas were about 62 violent crimes per thousand.

For “Part Two,” or lesser crimes, the recent comparison was 66 per thousand for Burien, versus 69 per thousand in North Highline – “so very similar,” said the chief.

One reason the county wants North Highline to become part of a city (Burien, Seattle or Tukwila) is that counties have fewer ways to tax residents and offer higher urban services. That means there are as many as half as many deputies patrolling the area than there used to be.

That could account for the increase in crime rate, Kimerer said in a recent interview.

“Like I said at the (annexation hearing), I was a little bit surprised because in studying crime up there for the almost nine years that I have been (Burien Police chief), the crime rates have always been very similar.”

“You could say at times there might be a concentration of crime in the White Center area, however you could also say there could be a concentration of crime in the downtown Burien core,” the chief said.

Kimerer said the annexation of the southern half of North Highline was mostly residential areas, very little business. But the majority of the area still unincorporated is where business is located.

The King County Sheriff’s office has “had a budget crisis” in the past couple of years.

“The sheriff’s office has taken some serious cuts in officers and staffing – the staffing is not what it was four years ago up in White Center,” Kimerer said.

People need to remember that Kimerer and all blue uniformed members of the Burien Police are actually deputies in the King County Sheriff’s Department, contracted and paid by Burien taxpayers. While he has been chief in Burien for just under a decade, he is also a major in the Sheriff’s department.

The Burien contract has permitted Kimerer to maintain the same number of officers.

King County had to cut the White Center storefront position, at 9609 16th Ave. SW for almost a year until funds were found to restore it. Still there are about two officers per shift on duty there, down from up to four before cuts.

“I think people don’t realize the value of that storefront position in crime reduction and community involvement to help drive down the crime rates,” Kimerer said. “All the cuts bunched together showed indicators that the crime rate went up.”

Kimerer said he would keep the storefront open if Burien annexes the area and would even keep the same deputy since the Sheriff’s department manages the individual from his department who would reopen the storefront. The deputy that works the office does not answer calls, but is available in the business community and can advise store operators on ways to cut down on crime and how to control nuisances by panhandlers or those under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“It is community interaction, getting together with the businesses, talking about what their issues are, trying to find solutions, trying to build relationships up there amongst us and them and with each other to really drive down the people that are causing the problems.”

The chief also said he did not need as many officers to handle the unincorporated area that Seattle said in a study its department would need.

“Seattle said they would have to put all of those officers in there and then turned around and said they could not afford it,” Kimerer said. “Well, I could make a claim of putting a whole bunch of officers in there that I can’t afford but it is about being realistic. We all have budget concerns.”

Seattle has a “fine department” but he didn’t think policing the area would take as many officers as they had claimed – 44 added police officers – while Kimerer figured he would need only 15 additional officers.

The added officers for Burien to cover the proposed new annexed area would mean he had that many additional officers to use anywhere in Burien, as needed.

“It would become a much more robust department,” Kimerer said.

A Burien Police sergeant responded to a call at the Burien Library late Thursday afternoon after a confrontation involving a large group of young males threatened to escalate in the lobby.

According to Sgt. Henry McLauchlan, the group of young males entered the lobby looking for another kid they knew.

After finding him there, words were exchanged, the one youth was harassed and then, apparently fearing that he would be attacked by the others, allegedly threw a punch at a young male in front of him.

The sergeant who responded to the call observed a young male running from the scene and onlookers pointed him out as being involved in the confrontation. When ordered by the sergeant to stop, the kid then ran and additional police assistance was summoned.

The situation was quickly defused and the running youth was quickly detained. No arrests have been made as of yet but the investigation continues.

One librarian estimated the crowd in the lobby before the police arrived at about 60.

McLauchlan said it is unknown if the incident involved gang members or was influenced by gang activity. That also remains under investigation.

He added that Burien police, who reduced disruptive behavior around the building last summer, will again increase their presence there.

PREVIOUSLY: A mob of about 60 young people reportedly got into a fight in the lobby of the Burien Library/City Hall Building at Town Square late Thursday afternoon.

Several Burien Police officers and King County Sheriff’s deputies responded to incident.

There was no immediate report of arrests or injuries.

More to come.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video shows four men entering the store and ordering customers and employees to get to the ground. It also shows a suspect forcing a youth to the ground. At least one of the suspects was armed with a handgun, while the others carried baseball bats.

While in the store, the suspects struck an employee in the shoulder with a bat and smashed a glass display case. The suspects took jewelry and an undisclosed amount of money and fled on foot.

The suspects are described as 4 black males, wearing dark clothing.

If you have any information related to this crime, please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311.

“Someone cut the locks off of our storage container and stole camp stoves, backpacking tents, a Honda generator, food, and other items,” said Tod Bookless, Assistant Scoutmaster. “As you probably know, the Boy Scout organization is a 101-year old non-profit and all of the gear that was stolen is used by the local boys on campouts.”

If anyone knows anything about this crime, or has any leads on the stolen equipment, you are asked to call the Normandy Park Police Department non-emergency line at (206) 248-7600.

Read the full story here.

Police say that Sarah Yarborough was last seen alive on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14, 1991, leaving her residence on her way to Federal Way High School to participate in a Dance Team competition

Yarborough was found dead on the school campus later that morning.

Witnesses saw a suspect and two versions of a suspect composite sketch have been distributed over the years:

Click image to see larger version.

DNA evidence was recovered from the scene.

Recently the suspect DNA profile was sent to Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD, president of Identifinders International, for examination. Indentifinders International specializes in Forensic Genealogy in which an unidentified suspect DNA profile can be examined with the use of genealogy databases in an effort to identify the family name of the suspect.

Based on the analysis done on the suspect DNA profile in this case it has been learned that the suspect is a member of the extended family of Robert Fuller, who arrived in Salem Massachusetts in the 1630s. Robert Fuller is related to two Fullers who arrived in America on the Mayflower. The suspect may have the last name of Fuller.

At the time of the crime the suspect was described as:

• White male
• 20’s
• 5’10”- 6’00” tall
• Shoulder length dirty blonde/light brown hair
• Medium build
• Wearing a trench coat and dark pants.

If you have any information related to this cold case please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.

Here are two recent reports:

BTB Reader Nicole Garnett sent in this report, along with these two pics:

“Last night (Saturday, Jan. 7) between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. my little brother and I were home alone and heard a crack.

We didn’t think anything of it but this morning when the sun was shining on the window we noticed a crack in the outer pane of it, and this bullet stuck inside.

We later found out that two other houses on my side of the street (164th in Burien) also got their windows shot at.

One of my neighbors has a security camera at his house and saw a white car with a very loud engine drive by and the passenger was shooting.

These three cases have already been reported to the police, but if anyone knows anything please report it to the police so we can catch these people!”

And Nancy Moore reports that her home in Three Tree Point was burglarized on Christmas night (Dec. 25):

“The front door was kicked in, with the door frame damaged…then our house was ransacked and the usual small stuff carted away for cash or drugs (laptops, jewelry, watches, etc.).

I suggest that when residents see any ‘suspicious types’ lurking around the neighborhood that they call 911 immediately.”

On at least one local neighborhood group forum, residents have also been alerting their neighbors about door-to-door salespeople canvassing neighborhoods. Here’s some info we gleaned from one discussion:

• Door-to-door sales are illegal in Burien. But if someone comes to your door “selling” something, they should have a visible ID.
• Police encourage residents who are wary of solicitors to not open their doors, get a good description of them (and car, including license plate numbers), then to call 911 (not the non-emergency number) if there is any suspicion.
• Oftentimes burglars will approach a home, knock on the front door, then if nobody answers, break in through a back door or window. They’ll even case entire neighborhoods and check multiple times over several days so they can steal more.
• As Nancy Moore pointed out, a strong door frame can prevent someone from kicking in your door.

We reached out to Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer, as well as Sgt. Henry McLauchlan, but neither responded to our query.

Here’s an interactive crime map, which can also be found on our Crime page:

UPDATE 3:45 p.m. 1/4/12: Cindi West of the King County Sheriff’s Office reports that the missing 15-year old autistic boy has been found.

PREVIOUSLY: The King County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 15-year old autistic boy with virtually no communication skills, last seen Wednesday morning, Jan. 4, at the Evergreen High School pool in White Center (820 SW 116th Street – map below).

The boy, Frank Ngyuen, was last seen this morning (Jan. 4th) about 7:45 a.m. at the pool.

His residence is about a mile away in Burien.

Frank is about 160 lbs., 5’ 7” and medium build, and was last seen wearing a BB hat, white polo shirt with a long sleeve shirt underneath and blue jeans. He was not wearing a jacket.

Here’s a security cam pic of what Frank was last seen wearing:

If anyone has seen this boy they are asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.

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