Spree of burglaries reported on New Year’s weekend

A rash of burglaries were reported throughout the county during New Year’s weekend, with the majority occurring in Central Kitsap.

From Gorst to Bainbridge Island, 13 residential and commercial burglaries were reported between Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. Because the burglaries were so widespread and involved both residences and businesses, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office can’t confirm whether or not the crimes are connected.

“I can’t say for sure they were random versus part of a group,” said Deputy Scott Wilson, spokesman for the Sheriff’s office. “It’s so spread out and they were commercial and residential burglaries.”

He added that the Sheriff’s office is investigating as much as it can, but in some cases there was no attainable evidence and in others there were no signs of forced entry. Ten of the 13 burglaries were residential and many of those occurred while the homeowners were away on vacation.

“People are going to travel over the holidays, (the suspects) may have known people were going to be gone or used it as a target of opportunity,” Wilson said.

The following burglaries were reported throughout the holiday weekend:

Dec. 30

5:30 a.m. — After an alarm sounded at Kitsap Truck Center in Gorst, deputies arrived to find a broken front window. The store’s owners confirmed that two chainsaws were missing, worth a combined total of $200. The suspects, however, apparently tried and failed to break the windows on the doors to the business which had been replaced with Plexiglas after a recent burglary.

5:30 a.m. — An employee of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in East Bremerton arrived at the church to find the TV and two DVD players missing. She checked the building an found it was secure. The responding deputy also didn’t find any signs of forced entry. The employee was unsure if the items were borrowed by someone or stolen.

2:14 p.m. — A resident of Hintzville Road in Seabeck called police after returning home after being gone for a week to find her front door open and two bottles of

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.