A kettleball was used Sept. 30 to smash in a $5,000 window at Zutto Vintage and Antiques on Bjune Drive on Bainbridge Island.
A 37-year-old Manchester man was in Kitsap County Superior Court Oct. 2 on charges of second-degree burglary. Bail was set at $100,000. He faces 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. A 37-year-old Port Orchard man also was in Superior Court Oct. 2 on charges of second-degree burglary. Bail was set at $50,000. He also faces ten years in prison and a $20,000 fine. A female suspect in the same crime was not in court yet.
Bainbridge Island police say Sept. 30 at 1:51 a.m. there was a report of a burglary at at 164 Bjune Drive on BI. A witness reported two people wearing hooded sweatshirts were entering the store through a window. Another caller reported hearing loud banging then someone exiting the building and leaving in a dark blue full-sized pickup.
Inside the store, officers found a large black kettleball which appeared to be used to break out the window. A display shelf appeared to be cleared out. The store was in disarray.
BI police requested the help of Suquamish police at the Agate Pass Bridge, the only way off the island other than the ferry to Seattle. At around 2:03 a.m., Suquamish police spotted the suspect vehicle. It was pulled over. Law enforcement from Poulsbo and Kitsap County came to the scene as well. The vehicle was registered to a convicted felon for theft and burglary.
In the back of the truck was a metal lockbox that looked like a cash drawer that could be used in a retail store. The driver said he didn’t know why he was pulled over. He had just been at a park on BI after losing money at the Clearwater Casino. He described Rotary Centennial Park, which the officer knew closes at dusk.
The man was sweating, even though it was a cold night. The man said the lockbox was his father’s. The driver would not tell the officer the names of two others in the pickup, even though he’d known them for 30 years. The officer cuffed the suspect and noted he was wearing knee pads.
The other two also were questioned. They both had felony warrants out for their arrests.
The man had blood on his hands, the officer thought probably from breaking the window. The suspect said he did it taking the garbage out that day. But the officer said the injury looked more recent than that.
Inside the truck on the front floorboard were bolt cutters, a flashlight and a purse. The woman who had been in the truck said it was hers. A small plastic baggie containing what appeared to be fentanyl was near the center console.
The store owner then arrived and recognized the lock box and some items in the back of the truck. The store owner said he had to replace the window before after a previous burglary, and it cost $5,000. He said items stolen and other damages likely totaled $5,000 or more.
The driver then said he had taken some fentanyl and needed medical attention. The officer said suspects often fake or lie about such things to be held at a facility that is easier to escape from than a jail. Regardless, the officer did summon paramedics, who were on standby with Narcan. Paramedics, along with an officer, ended up taking the suspect to St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale.
The other man was taken to the county jail in Port Orchard after saying he does have an addiction to opiates and methamphetamine. The officer then got the woman to say there were only two people in the store, not three. She was also taken to the jail. The woman ended up having broken glass in her shoes.
Two videos from the store show two people breaking the window, entering the store and leaving with a truck backed up to the front of the store.
