ELLENSBURG, Wash. -UPDATE. FEB. 9.-The burglary of an Ellensburg home on Tuesday, Feb. 6 was part of an organized trend targeting the owners of Asian and Indian small businesses, according to the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
Based on information from cell phones recovered from the suspect’s car and conversations with other law enforcement agencies, the KCSO does not believe that the crew of burglars is local and that they may have ties to the California area.
The owners of a Quartz Mountain Drive home, who also own an Asian restaurant in Ellensburg, were away from home when their motion-activated security cameras captured two masked men in their home.
KCSO Deputies responded as a gray Audi left the property. The car stopped and three suspects ran from the car and were able to elude capture.
At this time it is believed that the suspects were possibly picked up by another suspect car and left the area, according to the KCSO.
The gray Audi was seized and evidence and DNA was recovered from the inside. The items stolen from the home were returned.
Original Coverage:
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary in progress at a house in Ellensburg Tuesday night around 7:30 p.m., according to a Facebook post.
The owners of house were not home during the break-in, however were alerted of the burglary due to a motion-detecting camera.
KCSO says it and other law enforcement agencies found a vehicle leaving the area. The vehicle reportedly stopped and three people got out and ran away.
An extensive search could not find the suspects. The abandoned vehicle was seized for an investigation.
Initial information suggests that the break-in was not random, however KCSO encourages residents to lock doors and report suspicious activity.
Anyone who recognizes the suspects or has information is asked to call Kittcom at 509-925-8534 and refer to case S24-02206.
