Burglary suspect found passed out in restroom


A man suspected of breaking into a family’s Green Lake-area home Tuesday afternoon was found passed out in a grocery store bathroom later that night, ticking off every item in the burglars’ guide of what not to do in the process.

A woman and her children arrived home just after 4 p.m. Tuesday in the 5000 block of Woodlawn Avenue North and heard find noises coming from the inside of the house and saw a shattered back window, according to Seattle police reports.

The family ran out into their yard, where a man confronted them, carrying a stolen backpack from the home and wearing the children’s father’s leather jacket.

The man brandished a metal pipe and demanded the woman open the yard gate, but she yelled at the man and grabbed for the pipe, reports say. A neighbor heard the woman’s screams and called 911.

The burglar threatened the neighbor, saying he would come back, and climbed over the fence and ran away down the street.

Responding officers could not find the man, but found an ID card inside the family’s home that appeared to belong to the suspect.

They circulated information from the ID card to North Precinct officers, who continued searching for the man.

Later that night at about 11:00 p.m., officers were called to the Wallingford QFC on reports of a drunk man cracking open a bottle of whiskey and package of cheese inside the store, then refusing to leave the store’s restroom.

Police arrived to find the burglary suspect passed out on the restroom’s floor. They woke him up and found he was still carrying stolen property from the break-in.

Officers arrested him for investigation of burglary and robbery and booked him into King County Jail.

Lynsi Burton