Seattle small business owners devastated by break-ins as commercial burglary cases flood King County courts

Several defendants faced arraignment in King County court Monday on commercial burglary charges, cases that prosecutors said illustrate an ongoing problem devastating small business owners across the region.

Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said the cases rarely attract public attention but represent a significant and routine part of the office’s caseload.

“It’s important for people to know that they’re routinely charged, and court hearings on those happen every day,” McNerthney told “Seattle’s Morning News.”

Among those arraigned was a woman accused of breaking into the now-closed Amazon Fresh store on Aurora Avenue N. in Seattle last summer. Police identified her in part because she was a known routine shoplifter, McNerthney said. Officers allege she broke into the store and stole a laptop. Seattle police investigated the case before referring it to prosecutors.

Though the Amazon Fresh location has since permanently closed, McNerthney said the office moved forward with charges.

“We still charge it, because you got to have accountability for that,” he said. “You can’t break in and rip things off.”

Local pet store targeted multiple times

In a separate case, a woman was charged with seven counts of commercial burglary for allegedly breaking into multiple All The Best Pet Care store locations. McNerthney said safes and cash were taken in the string of break-ins, though the motive for targeting pet stores specifically remains unclear. Police said the break-ins happened in Lake City, the Central District, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, and West Seattle.

“None of those made the news until now, but it’s important for folks to know, because it was incredibly devastating for these store owners to be ripped off like that,” McNerthney said.

“That feeling — your heart drops when you walk in and you see the glass shattered and things missing,” McNerthney said.

Prosecutors said they have heard from business owners who report that insurance companies are either refusing to cover additional break-ins or are threatening to drop coverage entirely, compounding the financial damage.

“You don’t want that to happen at all, because that’s where businesses say, ‘Well, where else can I go?'” McNerthney said.

The cases come amid growing concern among Seattle-area business owners about repeated burglaries. Some establishments have reported being broken into repeatedly in recent years, raising questions about whether courts should impose stiffer penalties for commercial burglary.

Manda Factor is the co-host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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