Police arrest alleged hospital burglar equipped with sledgehammer

The Lacey Police Department arrested a suspect who allegedly broke into several hospitals Monday morning with a sledgehammer.

Police officers were called to South Sound Behavioral Hospital just past 2 a.m. after the suspect — described as a white male in his 30s, 5 feet, 9 inches tall with blonde hair and glasses — used a sledgehammer to break into the lobby through the front windows to commit a burglary. He then reportedly smashed several doors and caused more damage once inside the hospital.

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🚨Do you recognize this man?🚨He is described as a white male in his 30’s, about 5’09”, slender build with sandy blonde hair and glasses. He used a sledgehammer to break some windows to gain access to a couple different places yesterday! 😳🚓 pic.twitter.com/EkfZrGhDn8

— Lacey Police (@LaceyPolice) March 19, 2024

According to KIRO 7, he said he was “just looking around” before fleeing the scene.

A similar incident was called in at 5:45 a.m. Monday morning at Providence Lacey Clinic, reporting a man broke in with a sledgehammer in another burglary. In both occurrences, the suspect was seen wearing a light blue “Amazon” hoodie, black and white track pants and black and white sneakers.

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A previous burglary at a hospital in Marysville was also reported. Lacey Police is investigating which hospital burglaries are connected to the sledgehammer-wielding suspect.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.