MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Burglary victim sees robber wearing stolen clothes

Jan 23, 2014, 4:16 PM | Updated: 5:43 pm

In just the latest candidate for stupidest criminal, police have arrested a 28-year-old Burien woman for burglary after her victim spotted the thief wearing her stolen clothes.

The bizarre story began Wednesday morning in Covington, when a Maple Valley woman had her purse stolen from a table at Starbucks when she left it unattended. Another customer who saw the theft described the suspect as a white female about 5’7″, with extreme acne on her face.

The victim called police. Covington Officers and King County Sheriff’s deputies searched the area but couldn’t find her, said Sgt. Cindi West.

When the victim and her brother returned to her home, they saw a cab in the driveway. The driver said he was called there to pick someone up, and the victim called 911. When police arrived, the suspect was gone.

“When the victim gets in the house, she realizes she’s not only missing a TV set and some other valuables but there’s quite a bit of clothes missing,” West said. The suspect also left her old clothes behind.

Thursday morning, the victim and her brother spotted a woman at a restaurant table next to them who matched the description of the thief wearing the victim’s stolen clothes.

“The victim said ‘my god, she’s wearing my shirt,'” West said.

She called police while her brother and husband watched the suspect, who hid in the bathroom. When police arrived and arrested her, they found a number of items stolen from the victim.

“You know, there’s not a lot brains going on with this situation,” West said. “Our suspect has a new outfit she gets to wear at the King County Jail.”

Detectives are investigating whether the suspect might also be tied to other burglaries in the area as well.

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