Cops seek to reunite western Washington burglary victims with their property

If you were the victim of a burglary between January 2012 and July 2013, local law enforcement might have some of your stuff.

Detectives from the Sammamish Police Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office are trying to find the owners of stolen property that was recovered last July after the arrest of a couple who admitted to committing dozens of burglaries between Tigard, Oregon and Mill Creek, Washington, said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West.

Krystal Sweetman, 27, of Puyallup, and Steven Tipton, 27, of Tacoma were arrested last July after investigators linked them to over 80 residential burglaries between January 2012 and July 2013.

The couple sold many of the stolen items at area coin shops, netting over $346,000.

During the investigation, detectives found a storage unit that was packed with property taken during the burglaries.

“We did invite the 80-plus victims of the crimes to identify and recover their property. Now we still have quite a bit of property left that has not been identified by a victim,” West said.

Detectives have posted photos of the unclaimed property on a special website, and are hoping victims will see something of theirs and claim it.

People who want to view the recovered stolen property can click here and enter the password SammamishPD (password is case sensitive.)

West says if anyone thinks an item is theirs, they will be asked to provide a case number and identification to claim the property.

“We will definitely seek confirmation. So it’s not like somebody can call and point something out and say it’s theirs and we’re going to give it to them.”

Sweetman pled guilty in January to multiple charges in the burglaries and was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 36 months in community custody. Tipton is expected to enter a plea later this month.