Sitka Police on Friday received reports of four more home burglaries (11-21-14). That brings the total number this week to ten.
Callers reported possible burglaries on Observatory Street, Kincaid Street, Edgecumbe Drive and Halibut Point Road.
Three of those calls followed the pattern of previous reports this week, said Sitka Police Sgt. Daniel Dozois, who is leading the investigation. In each case, he said, someone apparently entered the homes late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, while residents were at home and asleep, and the doors were unlocked.
The caller on Observatory Street reported that his wife’s purse was stolen; the caller on Kincaid street reported a bag missing, though with nothing of value inside.
In six earlier reports this week, residents reported wallets, purses, a jewelry box, and a jacket missing.
But the Halibut Point Road report was different: the caller told police that she had surprised a man in her house at 10 a.m. Friday, after her dog started barking. He fled on foot, and she couldn’t identify him, Dozois said.
Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt had said earlier in the week that the reports suggested a drug connection. Dozois agreed that some of the reports were consistent with methamphetamine abuse: in those cases an intruder might seek cash or objects they can sell quickly.
But in some cases, he said, the reports are baffling. For instance, the intruder or intruders stole a jacket from the home on Petersen Street, but left an iPad that was sitting right next to it.
Dozois said the one consistent feature is that all the houses have been unlocked. The moral of the story? “Lock it,” he said. “Lock your vehicle, your shed, your house. Lock it.”
He encouraged residents to keep an eye out in their neighborhood and report any information to the police.
Sitka has logged 35 burglaries so far this year. That’s the highest number since 2005, and up from just 18 last year.
