In response to a recent spate of home burglaries in Bellevue and the surrounding areas, law enforcement officers have stepped up their patrols.
At least 16 burglaries in Bellevue are currently under investigation by detectives, who suspect that they are the work of the same group of individuals, according to the Bellevue Police Department.
Most of the burglaries have occurred in the Lakemont area during the evening hours between 5:00-9:00 pm when homeowners are likely to be away.
The suspects are known to utilize the trail systems to access and exit neighborhoods, and they typically have a getaway car and driver waiting for them.
They have been known to enter homes through back doors or second-story windows, with a preference for stealing jewelry, cash, purses, and safes.
The burglars also tend to target multiple homes within the same neighborhood.
The suspects are described as individuals who wear dark clothing and masks to conceal their identities.
Law enforcement officials believe that they are part of an organized ring that is targeting victims from Kent to Bellingham.
However, the recent surge in burglaries has not been limited to just homes. Schools have also been targeted, resulting in the theft of valuable school property.
In a recent email sent out by the Bellevue Russian Language School's director, an incident was recounted in which the school was burglarized and stripped of its contents earlier this week:
Most of you already know about what happened at the theater, and accordingly, at the Russian language school. Our feelings were perfectly described by the theater director, Masha. The robbery looks very strange to all of us. The photo that you saw in the theater announcement was taken in my office at the Russian language school. The robbers broke the glass with a huge stone and broke into our premises. I was out of town for two weeks, during which time payments had accumulated in the school, and of course, the robbers took everything. The parents of our school quickly responded to the request to replace all the computers that were stolen from the school. After the pandemic, we have been practicing many lessons online, so we can't do without computers. Upon arrival in the city, I immediately started working on ensuring security. Our landlord agreed to install a couple of cameras, and that's it. We need to install a security system, and it costs a lot of money, and in the future, we will have to pay for maintenance every month. For the first time in 30 years, we found ourselves in such an unpleasant situation. Over these 30 years, many children have passed through the school, not even hundreds, but thousands! When we meet the parents of our former students, we hear many words of gratitude for the knowledge that their children received at the school. And this means they haven't forgotten about us. At the moment, we would like to appeal to all of our current and former parents of students with a request to help the school financially survive this difficult time. Any help will be greatly appreciated. The status of our business does not allow us to open an account for donations, so we can accept any help in the form of a check, cash, or PayPal transfer with the note HELP (email address: rls93wa@gmail.com).