by John Discepolo, KOMO 4 News (Beacon Hill Blog news partners)
Burglaries and break-ins are on the rise this holiday season, which one victim found out the hard way when her own brother called to tell her that her home had become a crime scene.
Police say a group of 10 juveniles broke into a South Seattle home Tuesday night at around 7 p.m.
The woman who lives at the home, Betty Darang-Macalma, was at church when the burglars struck.
Luckily, her brother lives across the street and saw the thieves walk into the house. He called police, and then he called his sister.
When police arrived at the house, located at South Holly St. and Beacon Ave. S., they found two suspects inside and two more outside. Those four were taken into custody, but the other six burglars are still on the loose.
Darang-Macalma said the crime has her shaken.
“Violated,” she said. “They went into the privacy of your home.”
She said the thieves got away with roughly $10,000 in valuables.
“I think four laptops—they recovered one—the Wii, some jewelry. They didn’t get the most important jewelry, but my husband’s wedding band is gone,” she said.
Residents in the area say this latest burglary is just another sign that things are changing.
“My neighbor’s car got broken into and my house got burglarized. I’m just scared living here,” said Anh Ngyen.
Darang-Macalma said she has an alarm system, but didn’t have it turned on Tuesday night. She said she’s lived at the house for 31 years and is considering installing security cameras.
