Local

Sports valuables taken from ‘Sonics Guy' in house break-in

SEATTLE — Kris Brannon, known around the Puget Sound area as Sonics Guy, was just arriving at his home in Tacoma Monday morning when he realized someone was inside.

“I saw the bike and I saw a bunch of clothes hangers and I thought, 'oh, this isn’t good.'”

Brannon dialed 911 and seconds later says he came face to face with a burglar. "He was surprised to see me," Brannon said. "I ended up confronting him and he closed the door.

Brannon tried to stop the man from coming out of the house while he waited for police to arrive, but the thief got away.

Brannon had just returned from a night in Seattle where he was at a screening of the documentary "Superfan," made about his efforts to bring an NBA team to Seattle.

As Sonics Guy, Brannon has become a familiar figure spreading a message and rallying for a professional basketball team.

The burglar took a lot of Brannon's sports jerseys. But Brannon says the most important thing he lost was a ring left to him by his father who died 12 years ago.

"I feel like I let him down, that's the thing that really gets me. Everything else is physical, it can be replaced," said Brannon.

Friends of Brannon have started an online fundraising effort to help Brannon at gofundme.com.