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Property crimes continue to frustrate Seattle's small businesses

By Deedee Sun, KIRO 7 News
By Deedee Sun, KIRO 7 News
A small business owner in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood is fed up after repeated break-ins. Each time, burglars took off with thousands of dollars’ worth of tools.
Lebron Castleberry, who owns Castleberry Carpentry, said he was nearly done covering the loss from the first break-in when the second one happened Wednesday morning.
“Smash and grab, typical,” Castleberry said.
“They got $2,500 worth of tools out of it.”
The burglary happened outside his home near NW 44th and 5th Street, close to the Fremont-Ballard line.

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He said less than a year and a half ago, thieves broke into his other truck, with a much larger box van. That time, he lost $20,000 worth of tools plus damages.
“I was in a real bad spot there,” he said.
Castleberry said he had to replace the steering column, after the thieves had tried to drill into the ignition area to try and steal the van.
It didn’t work, but the thieves did get away with most of his tools.
He said he was a just few thousand dollars away from replacing everything, when this latest burglary happened.
“You know? It’s like man, come on now!” he said.
A few weeks ago, KIRO7 talked with “Cheese Wizards,” a food truck based not far away in Ballard. That business said it has had $15,000 worth of equipment stolen over the past few months.
The owner contacted the city council and Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office for help. Durkin said she will work closely with them to take action and "keep our small businesses safe.”
Castleberry isn’t hopeful.
“What are you going to do about it? Well I already know the answer. Nothing,” he said.
He’s been a business owner for 10 years in Seattle but said property crimes make it much harder to survive.
“My margins are slim, slim to none sometimes,” Castleberry said. “It is frustrating. There’s certainly a solution to it, but it’s not something you can just snap your fingers and make happen. It’s a systemic issue.”
For now, he has no plans to leave.
“Persistence is the thing, that’s the key. So that’s what I do, I endeavor to persevere,” he said.
Another case of tools and equipment stolen happened halfway down the block a couple of days ago at a new construction site.
Workers the site said thieves broke in and stole everything, even the extension cords.
The Seattle Police Department’s crime map shows in the preceding 24-hours, they received 118 calls to 911 for property crimes. The number does not include non-emergency calls.
Castleberry said he doesn’t know what the answer is, but believes part of the solution is more support for the Seattle Police Department.

Cox Media Group

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