North Sound News

Woman confronts crowbar-swinging burglar

Two burglary suspects were arrested after a homeowner confronted them and took plenty of pictures, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Police say, one of the suspects also tried to hit Jennifer Barrett with a crowbar before leaving the home on the morning of Thursday, Jan. 18th.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Scroll down to continue reading

Trending headlines

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

The crowbar missed Barrett, who was about to take her daughter to preschool at about 9:15 a.m. when she came face-to-face with the burglar who had been gathering items to take from her property on 115th Place Southeast in south Everett.
“A gentleman was coming toward me with a big table saw in one hand and a crowbar in the other,” Barrett said. “He swung at me with his crowbar and luckily I was able to kind of move out of the way.”
The mother of three backed off. Using her phone, she captured several pictures of the suspect and his silver car, which was occupied by a woman and a dog.
“The kind of freaky thing is he just had a smirk on his face and a cigarette in his mouth and just strolled on by like it was no big deal,” Barrett said.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office investigators found the suspects in another neighborhood later in the day. The two were arrested because the homeowner took so many photos identifying the suspects.
Barrett’s husband says he’s proud of his wife. 
“Those guys had no idea what they were in for,” John Barrett said. “Police needed to have evidence to help them make sure that folks like this don’t continue to prey on neighborhoods.”
The pictures helped solve more than one crime. Investigators told Barrett the getaway car and the dog spotted inside were also stolen. Investigators told her the dog, Lucy, has been returned to her rightful owner.
“The best part of all is that somebody is getting their dog back,” John Barrett said. 
The burglar broke into Barrett’s shed and scoured the storage area underneath her home. There were crowbar marks on her door, too. 
“Hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to engage but in the moment, it was pretty upsetting. He was at our house taking our belongings and putting us in a situation,” Barrett said. 
The suspects face charges for theft and assault.