The Bellevue Police Department is investigating a series of golf shop thefts after suspects stole thousands of dollars in equipment and assaulted a store employee during a recent robbery.
The thefts have impacted multiple retailers across Bellevue, including Puetz Golf, Pro Golf Discount and Gregg Rogers’ Golf Performance.
Shop managers and employees are sharing surveillance video and warning nearby businesses to help identify the suspects.
Mitch Hunt manages Puetz Golf, located off 140th Avenue Northeast. On Sept. 10, two men entered the shop; one suspect held open the front door while the other grabbed four drivers worth approximately $2,000.
During the escape, the door slammed on an employee, breaking the glass window. Outside the store, one suspect tripped, got up and punched the employee multiple times before fleeing to a getaway car.
“Not a whole bunch of people in the store. All I hear is ‘hey!’… and next thing I know, the door is broken. They’re chasing some guys out with drivers, come to find out they took four drivers from us and broke our window and then assaulted our employee outside,” Hunt said. “They’ve definitely done it before, so it’s not like kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing; it’s definitely targeted.”
Hunt reported that thieves targeted Pro Golf Discount, located up the street, in July. Surveillance footage led Hunt to believe that the same individuals cased Puetz Golf a few days after that theft. Hunt has since posted photos of the suspects throughout his shop after noting matching tattoos, physical descriptions and running styles on video recordings.
“Tattoos match the description of the people. It’s actually funny when I was watching our video back; the way the guy ran was almost exactly the same. It was kind of a dead giveaway the way the guy ran,” Hunt said.
Nelson Knight works as an employee at nearby Gregg Rogers’ Golf Performance. Knight reported that at least one of the same men entered their store last week along with another individual.
“Two people came in, and they weren’t really wanting help; they were just looking at our equipment and kind of had their head down, and I just offered to help, and once they kind of engaged, they headed to the front door and left the store,” Knight said.
Affected stores have filed police reports regarding the thefts and suspicious activity. Anyone with information about the incidents is urged to contact the Bellevue Police Department.
“Definitely would like somebody to get caught for sure,” Hunt said.