SEATTLE — For the third time in a week, a vehicle was used to crash through the entrance of a Walgreens store to get to an ATM inside.
This time, it happened at the Columbia City store at Rainier Avenue South and South Genesee Street in Seattle before 4 a.m. Thursday.
The ATM is now a pile of warped metal and wire after it was smashed so thieves could access the cash inside.
Early Monday, a truck backed through the entrance of a Walgreens in Tacoma. Thieves then pried open the mangled ATM inside. Police said the truck used in the crime was stolen and the thieves fled in another vehicle.
A KIRO 7 News team was in Renton last Friday when a Walgreens on Northeast Sunset Boulevard was also hit. Renton police said a dark-colored truck smashed through the entrance of the store just after 4 a.m.
“At least so far this year here at the King County Sheriff’s Office, we’re investigating seven cases,” said Tim Meyer with the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Meyer said law enforcement agencies across the region are working together to deal with the rash of crimes.
On Thursday, Seattle police announced a link between some of these cases and more in the Seattle area.
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Police said there are cases going back to January, including businesses in the 100 blocks of Nickerson Street and the 800 block of Northwest 85th.
On January 31, Seattle police said the same suspects again struck businesses in the 2000 block of Northwest Market Street, 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 85th Street.
On February 20, the suspects rammed a truck into through the doors of a grocery store in the 7200 block of Greenwood Avenue and used a forklift to take the ATM.
“In many cases, they’re destroying a building, interrupting a business — trucks are often stolen — it’s much more than the theft of an ATM,” he said.
Meyer said investigators are following the evidence to see if more crimes are linked and that it’s possible that suspects saw one group do it with relative success and then tried to copy the effort.
“We’re going to send a message quick that King County and the Puget Sound area is not the place to be doing this. The hope is we get these felons in custody,” said Meyer.
If you have information about these cases or recognize the suspects, please email spd_giu@seattle.gov or call General Investigations at 206-684-8940.
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