Magnolia business owner fed up with continued thefts

SEATTLE — A woman says people at a homeless camp have been stealing from her family’s Magnolia business for years and she’s fed up.

Daniela Eng says two men were stealing water out of large outdoor tanks owned by her family's business, WBL Services, and one of the men seen in surveillance video was armed with a knife.

“One of them had a knife in his hand and I didn’t feel comfortable walking past them,” said Eng.

Eng said the thefts have been an issue for years.

She told KIRO 7 the thefts happen a lot with a homeless encampment across the street near Gilman Avenue.

She said she even caught one man taking a shower outside. The problem is so bad that they’ve had to lock the spouts.

“Because they'll just leave the water on. And so, if they come in the middle of the night, that's stuff that we're paying for and the whole area gets flooded with water,” sad Eng.

KIRO 7 spoke with her in 2016 about similar incidents, and after the latest theft, she's calling for more accountability.  She and other business owners in the area are tired of it.

“When the police officer showed up he said, ‘Well, they're no longer on your property. There's nothing we can do,’" said Eng. “Why are these people allowed to just come break into our property, try and steal our mail?"

KIRO 7 found stolen bank statements from the Ballard Food Bank across the street.  Eng thinks transients are responsible.

Does someone need to get seriously hurt? I hope not,” said Eng.

The company installed more than 50 surveillance cameras to keep track of what's happening on the property.

The businesses in the area are mostly being affected by petty crime, which Eng said adds up when it's been going on for years.

Cox Media Group