SEATTLE — Business owners targeted by burglars in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood are teaming up to fight crime after a recent string of break-ins on the same night.
In the early hours of March 13, two thieves broke into Vixen Collections in Magnolia Village.
Owner Courean Napolitano says she was out of town when she got a call from her alarm company.
“I could see and I can speak through the cameras and started screaming expletives, ‘get out of my store!” said Napolitano. “There was a great loss of jewelry, and yeah, they got a lot of stuff.”
About a half hour later, across the street, another break-in happened at Serendipity Café.
“Broke up in our office door, went over to our lounge side and kicked in our liquor closet and ripped all the camera equipment out,” said owner Jennifer Young.
Then, a little over an hour later, another break-in occurred about a mile away at Café Appassionato.
“Went into our offices, opened all the filing cabinets, threw a lot of stuff on the floor, searching for money – found a little bit not a lot,” said owner Phil Sancken.
Sancken says a few nights later, the thieves stole his delivery van, which was later recovered with some damage.
Owners say the crimes have brought them together to compare notes and take action.
“Just to have everybody rally behind each other and be able to share information and hopefully work towards the goal, that will benefit the community and the businesses,” said Young.
Owners say they are working with the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce to push the city for more security in the area.
“Going to the city and asking for police intervention here, because on the night of the break-ins, my daughter arrived and called and they did not come,” said Napolitano.
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