Police: Woman breaks into Sumner couple's apartment, locks herself in bathroom

A couple in Pierce County said they received a startling wake up Aug. 12 when a woman entered their home and didn’t leave when they asked.

Andrew Riggs lives in the 15000 block of Elm Street East and said the woman "came in through our window” at about 1 a.m. Sunday. He said the woman was standing a few feet from the children’s room.

Riggs' spouse, Victoria Petrenchak, said she told the woman, "Get the &@#$ out of my house." 
The couple said the confrontation could only be described as bizarre.

The couple said the suspect entered through a window in their ground floor unit. Police said she believed she was coming to a place where she’d lived before.

Petrenchak said she was rattled when she saw her husband confront the woman. “I woke up to him yelling at her and saw her standing there when she rushed into our restroom,” Petrenchak said.

Riggs told her to leave. “I was, like, 'what are you doing in my house.?'”

The woman locked herself in a bathroom Riggs said. "She just said 'I used to live here' and I said 'you don't anymore. You need to get the &@#$ out.'”

Petrenchak said she clutched her children while it all played out. “I had my daughter in my arms at the time or else I probably would not have been so kind,” she said.

The couple called Sumner police, who said the woman appeared intoxicated and thought she was entering her own home. She was not arrested or issued a citation, but police are still gathering information.

Riggs said the woman  "told me 'Oh, my mom used to live here.' So that means she knew at that point she wasn't supposed to be here.”

Petrenchak suspects the woman had been drinking. “If you're so drunk as to think you actually live here, which you didn't once you saw another man confronting you.”

Petrenchak posted on Facebook that the woman violated their sense of security and needs to be held accountable by authorities. Riggs was angered that she is not facing any penalty from police. “Basically, they're her Uber for the night -- give her a ride home.” Petrenchak also believes punishment is needed. “Something needs to go on her record,” she said.

The couple and the Sumner police say the woman left the apartment before police arrived. Sumner's assistant police chief said officers caught up with her after she left.

He said he wants to speak with the residents before police decide what to do next.

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