Burglarized 3 times, Lake City car dealership asks public for help in identifying crook
SEATTLE -- A Lake City car dealer says enough is enough. His lot has been broken into three times in just the last two weeks. He’s now asking his customers for help.
“This gate wasn't here, so we put this in,” says Curt Bush, as he points out some of the improvements he’s been making to his CB Credit King in the Past few weeks. “This wall has been built since.”
It’s not by choice, it’s by necessity. He’s trying to make his business more secure, after a burglar broke in and stole tools and electronics.
“It’s just a violation, you feel violated. You're uncomfortable, you're uneasy, you don't know what's happening. You don't know, is someone in the building still? Are they coming back?”
The burglar did come back at least two more times. The last time, he was caught on Bush’s new surveillance cameras. Bush says it’s hard to watch the footage of the thief.
“His calm, cool collectiveness, just walking around nonchalant like it's no big deal, it's very disturbing.”
Bush’s business isn’t the only one being targeted by criminals. Wild West Cars and Trucks have also been hit several times in the last few months.
“We’ve had a lot of petty theft,” says Blake Walker. “People coming in stealing radios out of the vehicles, trying to take the rims and tires off the vehicles.”
A few weeks ago, vandals sprayed some sort of chemical on the cars, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
“It was something strong enough that it stripped the paint off immediately.”
Seattle Police say although crime in the North Precinct is down overall, commercial burglaries in Lake City have gone up 107% from last year. Business owners say more needs to be done to stop the trend.
“Whether it's more patrols out here at night or a more thorough investigation into who could have done these crimes,” says Walker.
Bush has turned to social media, asking his friends and customers to help catch this crook before he tries to come back again.
“You wake up in the morning, you're excited to come to work. Then notice you've been robbed again, sometimes you wonder why?”
Bush says there have been times where he wonders if he made a mistake opening his business in Lake City. But he’s hoping this thief will get caught, and then he’ll be able to focus on his work.

Bush says he's offering a $1,000 reward for information regarding the thief caught on surveillance cameras. If you think you can identify the crook, either from his clothes or his walk, as seen on the surveillance video, Bush asks that you either send him a message on his Facebook page or come by the dealership.