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Auburn business owner fed up with burglaries, area crimes
The owner says she's been targeted by thieves multiple times in the past few weeks and will again be heading to city council next week to ask leaders what they plan to do about rising crime.
AUBURN, Wash. - Caught on camera, burglars steal thousands of dollars worth of jewelry from an antiques business in Auburn.
The owner says she's been targeted by thieves multiple times in the past few weeks and will again be heading to city council next week to ask leaders what they plan to do about rising crime.
Carly Willis says she's already had previous conversations with city leaders about protecting businesses on her block. However, she says the crime has only gotten worse. The most recent event happening on Easter, leaving her out thousands of dollars in merchandise and damages.
"They popped through there, pulled it back, came right through here," said Willis, pointing to a shattered window that had since been boarded up with plywood.
"There was glass, I mean, just everywhere," said Willis. "We found a mallet, a metal mallet, right over there."
Security footage shows that the two thieves used that mallet to whack their way through a window, stuffing $10,000 worth of high-end jewelry into a white bag and escaping before police arrived. Willis estimates a loss of $20,000 to $30,000.
"Damages, loss of revenue, all of that. It’s pretty upsetting," said Willis.
That was the second time the business was targeted in just about a month's time. In March, a man broke in through the glass doors in order to steal an antique bench.
Willis says shoplifting is also a constant problem. In two recent instances, she says she's had to follow people out of the store while on the phone with 911. In February, she says police helped to recover a guitar that was taken by a man who tried to flee on foot. Willis says just this past Wednesday, a woman walked out with some rings. Although she followed her, that woman was able to get away with the merchandise, even after police arrived.
"There are absolutely no consequences," said Jennifer Carrington, Owner of Auburn Dance Academy. "We were dealing with a guy last night, who was clearly on drugs and very aggressive to an employee of mine," said Carrington.
She says he vandalized one of the shops near the academy and disappeared.
"He just literally broke out the window to the Polynesian shop down there, and then he goes around the corner and starts punching cars. This is not an environment we want here in Auburn," said Carrington.
Both women say the police are responding to calls for help, but they are not able to get there fast enough. Willis feels there needs to be more patrol officers in the area.
"There’s been murders in this parking lot. There’s prostitution. There’s drugs every day. Something needs to change," said Willis.
Carrington and Willis hope to go back to the council on Monday to urge members to create a plan or explain how the city plans to stop the crime that they are seeing on their doorsteps. Fox 13 reached out to the mayor's office and the Auburn Police for comment and are waiting to hear back.