Five men have been charged in connection to a recent series of burglaries in western Washington that appeared to target the Asian American community.
The suspects, who were arrested late last month, were charged on Wednesday with residential burglary and possession of stolen property after they allegedly targeted Asian American homes across Kirkland, King and Snohomish counties. They are accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in currency, jewelry and other valuables from more than 17 burglarized homes, according to a news release from the Kirkland Police Department.
The suspects, Lamar E. Curtis, Londra D. Jackson, Kenji Christopher Crutchfield, Eric Darnell Netterville Jr. and Aramis Davae Williams, did not have attorneys listed in a King County Court database as of Monday. The five defendants will be arraigned next week, when they are expected to enter their initial pleas.
Casey McNerthney, communications director at the King County Prosecuting Attorney Office, said in an email that the charges are based on initial information provided to the prosecutors, but any additional information, “including possible hate crime allegations,” will be reviewed.
According to the charging documents, the suspects have “no significant ties” to the area and traveled to Washington with the purpose of committing the crimes. Members of the Asian American communities began to reach out to law enforcement in February about residential burglaries, the news release said. Later that month, surveillance cameras and an eyewitness were able to capture images of three suspects in addition to the license plate of a rental vehicle associated with a burglary. It led to the identification of a suspect from Southern California with a lengthy criminal history, the statement added. After a two-month investigation, authorities said they were able to obtain a search warrant for a short-term residential rental in the city of Redmond.
“Investigators discovered that the suspect traveled frequently between California and Washington, utilizing short-term rental properties to change locations,” the release said. “The suspects also rented cars and swapped out vehicle license plates with stolen ones.”
A multiagency team visited the Redmond address and apprehended the five men. Police also found equipment that they believe was used to outsmart residential security features, and recovered more than $17,000 in cash and multiple luxury bags.
The suspects are being held at the King County Jail.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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