PORT ANGELES — A riding lawn mower was taken from the rear shed of a west Port Angeles residence before dawn Monday, Port Angeles police said.
The suspect allegedly broke a lock and took a Craftsman mower with a trailer and cart from the 1500 block of Milwaukee Drive and rode off along a new trail system toward West 14th Street.
Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said an electric pressure washer was taken from a nearby shed in another apparent break-in.
Police are asking anyone who heard or saw suspicious activity — including the sound of a lawn mower operating at 4 a.m. — to phone the Port Angeles Police Department at 360-452-4545 or the North Olympic Crime Stoppers
at 800-222-8477.
“We don’t have a pattern or anything, and we’re hoping we won’t have a pattern,” Smith said.
“That’s why we’re trying to get the word out.”
One witness reported hearing his dog barking in the area at about 4 a.m.
Another witness heard something outside his residence at about 3:45 a.m., Smith said.
“When we experience these types of burglaries, quite often citizens’ awareness is what helps us stop the crimes and catch the offenders,” Smith said.
Smith said the value of the riding lawn mower is between $1,000 and $2,500, depending on the model.
Breaking into a storage shed with the intent of taking something is considered a second-degree burglary, a Class B felony.
Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and filing of felony charges. Tips can be left anonymously.