Sumner police report multiple car break-ins within an hour

SUMNER, Washington – In the neighborhoods around Sumner, residents are cleaning up the remains of a series of crimes.

Early Monday morning, about a dozen vehicles were broken into and their windows smashed, including a Pierce County deputy sheriff’s patrol car, according to Sumner police.

Police said the break-ins all occurred within an hour. Investigators believe four to six teenagers were responsible for the break-ins.

One of the victims, Brian Hall, spent the day watching a new window being installed in his truck while recounting the morning’s events.

“At 4:26 a.m., we knew they were here in the neighborhood doing whatever they were doing,” Hall recalled. “So what happened was that between the time my neighbor left at 4:15 a.m. and the time I left at 4:41 a.m., they hit my car and my neighbor’s car.”

The city of Sumner posted surveillance camera footage of one of the incidents on its website.

The video shows two dark-colored vehicles arriving at an intersection and stopping in the middle of the road just after a right turn. The vehicles then speed away, leaving victims like Hall with unexpected costs.

Hall said while he still believes his neighborhood is generally safe, there is only so much that can be done to prevent this type of crime.

“I don’t know what can be done about it other than putting more cameras to get better pictures and get license plates or something like that. But other than that, I don’t know if there’s anything we can do other than lock our doors,” he said.

Investigators also said the break-ins may be connected to incidents in Puyallup and Renton. Sumner police are urging anyone with information about these break-ins to contact them as soon as possible.