SEQUIM – Two fleeing teenagers were captured late Monday after they allegedly broke into a Sequim tattoo shop and hair salon and damaged the businesses.
Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson and another officer arrested the 17-year-old.
A Sequim police dog and another officer nabbed Jordan Hartman, 19, who was running southbound from the scene.
A third suspect, according to police and owner Jeffrey Krieger-Love, fled the The Tattoo Guy, 618 E. Washington St., with nitrous air-powered paintball guns valued at about $2,800.
A 17 year old Sequim boy, who is not identified because he is a juvenile, surrendered without incident after being cornered behind the business and was taken into custody by Officer Chris Wright and Dickinson.
Soon afterward, Hartman was apprehended without incident by Chase, the police dog, and Officer Mike Hill.
“He ran a short distance until the canine approached him, at which point he dropped and surrendered,” said Officer Maris Turner, police spokeswoman.
“The two suspects saw the officers and ran in different directions.”
Hartman was arrested and booked into the Clallam County jail in Port Angeles on charges of second-degree burglary, second-degree theft and second-degree malicious mischief.
The juvenile was booked into the Clallam County Youth Center on the same charges, Turner said.
Krieger-Love estimated damage to his shop at up to $10,000 to buy and replace doors, repair a wall and repair a smashed display case in which the paintball guns were displayed.
“We don’t know any of them,” Krieger-Love said of the suspects Tuesday morning.
“We do think one was in here [Monday] afternoon casing the place.”
He said the shop was vandalized by a disgruntled former employee after it was opened two years ago but had not been a crime target since.
“We got them all on video footage and I will be prosecuting them to the fullest extent,” Krieger-Love said, noting that surveillance cameras are posted inside and outside the business.
The burglary was reported about 11:25 p.m. Monday by a passer-by who saw the three trying to break into the tattoo shop.
The crime was reported shortly after a blackout ended in Sequim, which was caused by gusty winds in the Diamond Point area blowing a tree onto power lines near Blyn.
A burglary was reported beforehand at Cole’s Jewelers, 117 E. Washington St., at 10:51 p.m. Monday during the blackout.
An audible alarm was set off by an attempt to break glass.
When officers arrived, Turner said, they found damage to the glass door, but there was no entry into the building.
At 6:49 a.m. Tuesday, a third burglary was reported at The Buzz Coffee Shop, 128 N. Sequim Ave.
The back door window was broken out and the building was entered, according to Turner.
It is possible that food was taken, but nothing more, she said.
Police are following leads regarding the identity of the third burglar in the paintball heist. The stolen property had not been recovered as of Tuesday, Turner said.
“There are commonalities, but we haven’t linked them yet,” Turner said of the three burglaries.
Turner said the burglaries were the first in a long time in Sequim.
“Three in one night is quite a few for our area,” she said.
A string of 26 car prowls — in which unlocked cars are burglarized — were reported in August primarily on Fir, Alder, Prairie, Hammond and Maple streets, and South Fourth Avenue, Helen Court and Spruce Street.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
