By Michael Ko
Seattle Times staff reporter
Julie Sanchez keeps a three-stone diamond ring and two pairs of 24-carat gold earrings in a ceramic container on her kitchen windowsill. But the man who broke into her Shoreline house early Sunday morning wasn't interested.
Instead, the hungry burglar gobbled a box of Creamsicles, six shrimp kabobs, about a dozen mini corndogs, half a large package of Costco lunch meats, two fruit drinks, a glass of milk, a dozen clumps of frozen cookie dough and several large handfuls of M&Ms.
Sanchez figures he wolfed down everything in 15 minutes.
"We believe he actually heated up some of that food in the microwave," said Sanchez, 44, who was sleeping while the man ate.
The family dog's constant barking finally awakened her and her husband, just in time for them to hear somebody running out the sliding glass door.
The Sanchez family was the last victim of an unusual burglary spree that ended later Sunday when Shoreline police arrested a man in his late 20s. The man, who is in custody at the King County Jail, is not being named because he hasn't been charged.
Investigators believe that starting Aug. 3, the man broke into as many as 11 homes in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, usually late at night and often when the homeowners were sleeping. And while he occasionally snatched fistfuls of cash, he usually had only one thing on his mind: food.
During one break-in, the man even thawed some frozen steaks, fried them and ate them on the sofa while watching television, said King County sheriff's Detective Christina Bartlett. In that case, the house was unoccupied at first. The homeowners returned to confront the man, who ran away.
In fact, the man was confronted on several occasions, even getting into a fight at one house. But he ran away each time.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Julie Sanchez keeps a three-stone diamond ring and two pairs of 24-carat gold earrings in a ceramic container on her kitchen windowsill. But the man who broke into her Shoreline house early Sunday morning wasn't interested.
Instead, the hungry burglar gobbled a box of Creamsicles, six shrimp kabobs, about a dozen mini corndogs, half a large package of Costco lunch meats, two fruit drinks, a glass of milk, a dozen clumps of frozen cookie dough and several large handfuls of M&Ms.
Sanchez figures he wolfed down everything in 15 minutes.
"We believe he actually heated up some of that food in the microwave," said Sanchez, 44, who was sleeping while the man ate.
The family dog's constant barking finally awakened her and her husband, just in time for them to hear somebody running out the sliding glass door.
The Sanchez family was the last victim of an unusual burglary spree that ended later Sunday when Shoreline police arrested a man in his late 20s. The man, who is in custody at the King County Jail, is not being named because he hasn't been charged.
Investigators believe that starting Aug. 3, the man broke into as many as 11 homes in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, usually late at night and often when the homeowners were sleeping. And while he occasionally snatched fistfuls of cash, he usually had only one thing on his mind: food.
During one break-in, the man even thawed some frozen steaks, fried them and ate them on the sofa while watching television, said King County sheriff's Detective Christina Bartlett. In that case, the house was unoccupied at first. The homeowners returned to confront the man, who ran away.
In fact, the man was confronted on several occasions, even getting into a fight at one house. But he ran away each time.
