News of Madison Valley

There were 52 incidents in Madison Valley reported to the police during August, an increase over the July total of 40 that was largely due to a spike of 14 residential burglaries. For unknown reasons, however, the police have not posted descriptions that go beyond their dates and locations for a majority of these burglaries. This is also true for the single robbery reported in August. Vehicle and car prowl thefts remained at “normal” levels even though there were no car prowls reported in the Arboretum.

1. On Aug. 3 there was a forced-entry burglary at a residence on 25th near Howell.

2. On Aug. 4 at 3 PM a resident of a home on 23rd near Roy heard banging noises on the north side of his house while he was in an upstairs room. After crossing to the side of the house where the noises came from, he leaned out of a window and asked the person attempting to enter his home whether he “needed any help,” at which point the would be burglar briefly hesitated, then left through the back yard and ran south down the alley. Police were unable to find usable fingerprints in the vicinity of the door that the burglar was trying to force open and were unable to find the suspect during a search of the area.

3. On Aug. 4 there was another forced entry burglary at a residence on 21st near Mercer.

4. Also on Aug. 4, a resident of a home on E. John near MLK who was working at home found a stranger in his kitchen at around 4 PM. The burglar, described as a black male in his late teens or early twenties, ran from the home through an unlocked side door after the resident yelled at him. After a short chase the resident lost sight of the burglar, who hadn't had time to steal anything.

5. On Aug. 10 a resident of a home on 22nd near near Pine reported to police that while he had been away during the day someone had broken into a small studio building in his back yard and stolen a laptop computer. The police believe that the burglar was wearing gloves because no fingerprints were found around the window that the burglar opened to gain entry.

6. Sometime between 8 and 10 AM on August 11 a burglar entered a home on Valley near 28th and stole two iPads, two laptop computers and a desktop computer. The police concluded that the burglar wore gloves because disturbed areas in the home did not yield fingerprints. The burglar apparently left through the front door because it was unlocked when the resident returned home but was locked when she left earlier in the morning.

7. On Aug. 13 there was a forced entry residential burglary on E. 26th near John.

8. On Aug. 14 police were called to a residence on 32nd near Union to investigate a burglary that had taken place during the previous night or early morning. The burglar, who apparently entered a garage while it was unlocked, stole two bicycles worth approximately $1400. Police were unable to find fingerprints at the scene.

9 & 10. Also on Aug 14 there was a forced entry residential burglary on Union near MLK and another on Mercer near 25th.

11. On Aug. 22 police were called to a condo on 25th near Denny by residents who reported that sometime while they were away between 4 PM and 11 PM a burglar had smashed open a window of their residence and stolen items valued at approximately $5400.

12. On Aug. 25 there was a unforced-entry residential burglary on Madison near 24th.

13. On Aug. 26 there was a forced-entry burglary at a residence on Madison near 29th.

14. On Aug. 28 there was a forced-entry burglary at a residence on Howell near MLK.

Finally, on Aug. 8 at little after noon there was a robbery on Madison near 23rd.

Lowell Hargens is a Madison Valley resident and former University of Washington professor of sociology specializing in the statistical analysis of data.