Bathroom snack helps police catch burglary suspect

SEATTLE – A late night craving for whiskey and cheese led Seattle police to a passed-out burglary suspect.

Investigators said the 35-year-old man broke into a home in the 5000 block of Woodland Avenue North Tuesday afternoon.

The homeowner and her children interrupted the burglar, who confronted them in their backyard.

Police say the man was wearing a leather coat belonging to the homeowner’s husband and was carrying her backpack.

The man pulled out a metal pipe and ordered the woman to open the gate leading out of the yard. She refused and tried to grab the pipe away from the burglar. A neighbor heard her screams and called 911.

The man was able to climb a fence and get away, but not before leaving behind an important piece of evidence.

When police arrived, they found the man’s ID card inside the victim’s house.

Hours later, workers at the Wallingford QFC called police when a man inside the store locked himself inside the bathroom with a stolen bottle of whiskey and a package of cheese.

The suspect passed out before officers arrived. When they woke him up, they found evidence from the earlier Green Lake burglary.

The man was arrested for burglary and robbery and taken to the King County Jail.