Seattle burglary suspects from surveillance video spotted by victim's granddaughter, arrested



SEATTLE -- Police say they were able to arrest a pair of burglary suspects, thanks to the watchful eyes of some community members. They recognized the suspects from surveillance video, and spotted them getting on a bus in Seward Park.

When Larry Russak heard a home invasion and attempted burglary in his neighborhood, he decided to check his own surveillance cameras.

“We checked it out and at 12:09 am, two guys walk into the yard.”

The two guys didn’t break into his home. But Larry shared the video with his neighbors on social media, and asked them to be on the lookout. Two days later, the suspects were spotted just a couple blocks away by Larry's own granddaughter.

“She says to her mother, 'Hey, aren't those the guys who were on the video?' They're wearing the exact same clothes. One's wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, one's wearing his pajama bottoms.”

Larry raced toward Rainier Avenue to meet his daughter and granddaughter, and saw the two teens just as they were boarding a bus. He alerted police and started following the bus, while he waited for officers to show up.

”It was a community member who saw the suspects boarding the bus,” Seattle police detective Drew Fowler said. “Our officers were able to meet the suspects as they got off the bus.”

Police say a 16-year-old and 17-year-old were arrested after they were linked to at least two burglaries in the neighborhood. They believe other teens may be involved.

“There’s one additional suspect who has been identified, but not apprehended yet. There's a fourth we are still working to identify at this point.”

Larry says he’s glad he could help police. He hopes more of his neighbors will install surveillance systems and start sharing information with each other.

“If everybody would do that, I think these burglaries would be cut back. Because the burglars are going to realize everybody's got their eyes open.”

Police say they’re grateful that people are using social media to help them. But they want to remind people not to approach possible suspects on their own. They say you should call police and only follow someone, if you can do so at a safe distance.