CAPTURED: Crime Stoppers tips lead Tacoma Police to serial home burglary suspect Michele Hart



CAPTURED -- February 1, 2018

Tacoma Police arrested Michele Hart despite her extensive attempts to avoid capture.  Officers received anonymous Crime Stoppers tips from Washington's Most Wanted viewers after Hart was spotted in the area of 112th and Burnham Drive in Purdy, just north of Gig Harbor.

A Tacoma PD Gang Unit Sergeant who'd been looking everywhere for her responded immediately and saw her walking.  Her boyfriend's car had apparently broken down.  He took Hart into custody and then went to the car to contact her boyfriend who had no warrants for his arrest.

Officers say that while Hart was being taken to the jail, she claimed she swallowed meth and heroin.  She was taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped out and it was determined that she had not ingested any drugs.  The Gang Unit Sgt. stayed with her the entire time.  She was then booked  into the Pierce County jail on numerous warrants for Residential Burglary, Theft, Identity Theft, and Escape and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.

Hart is WMW Capture #956 thanks to tips from our viewers.

 

WANTED IN TACOMA --
Tacoma Police are searching for a woman they say has been breaking into homes and stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry, bikes, electronics and cash since May of last year.

Detectives say Michele Hart is a prolific home burglar and as of last week, witnesses say her hair was Kool-Aid red similar to what you see above.

She’s wanted in a whole slew of cases including theft, identity theft, home burglary, and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.

Police say she even terrified a 12 year old girl who was inside a home when Hart started removing an air conditioner to break in.

This fugitive is a one woman crime spree. "She's coming in your house and she's taking your belongings,” said Tacoma Police Ofc. Shelbie Boyd. “If you have spare car keys, she's going to take those and then she's going to steal your car. She's going to steal your purses, your identity. She may even change her clothes while in your house and make away with your clothes."

She’s 5'3" and between 115 and 135 pounds, so detectives say her slight build has made it easy for her to break into homes that people thought were secure. "People are stating, ‘Well, I didn't lock a certain window, because I thought it was too small, because I thought somebody could not fit in through it.’ She's fitting in through these windows. Do not leave windows unlocked. If you leave a little bar in the window, with the window open a little bit, she will reach in and remove that bar and enter into the home and it doesn't matter: Daytime, nighttime, she's coming in,” said Ofc. Boyd. “She needs to go to jail. She needs to answer to what she's done to this community."

Police say she's usually seen on foot when she's casing a home.

Again, Michele Hart has naturally brown hair, but witnesses are describing it now as a Kool-Aid red dye job and she sometimes wears it in a braid.

If you know where she’s hiding, use the P3 Tips App to submit your information to Crime Stoppers, or call the hotline at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).

It's anonymous and you'll get a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your information leads to his arrest.