In this picture, Edgar Martinez is wearing the jersey stolen Thursday. Photo courtesy of the Seattle Mariners
Officers tracked down and arrested a burglar Friday who broke into Safeco Field and made off with bags of Seattle Mariners historical memorabilia, including jerseys worn by Edgar Martinez and other former team members.
The burglar left behind fingerprints that helped lead to his capture and the recovery of stolen items. Surveillance cameras inside the stadium also helped detectives identify the suspect.
The man climbed over a fence around 4 a.m. Thursday and broke glass display cases in and around Edgar’s Cantina inside Safeco Field. He then piled the memorabilia into garbage bags and hauled it all away.
The burglar’s plunder included three jerseys and bats used by Martinez; two jerseys and a cap worn by Lou Piniella; jerseys and caps worn by Ken Griffey Jr.; and a variety of other items – historic jerseys, bats, gloves, balls etc. – from the Seattle Rainiers and the Mariners and a team in Vancouver, BC.
He had little time to enjoy it. Detectives were able to match fingerprints left by the burglar at the scene to ones in the SPD database of people who’ve been previously booked into jail. They were also able to match images from surveillance footage to a mug shot.
Photo of Lou Pinella’a locker where some items were taken. Photo courtesy of Seattle Mariners
From there, officers tracked down his address and went to his home, and arrested the suspect. When police arrested the burglar, he asked for a coat inside his home. An officer went to fetch it, with the burglar’s permission, and saw items stolen from the stadium when she opened his closet door. Officers were able to get a warrant to search the rest of the home and have recovered most of the stolen memorabilia. Detectives are still searching for two items though, a 1908 Vancouver/Spokane NWL championship inscribed baseball, and a 1947 Vancouver Capilanos championship silver cigarette case. If you have seen these items please call detectives directly at (206)684-5730.
Just a few of the recovered items