SEATTLE — A restaurant owner said repeat crime is forcing him to leave Seattle after about a dozen burglaries. His is one of a few businesses in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood calling for help from police following a reported string of break-ins and thefts in recent weeks.

Andrew Lo replaced the locks at his restaurant off 4th Avenue and Marginal Way on Wednesday, something that’s unfortunately become a pretty regular task. This time, surveillance footage shows a man dressed in a security uniform and another person breaking into SODO Chicken’ around 7 a.m.

“They’re professionals," Lo said. "They jimmied the lock, came in here, broke through my kitchen door, too, just looking for stuff to steal. We’re all still just recovering from Covid, just struggling to make ends meet, and these sorts of things set us back so much.”

Down the street, Cascade Columbia is dealing with a similar crime.

“Besides the graffiti and the trash and the illegal dumping and everything, we had somebody try to cut into the fence in the last few weeks trying to get inside our facility,” Sales Representative Ed Ball added.

It’s near where crime ran rampant, including a shooting a year ago, stemming in part from an RV encampment that has since been cleared. Mose Auto Shop Owner MariaJose Barrera says crime has returned in the past couple of weeks, including damage to fences and an attempt to steal cars from her lot.

“They damaged ignitions, they damaged doors, so that’s also an expense we have to repair because those vehicles are under our watch,” she stated.

A still image taken from surveillance footage that captures a recent break in of SODO Chicken, which is located in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. (Andrew Lo)

 

Barrera and other shops claim there’s been a lesser police presence since the RV encampment was removed, but they understand the staffing crisis. Still, she and others said this area needs more help.

“More resources for people who are incapacitated," Ball said. "Why are they doing this? Whether it’s drugs, mental health, we’d like to see the people taken care of, but also more prosecution.”

And while Lo loves serving this community, he said he’s had enough.

“Honestly, just looking at moving out of Seattle," Lo explained. "I feel like not enough progress has been made. It’s just not a safe place to do business anymore.”

"In regards to patrols in the area, the department continues to encourage the community to report criminal activity occurring in their neighborhoods," a Seattle Police spokesperson wrote in an email to KOMO. "If the situation is not an emergency and does not require an officer to respond to the scene, then it can be reported using the non-emergency line (206) 625-5011 or utilize online reporting. The department is data-driven and utilizes this information to assist in allocating resources throughout the city and to identify the crimes occurring in the community."