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Guns, ammo stolen from Pierce County home
Thieves made off with a massive safe full of thousands of rounds of ammunition and guns after breaking into a Pierce County home.
PARKLAND, Wash. - Caught on camera, thieves made off with a massive safe full of thousands of rounds of ammunition and guns after breaking into a Pierce County home.
The backstory:
Sam Peterson, a Recology garbage truck driver, says he was away at work when the thieves pulled up in a white van and targeted the gun safe in his home.
"Took the garbage can and put it over here on the other side of the house and busted out the window," he said, pointing to the area where thieves grabbed the can.
He had just come home from a long day of work on February 28 to find the nightmare waiting for him.
"They used that (garbage can) as a step stool to climb inside, and pry open the bedroom window," said Peterson.
He says the thieves in this white van were captured on multiple neighborhood security cameras circling the block, waiting for him to go to work.
"They came through this bedroom window here," he said, pointing to a now boarded-up window.
When he left, he believes they broke in immediately and made a beeline for the gun safe.
"Had a gun safe that was in this closet. They took the trim work off, the door off…and took the gun safe right out the front door," he said.
The question is, how do you remove a 1,000-lb safe? Peterson says security video shows that the van was equipped with a lift, pictured below.
"That’s them dragging the gun safe out of the house," said Peterson. "The sounds there are the lift-gate going up and down, so they can load up the gun safe."
He says the thieves made off with his AR-15 he uses for protection, and a Ruger 10/22 rifle, which can be seen in the picture below.
He says around eight boxes of ammo were also taken.
"There's probably roughly 6,000 rounds of ammunition that were inside that safe," he said.
Two rings, one previously belonging to his mom, along with a passport, birth certificate and other personal information were also stolen.
"They drove out of the house with the lift gate sticking out of the back of the van," he said.
Detectives have since been over to the home to collect prints.
"They put the dust on here," he said, pointing to an empty ammo box that had been dusted for prints by investigators.
Sam wants the public's help finding the Ford Econoline van, which may be a 90's or 2000's model, seating 10-12 passengers. He said it has a unique set of dual tail-lights.
"They press the brakes, and you’ll see the extra tail lights that are on the back of the lift gate," he said, pointing out the unique pattern on the lights.
He wonders if someone who knows him was involved in the theft.
"I have a very small circle of friends as it is, and for someone to gain my trust and do this to me really hurts. They violated me, and it can happen to anybody," said Peterson.
Since the theft, neighbors have added extra security cameras that are pointing towards Peterson's house, and he's also adding extra security measures inside and outside the home.
"The safe alone was probably 800 to 1,000 pounds, and then you add ammo, each ammo can, can weigh 50 to 75 lbs, so that safe was probably a couple of thousand lbs."
If you have any information about who's responsible for taking the safe, contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and information about who was driving the van.
The Source: Information in this story is from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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