Deer Harbor Businesses also Targets of Recent Island Crime Wave

The recent spate of break-ins and robberies is not confined to Eastsound.

The Inn on Orcas Island, located just off Channel Road in Deer Harbor, and the Deer Harbor Marina have joined the unfortunate club of Ace Hardware, Island Market, Islanders Bank, the airport, and several restaurants in Eastsound that have been burglarized this month, most recently, Island Market this past weekend.

Mark Broman, Manager of the Deer Harbor Marina, says that on the night the marina office and store were broken into, the Deer Harbor resort was “totally full.”

The marina’s office lock was broken and security equipment and a camera were stolen. The store was also hit, with security equipment, including a digital video recorder being stolen.

The investigation has not resulted in any leads, but Broman suspects that the break-in was engineered by the same person who stole into the Inn on Orcas Island.

Owner Jeremy Trumble says that the kitchen at the Inn was broken into between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and stole the business computer on a night when the Inn had 18 guests on the premises and 9 cars in the parking lot.

“All I can say is it was quiet and professional and quick,” said Trumble. “There was no breakage, they unplugged the computer and left the cord. The dog never barked and they shut the door behind them.”

That was all that was taken, although Trumble says co-owner John Gibbs’ wallet was on the counter in the kitchen and his I-pod and another computer was in the office next door, so at least the Inn has back-up for their records and accounting. But Trumble says, “The hardest thing is just — this isn’t supposed to happen here.”

While the Marina’s Broman said that perhaps, “the mainlanders have realized we’re sitting ducks,” he adds that the person who took his business equipment “had to go somewhere — someone is harboring them.

“There’s some kind of connection.”

The crime wave in Eastsound may be related to the Deer Harbor incidents, says Sheriff Bill Cumming, though cash machine break-ins at Eastsound businesses have been the main target at several robbery attempts. The attempt to get money from the ATM was not successful at Islanders Bank on Sept. 5, said Cumming. A crime scene specialist has been brought in to process some of the evidence from that crime, including fingerprints.

Cumming says the recent crime spree “seems to be somebody whose operation involves “not just perusing for whatever’s available, but knows what they want and how to eliminate some security devices.”

Cumming says the investigations are “active” and encourages “a more robust approach to security, especially in commercial settings at all times.”