King County deputies looking for man who broke into White Center home, slept in child's bed

SEATTLE - Neighbors in a White Center neighborhood are on edge after a burglary suspect tried to break into two homes, then smashed the glass on a back door in a third home before a mom found him sleeping in her child’s bed in a fourth house.

Claudia Rojas said her kids are young so they sleep with her.  When she woke up, she noticed that her bedroom door had been opened and her son’s door was closed.  When she opened it, she says the stranger inside became angry and violent.

"I started walking backwards because I didn’t know what to do at the moment because I didn’t know if he had any weapons with him. He started yelling at me, getting closer to me and I was holding my daughter, so scared, and he was trying to get out of the house when he just pushed me to the wall with my son," said Rojas.

The suspect left when he saw that she was on the phone with 911. Now, she says her daughter is too terrified to go anywhere alone.

"She still remembers because every time we come home, she says, ‘Mommy, is that man in the house?’ She doesn't want to go inside his room anymore. She gets scared of anything. If she saw any door closed, she won’t open it because she thinks someone will be in there," said Rojas.

King County Sheriff’s deputies responded but were unable to locate the suspect.  Detectives believe he is the same man seen on surveillance video at about 1:20 a.m. smashing the glass to her neighbor’s back door on 4th Place SW.  The homeowner, who wasn't there, had been alerted to the break-in by his RING camera. Two other neighbors also reported attempted break-ins that night. One said the male entered his backyard and tried his doors and windows. Another stated that he spotted the suspect in his backyard before he fled.

Detectives describe the suspect as a light-skinned black man with dark-colored dreadlocks, wearing a black shirt and black pants. He appeared to be wearing a black watch or bracelet on his right wrist. He was possibly barefoot at the time of the break-in.

"We need to get this fella identified because if he will do this, if he will burglarize a home one minute and then sleep in a child's room next, well we don't know what's next and that's why he needs to be in custody.  The only place we want him sleeping is the King County Jail," said Sgt. Tim Meyer with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

If you can identify the suspect, Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound will pay you a cash reward of up to $1,000. It is anonymous. Text his name and any other info you have through the P3 Tips App on your cell phone or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)

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