Bellevue police returned precious heirlooms to a pair of burglary victims Wednesday, adding more joy to the department’s bust of an Eastside crime ring earlier this month.
Bill Plummer reclaimed his father’s World War II Bronze Star, and Suzanne Yu recovered her grandmother’s wedding ring, set with engagement diamonds from four generations of women in her family.
“This is the one thing they got that I couldn’t replace,” Yu said of the ring.”I never thought the police would find it. I thought it was something (the thieves) would try to get rid of right away.”
Police discovered the items with a large stash of stolen property they seized April 2 while serving a warrant at a Bellevue apartment.
The bust began with a residential burglary in Bothell. Police tracked a stolen credit card from the break-in through its use at a store in Bellevue.
Surveillance video helped investigators identify Christopher S. Rust, 35, and Shaely D. Ziegelgruber, 22, as suspects.
A special Bellevue police unit monitored the suspects at a Bellevue apartment they frequented and then followed the men to a pawn shop in South Seattle, where they arrested them.
The Bellevue SWAT team helped serve a warrant on the Bellevue apartment, where they arrested more suspects and found a stockpile of stolen goods, including jewelry, cameras, electronics, and firearms.
The contraband included other service medals belonging to Plummer – an Air Force veteran – and a Tiffany birthday bracelet from Yu’s home.
Plummer said he doesn’t know how his father earned the Bronze Star, which is the fourth-highest combat award in the U.S. Armed Forces.
“When I asked what the war was like, he wouldn’t talk about it,” Plummer said. “He would always change the subject if we brought it up.”
Plummer’s Edmonds home was burglarized on Valentine’s Day, while he and his wife were vacationing in San Diego.
“It was going good up until the burglary,” he said of the romantic getaway.
Yu’s unincorporated King County home was burglarized April 1 while she and her husband were at work. A babysitter had just taken their kids to preschool before the break-in occurred.
The babysitter returned later with the kids to find that the garage door opener wouldn’t work. She called Yu, who told her to simply take the children to her own home.
“I’m glad they didn’t get inside, because the burglars may have been there still,” said Yu, who didn’t know about the burglary until she came home later that evening.
King County prosecutors have charged Rust with residential burglary and second-degree identity theft.
Among the five other suspects police arrested in the case, Keith Blair confessed to five burglaries, and Ron Thomas faces charges of identity theft and residential burglary.
“This is a significant Eastside burglary ring that has been stopped,” said Bellevue police Det. Dan Mathieu. “Many residential burglaries have been solved.”
