A 21-year-old suspect has been charged in connection with a string of burglaries targeting the homes of professional athletes in the Seattle area that resulted in more than $300,000 worth of goods being stolen.
Earl Henderson Riley IV is facing with four counts of residential burglary and one count of first-degree robbery, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Riley is accused of breaking into the homes of athletes including Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez, Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo, Seattle Seahawks great Richard Sherman and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, who has a home north of Seattle.
Prosecutors have alleged Riley is the mastermind behind the series of burglaries, which saw more than $6,000 in Louis Vuitton bags stolen from Castillo and $194,000 in high end purses and jewelry from Rodriguez. The suspect also snagged several watches worth more than $100,000 from Sherman’s home, and is accused of robbing someone at gunpoint during that burglary.
While he did bust into Snell’s residence, nothing was found to be stolen. Prosecutors say there was also an attempted burglary at the home of Mariners Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez.
Most of the stolen items were later located at Riley’s home while others were recovered from his family members, who said the items were gifts. What’s more, cellphone data placed Riley in the vicinity of each of the homes at the time of the burglaries, which occurred between February and May.
“All people deserve to feel safe in their homes, and our office will continue to hold people accountable for criminal behavior,” King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said in a statement.
Riley is currently being held in at King County Jail on $1 million bail. He’d previously been in custody after pleading guilty to three counts of robbery in a separate case. He also has another pending case for attempting to elude police and unlawful possession of a firearm.
With News Wire Services
