SeaTimes tonight: Police: Fatal Craigslist home invasion linked to earlier Lake Stevens robbery
Police believe Wednesday's fatal home-invasion robbery in Pierce County is related to similar robbery last weekend in Lake Stevens.
Originally published Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 12:09 PM
By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter
LAKE STEVENS POLICE DEPT
Police sketches of two of the suspects
ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Jim Sanders was shot to death in his home Wednesday night by robbers in a Craigslist-related home invasion in Edgewood, Pierce County.
Safety tips for selling items on Craigslist
Video | Family's perspective on Edgewood murder
Safety tips for online sellers
When meeting someone for the first time:
• Insist on a public-meeting place, like a cafe.
• Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
• Take your cellphone.
• Consider having a friend accompany you.
• Trust your instincts.
Source: Craigslist.org
EDGEWOOD, Pierce County — The woman who called James Sanders to ask about the 1.07-carat diamond ring he was selling on Craigslist said she was looking for a special Mother's Day present.
Sanders, described by friends and family as a trusting, devout Christian man, gave the woman the address to his home east of Tacoma, the same area where his wife's family had lived for more than 100 years.
When the woman and a male companion arrived Wednesday night, Sanders stepped outside to show them the heirloom ring, according to a family friend.
"They said they were interested and showed him their money," said Tarinna Peyseno, a family friend. "Then Jim let them in."
Once inside the home, the man and woman pulled out handguns, and two more men, with masks covering their faces, rushed in behind them, according to Sgt. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
In a matter of moments, Sanders, 43, was dead — shot in front of his wife and young sons — and the family's home was ransacked. The four left with several items, including the diamond ring.
Troyer said the three men and one woman responsible for the violent home-invasion robbery are believed to be the same four people who robbed another family Sunday evening in Snohomish County.
Two men went to the door of a Lake Stevens home where someone had posted a Craigslist ad listing a flat-screen TV for sale. The men entered the home, then brandished weapons and let two additional suspects into the home.
The family members were tied up, the home was ransacked and numerous valuable items — including electronics, jewelry and a large amount of Iraqi currency in $5,000 denominations — were taken, police said.
No one was injured, according to police there.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is also investigating whether there is a link between the two home-invasion robberies and a third Craigslist-related robbery earlier Wednesday.
According to police, a Pierce County man who had placed an online ad offering his car for sale was tied up by an alleged buyer, who then stole the car. Additional information on that case was not available Thursday.
Lake Stevens police released sketches of two of the four people involved in Sunday's robbery. One was described as an African-American male with a goatee, 18 to 24 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 160 pounds.
The second man was described as an Asian-American/African-American man, 18 to 24 years old, 5 feet 10 inches, 170 pounds, with a tattoo on his neck.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office released the same sketches in its investigation into Sanders' slaying.
Troyer described the suspects as "three dark-skinned males" and an "attractive and unique-looking" dark-haired woman.
"It's frustrating," Troyer said. "I wish we had them caught."
Troyer and relatives of Sanders said once the four people entered the Edgewood home they forced Sanders and his wife to the floor, bound their wrists with plastic ties, kicked them and placed them in the kitchen.
Whenever Sanders or his wife tried to get a look at their assailants, they were kicked again, Peyseno said.
"They [the robbers] kept saying, 'Where's the safe? Where's the safe?' and they [the Sanders] were saying, 'What safe?' " Peyseno said.
"They were selling that ring, which was very important to them, because they were having hard times, like everyone else," she said.
According to police, one of the robbers went upstairs and brought the couple's two sons — ages 10 and 14 — down at gunpoint.
The older son, who is in junior high, was pistol-whipped in front of his parents, Troyer said. Sanders began to struggle in protest, according to Peyseno.
"That's the only reason he was shot," she said. "He was trying to get up, to protect his family."
Sanders, 43, was shot once in the head, dragged into the living then shot several more times, according to his brother-in-law Tim Jorgensen. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff's Office released a copy of the 911 call placed by the anguished 10-year-old boy immediately after the shooting. "My dad has been shot," the boy tells the 911 dispatcher. "Please hurry."
Troyer said some of items taken from the Sanders home were found early Thursday morning discarded in the bushes off a Highway 167 ramp.
Sanders, who worked at Pilchuck Mechanical, was "a wonderful man and a wonderful Christian," said friend Sheila Riggs. "He was a good husband, a good father and a good friend to everyone."
The family attended church in Puyallup and held weekly Bible studies in their home.
Those who know Sanders said they weren't surprised he tried to defend his family.
A neighbor who did not want to give her name said Sanders was "a very kind, God-fearing man. God and his family meant everything to him."
Sanders' wife and the two children are staying with relatives nearby. The family will not be returning to the house that's lined with tulips and has a plaque on the front door that quotes the Book of Joshua: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
"They are having a hard time right now," said Peyseno. "We know Jim is in a better place, but if you could ask your readers to pray for comfort for the family, that would help.
"We know that is what Jim would be saying."
seattletimes.nwsource.com
Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com
Seattle Times staff reporters Jennifer Sullivan and Susan Gilmore contributed to this report |
