Four suspects arrested for two late-night burglaries in Custer area

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Four suspects were arrested and booked into Whatcom County Jail in relation to two burglaries that were committed during the early morning hours of December 3.

Shortly after midnight on December 3, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) responded after receiving a call from the owner of Sunrise Grocery in the 8000 block of Sunrise Road in the Custer area. The owner reported that someone had broken through the door of his closed business. The suspects had stolen a specific brand of cigarettes and made an attempt to access the ATM that was located in the store. “The owner was able to observe a late model Dodge Ram pickup truck with a construction rack over the bed fleeing the scene and heading southbound on Sunrise Road,” stated a WCSO news release.

A short time later, at approximately 1:30 a.m., the owner of Delta Grocery in the 1300 block of Birch Bay-Lynden Road reported an alarm at his business. Through a live video feed, the owner was able to observe that the front door of the business had been pried open. At attempt was also made to access the ATM machine, and later investigation revealed that the suspects were able to steal several Washington State Lottery scratch tickets.

While responding to the second burglary, a WCSO deputy observed a Dodge Ram pickup truck that matched the description provided by Sunrise Grocery’s owner and was traveling southbound on Enterprise Road. The vehicle attempted to turn and enter a field but its path was blocked by a gate. With assistance from the Ferndale Police Department, deputies contacted and detained the four occupants of the truck.

“Inside the truck, in plain view, were cartons of the specific brand of cigarettes stolen from Sunrise Grocery,” said the WCSO news release. “A large blue pry bar was found in the bed of the truck which appears to have been used in attempts to access the ATM machines at both stores. In addition, three of the suspects’ shoe patterns matched those left at the scene of Sunrise Grocery, and each contained embedded glass from the broken door.”

The news release continued: “As one of the suspects exited the truck, Washington State Lottery tickets fell to the ground that the suspect had in possession. These lottery tickets later matched in sequential numbers the ones stolen from Delta Grocery.”

The four suspects were Dylan Sielicki, 38, of Stanwood; Alena Sharp, 33, of Bellingham; Treven Elgersma, 22, of Bellingham; and Brent Cheney, 29, of Bellingham. All four were arrested for two counts of second-degree burglary; second-degree malicious mischief for $1,000 of damage to Delta Grocery; third degree malicious mischief for $500 of damage to Sunrise Grocery; second-degree theft for the Delta Grocery lottery tickets; third-degree theft for the Sunrise Grocery cigarettes; and criminal conspiracy.

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