Christopher Utting said the burglary initially left his mother a bit shaken, but she has regained the toughness she's had throughout her life. It took her to West Africa and Cameroon on Peace Corps missions and helped her raise two sons.
Cameroon RPCV Charlotte Utting helps solve string of burglaries targeting the elderly
Man suspected in 60 burglaries targeting elderly
Woman fought back, leading police to arrest
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
He was a burglar who targeted the elderly, as many as 60 victims since April, walking into their homes to steal whatever he could grab, and if they put up a struggle, he simply pushed them away.
Charlotte Utting, 73, fought back, despite her emphysema, trying to hang on to her purse when the burglar visited her Sand Point Way condo just past 12:30 a.m. Aug. 22.
Utting lost the struggle, but evidence from her robbery proved key as Seattle robbery detectives sought to solve the string of burglaries targeting the elderly.
Today, King County prosecutors expect to charge a 48-year-old suspect in Utting's burglary. Police say the man also has admitted to at least 21 other burglaries in Seattle, but police believe that he may be responsible for three times that number.
"That's pretty unusual for somebody to be committing that many burglaries," police spokeswoman Debra Brown said.
Although the majority of the crimes involved property theft, Brown noted that the man also is suspected of assaulting at least two victims who resisted.
"We considered him a very dangerous person," she said.
In court documents, investigators say that just after 12:30 a.m. Aug. 22, a man walked into Utting's condominium through an unlocked door.
Utting, sitting in her living room, saw him come in. She remembered "being shocked, realizing he was probably going to rob me," she said.
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The man grabbed for her purse, but Utting snatched it and tried to hang on. The burglar grabbed Utting's arm with such force that he tore her skin.
He wrenched the purse away and ran out, with Utting trying to chase him.
Utting's son Christopher Utting wasn't surprised by his mother's actions.
"He (the burglar) was probably not used to people fighting back," he said.
Robbery detectives later identified the 48-year-old Seattle man as a suspect in the burglary of Utting's home and issued alerts throughout the department.
On Tuesday afternoon, a pair of East Precinct patrol officers spotted him in the Central District and took him into custody.
During subsequent interviews by robbery detectives, he admitted to 22 burglaries in the areas patrolled by the north and east police precincts, all within the past three to four months. The precincts include North Seattle, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne and the Central District.
He was being held in the King County Jail. Bail was set at $1 million. Since he had not been charged with a crime, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is not identifying him.
His criminal background includes other convictions for burglary and theft, and he has been in and out of the state prison system since 1984. He also has a drug conviction and has admitted in court documents to having a cocaine problem.
His most recent stint in prison was in January 2001, when he was convicted of residential burglary. He served three years and was released in December 2004, Department of Corrections officials said.
Christopher Utting said the burglary initially left his mother a bit shaken, but she has regained the toughness she's had throughout her life. It took her to West Africa and Cameroon on Peace Corps missions and helped her raise two sons.
He expects, he said, that same toughness will lead his mother to help prosecutors in their case.
"It's great," he said of the arrest. "Hopefully, my mother will be up for whatever they need to nail this guy."
Charlotte Utting said she wasn't frightened during the fight over the purse.
"It all happened so fast," she said.
And she doesn't think much of those who target the elderly because they see them as vulnerable targets.
"I think that's pretty rotten," she said.
