BELLINGHAM - A 30-year-old transient was arrested Friday night in connection with a burglary and assault earlier in the day at a home off Chuckanut Drive, based on information obtained from a cellphone dropped by the suspect at the crime scene.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said Shayne M. Longozo was apprehended in Mount Vernon and booked into Whatcom County Jail on investigation of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and outstanding warrants for escape, theft, possession of stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and reckless driving.
The Sheriff’s Office launched a manhunt for the suspect Friday morning after a house sitter at a $1 million home in the 500 block of Heron Point Lane said she heard someone walking around upstairs. The woman went to investigate and discovered a Hispanic man in the kitchen holding her backpack and purse.
When the woman attempted to take back her possessions, the man kicked her and hit her in the face before fleeing south toward Skagit County without the items, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman had visible injuries and reported muscle and skeletal pains. She declined to be taken to the hospital but said she would seek treatment from her doctor.
A Bellingham Police Department dog tracked a scent from the home but lost it, leading officers to believe the suspect may have had a getaway vehicle.
Deputies found the dropped cellphone in the house, obtained a search warrant to access information on it and identified its owner, Longozo, as the suspect in the case.
Longozo was on a list of habitual offenders being targeted during a sweep by local law enforcement officers at the time the burglary was reported. The Northwest Regional Gang and Drug Task Force, the State Department of Corrections and Skagit County authorities assisted in locating and arresting Longozo.
The Sheriff’s Office said Longozo has no permanent address but has been known to stay in the 2000 block of Harskell Road near Ferndale and in Skagit County.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate a second assault case Friday morning that was reported about two hours after the Heron Point Lane burglary.
In that case, a woman in the 800 block of Van Dyk Road called 911 after saying she was attacked after she heard the doorbell ring and went to pick up a package outside the door. She said a 5-foot-8 white man in his 20s tried to push her back inside and punched her in the face. She needed treatment at St. Joseph hospital for a cut near her eye. The suspect was seen running east toward Hannegan Road wearing a black hoodie and zippered jeans, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The package had been delivered by a legitimate mail service, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Anyone with tips should call the Sheriff’s Office at 360-676-6650 or, after hours, dial 911.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
