String of downtown Bellingham burglaries continues with theft of Louis Vuitton bags
Another local Bellingham business has been burglarized in the night. Someone stole $12,000 to $15,000 worth of Louis Vuitton handbags from the Neeter House of Luxury around 5 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8.
This is the third business in just over a month that has been broken into into in Bellingham, including The Comics Place on Oct. 31 and The Penny Lane Antique Mall on Nov. 17. All these businesses are within a mile of each other, and in each burglary two suspects were caught on video breaking in and stealing valuable items on display. The Bellingham Police Department has not confirmed these incidents are related.
“We feel violated, but the community has really come out strong with this and we are getting some leads,” owner John Neeter said. “I feel like this guys will be going to pretty soon.”
Regarding the Neeter House of Luxury, police believe the suspects are selling the handbags through social media, and are encouraging people who see these bags online to contact police at 360-676-6911 or online at http://www.cob.org/tips. People who have information regarding the incident, or who can identify the men in the photos, should reach out to police the same way.
The thieves broke through the front door by smashing the glass with a baseball bat, but did leave a crowbar behind, according Neeter. Since the break-in Neeter has upgraded its glass so it shouldn’t be as easy to smash. The store’s inventory of handbags are now being stored in the vault with the jeweler.
“I hope that we get these criminals and take them off the streets,” Neeter said. “Bellingham used to be a real safe place, and now it’s even tougher to be in business with these types of hiccups.”
Neeter House of Luxury is located at 21 Bellwether Way.
This story was originally published December 12, 2023 at 12:30 PM.
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