Police repeat request for public's help reporting suspicious incidents

Sammamish police today repeated their request that the public keep them informed of any suspicious activity relating to door-to-door salespeople. While officers stress that not all sales representatives are involved in criminal activity, several recent burglaries and burglary attempts have been linked to salespeople who sell magazine subscriptions.

A man arrested by Edmonds police is also suspected in cases in Sammamish and Tumwater. He was working for a company that employs teams of people typically brought in from out of state to sell magazine subscriptions, Sammamish Det. Bill Albright said.

Officers posted a bulletin asking King County agencies to file reports and pass along information relating to the teams of salespeople. Albright said that Thursday night, police in Issaquah contacted the driver of a van who said he was waiting to pick up salespeople. That group was not suspected of any crime, merely contacted to ensure they were in compliance with Issaquah's peddling ordinance.

Additional documentation and reporting will be helpful if Sammamish or other cities decide to try to adjust or strengthen ordinances governing door-to-door salespeople, Albright said.

Two other cases are possibly linked to this activity, and occurred in the unincorporated area near Woodinville and Duvall on Nov. 10. One of those cases was a completed burglary and another an attempted burglary.

"We know that they're in the area, and we want people to continue to call," Albright said.

To read the previous story about the man arrested in connection with the Sammamish, Tumwater and Edmonds cases, click here.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.