Owner Spends The Night Inside Ballard Business, Stops Jewelry Thief

A thief who broke into a Seattle jewelry store was thwarted by the business owner on Wednesday (March 23), according to KOMO.

MK Byrne told reporters she was fed up with criminals breaking into her popular hand-crafted jewelry business, Begin. Opening in October, the eye-catching store became a target for thieves. Suspects broke into Begin three times in a span of three weeks before the latest incident, where she decided to try something different.

Byrne decided to spend the night inside her Ballard business with her dog. It was around 5 a.m. that she was jolted awake by a brick smashed a window.

“There were some little cracks in the glass and it looked like somebody had been testing to see how the window would break," Byrne explains. "I got the clue and the feeling in the back of my head that they'd be back to finish the job."

Surveillance video also caught the thief's every move, who brazenly grabbed what he could despite Byrne screaming at him. That's when the owner and her dog started coming at him.

“It was really scary," she says. "It definitely helped to have 120-pound dog barking at him."

Byrne began throwing things at the man, who eventually ditched the store with some of her raw materials. The startled owner immediately called 911, and police responded quickly. Byrne, however, feels there isn't enough police personnel to handle to the uptick in crimes.

"They're spread so thin they don't really have a lot more to give so we feel like we have to step in that gap," Byrne said. "This is more than just a livelihood for me. This is my passion and I have to protect it."