Days after Jessica Dettwiler’s Tacoma apartment was burglarized, her car was gone too. She suspects the incidents are connected because a spare key had been inside a stolen safe, but no such link has been confirmed. The burglary took place the night of Sept. 23, after Dettwiler returned from a grocery store to her Pacific Avenue apartment just before midnight.
A Break-In Already Underway
The break-in was already underway when Dettwiler arrived, according to KIRO 7 News Seattle. She saw two men dressed in black and wearing ski masks leaving through a window with a safe from her bedroom. She told them to put it down, the station reported, but they fled.
After locking the door, Dettwiler encountered a third person still inside: an unmasked young woman who had been left in the apartment. The woman told her, “I'm sorry, they made me do this.” Dettwiler told the woman to stay while she planned to call police.
The Gun, the Gunfire, and What Was Taken
The men returned for the young woman. Dettwiler said one of them put a gun to her head, describing it as “the gun got pulled to my head.” The three left, and she later heard gunfire from the street behind the building. She was not physically injured.
The stolen property was valued at roughly $2,000, KIRO 7 reported. It included personal documents and valuables such as a purse, jewelry, perfume and a smartwatch. Tacoma police later told Dettwiler that some documents had been found in Spanaway. No arrests have been reported in connection with the burglary.
Her Car Disappears Days Later
Dettwiler discovered her car missing a few days after the burglary. She believes the same people took it because the spare key had been in the safe, but that connection has not been confirmed by police.
Dettwiler has lived in the Pacific Avenue apartment for 13 years. “I am traumatized,” she said. “I can't sleep at night.” She works as an Instacart driver and is now out of work without a vehicle. She has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the cost of moving to a new apartment.
Support for crime victims
Pierce County's Victim Witness Assistance Services Unit says crime victims and witnesses can contact it for help; its advocates also assist with Crime Victims Compensation applications. The county listing does not establish whether Dettwiler contacted the unit or qualifies for compensation.
