{"id":2379532,"date":"2026-04-19T03:20:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2379532"},"modified":"2026-04-19T03:20:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:20:54","slug":"seattle-burglaries-target-local-film-crews-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/seattle-burglaries-target-local-film-crews-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle burglaries target local film crews | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u200b\u200bMichael Huang\u2019s phone beeped around 7 a.m. on April 2. From his Ring camera app, he watched as two masked intruders removed the locks to his Belltown film production studio and walked out with a Mac computer and three monitors \u2014 about $12,000 worth of equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey knew exactly where to go,\u201d he said Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Huang\u2019s creative agency is one of at least eight local film production companies and camera rental businesses that have been burglarized since March, according to multiple business owners, Seattle police and the city\u2019s office of economic development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of these companies film commercials and promos for local businesses and nonprofits; others provide equipment rentals to students and film producers across Greater Seattle. The total value is unclear, but Huang \u2014 who\u2019s been keeping track of the burglaries in a spreadsheet \u2014 estimates the stolen equipment is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of several recent burglaries at film production businesses,\u201d wrote Beto Yarce,\u202f director\u202fof the office of economic development, in a letter to local film productions published Thursday<\/a>. Yarce’s office, Seattle police and Mayor Katie Wilson\u2019s office \u201care tracking\u202fthis issue,\u201d according to the letter.<\/p>\n

That night, Playfish Media\u2019s North Seattle offices were broken into, said owner Jillian Suleski. The thieves made out with approximately $40,000 in cameras, lenses and accessories, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s really ironic,\u201d she said: After seeing news stories<\/a> and local Facebook groups abuzz about the break-ins, Suleski messaged her landlord expressing concern. She planned to install security cameras.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had just ordered air-tracking devices for all of our equipment,\u201d she said Friday. \u201cAnd I was planning on coming in today and installing those things for the weekend.”<\/p>\n

Suleski filed a report with the Seattle Police Department, which is investigating multiple break-ins but is still working to determine whether the crimes are connected, Seattle police spokesperson Detective Patrick Michaud said Friday. No arrests have been made. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone with information is encouraged to call the nonemergency line and speak with an officer,\u201d Michaud said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to an incident report related to an alleged break-in at an Interbay building shared by three production studios from early April, a Seattle police officer noted that \u201cbased on CCTV footage, these are likely the same suspects from related incidents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these incidents involve either a (gray) or white Honda CRV, driven by a similar appearing person. The entry and theft is carried out by two passengers,\u201d according to the report. Nothing appears to have been taken during that break-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Huang and other business owners think the cases could be related to 2025 break-ins. Chris Hunter of Tenacious Ventures told KING 5<\/a> this week that his business lost nearly $400,000 of equipment in a burglary late last year. Huang told The Seattle Times his business was broken into last summer in a manner very similar to the April 2 burglary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a personal and professional gut punch, Huang said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to think about the morale of my team when they (come) in one Monday, and they (see) all their desktops awry, right? As a small-business owner, it’s tough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He worries his insurance may be impacted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are realities that I have to face now,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an \u201cadvisory\u201d emailed to Huang on Thursday by his insurer, \u201cSeattle Police have linked multiple incidents to a broader cluster of recent professional studio burglaries. \u2026 The activity appears to be brazen and increasingly coordinated, underscoring the importance of heightened vigilance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Playfish Media\u2019s Suleski also brought up insurance; many of the studios use the same insurer, she said. With several of them now submitting claims, they may risk higher premiums or getting dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who knows?\u201d Suleski wondered aloud. \u201cI mean, maybe even insurance companies will drop Seattle as a market and not want to insure businesses here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Huang is a volunteer on the city\u2019s advisory Film Commission, where he advocates on behalf of the industry. He said it was difficult to see his colleagues \u2014 an entire subset of the film industry \u2014 hit so hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to sustain this specific part of our sector, we’re saying commercial productions are the way forward in keeping this (film) industry here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get all of the rental houses burglarized, if you have all the production companies at a loss \u2026 what does that mean for this larger mission to make sure we have film here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This coverage is partially underwritten by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The funder plays no role in editorial decision-making, and The Seattle Times maintains editorial control over this and all its coverage.<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n