MUKILTEO, Wash., May 9, 2023—A male, now called the “Mukilteo Turd Burglar,” dressed in all camouflage clothing, wearing gloves and a backpack, was seen stealing a ceremonious go-kart from Mukilteo’s Stollwerck Plumbing and Sewer on the evening of May 6. The go-kart was known around the community for its unique porcelain toilet, often featured during the city’s annual Mukilteo Lighthouse Parade.
Mukilteo Officers responded to a theft complaint around 10:43 a.m. on Monday, May 8, and discovered the go-kart was stolen from the business’ property. The thief damaged the porcelain toilet fastened to the kart, and retreated eastbound on 5th street. The go-kart had been parked in front of the plumbing store for the last two years with no issues, Christina Stollwerck, Office Manager for Stollwerck Plumbing, said.
Stollwerck first noticed the incident when she was driving by the shop Sunday morning, noticing the toilet had been smashed with pieces spilling out into the bicycle lane about two residences down. When she pulled up to the shop, she noticed the kart had been stolen.
Security camera footage obtained by the Lynnwood Times shows the thief first sitting on the toilet for several minutes, bouncing up and down. He then moved the front of the kart as if he was going to take it but instead walked off.
Approximately 20 minutes later, the thief returned, pushed the kart into the middle of the property’s driveway, sat on the toilet seat again and tried moving it up hill by thrusting his hips. He successfully moved the kart a couple buildings down while several cars drove by without reporting the incident.
“He was bouncing up and down on the toilet like a child, wearing a camouflage suit, a black hoody with gloves and a backpack on, and nobody thought that was suspicious,” J.D. Stollwerck, Owner, said adding that he didn’t believe the thief was homeless. “Another strange thing is there’s cameras all over the place, but they didn’t bother this person.”
Just to add the peculiarity of the incident, the open Mukilteo police case number is 123456.
Stollwerck Plumbing was founded in 2012 out of J.D. Stollwerck’s garage. In 2019 the family-owned business opened their first storefront in Mukilteo, across from the corner of 5th and Park Avenue in Old Town overlooking the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal.
Residents on Mukilteo’s Nextdoor page were quick to joke about the incident, nicknaming the thief the “turd burglar” and saying the whole situation “stinks.”
The kart is still missing but the plumbing store may have a lead, J.D. Stollwerck told the Lynnwood Times. If they don’t receive its kart back by this year’s Mukilteo Lighthouse Parade on September 9, Stollwerck Plumbing and Sewer notified the Lynnwood Times that they will just “make a bigger and better one.”
“It’s a horrible experience but we’ve had so many people reach out, it’s been kind of refreshing,” said Stollwerck. “It’s not about the go-kart, it’s about people going around and thinking they can go out and steal stuff.”
Stollwerck Plumbing and Sewer is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the recovery of the go-cart of the arrest of the thief. Mukilteo Police Officers are continuing to investigate the incident. If any member of the public has information, they are encouraged to email crimetips@mukilteowa.gov or call 425-407-3999 (Non-Emergency Line) and refer to Case Number 123456.
Author: Mario Lotmore
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