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09/15 12:38 CDT Suspect in Seattle home invasions of Macklemore and celebrity
athletes pleads not guilty
Suspect in Seattle home invasions of Macklemore and celebrity athletes pleads
not guilty
By CEDAR ATTANASIO
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) --- A man accused of breaking into the homes of Seattle-area
celebrities, including baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and hip-hop artist
Macklemore, and pepper-spraying people he encountered inside pleaded not guilty
Monday to multiple charges.
Patrick Maisonet, 29, was arrested at his home in on Aug. 21 in connection with
another burglary, to which he has pleaded not guilty, and has been held on bail
totaling more than $2 million.
Investigators say surveillance images and cellphone data helped link him to the
break-ins, and that some of the precious items taken during the heists ---
including Macklemore's Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders championship rings
--- were later recovered from a south Seattle jewelry store.
The break-ins mirrored a slew of burglaries at the homes of well-known
professional athletes across the U.S. in recent months. The players have been
targeted because of the high-end products believed to be in their homes and
sometimes the thefts happen when they are away with their teams for road games.
The FBI has warned sports leagues about crime organizations targeting
professional athletes. The NFL and NBA have also issued security alerts after
burglaries at the homes of such star athletes as Kansas City Chiefs stars
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Seven people were charged in connection with
those burglaries in February.
In the Seattle area, another man, Earl Henderson Riley IV, was previously
arrested in some of the same break-ins Maisonet has been charged in. Police
said Maisonet sometimes carried digital frequency jammers to disable cellphone
calls --- including to 911.
The athletes targeted included Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo, whose
home was hit twice; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, who is from
Washington; and former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. Snell had two Rolex
watches stolen, each worth $75,000. Sherman also had a Rolex taken.
Sherman posted camera images of three people breaking into his house on his
birthday in March, at least one armed with a pistol.
"House being robbed at gun point with my family in it isn't what anyone wants
for a birthday gift. Scary situation that my Wife handled masterfully and kept
my kids safe," he wrote in a statement on X at the time.
Prosecutors said Maisonet broke into Suzuki's home on Feb. 9 while the baseball
player's wife was in her bedroom. He tried to force his way though the bedroom
door as she pushed back, according to court documents, and then reached through
the opening and pepper-sprayed her. She managed to bar the door before the
assailant was able to enter the room, police said.
Macklemore's home was burglarized on June 7, a day after Riley was charged.
Police say Maisonet and another man broke in and used pepper spray on a
22-year-old nanny, who eventually managed to flee to a neighbor's house for
help.
Macklemore, a Seattle native, is a fan and investor in many area sports teams.
He featured the two championship rings in his 2022 music video for the song
"Chant."
Phone location records traced Maisonet from his home and grandmother's house to
the homes of robbery victims, according to court documents. They also connected
him to a Seattle jewelry store where police said they recovered some of the
stolen items.
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