COVINGTON, Wash. — When it came to making himself at home, this burglar took it to the extreme.
A man broke into a Covington home on June 30 and proceeded to start laundry and make himself a snack in the kitchen, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO).
Deputies were called to the residence around 4 a.m.
When they arrived, they learned that the homeowners had been startled awake by the burglar who opened their bedroom door.
Amy Padgett, the homeowner who lives in the house with her Marine veteran husband and 19-year-old son, said she woke up from a noise that morning but didn't think twice about it until she and her husband heard it the second time.
"With that, our bedroom door flung open and there was an individual standing in our bedroom door," Padgett said. "That is the image that does not leave my head."
Padgett said she screamed and went after the man, her husband and son beside her, as they followed him down the stairs.
"The individual then kind of turned around and got to the front door, asked if he could get his shoes, at which point my husband informed him no, he really needed to leave our home," said Padgett.
When he left the house, Padgett said they called 911.
Deputies discovered that the suspect had made his way inside through an unsecured ground floor window.
Padgett said that the window was unlocked the morning the suspect entered during a historic heat wave.
"We had the windows open, my husband and I each thought the other locked the window, nobody had," Padgett said.
When the suspect left, Padget surveyed her home and found their powder room in disarray and their dryer was turned on.
"But it was all our laundry. He just started it again," Padgett said.
Padgett said the suspect also heated up Eggo waffles, a Lean Cuisine meal, and ate some yogurt and popsicles.
Padgett said the suspect used her son's Epi pens.
The suspect, identified as Philip Neal Cedarleaf, was found a short distance away from the home and was taken into custody.
Cedarleaf was charged with residential burglary and is being held at the King County Jail on $10,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled on July 15.
Court records said Cedarleaf faced separate burglary charges just two weeks before the Covington incident.
Deputies found in Cedarleaf's possession a number of items that had been stolen from the home, including cash and car keys.