Oak Harbor fast food employee accused of burglary and arson charged

A Burger King employee accused of breaking into the restaurant after hours, stealing money from the safe and starting a fire to cover his tracks is facing a series of charges in Island County Superior Court, according to Oak Harbor police. Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Kintorious London, in Island County Superior Court Jan. 2 with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, malicious mischief in the first degree and second-degree arson. Oak Harbor Police Detective Ron Hofkamp said a security camera provided all the evidence he needed to catch the suspect.

By Jessie Stensland • January 8, 2013 6:08 pm

A Burger King employee accused of breaking into the restaurant after hours, stealing money from the safe and starting a fire to cover his tracks is facing a series of charges in Island County Superior Court, according to Oak Harbor police.

Prosecutors charged 20-year-old Kintorious London, in Island County Superior Court Jan. 2 with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, malicious mischief in the first degree and second-degree arson.

Oak Harbor Police Detective Ron Hofkamp said a security camera provided all the evidence he needed to catch the suspect.

Hofkamp explained that a day-shift crew came to work early in the morning on Dec. 22 and discovered that a fire sprinkler system was gushing water in a back office at Burger King. They found the office was unlocked, money was missing from a safe and burned papers were sitting on top of the safe.

Hofkamp arrived to investigate and found that “the DVR surveillance system” was damaged from the water. He brought it back to the office, took it apart to dry, then put it back together. He found that it still worked and was able to watch the video of the burglary.

The detective explained that the video shows an employee, who he identified as London, unlocking the window of an unused drive-through window before leaving for the day.

Then at about 3 a.m., a subject is seen inside the restaurant. Hofkamp said the camera switches to infrared when it’s dark. The subject crawls through a tiny window into the office, opens the safe and takes cash.

The video shows the burglar leaving through a back door, then coming back into the restaurant. He goes into the office and looks directly at the camera, providing the detective with a clear image of his face. London hits the camera, causing it to turn off, Hofkamp said.

The detectives waited until London returned to work that evening and arrested him. He allegedly admitted to burglarizing the restaurant because he needed money to pay the rent and other bills. He said he returned to the restaurant and set fire to paperwork on top of the safe in an attempt to obscure his fingerprints, the detective said.