A Seattle man was charged Friday with a string of burglaries at the homes of prominent current and former football and baseball players, marking the latest example of well-known athletes being targeted in home thefts.
Earl Henderson Riley IV, 21, was charged with several counts of residential burglary in both occupied and unoccupied homes, along with first-degree robbery, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors say Riley was the ringleader in a series of burglaries that started in February and involved stealing more than 6,000 in Louis Vuitton bags from Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo's home and over 194,000 in high end purses and jewelry from the home of the team's center fielder Julio Rodriguez.
The thefts also involved taking several watches worth more than 100,000 from former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman's home and a burglary at the home of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell, who is from Washington, although nothing was stolen in that instance, according to court documents. Prosecutors say there was also an attempted burglary at baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez's home.
"All people deserve to feel safe in their homes, and our office will continue to hold people accountable for criminal behavior," King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said in a statement.