SEQUIM — After five burglaries were reported in downtown Sequim this week, Lt. Sheri Crain offered a piece of advice: Merchants beware.

“Now that the weather is getting better, you’re going to be getting a few more” burglaries, she warned.

That means make sure your business is locked and secured, no cash left behind, and an interior or exterior light is left on, preventative steps that Crain believes have reduced such crimes.

Anything unusual should be reported to police at 360-683-7227.

Such actions can help prevent crime, which often picks up in good weather, said Crain, who has been with the Sequim Police Department for more than 20 years.

15 reported this year

Although Crain said downtown Sequim hasn’t seen much burglary activity this year — 15 reported this year to date — Crain said five of them were reported to have happened overnight Sunday and early Monday.

They ranged from three recreational vehicles broken into at Eric’s RV Performance Center, 275 S. Sequim Ave., to a back door kicked in at Purple Haze Lavender, 127 W. Washington St.

Flat-screen televisions were stolen out of each RV, she said.

About $9 in change was lifted from Purple Haze, and an unspecified amount was taken from Red Dog Coffee, 521 S. Sequim Ave., near the westbound on-ramp to U.S. Highway 101.

Another break-in — though not a burglary, since nothing was taken — was reported at the Sequim Gazette’s storage room, 147 W. Washington St., a few doors west of the Purple Haze Lavender.

All the break-ins are under investigation.

“It’s really kind of hard to tell if this is a crime of opportunity or whether it was someone kind of serious that has done it before,” Crain said, describing the burglaries as “very unsophisticated.”

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2390 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.