Two homes five blocks apart were burglarized on April Fool’s Day. Someone stole gold-rhinestone loop earrings and three types of prescription pills out of a daily pill dispenser after entering a home in the 4200 block of 83rd Avenue S.E. Various items were moved and touched by the suspect, including a jewelry box and plastic jar. The burglary happened sometime after 10:30 a.m. Police lifted finger and palm prints from the probable door of entry.

Several blocks to the north, a burglar entered a residence in the 3700 block of 84th Avenue S.E. through an unlocked back door after attempting to slide a window open and leaving fresh fingerprints on the window between 2:30 and 6:10 p.m. The burglar left the back door ajar and stole two laptops after searching through drawers in various rooms.

In another burglary the next day, April 2, someone forced open a bathroom window and crawled inside a residence in the 5000 block of West Mercer Way between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., then stole a full five-gallon can of gasoline along with jewelry and a laptop. Fingerprints were lifted, and a person of interest has been identified.

The Mercer Island Police Department’s crime prevention tip for April deals with tracking a stolen mobile device, after the MIPD recently caught a thief with the help of a locator device. To read this month’s tip, go to the police department website.