A Seattle man who broke into and burglarized the Mercer Island home of Seattle Mariners player Julio Rodriguez on May 1 has been charged with that crime and several other targeted burglaries of professional athletes throughout the region, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

The defendant, 21-year-old Earl Henderson Riley IV, is currently sitting in King County Jail in Seattle on $1 million bail. Riley’s arraignment is scheduled at 9 a.m. on June 23 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

At approximately 9:46 p.m. on May 1, Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) officers were dispatched to the reported burglary in the 4600 block of East Mercer Way, according to a previous Reporter story.

Seattle Reign FC player Jordyn Huitema — who was sharing the home with Rodriguez — was alone inside the residence, heard intruders inside and called 911. Rodriguez was away from the home on a M’s road trip.

According to court documents, she barricaded herself in the main bedroom bathroom and could hear subjects smashing items. She whispered to dispatch so the subjects couldn’t hear her.

“(She) reported the suspects made their way to the main bedroom and the bathroom where she was and tried to open it, but she used her body weight to stop the suspect,” documents note, adding that the suspects stole more than $194,000 in high-end purses and jewelry.

MIPD said in the Reporter story that, “The suspects left the residence, and a responding Mercer Island police officer observed a vehicle leaving the area traveling at a high rate of speed” and that two officers eventually engaged in an attempted traffic stop.

The Reporter story noted that the first officer who was involved in the chase heard two gunshots being fired from the suspect vehicle, lost sight of the vehicle and didn’t locate it after the incident. MIPD received assistance from Kirkland, Bellevue and Clyde Hill police departments — including K9 officers and drones.

Court documents said that three suspects were captured on Rodriguez’s home video surveillance system.

On May 25, Seattle police booked Riley — who is believed to be the ringleader of the group committing the regional burglaries — into the South Correctional Entity jail in Des Moines for his outstanding Washington State Department of Corrections violations. He was previously held in custody and released by the court on Feb. 7, 2025, after pleading guilty as charged to three robbery counts, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Court documents note that in each of the burglaries, “The evidence against Riley includes the recovery of stolen items from his relatives, residences, or locations where he stays; statements from those relatives indicating that Riley gave them the stolen items as gifts; and the discovery of unique clothing in his Jeep or in a room where he sleeps.” A dark colored 2011-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee with unique wheels and chrome accents was used during the crimes, Riley’s phone location data placed him near the scene of each burglary (except in Issaquah) at the time they occurred and more, court documents read.

The other burglaries took place at Seattle Mariner Luis Castillo’s home in Issaquah; former Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman’s home in Maple Valley (also first-degree robbery); and Los Angeles Dodger Blake Snell’s home in Edmonds. Riley was also charged with a Renton burglary that didn’t involve a professional athlete, according to Casey McNerthney, director of communications of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office worked for weeks on multiple search warrants that led to the filing of these felony charges today,” King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said in a press release. “I am grateful for the excellent work from our deputy prosecutors and from police investigators on these home burglaries, and all burglaries filed in King County. All people deserve to feel safe in their homes, and our office will continue to hold people accountable for criminal behavior.”