Sex Offender Wanted In Lakewood Naked Burglaries Arrested

LAKEWOOD, WA - A man identified by Lakewood police as a suspect in a rash of naked break-ins earlier in August has been arrested. Lakewood police said Tuesday morning that Curtis Sell, 56, a registered sex offender, was picked up after police received a tip about his whereabouts.

Police received the tip through the Crime Stoppers service. Police were told that Sell was staying in a local home, and was found hiding in the attic. Sell was arrested on a felony warrant for failing to register as a sex offender.

Sell is thought to have committed his first naked burglary on Aug. 2 when, at around 8 a.m., he tried to enter a home along 111th Street Southwest. Neighbors spotted him, and scared him away by shouting at him.

Four hours later, police responded to a home in the same area on a report of a man who had entered a home, tried on some lingerie, and then left. Witnesses said he was wearing only a pair of black tennis shoes on his way out.

Later on, a Lakewood woman woke up to find a naked man standing over her bed wearing nothing but a condom and the woman's belt. He ran away when she confronted him.

The final incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. when a man matching the suspect's description was seen leaving an apartment along 111th Street Southwest after burglarizing it. He was, however, wearing clothes.

Police connected the burglaries to an incident that happened Aug. 1, where Sell was allegedly spotted near the intersection of 108th and Lakeview wandering around naked. Sell was already wanted for failing to register as a sex offender, according to Lakewood police.

Image via Lakewood police