Seattle Police have recovered several stolen items - including sports memorabilia belonging to the Trufant family's charity - that were taken in a series of moving van heists in the past two months.
Police say they were tipped to a barn in Renton from a citizen who went to buy computer equipment and recognized some of the stolen items from recent news reports.
After a Seattle Police SWAT raid revealed piles of stolen items, detectives recognized something they found in a drawer.
“They found a small stack of trading cards, autographed Marcus Trufant trading cards,” said Constance Trufant, mother of the Seahawk cornerback, and chairperson of the Trufant Family Foundation.
“I was a little disappointed. I was hoping we’d find, you know, some of the more expensive items we had,” Trufant said, after being invited by SPD detectives into the barn to identify her stolen items.
“We had autographed footballs, lots of them, and autographed helmets from the Seahawks, the Jaguars the Falcons and the Jets. They’re all gone,” she said.
Constance and Lloyd Trufant are the parents of three NFL players. In addition to Marcus, who recently signed with Jacksonville, Isaiah plays for the New York Jets, and youngest brother Desmond
will play this season for the Atlanta Falcons. “They’re appalled by this,” Constance Trufant told KIRO-7. “They were like, who steals from disadvantaged kids?”
Lloyd Trufant pointed out the items they did recover among the other stolen items scattered in the garbage-strewn barn.
“We got the red carpet, which we rented, some traffic cones, and some display stands,” he said. “Look, I never thought we’d get this back. I’m glad the thief got caught. It shows us the system works.”
The Trufants are still missing autographed footballs and helmets from the three teams their sons play for: The Seahawks, The Jaguars and The Jets.
They ask anyone who has those items to return them to help their charity.
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