Julio Rodríguez addresses robbery at his home
ANAHEIM -- Julio Rodríguez on Friday night addressed the targeted burglary he was a victim of last month that was made public earlier in the afternoon by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Seattle, which were part of multiple charges against the suspect that also included two robberies at the home of Mariners teammate Luis Castillo.
“It's difficult because, man, I just want to go play baseball and have everybody enjoy what I do and kind of bring joy to people once I'm on the field and things like that,” Rodríguez said. “And to have people trying to hurt me and my family, trying to take away the things that I've worked so hard my whole life to be able to have, and be able to provide for my family.
“And when you're out there helping people, you see these guys kind of like, 'Oh, I'm going to take advantage of that.’ ... And like without no care in the world for you or your life or your loved ones. And I think that was the toughest part for me to swallow.
“It was a very difficult time for me and my family, to be honest. And obviously, like, they just [made it public] now, but it happened a while back ago. And that's a lot of the things that kind of happened behind the scenes that a lot of people don't know. But it was very difficult, man, at times to be out there. Very scary.”
The certification for probable cause document released by the attorney’s office charged a 21-year-old Seattle man with targeted home burglaries of four Seattle-area professional athletes -- including Rodríguez, Castillo, Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (a Seattle-area native) and Richard Sherman, formerly of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
Each of the armed break-ins are believed to have been committed by the same two men, per the King County Prosecutor’s Office. One of the suspects has not been publicly identified.
Also listed in court documents was an attempted burglary by the same suspects at the home of Edgar Martinez, the Hall of Famer and Mariners director of hitting strategy, though the suspects reportedly left when they realized someone was home.
Rodríguez’s home was burglarized on May 1, according to the document, while his girlfriend was the only one at home and called 911. During the call, she barricaded herself in the main bedroom bathroom, had to whisper into the phone to avoid being heard, then had to use her body weight against the bathroom door to stop the suspect, according to the charges.
The suspects fled with nearly $200,000 in high-end purses and jewelry, and were pursued by police, who reported hearing several loud bangs that nearby utility workers told police they believed to be gunshots, the document said.
“I'm just trying to enjoy baseball and enjoy my dream and play,” Rodríguez said. “And like, you have people trying to hurt you. In my head, you know there are bad people out there, but once it happens to you, and you actually kind of face that reality right there firsthand, it's not a good feeling. I don't wish that to anybody else.
“And to be able to be in your house and not feel so safe, or feel like somebody is watching you, or kind of waiting for you to leave to get into your house and things like that, I don't think it's a good feeling. And I don't think anybody in this world is working for that, and I don't think anybody deserves that. I feel like everybody should work for what they actually want without trying to hurt anybody.
“Like, people could have lost a life in the house, just because somebody is trying to get your things. And I just wish people would think a little bit more and actually think about the other person.”
Rodríguez said that he’s had full support from the Mariners and law enforcement.
“They have been always there for us and talking to people, the police officers and everybody to make sure that we're safe,” Rodríguez said. “And that's something that I'm grateful [for] because, man, I don't know what I would do if I were to lose somebody I love.”
Castillo’s home was robbed twice, according to the charges -- the first on Feb. 7, while he was at his offseason home in the Dominican Republic just before Spring Training, and the second on March 28, the same day that he started the Mariners’ second game of the regular season at T-Mobile Park. Over $100,000 in items were stolen between the two incidents, according to the document.
One day after the second robbery at Castillo’s residence, on March 29, an attempted burglary by the suspects allegedly took place at Martinez’s home, per the document, which said that the same vehicle was seen. Martinez’s house manager was home at the time and reported it to police, and no entry was made.