The WSB inbox has been devoid of first-person crime reports lately, so when we dropped by the Southwest Precinct this afternoon to check the latest police reports, we asked Lt. Steve Paulsen if things are indeed as quiet as they seem. Not entirely crime-free, as you’ll see in this report, but yes (knock wood), it’s been relatively quiet. After more than a dozen burglary arrests, for example, they think the word’s starting to get out on the street that you’re not so likely to get away with it in West Seattle. That said, we’ve got some summaries to share, including burglaries and car break-ins as well as the search for a man who tried to lure a girl into his car, gang-affiliated squatters getting the boot, more cases of alert witnesses helping foil crimes, and more – all from a full week’s worth of reports:

CHILD APPROACHED: This happened around Delridge and Genesee between 8 and 9 am Monday morning. A 14-year-old girl was walking toward a bus stop when a man in a silver Ford Taurus tried to get her to get into his car, first by whistling, then motioning, then by getting out of the car and yelling at her. A nearby bus driver saw all this, and the girl went to the driver for help; as soon as the man realized the girl was getting adult help, he drove off. He was described as in his 20s, “light skinned” with “big lips” but unknown ethnicity, wearing a light-colored T-shirt.

SQUATTERS BOOTED: Officers checking on an abandoned house in the 5400 block of 26th SW last Friday morning found three 19-year-olds inside, two males, one female. They all admitted to being members of a certain gang that they claim has members “crashing in abandoned houses all over West Seattle,” according to the police report. A stolen Cadillac was found in the garage, but the three weren’t determined to be linked to it. One of the three had a warrant out for his arrest and was taken to jail.

WINDSTORM OUTAGE HELPS CATCH WANTED MEN: When the power was out in part of north West Seattle around 10 pm Monday, police saw a man go through the blacked-out intersection of Avalon and Spokane without stopping first. When they pulled him over, they learned the 40-year-old had a felony warrant out for his arrest; he was booked into jail. Also turns out that a 49-year-old man in the car had warrants out for his arrest as well — and there was a new reason for police to arrest him — crack cocaine discovered in the car.

DOG TROUBLE: Two incidents involving pit bulls: Around 3:30 pm June 4th, a caller from the 5000 block of Delridge told police a neighbor threatened to shoot the two pit bulls she dog-sits for a relative. She heard them barking in her fenced yard, went to investigate, told police she saw the neighbor’s preschooler throwing rocks and barking at the dogs. She yelled at the neighbor to get the child to leave the dogs alone and says he threatened to shoot the dogs. The neighbor later told police the dogs were barking aggressively at his son. Police told the neighbor to deal directly with Animal Control if he had a problem with the dogs, and also to stop his child from teasing the dogs. Second incident — In the 4700 block of 26th SW around 5:30 pm last Saturday, a man saw his two five-month old pit bulls Misty and Drama being taken away in a dark gray Pontiac Grand Prix or Grand Am. He says they’re black with white markings on their face and neck, and he made flyers to distribute to neighbors.

TEENAGERS SUSPECTED IN BREAK-IN ATTEMPT FOILED BY ALERT NEIGHBOR: Around 8 pm last Thursday in the 3200 block of 40th SW, a man home with his family looked out and saw four teenage boys walking past his house. He suspected they were selling something door-to-door and kept an eye on where they went. He saw them walk up to a nearby house — and then, he told police, he saw them trying to kick the door in. He ran out and yelled; they ran away. Another family member started driving off to try to follow them while others called the police. Three teens were eventually caught coming out of the bushes near 39th and Hinds; police say they recognized two of them from “previous contacts.” They all denied involvement but were taken to the precinct and interviewed. The report says they are possible suspects in another burglary.

RESIDENT SCARES BURGLAR AWAY: A man asleep in the 9000 block of 9th SW around 3 am June 3rd woke up when an intruder turned up in his room, after popping a screen out of a second-floor window in the apartment and climbing inside. The resident shouted; the intruder promptly bolted.

BRICK BREAK-IN: Sometime between 4 and 8 pm last Thursday, someone threw a brick through a bathroom window in the 3800 block of SW Andover to get into the home. Nothing seemed to have been taken, but the woman who lived there noticed something was amiss when she came home and found a light on that hadn’t been on when she left. The brick also gouged a hallway wall.

DECK BREAK-IN: In the 4000 block of 32nd SW, sometime between 9 am and 9:30 pm last Thursday, someone got in through a sliding glass door from a deck. They left a door ajar when they got away, which is what first tipped the returning resident to the break-in; a camera and charger were missing, and a jewelry drawer had been ransacked too.

NEWLY BUILT HOME HIT TWICE: Two reports in two days involve the same newly constructed home on Atlas Place over Beach Drive. Early June 3rd, somebody kicked in the front door and stole tools worth more than $700; around noon on June 4th, the owner reported another break-in attempt had damaged a door, though nothing was reported to have been taken.

BUSINESS BURGLARY: A bar in the 6400 block of California was broken into early Saturday morning; someone pried a door open to get inside. The jukebox was damaged but cash in a back office was left “undisturbed.” The police report adds “there have been reports of several similar burglaries to bars in the area, with one occurring about the same time last night.”

FAST-WORKING BURGLAR: During an hourlong walk to the store last Thursday evening, a resident in the 4700 block of Cottage Place SW became a burglary victim. Somebody entered through a sliding-glass door and made off with jewelry.

BOOZY BREAK-IN: Someone kicked open the front door of a residence in the 4800 block of 25th SW between 10:30 am Thursday and 12:40 am Friday, stole a TV and laptop, and left behind a half-finished can of Olde English malt liquor (which, the victim said, had to have been brought in by the burglar[s] as well as left behind).

SUNDAY MORNING SCUFFLE: Just after midnight Sunday, three friends had left a nearby tavern and were walking southbound on California SW, on the west side of the street, in the 6500 block. They saw a white mid-’90s Chevy half-ton pickup near the drive-thru window at the area McDonald’s, with three people inside. As they passed it, they told police, someone in the pickup shouted “Hey, let me borrow 20 bucks!” When they yelled back that they had no money, the people in the truck yelled back “Go get a job!” and then started shouting obscenities. The truck eventually drove off but then suddenly its occupants turned up out of the truck and running toward the three friends. A short scuffle ensued; one person fell on the sidewalk and hit his head, another got punched in the mouth, the three attackers took off while the victims were calling 911.

CAR BREAK-IN: Late Monday or early Tuesday, an iPod was stolen from a car broken into in the 9400 block of 16th SW after the culprit(s) shattered its side/front passenger window.

MORE CAR BREAK-INS: Between 1 am and 6 pm last Saturday in the 8100 block of 8th SW, two cars were broken into; stolen items included a laptop, bowling bag with ball and shoes, 4 twelve-packs of soda, and three dollars in change.

FRIDAY NIGHT VANDALISM: Five incidents last Friday night/Saturday morning — a tire was slashed in the 6000 block of California; a car’s hood and air scoop were dented and scratched in the 2300 block of California, two cars had windows shattered at 28th and Andover, somebody shattered a side door at a restaurant in the 6500 block of California.

GUN FOUND ON THE GROUND: Someone walking their dog at 35th/Morgan around 6 am Saturday found a gun on the ground and turned it in to police.

LOCKER THEFT: Last Saturday morning, a man’s locker was broken into at a Westwood Village fitness facility; items taken included his wallet and training gloves, and the thief or thieves promptly made about $50 in fraudulent charges using his cards.

FOOTNOTE TO THE ARMED-ROBBERY ARREST LAST THURSDAY: A few more details – the suspect arrested by police for the Game Stop stickup is 22 years old and is still in jail (we just checked the register) with bail set at $100,000. According to the reports we read, much of the stolen property and money was recovered near the scene that day, including two PS3 consoles found on a retaining wall at 17th/Barton and two Grand Theft Auto 4 games found in a nearby trash can.

Added early Thursday morning – e-mailed by Christy:

Today [Wednesday] about 2:50 p.m. we heard some “thumping” noises from our neighbors house sounding like someone was kicking a door or wall. I opened the kitchen door and saw three 15 – 16 year old males on our neighbors porch. They couldn’t really see me because there is thick landscaping between our houses but after they heard my door open, they casually wandered down from the porch and out onto the sidewalk. We watched them walk down 45th Ave. south to Genesee Ave. and turn right heading west. My husband got into his car and drove around the block to see where they went while he called 911. They went west to the alley between 45th Ave. SW and 46th Ave. SW. Three males, one with a red knit hat, all had baggy pants, two with dark colored hoods up and they were 5’4 approx. They were trying to climb our rockery wall in the alley and throwing something at our garage from the alley. A few minutes later, they were once again on the porch of our neighbors. The police had still not arrived so we kept watch. The neighbor on the other side came out on his porch and made himself visible. The young men asked something about “what time is it” and then once again casually walked off the porch and down the street.

The police arrived finally, took descriptions and they started to patrol the area.

The young men were not found and they did not accomplish a break-in to our neighbors house.

School is almost out. Bored kids? I don’t know but keep your doors locked and neighbors, watch out for each other.

And as we always remind you – don’t hesitate to call police when you see or hear something suspicious, and of course when you believe a crime has been (or is being) committed. In addition to 911, there’s a non-emergency line at 206/625-5011. A big collection of Seattle Police crime-prevention resources is linked from the Southwest Precinct’s Crime Prevention page. Previous WSB police-report coverage is archived on our Crime Watch page.