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West Seattle Crime Watch: Next-door neighbors burglarized

February 1, 2010 2:44 pm
|      30 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

From the WSB inbox – two West Seattle homes, next door to each other, burglarized over the weekend – read on for the report, including the unusual choice of loot:

From one of the victims, who asked to be anonymous:

Around 3 pm on Saturday (1/30/10) there were two adjacent houses broken into that we are aware of, both on 46th Avenue between Charlestown & Spokane [map]; ours was one of the houses and police told us that the one next to us was also hit.

The thieves must have entered soon after we left by breaking in our back door. They stole many of our smaller electronics and some other valuables. Seems worth noting that in addition to the typical things you’d expect them to steal, we believe they also stole some shea body butter (~$30 value) that was sitting out on our table and, sadly, they also cherry picked some of our favorite DVDs (mostly romantic comedies) from our small collection. Also of note, they took about $30 worth of pocket change from a drawer but left a wallet full of credit cards that was right next to the change in plain sight.

Afterward, they recalled they’d gotten a door-to-door visit from someone wearing Comcast gear and with a badge marked “contractor,” who seemed to have information only someone from the company would know, but the victim mentioned it to the police anyway, just in case. Plus:

Also, there was a U-haul truck that we noticed arriving when we left, and leaving when we came back (I noticed it as I was leaving because I thought I needed to shut my car door to allow it to drive past me, but it pulled over, so I drove off … and then I saw it leaving just as I pulled up to park again, and didn’t put two and two together until after we realized we had been victimized). …

We were only gone for about one hour, and we wished we had been more cautious about the suspicious things going on around us, even if those things were not related to the incident … in retrospect, something bad was about to happen and there may have been clues.

Hope this helps contribute to the body of knowledge, we have to organize to counter their tactics

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30 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Next-door neighbors burglarized"

  • jtm February 1, 2010 (3:01 pm)

    This is awful. I continue to be astonished by how brazen these thieves are – broad daylight on a weekend! There must be serious casing going on.

  • Brandon February 1, 2010 (3:01 pm)

    Are buglaries common around this area? I am moving pretty close that area into a home and am now concerned that buglaries might be riding high. Is there a neighborhood watch in that area? The area I am moving to is around hinds and 47th.

  • Mary T Sheely February 1, 2010 (3:10 pm)

    I’m curious to hear what others are doing for safety. We have two big dogs – I mean BIG. They seem to be a wonderful deterrent.

  • K.A.T. February 1, 2010 (3:11 pm)

    When we lived at 46th and Charleston we got broken into a few times.

  • Cathy February 1, 2010 (3:21 pm)

    Brandon, I’d check it out before you move. My friends on 47th & Andover had their back door smashed in a month ago. It sounds like the same guy described above with what he took from their house. The police didn’t even bother showing up until they were called 3 times. Maybe if this guy gets nabbed, the neighborhood will be better. Other than that, the neighborhood is really family friendly.

    Good luck

  • dsa February 1, 2010 (3:28 pm)

    It sounds like someone who lives nearby is doing this as is often the case.

  • waman February 1, 2010 (3:36 pm)

    Hmmmmmm…. U Haul truck – would that have been rented out with identification ? Maybe the thieves can be tracked?

  • SarahScoot February 1, 2010 (3:40 pm)

    waman: the problem with the U-Haul part of the equation is that this past weekend was the last weekend of the month, meaning a big moving weekend. There were probably many U-Haul trucks rented out, and there are a few locations nearby that rent them. It could definitely have been a moving truck being legitimately used for moving, or maybe someone smart enough to know that no one would think twice of a moving truck in their neighborhood on the 30th/31st of the month.
    Either way, unless the license plate or a good description of the truck was noted, I doubt much can be done with such vague information.

  • TJ February 1, 2010 (3:44 pm)

    Brandon I grew up on 47th between Hanford and Hinds and never had a problem. It’s a great neighborhood, any neighborhood can have thefts and breakins. Not just “bad” ones! People pick houses in good neighborhoods sometimes because they will assume you have nice things. Security systems (or lookalikes), dogs, motion detectors, all of it helps deter thieves. But really I wouldn’t not move there because of one incident or even a few, because it’s probably not that bad when you look at the overall picture of the neighborhood over time. The benefits will greatly outweigh the crime rate!

  • Chuck and Sally\\\'s Van Man February 1, 2010 (3:47 pm)

    Dogs are the best home protection there is. Four years ago I was working at home in my basement and stationed toward the rear of my house, with both my labs inside snoozin’ away. I did not hear anything out of the ordinary, but all of a sudden both dogs went ballistic. So I went out the back door in time to see a scummy dude walking quickly off my property toward the street. I think my dogs may have heard him rattle the side door of my neighbor’s home, or he just crunched on the walkway gravel to check out my place.

    I was so dumbstruck I just let him walk off. But I recognized him as a “neighbor” living in some crappy apartments up the street, so if anything ever happened I knew who to go after. I am sure that even if I was not home the dogs alone would have put up enough ruckus to scare him away, as they were normally in a pen in the back yard. No way a thief hears all that and feels secure.

    Good dogs!!

    Chuck

  • Brandon February 1, 2010 (3:57 pm)

    I have lived in West Seattle my whole life so I know how great it is. Just want to see if I need to take extra precaution. Does anyone know if there is a neighborhood watch? If not we should form one as I heard this is a great way to prevent robberies. Scruff McGruff!

  • flowerpetal February 1, 2010 (4:06 pm)

    Dogs are not the best deterrent. Ask my neighbors who have two big dogs who’s house was ransacked while the dogs were at home. These dogs both are formidable barkers and don’t bark a friendly “Hi! Come on in and see me” kind of bark. The burglar brought along a large package of hotdogs; coaxed the dogs into the fenced back yard and then did his dirty work.
    Here’s an additional heads-up: after a burglary, check your window locks to make sure these weren’t unlocked for future “visits.”

  • Shari Kruse February 1, 2010 (4:49 pm)

    There seems to be an epidemic of burglaries. My neighbors were burglarized last week in Fauntlee Hills. Back door smashed during broad daylight and many many of their possessions taken. I think an article in the WS Herald letting people know about this pattern and making everyone more aware would be a good start.

  • kristen February 1, 2010 (6:17 pm)

    We’re on 45th between Charlestown and Spokane and house was broken into this summer. Very brazen, very quick deal like this one. I am curious if the U Haul was in the alley or in front? We think that “our guys” went through alley b/c it is pretty quiet back there. What is entailed if you set up an official neighborhood watch? It seems like a good idea at this point!!

  • kayd February 1, 2010 (6:42 pm)

    Question for WS Blog — we’re new to WS as well, thank you for the great updates on all WS activities & we definitely appreciate how diligent you are with crime issues! — sounds like broader info on block watches would be welcome by all … is this something you might be able to write more about and/or point readers in the right direction to set one up on our own? Maybe an interview with the WS police dept?

  • Dennis February 1, 2010 (7:55 pm)

    We are working with the West Seattle precinct police department, (Benjamin Kinlow) and have set a date for a “block watch” gathering for the 47th Ave. SW block between Andover and Charlestown. Our date is March 24th. We are hoping Mr. Kinlow will assist us in setting up a cohesive and safe block. We have not sent out the flyers yet as the gathering is in the latter part of March but will do this soon.

  • Cheryl February 1, 2010 (8:51 pm)

    @Shari Kruse – I live in Fauntlee Hills. Where did the smash & grab of your neighbor take place? I am on Trenton, and most of the folks on my block work from home, so a LOT of us are in/around our houses all day & eve. But as a woman, with a little kid, of COURSE I’m concerned about the brazen broad daylight kick in the door kinds of break-ins! And I worry about my elderly neighbors too. :-(

  • Eric February 1, 2010 (9:30 pm)

    Look for the meth-house or the meth-user in the neighborhood and learn how to spot them. Your robber is probably one of your CLOSE neighbors. Not many random criminals know you were going to be gone “just then” and not be back during the next 5 minutes. If you live on a dead end street or in the middle of a long block, your neighbor and his accomplice has at least a two minute warning before you get home. It isn’t like the movies where the perp parks in the street watching your home. Your neighbor is watching from their yard/house looking normal.

    When you start your block watch, ask your neighbors which one does does drugs….You will be surprised what they know.

  • GWS February 1, 2010 (10:26 pm)

    I also live very close to the area where the break-ins occurred and also suffered through one in early Oct. The MO described above was very similar to my break-in. I’m almost positive that the people responsible were probably walking around with a backpack and stuffed whatever they could quickly grab into it. As for the block watch in the Charlestown Hill area, I’m all for it and will gladly participate.

  • MellyMel February 1, 2010 (10:51 pm)

    We are between 45th/46th and Andover and got hit twice in the last 5 years. Once in Oct and once in early Dec. Basement door kicked in. I am braced for 3rd time around, even with alarm and monitoring now.

  • tincanrocket February 2, 2010 (2:04 am)

    I live in this area and work from home. I am always looking our my window into my neighbor’s yards when I know they are not home. Burglars would be complete fools to try anything on my watch.

    My brother is SPD and I have requested extra patrols made in the Charlestown area around 46th, 47th & 48th. He said, “done”.

  • rob February 2, 2010 (7:11 am)

    Benjamin Kinlow the SW crime prevention guy, put some bright yellow flyers in my neighborhood a couple weeks ago. The flyers said that someone in our neighborhood had been burglarized, even though no one had and it worried many of my old neighbors. 3 days later a couple flyers were still on doors and fences and they looked telling to any want-to-be burglar saying “No one is home, this yellow flyer has been here for days”.

    I called him and told him next time to contact people directly, not to scare the hell out of some old people with a vague flyer advertising a crime that did not even occur in our neighborhood.

  • neighbor February 2, 2010 (10:28 am)

    We recently replaced and upgraded our old glass/wood door on the back/side of the home with a security door and locks. This was in response to the reoccuring burglaries happening in West Seattle. Note: most break ins are through a back or side door. The price was well worth the piece of mind.

  • looking for logic February 2, 2010 (12:55 pm)

    The thieves are getting desperate, brazen and they are semi professional. It seems like they know the neighborhood and they have a system. You were gone for 1 hour, that is disconcerting.

    Let’s nail these jerks, they are not working, so watch your neighborhood for the guys/gals that are borderline dishonest and not working, they need rent money and they are getting pushed hard this season.

    What are the common denominators? Are they hitting 9-11 AM, around the first of the month that always brings out the rats. Is there roads that they use to get away, are they hitting alleys, new houses, what are the common traits? Are they randomly driving around watching people leave their houses and just hitting without planning?

    How a bout when we leave our houses drive a few blocks and circle back? That might make them unbalanced enough. Let’s make west Seattle inconvenient to burglarize.

  • kristen February 2, 2010 (1:30 pm)

    Dennis–would love to join the March 24th gathering–hope you distribute info here on 45th Ave btwn Charlestown and Spokane! Thanks!

  • rawkergrrrl February 2, 2010 (3:42 pm)

    I think the U-Haul might have been neighbors moving from that block to a house just one block south because they had their kids moving some smaller things in a wagon for the last three days… maybe they saw something.

  • Charlestown neighbor February 6, 2010 (11:16 pm)

    Thank you everyone for the helpful information. Even though we’ve been burglarized, we still love West Seattle, and it is unlikely that these burglaries are isolated to West Seattle. Wherever there are items that can be pawned or hawked on Craigslist, there’s some thief that wants them.

    Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned since the burglary (along with a few opinions of our own).

    As a neighborhood, we need to coordinate our efforts. We will plan to contribute.

    We have heard lots of stories about how Craigslist seems to be fueling this problem. Let’s start getting the word out that until Craigslist puts in some security measures to deter thieves from selling our stuff, it is little more than an online black market and pawn shop.

    From what we’ve heard and read, there is a fairly serious mail theft problem in West Seattle. Best thing to do is to lock your mailbox or get a P.O. box.

    Serial numbers are helpful to the police, take an hour and go through your electronics and write down the serial numbers and store them somewhere online so they can be included with police reports.

    An audible (external) alarm or a dog is a very good deterrent to burglary.

    We’ve also heard that people sometimes don’t report the issue even when they see it or hear it. As a neighborhood, we should be reporting to police when we hear audible alarms and barking dogs or anything that sounds like it could be really bad.

    After this experience, we’re absolutely convinced that suspicious soliciting (such as our Comcast visitor) or loitering activities (such as the type we’ve read about here on the other WSB burglary postings) should be reported immediately to the police (not hours later, immediately). We will be doing our part by calling the police on suspicious solicitors and ask them to come out and check their credentials.

    We’ll keep checking in here, we really appreciate the helpful information, and we hope that sharing what we’ve learned since our burglary will help others to prevent it from happening to them.

  • alki_2008 February 7, 2010 (2:10 am)

    I’m sorry your home was burglarized, but to assert that Craigslist is part of the problem is ridiculous. People were selling stolen items for years before the internet even existed. Why don’t you blame Ebay or pawn shops or the Little Nickel? Blaming Craigslist for thefts is like blaming gun manufacturers when someone is shot.
    .
    Your other points have more merit.

  • Mom of jmo February 18, 2010 (8:53 pm)

    Our house on 44th was burglarized in Dec. while we were out of town. Since then I have permitted my dogs to make their presence known. I apologize to any neighbors that might be annoyed by their barking but they are very good with letting me know if anyone is around the house. Thought readers might be interested in knowing that the lines..phone and comcast were cut and the electrical meter smashed affectively cutting the power to the house. Small electronics were taken and jewelry and an electric toothbrush!! Be careful but make things more difficult for them to quickly enter and leave with your valuables.

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