By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:

*The victim of a car prowl took matters into his own hands around 1 a.m. last Saturday, when he came outside (in the 2300 block of Barton Pl.) and punched a man who he said was breaking into his car. When officers arrived, the 55-year-old suspect (who lives in the neighborhood) was on the ground, bleeding from a cut near his eye. He was taken to Harborview for treatment and then booked into King County Jail for investigation of theft.

*A man using the business phone at a Junction grocery became loud and belligerent. When the manager told the man to hang up, he was threatened and shoved. A nearby witness happened to be a police officer, who held the intoxicated suspect down until uniformed officers arrived. The suspect, a Beacon Hill resident, was booked into jail for investigation of assault.

Six more summaries, plus new details on an incident recently covered in WSB Crime Watch, ahead:

*On Thursday evening, when a driver near California and Raymond ran a bicyclist upon onto the sidewalk, the cyclist yelled, “Hey, you almost hit me.” The driver accelerated and turned sharply, hitting the cyclist on the arm with the truck. He then climbed out, reaching into a tool belt and yelling, “Come here, boy!” Concerned about being assaulted, the cyclist rode away but managed to get a partial license plate. Apparently another driver stopped to yell at the man for blocking traffic and the suspect tried to rush the car window before the driver left the scene. The suspect was described as white, in his 50s, approximately 5’8” and stocky. He drove a tan pickup truck.

*A West Seattle woman became concerned Friday evening when she noticed that her car was being followed (from Bellevue) by a stranger who had followed her on foot the previous day. She pulled over and called a friend who came and confronted the man, who claimed he was trailing the woman because she had scratched his car. When told the police had been called, the man said, “Oh forget it,” and drove off. Officers found the man several blocks away. He told officers the same story about his car being damaged, saying he had met the woman at the library. The woman later said she had not been to a library since moving here from out of state. The suspect is an Issaquah resident. The victim was given information on how to obtain a court order and has been advised to call 911 if he or his vehicle are seen in the area again.

*A 23-year-old West Seattle man and a 24-year old man from Orting were booked into King County Jail for investigation of burglary early last Saturday after they broke into the closed (but possibly to be reopened) Fairmount Park Elementary and then tried to flee from officers across the rooftop.

*Two juvenile females were seen throwing rocks from the roof of a Junction apartment building on two recent evenings, causing damage to cars below on 42nd SW. The suspects remain at large.

*Saturday, around 1 p.m., a woman was assaulted near 18th SW and Myrtle. The victim (who is pregnant) claimed that her boyfriend had grabbed her purse, stolen money and a piece of jewelry from her before throwing her from their moving car. The victim also said that the suspect has been trying to get her engaged in prostitution against her will. She was provided with domestic violence information and was picked up by a friend. The suspect remains at large.

*When she was denied entry to the Nickelsville homeless encampment in Highland Park, an intoxicated 24-year-old woman punched a female security guard. The suspect apologized, but was told to leave and not return until the next day.

NEW DETAILS ON INCIDENT FROM JUNE 2ND: What was originally reported by police on the scene to involve a family fight turned out to be something entirely different. Around 5:30 pm, a 17-year-old from Redmond started an argument with a clerk. in a store in the 8800 block of 9th SW, As he was being escorted from the premises, the teen shoved the clerk to the ground and punched him several times in the face with a closed fist. During the fight, a firearm fell from the teen’s waistband. He retrieved it, slid back the slide, pointed the gun at the clerk and said, “You made a big mistake. We’re going to come back here and kill you.” He re-entered the store to show off the weapon to a number of witnesses before fleeing with some friends. All four involved in the incident were found nearby. Three were eventually interviewed and released, but the one with the gun met a different fate. When searched, the teen had four .22-caliber long-rifle bullets in his pocket, as well as two baggies and marijuana and a pipe. As summarized in the officer’s report: “The suspect is a convicted felon, is under the age of 18, had a loaded firearm in his possession, pointed it at another person, threatened to kill him, fled the area, hid the firearm and attempted to hide from officers.” He was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of firearms violations, assault, harassment and malicious mischief.

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WSB Editor’s Note: The WSBeat has an archive category of its own, though we’re still linking the weekly reports on the WSB Crime Watch page, so you can catch it there if you miss it in the main news stream. We also continue to publish crime reports the rest of the week, when we get tips or hear noteworthy incidents via the scanner, so don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening.