West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary; almost-burglary; siphoning

Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, one about a burglary this past weekend, one about a break-in attempt last week while residents were home – read on (added 9:55 am, gas siphoning interrupted in progress):

From Gatewood:

I’m writing in about a theft that has happened at our house (Saturday) night between the hours of 11 PM and 2 AM (in the 7700 block of) 38th Avenue SW, right off of 35th and the Chevron gas station.

Our shed was was broken into, with tools totaling around $500 stolen including. 2 grass trimmers, a drill, 3 hammers, and a solar-powered radio.

Our neighbors noticed a Jeep that was suspiciously parked in our narrow alleyway prior to the theft.

We have notified our local police station and neighbors on the block regarding the theft and hope that everyone else on Gatewood Hill keeps an eye out for prowlers too.

From North Admiral:

Last Monday night, someone broke into our home in N. Admiral by throwing a rock through our basement bedroom window. The burglars first attempted to come in the back-door and then the front-door and finally, after failed attempts, they threw a large rock through the window. Luckily, they were scared off when lights went on in our home. Surprisingly, this didn’t take place in the middle of the night but instead at 9:45 p.m.

The police were called but there has been no follow-up since that night.

Needless to say, this has left our family feeling uneasy and our neighbors on high-alert.

Additionally, our truck was broken-into in front of our home several months ago. Luckily, in both cases, no one was hurt and nothing of value was stolen.

Please keep a look out for anything suspicious in your neighborhood!

ADDED 9:55 AM: Just received from Lori:

A man wearing camouflage pants and jacket broke into our van, parked in the alley, and siphoned out about a ½ tank of gasoline. My husband encountered the man at about 5:40 am on Tuesday, November 25th – when my husband opened the back door to leave, the air was filled with the smell of gas. He went out to the alley and found the man at our van. The man swore at my husband, grabbed his can and hose and ran north up the alley to his old-model Ford truck. He turned to my husband and pointed what appeared to be a gun at him, then left. We reported it to the police.

We live in the 5900 block of 35th Ave SW.

sbre November 28, 2011 (9:40 am)

Where in north Admiral did this occur?

Sue November 28, 2011 (10:10 am)

I was robbed last Monday morning (on 8200 block of Northrop.) I came home in the morning and found 4 teenage girls in my house. I chased them out and called 911. They had thrown a brick through my back door window. They got away with my jewelry and some small electronics. I did get their car license number and gave it to the police. They were driving a brown/burgandy Cadillac. The car and girls were seen in the neighborhood a few days earlier, apparently casing us out.
Two days after the incident 2 teenage guys came by my house around 11:15 dressed in Northpole pants and fairly nice jacket, no leaflets. They saw me, looked a little surprised and asked if I needed any ‘yardwork done’. I said no and called 911. I think they were the ‘cleanup crew’.
Anyway, be on the alert for that Cadillac and those girls. They were dressed in jeans and hoodies with hats underneath the hoodies, looked like 99% of the kids, but they are out in the morning when they should be at school.

WSB November 28, 2011 (10:19 am)

Sorry to hear it. I believe that’s the burglary we noted – though with fewer details – here https://westseattleblog.com/2011/11/west-seattle-crime-watch-burglars-alert-stolen-car-found ; police believe it’s part of a citywide pattern … TR

Annie November 28, 2011 (10:46 am)

Hey there, this North Admiral break in is most interesting to us – the same thing happened while we were out of town for the Thanksgiving holidays – it would either have been Wed., Thurs., or Fri. night. Our basement window was broken in but I guess the contents of our basement weren’t enticing so they left, and as far as we can tell, didn’t even come in. We notified the police and have notified our neighbors to be on alert as well. Not the nicest thing to come home to but we were really glad nothing was taken.

AH November 28, 2011 (12:06 pm)

Not sure if this was ever reported. Block of 98th and Calif. Two weeks ago burglars kicked in a neighbor’s door and made off with jewelry, computers, electronics, etc. Turns out 2 kids were casing the house next door that same day, banging on the door, but the owner was home and said she didn’t want to buy the books they said they were selling.
Today there was a suspicious silver VW Passat slowly cruising the streets as I left for work around 8am. I followed each turn for a few blocks and made a point of being obvious as I took a photo with my phone but glare obscured the license. Scruffy middle aged guy with a beard driving the car then took off up 98th.

WSB November 28, 2011 (1:18 pm)

Thanks, AH. The more of these we hear about, the more we can share the word, not to have everybody freaked out and paranoid, but because “knowledge is power.” Otherwise, we don’t hear about them unless they are mentioned on the scanner, or they wind up in the WSBeat (the focus of which is mostly other types of incidents) – the city’s “crime map” has at least a 12-hour lag and actual details take up to a week. Meantime, I just got one more report of a burglary late this morning – going to publish that one separately since it’s fresh.

WSRes November 28, 2011 (1:50 pm)

I would be interested to know if the 5900 35th robbery and assault was in the alley East or West of 35th, since I live on this block.

WTF November 28, 2011 (2:09 pm)

I would go out on a limb here (again) and say that visibility is power!!! The more we “live” in the front, back and sides of our homes even if we just sit in a lawn chair or hand water our lawns… Change up your daily pattern; park in front of your house instead of the alley; have friends who don’t work stop by for a visit during the day–just to knock on your door, etc., your home will be marked as undesirable and not-vulnerable.

Alki November 28, 2011 (3:31 pm)

I had my car broken into Friday the 18th overnight while parked on Alki Ave. Had my Garmin stolen. Just another reason to make sure you don’t leave anything of value in your car. I had the Garmin out of sight, but had the charger plugged in. Repairs cost more than the stolen items.

ws grouch November 28, 2011 (5:39 pm)

Teenage girl dressed in jeans and a dark hoodie with the hood pulled over her head rang doorbell and knocked on front window. The window knock made me think my sister was here as that is usually how she notifies me she’s come for a visit. When I answered the door the girl stated her name was Keisha and she had information regarding NARAL she wanted me to read. Maybe she was legit however it seemed strange considering the rash of home robberies reported lately where teenage girls cased the neighborhood first. I declined to open my screen door and read the information she offered but watched her as she knocked on a few other doors. Another teenage girl met her a few doors down. They walked west on Hinds St. about 15 minustes ago in the 3200 block near SW Hinds. Just putting the work out there so my neighbors are aware.

M. Smith November 28, 2011 (6:44 pm)

You really expect the SPD to investigate?

bridge to somewhere November 28, 2011 (7:44 pm)

@Sue: Race or other distinguishing characteristics of the teenage girls and boys who robbed you?

lookingforlogic November 28, 2011 (10:05 pm)

Theft at work has been increasing dramatically. Spent day off installing more latches on windows & gates at home. Didn’t want to install bars on back door but probably will, it’s the weakest link and I already have some bars.

I used to leave my door unlocked but now I’m concerned. Friggin rats.

WSB November 28, 2011 (10:06 pm)

Police confirmed tonight, there’s been a burglary spike. They have specific neighborhoods and times that seem to be most-targeted lately. I’m about to publish a separate story on that … TR

WSB November 29, 2011 (7:39 am)

Note from the management: No name-calling and outright rudeness tolerated. Plenty of other places online you can go give and receive that to your heart’s content. For example: The question posed above by “Bridge to Somewhere” is a valid one. The way B2S posed it is straightforward. Several other comments have not been approved for publication because of the way that same question was asked – either with implicit racism or with outright insults. We have no rules against including skin color/ethnicity in descriptions, when available, and we have discussed that here amply in the past. We do have rules against using it in a way that might generalize about people based on that trait, and against name-calling attacks on people (commenters, crime-reporting readers, or we the management) based on any grounds – including what you do or don’t include in a Crime Watch report. By the way, the report linked in my first comment in this thread, regarding Sue’s case, DOES include skin color in the descriptive information. – TR

bridge to somewhere November 30, 2011 (1:16 pm)

thanks WSB. i read the linked report and got the descriptive information i was seeking. i think your rules are spot-on; race/ethnicity/skin color/age/gender/etc. are helpful bits of information, but certainly *none* of that information should be used as a indicator of criminal intent! it’s only when such information is combined with other contextual information (e.g., folks appearing in someone’s back yard who don’t live there) that this information can help identify criminals.

Kyndra December 1, 2011 (4:12 pm)

I wanted to follow-up on the questions regarding the North Admiral break-in. The break-in occured at our home on the Monday prior to Thanksgiving (11/21). We live on 42nd Street. Since the break-in we have talked to several of our neighbors and learned they also had attempted break-ins over the same week. We have notfieid the police (not all incidents were previously reported), alerted more neighbors and we are in the process of forming a block-watch. It is nice to live in a neighborhood where people really watch-out for eachother. We plan to keep a more vigilent watch over our block and will be sure to post if anything further break-ins occur.
Thanks to WSB for being such a great forum for organizing against crime!

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