The WSBeat: Parking rage; when animal-shelter visitors attack…

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:

*Last Saturday afternoon at Westwood Village, two women had been waiting for a particular parking spot when a fellow driver decided he wanted the same space. One got out of the car and stood in front of the space so that her friend could claim it. Not appreciating this, the other driver drove forward and bumped her three times in the back of the legs before parking nearby. He walked off without saying a word to the women.

Seven more summaries ahead:

*An employee of a local cat shelter was attacked by a woman who came in and wanted to leave a lactating cat but refused to explain what happened to the kittens. When the employee also explained that the shelter was closing for the season, the woman threw a cat carrier at her and shoved the victim several times. The suspect is described as a heavyset Asian/Pacific Islander with hair in a ponytail who left in a white Dodge Nitro. The employee agreed to care for the cat.

*Citizens called 911 early Sunday to report a half-naked man in the intersection of California and Admiral Way. He was screaming and hit a man before climbing onto a Metro bus. Officers stopped the bus in the 3200 block of Admiral Way. The suspect explained that unknown people were trying to kill him. He was transported to Harborview for a mental evaluation.

*In the Avalon area, a man was booked into King County Jail after he was seen flattening the tires and punching out the headlights of his neighbors’ cars. He also left a derogatory and threatening greeting card on the windshield. The suspect had also spent several hours banging on the outside of their residence, accusing them of breaking into his house. The couple is baffled by this and there is no record of a burglary at the suspect’s home. (Police also confiscated a collapsible folding knife with a 4-inch blade from the suspect.) The suspect repeatedly told officers to contact a special agent at the FBI, said the victims are “illegal aliens” and “they’d better be gone by the time I get back.” The victims were given information on how to obtain a protection order.

*Thursday evening, a severely intoxicated woman called 911 to report that she had gone to another apartment, stabbed (and buried) a person who had raped her. Because of the severity of the call, five patrol units and a K9 car raced to the 2200 block of SW Holden. They were cleared to leave the scene quite quickly, after it turned out that the woman wanted officers there so that she could give her a ride to the store, presumably for more alcohol. She was transported to a detox center. She will likely be investigated for providing a false report.

*Three young siblings ran away from home on Wednesday afternoon and went to a house in the 3000 block of SW Cambridge, toting enough clothing and belongings to fill the trunk of a car. The eight-year-old told officers that they had run away because “daddy never feeds us, yells at us, and sometimes hits us.” Officers went to their home and discovered that the kids had crawled out a window while their father slept. He was transported to the kids’ location, where they ran to greet him. Because the kids seemed well fed and in good health (with no signs of physical abuse), they were allowed to return home with dad. Officers did find the interior of the house in disarray, including some tools lying around, and recommended that dad clean up and get the tools into a safer place.

*Early last Saturday, officers were dispatched to an assault call in North Admiral. They found a man down in the parking lot of a business, semi-alert and bleeding from the mouth. Two other men (one, the victim’s brother) were trying to help him. All three were severely intoxicated and uncooperative. A witness saw the assault (which started in front of a nearby pub) and noted that two cars had fled from the scene. The victim’s brother became disruptive, yelling and trying to push past firefighters and officers and had to be placed into handcuffs for safety reasons. As it turns out, the brother was wanted on a $10,000 warrant for driving while intoxicated. He was booked into King County Jail.

*After confronting a shoplifter who was caught on tape, a Westwood Village merchant recovered $300 worth of purses on Thursday evening. But the intrigue continued when the thief’s license plate number was called in, and dispatchers realized the car was associated with an armed robbery earlier in the year. Officers waited for backup and then pulled the vehicle over at 15th S. and S. Snoqualmie. As part of the felony stop, the trunk was opened. And what to the officers’ eyes should appear but 13 bottles of perfume, 4 bras, 3 women’s tops, and 1 pink and black skirt. All told, the items were valued at over $700. The driver of the car admitted she had stolen the items. The loot was confiscated, and the 26-year-old female suspect was booked into a King County Jail for investigation of theft.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The WSBeat has an archive category of its own. 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 = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.

7 Replies to "The WSBeat: Parking rage; when animal-shelter visitors attack..."

  • 35this35mph December 24, 2011 (12:29 pm)

    “a derogatory and threatening greeting card “

    • WSB December 24, 2011 (12:42 pm)

      I probably should have added quote marks around “greeting” …

  • Lola P December 24, 2011 (12:58 pm)

    Hopefully CPS was alerted to follow-up with the 3 runaways. Kids don’t just run away for no reason. Something’s up there. Even if there’s just a need for counseling, someone needs to watch this family.

  • Neighbor December 24, 2011 (4:17 pm)

    This is crap I read then afterwards thinks god not again why do give this stuff space in my head. Better left unread. He who is blind and dumb will live a hundred years in peace and tranquility.

  • JoAnne December 25, 2011 (11:00 am)

    Megan’s police blotter has been read for many years by WS folks who want to know what is going on around them. Our neighborhood continues to change, with increasing population density, increasing crime, and higher proportions of transient residents with no stake in this community. The blotter is one of the few tangible measures of this change, and it is important to be aware of the increasing danger around us in this once-safe and relatively uneventful community. Thanks for the blotter WSB and Megan Sheppard, and Merry Christmas.

  • rico December 26, 2011 (5:32 pm)

    The police raced to the 2200 block of SW Holden Street? Isn’t that about 200 yards from the Delridge Precinct?

    I don”t know about you, but the image of policemen rounding up dogs, running into the parking lot, starting autombiles and burning rubber to get to a crime happening across the street strikes me as very odd.

  • doug December 27, 2011 (5:54 pm)

    @rico
    It is very odd. I once reported a burglary in progress only to have an officer show up literally 45 minutes later when I live up the hill from the precinct. I really do want to believe in our police force out here but jeez, the things they do are leaving that belief pretty hopeless.

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