23 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: <strike>Stolen</strike> Blazer; window-smashing car prowl"

• Neighbor August 17, 2012 (11:35 am)

  @ Barb, is this the same Blazer that had been sitting around for days with notices from the city that the car needed to be moved? Perhaps you need to call the city to see if they towed it due to it being parked illegally.

• Irukandji August 17, 2012 (1:04 pm)

  Barb: is there any chance it was towed? I live in that neighborhood and it appeared that the vehicle was amassing a set of notes on the windshield over the past week, one orange and one white, perhaps abandoned vehicle notices from parking enforcement. Or maybe those notes/notices were a flag to thieves that no one was attending to the truck. Either way, it sucks to have your vehicle taken.
  .
  If you want to join our neighborhood blockwatch group, let me know where to contact you. I’d be glad to meet you and get you on our local list.

• bg August 17, 2012 (1:26 pm)

  Irukandji, when we called 911 they did an impound check and said that there was no record of it being impounded. We don’t drive the truck every day (obviously), but it doesn’t sit on the street any longer than other cars in the neighborhood.

  If there were notes on the windshield that makes me pretty mad also, because it’s definitely not an abandoned vehicle, and it was drove within the past few days.

  Thanks for the info. I’ll talk to my husband about the block watch.

• Irukandji August 17, 2012 (2:59 pm)

  OK. One of our neighbors saw it being towed by a red tow truck, but having seen the notes on the windshield didn’t think much about it. Sadly, he didn’t catch a company name, if there was one, on the tow truck. More info if it comes my way.

• bg August 17, 2012 (3:07 pm)

  thank you irukandji, i just got a call that it was impounded for being in the same spot for more than 72 hours, what pisses me off is that it was towed just after the 72 hours. So thank you whoever called the cops and complained about my car.

  And truly thank you irukandji for following up on this.

  on the positive side at least it wasn’t stolen.

• Irukandji August 17, 2012 (3:08 pm)

  An internet search and a phone call points to Gary’s Westside Towing, but I talked to them and they don’t have it. They suggested trying Columbia Towing, Dick’s and/or Lincoln Towing. They also suggested that it could have been a contractor’s truck, someone privately employed.

  • WSB August 17, 2012 (3:23 pm)

    FWIW the police records must indeed have had a disconnect because (I crosscheck reader reports as much as possible) SPD tweeted the car as stolen: https://twitter.com/getyourcarback/status/236456419321335809

• Irukandji August 17, 2012 (3:28 pm)

  BG, I’m glad your truck’s been found. Drop me a note at screemie at g mail dot com and I’d be glad to get you connected to the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has seen a significant increase in prowls, thefts and burglaries. We are also a regular drop-spot for stolen or abandoned vehicles. I’ll put out a follow-up note to neighbors to update the news.

• bg August 17, 2012 (3:57 pm)

  Thanks I, its at abc towing and headed there now. Im going to have to keep parking it in the same area But I am going to try to move it more often and hope I never go on vacation for longer than 72 hours. Thanks WSB for getting the word out, and thanks I for following up. The 911 operator this morning checked impound and couldn’t find it, evidently bcuz it wasn’t logged yet. So it was towed just immediately after the 72 hour point.

• MJC August 17, 2012 (4:39 pm)

  bg, did you park it in front of a neighbors house who also likes to park in front of their house? I had this problem in Kent and it was the person who owned the house we were parking in front of that was calling the police. Just a suggestion you might want to talk to your neighbor, if it was in fact parking in front of someone else’s house. I am sorry this happened to you, I know how awful it feels :(

• East Coast Cynic August 17, 2012 (4:43 pm)

  bg, I had my car impounded and towed as well for the same reason–It was parked around the corner from my house for a little over a week. One day, I couldn’t find a parking spot in front of my house so I parked it around the corner since I’ve done it in the past without a problem. Didn’t do much driving around that time due to an injured wrist. Had to pay like over $600 to get it out of a tow lot in Georgetown:( Too many busy body neighbors getting uptight over a parked car doing no harm.

• jwws August 17, 2012 (4:55 pm)

  OMG – sorry this happened. My husband had back surgery a week ago and, for practical purposes, we have his truck – which I don’t normally drive, parked on the street in front of our house and it is not likely to move for a few more weeks – guess I better start checking for notices… :-(

• Faith4 August 17, 2012 (5:25 pm)

  We had a family member that was ill & their vehicle was on the street. We had the same problem with this. Oddly, even though we moved it, we were told it was not driven far enough as they would mark the tires and look in at mileage. It was a very nice vintage truck. It ended up being a never-ending battle. We think neighbors might also have been involved. We finally had to sell the vehicle due to this and family member just giving up on the situation & having us keep doing this. If you go on vacation, need to find a place to put vehicle or someone to watch it for marks on tire and then notices on the vehicle. I wish the law could be amended somehow.

• bg August 17, 2012 (5:53 pm)

  The house we were parked in front of use their driveway, and we were a car length and a half away from their driveway so not blocking it. It was driven on the 12th and on the 13th is when the complaint came in (per the 1 notice on the car). So basically what our neighbor want is for us to start up our gas guzzling truck and move it every day. Way to be neighborly.

• Jim P. August 17, 2012 (6:59 pm)

  Just a suggestion: If you need to leave the car on the street for days at a time in front of someone else’s home, I’d get it cleaned up. (Poster described vehicle as “dirty” to whatever extant that might be.)

  No one likes a dirty vehicle parked in front of their house for days at a time, it looks bad and could reflect on the homeowner or resident in various ways.

  Someone in our neighborhood often leaves a very dirty and banged up camper van directly in front of our townhomes even though there is copious on-street parking all up and down the block, especially across the street (and no it’s not a resident, we all know each other.) it never goes away, just moves around, probably to avoid being towed. They could at least wash it and hammer out some of the dents.

  If I were trying to sell my place or had business callers at my home, I’d not be too pleased at having what appears to be one up from an abandoned vehicle out in front of my residence in the easiest spot for residents to load and unload.

  Even though it is public parking and perfectly legal, it’s a bit rude to leave something in front of someone’s house looking run down and dirty for days at a time.

  Remember to share public stuff and help contribute to the neighborhood’s look.

• Jim P. August 17, 2012 (7:07 pm)

  Money-saving tip: Get one of those foil heat shields and drape it over your dashboard and steering wheel. If they can’t read the odometer, they can’t tell if you’ve driven it “enough” for their taste.

  It’s not good for most cars to just sit for long periods of time, so starting it up and driving a bit a couple of times a week is good for it anyway.

  it gets cold enough here for condensation inside your engine and once the oil drains off the cylinder walls you are inviting very expensive engine repairs.

• East Coast Cynic August 17, 2012 (8:12 pm)

  As long as I’ve parked in front of my residence, even for over a week, I’ve never been towed nor have I received any notices. But I used to park around the corner when I went out of town for fear of my car getting hit–I live on a busy arterial where there have been quite a few accidents involving speeding cars hitting parked cars including my own which was hit a few years ago by a drunk driver and rendered a total loss. I guess I’ll have to take my chances now:/

• Neighbor August 17, 2012 (8:55 pm)

  The car had multiple notices flyin’ on the windshield. This is a very small neighborhood with very limited parking. You parked in front of a neighbor’s house who does actually park there. The car is not familiar to the people of the neighborhood. Over a dozen stolen cars get dumped here every year. How many days should we wait? It was there a pretty long time. Perhaps if you has actually driven by and reacted to the very obvious notices you could have saved yourself the trouble.

• Diana August 17, 2012 (9:32 pm)

  BG, thankfully your vehicle was not stolen and only towed. Certainly the event was a hassle and expense for you. It is your responsibility to know what the rules and regulations are regarding on street parking. It is not appropriate to assume that any particular neighbor reported you. This animosity serves no purpose. The neighborhood from which your vehicle was towed is known for having stolen vehicles dumped due to the Admiral arterial and proximity to the West Seattle Bridge and freeways. There was also a recent burglary in the neighborhood. In addition, The Seattle Police Department Agressive Driver Response Team often pulls speeders off of Admiral onto Belividere. Perhaps an officer noticed your vehicle? Unless you have proof, you don’t know. It would benefit you to get to know your neighbors and join the block watch group rather than play a “blame game.”

  • WSB August 17, 2012 (9:50 pm)

    And guys, unless someone has a comment on the other half of this story, I’m calling an end to the squabbling over whatever happened here. Barb now knows what happened to her car. I hope that if you all are really in the same neighborhood, you can work it out together. No point in facelessly quibbling here. Also, you can get involved in a block watch or other crime prevention efforts through the regular monthly meetings, resuming soon, of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council and/or West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network. Thanks. – TR

• steve August 19, 2012 (8:41 am)

  I saw an officer writing me up one day. I asked why, officer said I was parked in same spot for more than 3 days. I said sorry, and offered to move it. Officer let me off the hook.
  Officer also said that I must move to a different spot. I said fine, but you don’t mind if I tell my neighbors that it’s the police that insist I park in front of their house. Officer then changed requirement and told me to simply move and return to same spot. Great, thanks officer.. Anyways, I think enforcement in the area is a bit over zealous, but it is the law. Or, perhaps maybe, I thought maybe someone had an uncontrollable urge to sweep under my car and called, who knows. People are strange. I don’t think it’s the result of a neighbor complaining. But I must say, there are some real hypocrites that get bent out of shape if you’re parked in front of their house, and happy to park in front of yours. I just try to be courteous when parking.

• Normal August 21, 2012 (9:51 am)

  Parking in front off someone elses house, really? last time i checked these are public streets and any one can park where ever they want. Get some real problems people. If you look out side and see a car you dont like and you think you should call the cops, then your the problem.

• Endolyne August 21, 2012 (6:25 pm)

  This happened to my mother’s car a couple of different times while she was staying with me after recovering from surgery. Thankfully it did not get towed, mostly because we were in fact moving it (mostly me, since she was not back to full health) and happened to go out to move the car before the so-called final day before towing would have occurred. Actually, after reading this story, I should say that it was practically a miracle that she wasn’t being towed if some people jump the gun on calling in cars that quickly. The thing I don’t understand is how the same car can be called in more than once, even after the owner has already addressed the issue via SDOT and made it clear that it was not an abandoned car. Also, her car had a Zone 3 guest pass, which is required to park on the streets overnight in the Fauntleroy area. So, I never understood why someone thought a guest pass would be paid and used on an alleged “abandoned” car. I agree with someone else’s comment above that the 72 hr rule needs to be reviewed and revised in some way, especially under circumstances where someone is temporarily not able to drive as much due to a medical issue.

Sorry, comment time is over.