Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports from the weekend – starting with a bicycle theft; Daniel sent the photo and report:

I just wanted to share that my bike was stolen off our back porch Sept 15th. We live off Fauntleroy and Dawson (across from Fairmount Park). It was an old gray Raleigh beach cruiser I had turned into a lowrider. It wasn’t worth much by any means; I just feel cheated, is all.

Three more reports ahead, including a car prowl and a detailed account from a rollerblader who says he was attacked near Luna (Anchor) Park:

From David, who says this happened Friday night:

Around 6:15pm this evening, Friday, September 14, I was rollerblading southwest along Alki, returning to my car which was parked on Alki Ave SW west of Cactus. I had just passed the platform at the northern point of Alki and was rollerblading in the area (that ironically is right around the spot shown in the sunset picture at the top of the West Seattle Blog webpage) across the street from the first house (as you’re heading southwest toward the beach) after the row of condo buildings on the northern point. At that time a light brownish (sort of a champagne color) Jeep Cherokee pulled up alongside me with the passenger in the front seat hanging out the door, which was wide open as the Jeep was moving.

The passenger seemed to be laughing to himself and I figured they were just two guys goofing around, and that the passenger was getting dropped off to go to one of the houses across the street. The passenger then got out, charged right toward me and rammed into me, trying to knock me over. I managed to stay on my wheels and return enough force to shove the attacker away from me, and I did not fall over. I shouted “F— you!” because I was extremely angry, and I was also hoping to catch the attention of any witness nearby (this was in broad daylight with plenty of people around!) and make any witness realize I did not know the guy who attacked me (never seen either of the guys before) – I could imagine that from a distance a passer-by may think it was someone I knew joking around with me by shoving me while I was on rollerblades.

After I shoved the attacker off of me, he got back in the Jeep and the driver reached over him and flipped me off as they sped off. I shouted at them as they drove off, trying to draw attention to the scene, but nobody seemed to notice. Nobody ahead of me (coming toward me) or behind me said anything to me or asked if I was okay, so I thought perhaps nobody saw it happen. At the time immediately after the attack I figured it wasn’t worth calling the police about, since it seemed minor compared to other things I’m sure they get calls about, and I just continued to rollerblade back to my car and tried to enjoy the view of the sunset that had been so rudely interrupted. I was upset because I had not gotten the license plate number on the Jeep, although I did clearly see both men (I use that term very lightly), the make, model and color of their vehicle, as well as some other details about the Jeep – I’m listing a full description of the two guys and their vehicle in a separate paragraph below. About ten minutes later I got back to my car and my girlfriend who had been jogging on Alki, and I told her about what happened. At that point I had started thinking that I should in fact call the police and report the incident, and my girlfriend insisted that I did. Plus, I had just passed an SPD car that was driving along Alki near the restaurants, so I thought that maybe an officer in the Alki vicinity could track down the Jeep if it was still in the area.

I called SPD at 6:29 pm and reported the incident. I told the dispatcher I did not get the license plate number, but I was able to give a full description of the two guys and the Jeep, except for the attacker’s clothing, which I only vaguely remembered because at the time of the attack I was a bit too startled to notice and was more focused on remembering their faces (clothes can be changed, but faces can’t). After the call my girlfriend and I got in the car and were about to leave, and then the Jeep slowly drove right on by on the opposite side of the street, this time heading east toward Cactus. The driver was scanning the beach area with his eyes – the guy’s facial expression really gave me a bad feeling, and I became very glad that I had called the police. I have no idea if they were looking for me again, looking for someone else to attack, or just looking to cause more trouble in general. The driver did not see me in my car, and I happily swung my head over my left shoulder and captured his license plate number … I immediately called SPD again (this was 13 minutes after my first call) and gave them the additional info. This time I was talking to a different dispatcher and at first she could not find my original call in their records because I had not provided an address at which the incident occurred (I didn’t know the address, so I just gave a description), but soon thereafter she talked to the other dispatcher and they got it sorted out.

Here are the details summarized:

– Vehicle: Late 1990s/early 2000s Jeep Cherokee. Light brownish-champagne in color. Damage to the front right fender. Some cosmetic damage along the length of the vehicle.
– License plate: Washington. 839—.
– Attacker: Hispanic male. Early to mid 20s. About 5’ 6” tall. Very short buzz-cut hair. Stocky build.
– Driver: Hispanic male. Early to mid 20s. Shoulder-length wavy black hair. Slender build.

I do not know if this incident was simply two guys being stupid and thinking it would be funny to go knock someone off his rollerblades, or if there was a more malicious intent (robbery, etc.) that was thwarted because I managed to shove the attacker away from me. But I figured that if they were bold enough to attack a 6’ tall male in broad daylight in a pretty busy area, then what would they have done if they came across someone rollerblading or running alone in the later darker hours of the evening?

I ask that anyone enjoying Alki or any other place in West Seattle please stay vigilant and keep an eye out for these guys and anyone else that may wish to do you harm. And if you see or experience any malicious behavior make sure to at least report it to SPD, as trivial as it may seem. The more police presence we have here, the more lowlifes such as the two guys I’ve described will be deterred from our neighborhood. I know one thing – my girlfriend and I will be right back down at Alki rollerblading, running, biking, and enjoying sunsets as we always do. Because when we in the civilized part of society become too nervous to enjoy the places we love, the bad guys win. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and cheers to West Seattle!

On Saturday, Todd reported a car prowl:

Just to report a car prowl 38th ave sw in the Admiral district. Nothing of great value taken. But as a reminder to all that are victims of such an event, please report it to the police for statistical purposes. Here is the link: https://secure.coplogic.com/dors/en/filing/selectvictimtype.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: That wasn’t working as a direct link, so try: http://www.seattle.gov/spd/report/default.htm )

From Keith, sent early this evening – may not necessarily have been crime-related, but police were called just in case:

Just wanted to let you know a suspicious white modern Chevrolet shortbed pickup truck appeared to be driving around and around my neighborhood in the 35th & Manning area. First they came around the corner waiting for a vehicle to pass so they could go up the street, but the driver gazed into my garage while I was in there with intense curiousity. I checked the direction and noticed they took an abrupt left up the street. A minute later they came past again overly paying attention to the contents of my garage. I took down the licence plate, and reported to the police. Police are currently driving thru the neighborhood looking for the driver. I was later on my deck and saw the same truck up the street. Very unnerving.

Another reminder that the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council resumes its monthly meetings this Tuesday, 7 pm (September 18) at the Southwest Precinct meeting room, off Webster west of Delridge Way SW. Want to bring concerns to police leadership, and/or hear firsthand about the latest crime trends? Set aside just an hour and a half (sometimes less) to be there.