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, incidents that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”:

*The Major Crimes Task Force has taken over the investigation of a motor home parked in front of a residence in the 8800 block of 20th SW. The rig’s owner is currently in jail on a felony warrant for possession of a stolen vehicle, while some of the people staying in it are associated with a stolen Oregon car found nearby. Inside the motor home was a variety of unopened mail, debit cards, IDs and driver’s licenses which were likely stolen. The stolen car contained numerous blank credit cards and software associated with customizing them. The man seen driving the stolen vehicle was booked into King County Jail for investigation of possession of stolen property.

*Friday evening of last week, in the 9600 block of 41st SW, a woman heard an insistent “tap tap tap” coming from a door that leads to an outdoor deck. She opened it, and what to her wondering eyes should appear but an unclothed white male in his 20s (but no tiny reindeer). Startled, she shut the door and called 911. (The man made no effort to enter the residence.) Though the door had been open for only a moment, the 84-year-old assured officers that she would be able to recognize the suspect if she saw him again.

Five more summaries ahead:

(More information on an incident we briefly covered at the time:) *Around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 2nd, three men entered an Admiral convenience store. One displayed a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded money. He settled for a handful of candy when the cashier explained that the only money he could access was in the cash register. All three were described as black males, 18-21 years old, of average build. A K-9 officer tracked the three to the east and then north up an alley, where the trail went cold.

*On the afternoon of the 30th, a man wandered into a market on 9th SW and stuffed a pack of beef jerky, a can of beer, two packs of cigarettes and assorted sundries into his backpack. These items, totaling around $24, earned him a ride downtown, where a bed awaited him at King County Jail. (He was wanted on a felony no-bail escape warrant.)

*Officers ran a random license-plate check on a car pulling out of a convenience store at 16th and Holden. It came back as stolen, so they stopped the vehicle in the 7300 block of 16th SW. In addition to the driver and passenger (both of whom were booked into King County Jail), the car contained several shaved keys (used in car theft), two backpacks full of car prowling tools and a large amount of change.

*On Monday afternoon around 1:30, officers were dispatched to the 9400 block of 24th SW regarding open doors at a residence. Although no one was inside, it was apparent that squatters had taken over the home, which was filled with trash. Officers also noted that someone had run a power cord to a neighboring home to access electricity.

*At a Westwood Village coffee shop, medics and an officer were dispatched to investigate a “man down” who might be overdosing. Medics could find nothing wrong with him, but a routine investigation showed that he was wanted on a felony malicious-mischief warrant. The 42-year-old was booked into King County Jail.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Remember, the CRISIS CLINIC hotline is a resource for those in crisis, including thoughts or acts of self-harm: 206.461.3222 … WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also publish crime reports when we get tips or otherwise hear about noteworthy incidents – they don’t all turn up on the scanner, so please don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.