West Seattle Crime Watch: Busy burglars, & 3 more reader reports

We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with a busy week for burglars. Sixteen in the past week, according to the city crime-report map (three of the icons in the screengrab above represent two each). One of the victims is Lara – again:

I wanted to report that I was burglarized for the second time in 6 months (plus 3 additional thefts of plants, outdoor heaters, etc. from my yard.) I live near Graham and Fauntleroy and the break-in occurred at 3 pm (Wednesday). … This time, the perpetrator(s) kicked in my front door (which was dead bolted). It appears that they were trying to disassemble the entertainment center when the alarm went off. They grabbed my laptop, but that appears to be all they took. I’m very glad I put in an alarm system after the last burglary and I’m adding in the video cameras (today)!

It would be great to know if anybody on Fauntleroy (just south of the intersection at Graham) has an external facing camera that might have captured a truck parked out front (Wednesday) afternoon.

Lara says the person responsible last time is still behind bars, so it’s someone different. Ahead – a bus rider robbed on the eve of his birthday, plus suspected mail thieves, and grocery theft:

The bus-robbery report comes from Hilari:

My husband was mugged (Wednesday morning) at 11:15, on the 125 at Andover and Delridge. There were three African American youth involved of around 15-18 years. One held the back door open, one didn’t do anything, and the other shoved my husband and grabbed his Kindle Fire. The thief took off out the back door, and the other two ran out with him. The thief was wearing all black and a dark baseball cap. The one holding the door was wearing dark, baggy jeans and a white sports jersey. He thinks it had a black/red emblem.

My husband was so stunned, he didn’t have time to stop the bus before it got on the West Seattle Bridge. The bus driver called Metro police, but they didn’t show up, and the bus had to keep moving. My husband filed a report online.

The Kindle account has been deactivated. I guess these guys really want to read. Too bad my husband can’t. His birthday is (today), so he’s feeling pretty blue.

From Tommy:

I wanted to drop a report that in the 5600 block of 26th Ave SW (Tuesday), my neighbor/landlord witnessed 2 women prying open our locked mailboxes. They hid their activity too well for him to see it while it was in progress, but a police report was filed afterward. He gives this as a description:

Two young women, one white, one light skinned (black). White gal has black hair shoulder length. Other gal wore a head band-scarf thing. They spoke with each other on mobile phones (I think that is how they know what is happening). White gal about 5’3″. (Black) gal about 5’6″. Both mid-20s, I would guess.

Not much to go on, but wanted to get the word out in case this happens to anyone else.

And an anonymous report of grocery theft last weekend:

If this is of interest I wanted to alert my neighbors that our Amazon fresh delivery was stolen from our front porch (Saturday) morning between 3-7am near 37th and Rose St.

Jim P. June 6, 2013 (2:14 pm)

If I understand things right, the Kindle device is permanently deactivated if you report it to Amazon and thus becomes a small paperweight as you cannot use it to download stuff from Amazon although I suspect you could still “sideload” stuff onto it..

Don’t forget to set a PIN on yours if you have one, keeps others from using it and provides instant proof it is yours if they find it.

Pretty gutsy attack, was the guy sitting right by the door? I saw this happen once in Los Angeles, guy stood at the back door and as it opened, he reached over the low partition and grabbed the purse a woman had just sitting on her lap in the first seat to the rear of the door and the punk took off running as the door closed and the bus took off.

Mark L June 6, 2013 (2:45 pm)

Just heard that my neighbor chased a guy down the street who stole her husband’s bicycle. He doesn’t ride it much anyway, but regardless, they caught him! Guy was in his mid-50’s and he’s on his way to jail. He should’ve known better than to steal from a marathon runner!

WSB June 6, 2013 (2:52 pm)

Mark L, if you see them, tell them to send us their story – that sounds like a great one to tell. Or if you have a hint on where I might look for the incident number (nearest intersection? time it happened) so I can ask police for details … Tracy (editor@westseattleblog.com)

B June 6, 2013 (2:59 pm)

WSB – would you mind sharing the date range you used to generate that image? I’m not seeing the crimes even if I specify all of may and june to date.

WSB June 6, 2013 (3:10 pm)

The 16 incidents are dated May 30 through today. I wish the map could be embedded live, but the city doesn’t offer that option, so to show something like this, a screengrab is all I can do. That is the default range when you access that page (which I do, at least once a day) – the past week. You have to deselect all the other types of crimes to isolate one (in this case, burglary). P.S. I also downloaded reports for the ones that had narratives available – usually at least a few days’ lag, and some NEVER show up in the system – to do a speed-read through and see if there seemed to be any commonalities worth reporting; there were not, fwiw – TR

Ova June 6, 2013 (3:07 pm)

Tracy–that’s my cousin! Just gave her your contact info. Amazing story-hope you can post it here. She will be in touch with you shortly.

Jim P. June 6, 2013 (3:29 pm)

I’d *love* to see a photo of the bicycle thief’s face as he is being chased and caught up to…. that has to be a priceless Kodak moment. :0

West Seattle Hipster June 6, 2013 (4:48 pm)

Can’t wait to see how the next mayor deals with public safety.

Jim P. June 6, 2013 (5:34 pm)

“Can’t wait to see how the next mayor deals with public safety.”

Same way the current one does: He or she will travel with a heavily armed police escort/driver at all times. :)

Me June 6, 2013 (6:11 pm)

I have noticed quite an uptick in shady characters hanging around the delridge and andover intersection over the last six months or so. So much so that i now avoid it after dark. Just today there was a new transient who hung out at the bus stop on the east side of the street all day.

KT June 6, 2013 (6:54 pm)

“The bus driver called Metro police, but they didn’t show up, and the bus had to keep moving.” Of course not.

adam June 6, 2013 (7:18 pm)

you can use the bus surveillance system to see their faces. Request it from the transit company.

Eric1 June 6, 2013 (7:49 pm)

It is all pretty sad (the thefts). Most of these guys could make that kind of money in a week and buy the stuff they steal. No chance of jail, you sleep well at night, and what you have is actually yours.
.
The sad thought is that those 18 year old kids will not change and eventually they will be the 50 year old guy stealing bikes. Too bad we have to suffer with them for 30 years paying for what they steal or their incarceration.

Alki Mkay June 6, 2013 (8:56 pm)

I used to wonder why Seattleites hated the police so much in this city. I wonder no longer. WSB it’s too bad that you’re not able to impress upon the SPD how important it is that they respect those they serve. You have a cozy relationship with the SPD, WSB, maybe you could stress community relations. The SPD has a long way to go in changing it’s image.

WSB June 6, 2013 (9:32 pm)

Alki M, sorry, we don’t have a “cozy relationship” with anybody, let alone the police. We see them at crime scenes, we see them at meetings, we call Media Relations when needed, just like the rest of the Seattle media. We also try to keep everybody who reads WSB posted on all the chances you have to go talk to local SPD leadership in person – Crime Prevention Council, Blockwatch Captains Network, etc. In this case, however, the Transit Police are not SPD – they’re King County Sheriff’s Office – and I really hope that the folks who say they didn’t respond, have filed a complaint to find out why. If it happens on a bus, they’re supposed to respond. SPD will often back them up – at least per what we hear on scanner calls – but the Transit Police should be investigating. – TR

Ann June 6, 2013 (9:03 pm)

It’s nice to see how well the ‘predictive policing’ is working – what a joke!

wssz June 6, 2013 (11:50 pm)

Last Friday my new Dell business pc was delivered to the wrong address two blocks from my home (same house number but different street).

It was stolen off the front porch of that house within an hour of being dropped off. Location was 4800 block of 47th SW. Haven’t reported the theft to police yet as my focus has been on getting it replaced asap. Fortunately Dell responded fast, and I got a new one today.

DWS June 7, 2013 (5:57 am)

Muggings,countless car prowls, dozens of home burglaries, and that’s just in 2013. What’s going on WS?? Is another murder next? How about a WS crime summit? We could invite the mayor and city leaders. You too Mr Constatine. Even the acting police chief. We need to make “our” neighborhood safe again. I don’t feel safe. I feel I might be next.

Brenda June 7, 2013 (6:45 am)

Alki Mkay how’s about before you criticize the Seattle Police Department you put their uniform on and patrol Seattle streets, if you can first pass the minimum six exams required for hire that is.

Guy Olson June 7, 2013 (12:19 pm)

Well can’t Sheriff Andy Taylor and Barney Fife arrest them? Mayberry is getting scary!

Bubba Gump June 7, 2013 (12:23 pm)

I understand that there are people out there who are (rightfully in some cases) upset with the police, but I must say that from my personal experience with the SPD I think they are doing a good job. Any time I have called the police the response has been fairly quick and the people who have come have been polite and professional.

The SPD are not miracle workers and as with every profession there are a few that act badly, but I have a lot of respect for the people out there risking their lives and taking a lot of grief on our behalf.

I am not, by the way, the type of person who typically is gung-ho about police so for me to feel the way I do is saying something.

Lola P June 7, 2013 (12:25 pm)

Some guy (white, 5’10, heavyset, white shirt) from Fox13 just showed up at my door asking if I was the person burglarized on my block. Heads up.

Michael Beebe June 7, 2013 (2:30 pm)

I would like to alert my WS neighbors about another type of crime which is happening. I was accosted in the Costco parking lot (4th Ave S) by a guy telling me he could fix all the (many) dents in my vehicle for a fraction of what the dealer would charge. To make a long story short – I finally gave up and let him “fix” them, and of course he fixed nothing – and then walked off with $860 of my money – which I am ashamed to admit. My first call was to SPD – an officer finally came by the house and told me there was nothing they could do about it. The next day I got a call from another officer who said SPD had numerous reports about these guys, which they later caught and both are in jail. When I went to testify at the sentencing hearing there were three other guys my age, who told almost identical stories – so I didn’t feel so bad. The judge threw the book at him and the prosecutor was excellent! There is possible restitution, and we are signed up for that. Please be careful when anyone approaches you on the street, offering something that is too good to be true. DON’T GET SUCKERED! Walk away and call the police. I also called Costco and they were helpful too.

WSB June 7, 2013 (2:36 pm)

Thanks, MB. We had a recent report of that happening in a local supermarket parking lot too (here in West Seattle) – it is unfortunately a common scam.

Rick June 7, 2013 (5:42 pm)

That scam happened to me here in 1972 so it’s been around for quite a while.

WSSue June 7, 2013 (6:57 pm)

I have heard the “they didn’t respond” thing so many times….but if the bus left the area, where were they supposed to respond to? Neither SPD nor KCSO have unlimited resources, and it’s only getting worse, they can’t be everywhere *immediately* – but certainly, if you have serious (real) complaints, I hope you’re making them official, rather than just whining on a neighborhood blog/news site. I’m with Bubba Gump…

alkigirl June 7, 2013 (10:20 pm)

MB – the fix-your-car-dents scam happened to my mom a couple of months ago. In her case it was after getting gas at the Shell on Admiral. Police responded and station owner was alerted.

G June 7, 2013 (10:57 pm)

I call my elderly mother in West Seattle every day from here in L.A. to make sure she’s alright. It’s absolutely OBSCENE that I feel I need to do that. She’d be more safe in Watts.

Alki Mkay June 8, 2013 (2:36 am)

G I agree – she would be safer in Watts. The Seattle Police Department is a complete failure on every level. We pay these men and women over 100K annually (the average salary for today’s Seattle “police officer”) – for what though?

Hilari June 8, 2013 (10:24 am)

WSSue — It’s standard procedure for the bus to stop and call Metro police, according to the bus driver. He told my husband that policy is for Metro PD to respond immediately. The bus driver gave up after waiting for what he deemed was too long because he had a bus full of people needing to get downtown. So, I’m not whining. I’m just stating the Metro police didn’t show up, and they were supposed to.

jedifarfy June 8, 2013 (10:32 am)

The map for WS looks NO DIFFERENT from the map in any other part of the city. The only difference is awareness. Criminals are look for opportunities, so don’t give them any!

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