West Seattle Crime Watch: Car theft compounds locker break-in

| Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

Monica is asking you to be on the lookout for a stolen car – which is linked to a theft report:

Last night, my son was working out at 24 Hour Fitness at Westwood around 10:00. He called us at 10:30 to report that his locker had been broken into and his wallet and keys (and one shoe!) stolen. The thief then stole his car. SPD did arrive and take a report. Please be on the lookout for a 2005 Nissan Altima 4D 2.5, license plate #AIX6123, in the color of light metallic green. My hope is that it has already been ditched somewhere.

As the SPD @getyourcarback auto-theft tweet advises, call 911 if you see it.

SIDE NOTE: That SPD Twitter feed does not mention *where* a car was stolen, not even which part of the city, and the notations that appear on the SPD crime-info map do not link to reports with info about the car, so the only way we can publish details of a stolen vehicle is if we get a reader report, like this one. Not only have those reports led to other readers spotting stolen cars, sometimes a sighting results in even more (update on the suspect in that case is in the works, by the way). We do hope you won’t EVER be hit by crime, but if you are, once it’s been reported to police, consider sharing info here too – editor@westseattleblog.com.

Anonymous December 9, 2013 (10:34 am)

Man that really sucks. I would think the gym has at least cameras near the entrance where you could see someone suspiciously walking out with his stuff.. I go to the same gym (haven’t gone in a while though….) but usually the gym isn’t very busy at 10:00, it’s normally a small group of regulars around that time. Hopefully someone saw something and will report it. I’ll ask my friend if she was there last night and saw anything.

trickycoolj December 9, 2013 (10:41 am)

Fingers crossed! A friend had his car stolen during a below freezing cold snap like this, it was found a month later at a park & ride not even a mile away! SPD said during weather like this sometimes cars get stolen for a warm place to sleep. :(

RnR December 9, 2013 (11:06 am)

Would not leave anything in those lockers. I’ve heard it’s not uncommon for them to be broken into at that place. Hope all turns out good.

Will December 9, 2013 (12:21 pm)

Thank you for existing, WSB!! Keep up the good work, we need you here in W. Seattle more than ever. :)

Ed December 9, 2013 (1:39 pm)

Sorry to hear about your lost. My locker and the locker next to me was broken into at the Renton 24 hour fitness club in July of this year. My keys was stolen and one shoe was missing (probably the same theift, what’s up with the one shoe). He stole a wallet and keys from the locker next to me. The Renton 24 hours fitness captured a good picture of him and provided the evidence to the Renton police (looks like he’s still at it). I later learned that this same guy hit the 24 hour fitness up North a week later. I’ve changed my workout process to put my car keys and locker key in a key pouch, which I carry around with me on the floor. Even though 24 hour fitness has a “no fault” clause on their website, you can talk to the manager to negotiate some sort of compensation.

me on 28th Ave SW December 9, 2013 (6:25 pm)

Ed, that is so weird! I’m guessing the one shoe thing may be a way to hide the wallet/keys? I know that at least one of my son’s cards found its way to a QFC in Redmond for an attempted (and failed) purchase of around $90. So far my son has yet to find a person at 24 Hour Fitness with the “clout” to actually look at their security footage. It is possible that has changed, as my son was going back for a second time late this afternoon to discuss it with them. This has been a real learning experience for sure. I’m sure all of the items from the trunk are long gone, but I’m still hopeful the car will turn up and not trashed. It feels good to know so many people are in our corner, thanks Westside.

onceachef December 9, 2013 (6:27 pm)

They (car thieves) seem to be around this neighborhood…I don’t know about all the particulars but a neighbor’s daughter’s car was stolen on 36th Ave SW between Trenton and Henderson the other night.

Joe December 10, 2013 (1:54 am)

I used to work at the West Seattle 24 Hour Fitness and the “security” cameras they have there are to spy on the employees, not to prevent or investigate thefts. We were always getting members who were reporting items stolen from lockers and almost all the thefts were from the men’s locker room. However, MOST gym goers who used lockers when I worked there (a few years ago) didn’t bother locking their lockers. One time we had multiple thefts where the police had to be called. Not one of the victims had locked their locker doors. I still workout there as a member and half the time when I open a locker door to change into my workout clothes, the locker is full of clothing, keys, wallets, smartphones, etc..LOCK UP YOUR ITEMS AT ALL GYMS so you don’t feed the crooks.

Kate December 12, 2013 (4:00 am)

My sister would like to install surveillance camera for her house. Do you know who provides the good service. Please help her to find one. Thanks, Kate

Sarah December 14, 2013 (11:13 pm)

I was a member of 24 hour fitness in West Seattle before someone picked my lock and stole all the cash from my wallet. I own a small business, had just prepared a bank deposit:( about $400 cash they got away with. They picked over all my credit cards, my daughters meds, my watch, and much more. Managment at the facility asked me to file a police report, when doin so I found that they have an ongoing problem with theft of the same nature, at that particular location. Shame on management for protecting themselves over their loyal customers. Maybe posting a sign in the locker rooms would help the innocent make better decisions!

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