West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car found stripped; stolen bag’s contents sought

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning, one of which came with this photo:

That car was stolen from Moe, who writes:

I am one of the 14 West Seattle citizens on the auto theft list for Christmas week. My locked 2000 Honda CRV was stolen from the street sometime Christmas Eve, then found by the police in the Sodo district the afternoon of Christmas Day. It had been ‘chop-shopped,’ stripped and destroyed. I offer this picture of its condition as an ‘owner beware and alert.’

If you haven’t seen it, the “auto-theft list” to which Moe refers was in our previous Crime Watch roundup, here. P.S. Only one auto theft has been reported since we captured that list about a day and a half ago, Friday morning at 26th/Andover (map).

One other report today – if you find a tossed-aside bag with papers inside, or maybe just the papers, they might belong to Leah, who writes, “Stolen work bag from van in Admiral area on Friday. Luckily computer wasn’t in but important work papers were.” (On followup, she describes it as a “black laptop bag.”)

37 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car found stripped; stolen bag's contents sought"

  • JanS December 28, 2013 (12:17 pm)

    I’m so sorry, Moe. I’ve had this happen to me, and it’s very sad, indeed.

  • RS December 28, 2013 (12:39 pm)

    How does insurance handle a situation like that? Is it considered totaled?

  • kayo December 28, 2013 (1:14 pm)

    Ugh. This happened to us a long time ago. Nothing left of our Acura Integra but the metal frame. Anything that could be removed from the car was taken including door linings, dashboard, engine, wheels, emblems, seats, etc. I think whether it is totaled depends on the degree to which the car is stripped. Sometimes just a few parts are taken. In the case of our Acura, it was obviously a total loss, but we were fortunate to have comprehensive coverage at the time. I am so sorry this happened to you! Stupid car thieves!

  • TD December 28, 2013 (1:26 pm)

    Moe
    I was also one of the victims of these people. My 2001 Honda CRV was stolen from the parking area of my apartment on California Ave on 12/21 at 11:00 am. I have the entire crime on video and it is saved to a disk.

  • Ray December 28, 2013 (1:30 pm)

    I have booby trapped my vehicle while parked in my driveway so that if someone breaks in and tries to do something, they will be severely maimed. This is ONLY while it is in my driveway, so there is no risk to emergency personnel, cops, etc. When parking anywhere NOT my driveway these are deactivated and fully removed.

    Be fully aware that this is illegal. But if no one ever tries to break into my car, they will not get hurt.

  • West Seattle Wanderer December 28, 2013 (2:09 pm)

    I’m curious, Ray. Which part of your setup is illegal? What you are using or the fact that you have it set up to maim someone?

    Not planning anything myself, mind you. Just wondering…

  • Nancy graham December 28, 2013 (2:20 pm)

    Hi Moe.
    I can’t imagine what thoughts are going thru your head. WOW !! It will be good when u finally get some closure with this horrible crime…. Nancois’

  • Chuck & Sally's Van Man December 28, 2013 (2:34 pm)

    Say Ray, while I truly understand the motivation, why put yourself at risk of lawsuit, or worse? And publicizing it here is not wise, either. Just sayin’… Sorry for the rest of you who have had cars stolen. All these criminals deserve a “Ray solution” in my view, though too bad it would most likely hurt the car owner most.

  • VT December 28, 2013 (2:45 pm)

    So sorry to read this Moe. This also happened to me a while back. As reported by kayo above…I also had an Acura Integra stolen a number of years ago from in front of my house in the North Admiral district. When found four days later in Renton I was told that nothing remained of it, except the metal shell…..Re: Ray’s approach: Have often wished there was a device that wouldn’t maim perps, but would shock them enough to keep them attached to the car until the cops came…or perhaps would shower them with some kind of indelible, trackable dye….

  • West Seattle Hipster December 28, 2013 (3:32 pm)

    “I am one of the 14 West Seattle citizens on the auto theft list for Christmas week.”

    That is very troubling. I am curious how West Seattle ranks in regards to other Seattle neighborhoods in reported car thefts.

    • WSB December 28, 2013 (3:39 pm)

      You can look it up on the map any time. Any category of crime, anywhere in the city, use the police-reports map and if you want to focus on a certain kind of crime, uncheck all the others. It defaults to the preceding week, so to get a straight-across comparison, you’d have to choose 12/19-12/26 in the box on the left side of the page – that was the default preceding week when I looked this all up very very very early yesterday (see the linked story).
      .
      http://web6.seattle.gov/mnm/policereports.aspx
      .
      P.S. It does not isolate neighborhoods, though – so you just have to pan around to the area you’re interested in looking at, and count what seems to be inside its boundaries. The other way crime stats are disseminated is via the SPD website, and by precincts – the precincts cross neighborhood boundaries (except for ours, which includes “only” West Seattle and South Park) and the compiled stats, month by month, lag – the newest compilation is August.

  • WestSide45 December 28, 2013 (4:18 pm)

    Laura says drunk driving is morally wrong. The problem is morality is not appropriate to teach any longer…someone might be offended by what you consider moral—everyone must be allowed to do their own thing. These are the consequences we must suffer when morality is taken out of the equation.

  • genesee patrick December 28, 2013 (4:52 pm)

    Westside….after reading your comment, I have only one thing to say…BINGO!!!!!!

  • Genesee Hill December 28, 2013 (5:02 pm)

    This car theft ain’t new. My 1959 Austin-Healey 100-6 was stolen in the U District in 1971. Never saw her again.

    One of the “rich kids” in late 1960s Kirkland (where I grew up) stole A Kirkland Police car. The last I heard, that dude was running a venture capital outfit in Bellevue. ROFL

  • Jason December 28, 2013 (5:52 pm)

    Actually doesn’t look too bad from the one picture. Assuming that just the pictured front end body parts are missing, I doubt this will get totaled…

  • alki resident December 28, 2013 (8:42 pm)

    Im waiting to find my black F250 in the same condition as Moe. It was stolen on the 12th and still no sign of it. Does anyone know local dumping ground areas around Seattle that cars are found on a regular basis?
    Moe Im so sorry to see the end result of your car, I feel for you.

  • JanS December 28, 2013 (9:10 pm)

    crime happens, has always happened….we just hear about it more now, with all the “instant” technology. I’m not advocating for crime, btw. I have been a victim, and it’s no fun. And, yes, I do hope that some of (all of is wishful thinking) the perps are made to pay.
    And, Genesee Hill…so, so sorry about your Austin…what a beautiful car….

  • datamuse December 28, 2013 (9:40 pm)

    Oh, WestSide45, if that were true it ought to be easy to find people arguing that it’s perfectly acceptable for intoxicated persons to get behind the wheel.
    .
    Let me know when you find someone making that argument, ok?

  • ScubaFrog December 28, 2013 (10:25 pm)

    Our car-theft situation in West Seattle has reached Critical Mass. Why don’t we have a ‘bait car’ program (it’s not just a tacky tv show, many cities use ‘bait cars’ to affect the rates of auto theft)? Why don’t we have a car-theft task force at the West Seattle precinct? We pay 10% in taxes – we’re getting a raw deal.

    Does anyone know when the community meeting is in West Seattle, where police will be in attendance? I have some grievances that must be aired.

    Sorry about your car, Moe. This is happening to us WAY too much in West Seattle.

    • WSB December 28, 2013 (10:43 pm)

      The next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting is the third Tuesday, January 21, 7 pm. http://wscpc.blogspot.com (January meeting info is a bit buried)

  • Wb December 28, 2013 (11:04 pm)

    I had my car stolen and parted when I lived in Chicago. The total didn’t pay for a new car (insurance wise) so the next few months sucked. Once the car part fences get a hold of your area, it’s pretty much over. Car theft and vandalism are considered a low priority. Moe and the others, I hope you are able to recover.

  • apikstistsimahkii December 28, 2013 (11:17 pm)

    I am another one of the people that went threw this as well but my story was erased last week by this blog . My car got hit the Thurs. before Christmas. I hope they catch these guys doing this.

    • WSB December 28, 2013 (11:22 pm)

      Apik, we don’t “erase” stories. If we publish a news story, it stays published – we have more than 28,000 stories in the archives (all “live” and readable on the site) from the past 8 years and there they will stay (with backups in multiple places to be sure they are not lost). Anyway, I don’t see anything in our inbox from the e-mail address you used to post that comment, so I don’t believe we received anything submitted for a Crime Watch *story*, but I do see this *comment* published from the same e-mail address on December 15th – it’s a published, visible comment as is yours here:
      .
      https://westseattleblog.com/2013/12/west-seattle-crime-watch-car-theft-prowl-reports/#comment-1171382

  • Trickycoolj December 28, 2013 (11:18 pm)

    AlkiResident– check park and rides. My friends car was stolen from his home a mile from the Greenlake P&R. It was found at the P&R a month later on New Years Day because punks smashed out all the windows on New Years Eve and it finally prompted someone, citizen or police, to notice the car was abandoned and not there to park and ride.

  • Bsmomma December 29, 2013 (8:19 am)

    Common dumping ground……..my moms car was stolen TWICE! Both times found at/near the Goodwill outlet. 2nd time was at the Goodwill, towed and impounded. Good luck!!

  • WestSide45 December 29, 2013 (9:07 am)

    From Datamuse: “Oh, WestSide45, if that were true it ought to be easy to find people arguing that it’s perfectly acceptable for intoxicated persons to get behind the wheel.
    .
    Let me know when you find someone making that argument, ok?”

    When drunks get behind the wheel they feel it’s okay to drive, do they not?

  • wetone December 29, 2013 (9:58 am)

    Someone was very careful the way they cut the front end off. It looks like they had a plasma cutter. Either someone needed the front sheet metal for repairing a car or they will try and buy the car back at the insurance auction to put back together. No rookie work there.

  • D December 29, 2013 (11:13 am)

    West Seattle take back your city ;)

  • supernova72 December 29, 2013 (11:17 am)

    WS is such a fantastic place to live and so much going for it. Moving here from the burbs 10 yrs ago I would not have guessed it would become a hot spot for stolen cars and chop shops (even if the chop shop is in Sodo).

    I’ll keep the faith that we can work together to resolve this and keep our autos in our own possession. Bad Holiday juju for those thieves.

    Feeling bad for those 14 folks who have been impacted : (

  • wsn00b December 29, 2013 (8:59 pm)

    Sad. Get something nice and shiny with your insurance.

    There seems to be a pattern centered around street parking, model year (80s, 90s, early 2000s) and brands(Honda predominantly). Anybody have more detailed analysis around location/brand/model year/neighborhood?

    Are cars getting stolen out of lighted/locked/alarmed garages or are these easy pickings on streets?

  • trt December 29, 2013 (9:18 pm)

    My friends that live in Greenwood had both their cars stolen within a month– parked on their parking pad. It’s not just a west seattle problem. I think the biggest problem is there is not a big enough of a deterrent to make these burglars NOT steal… I like the maiming tactic… would make them think twice about stealing again!

  • ALT December 29, 2013 (11:13 pm)

    These thieves must like Honda CRV’s. My brother in law just had his stolen from his apartment parking lot (on California Ave.) last week. They too have surveillance cameras, but who knows if that will be of any help.

  • Laura December 30, 2013 (9:20 pm)

    To Moe and the countless others who have had their property damaged I am very sorry. Not worth much I know but I hope these individuals receive many times over what you have had to deal with having your property violated and damaged. About Ray’s booby trap, I totally understand! As I ponder Ray’s booby trap Edward Scissorhands in the back seat popped into my head. Just saying.

  • Cityboy222 December 31, 2013 (1:30 am)

    Love all the comments! I think Honda and Toyota need (especially) need to make it a tad harder to steal their cars? Or offer a recall “fix” for older commonly stolen cars! Boycott HONDA…lol.

  • Laura December 31, 2013 (1:24 pm)

    To all the people who have been victims of the stolen car routine a little encouragment even though I know the odds are not great. Our neighbor had her toyota stolen 2 months ago and it was recovered a couple of days ago about 5 miles away. Apparently it was dropped in an area where a couple of neighbors work on cars and didn’t stand out but the car was grazed in a police chase and in process of finding the owner they discovered it stolen. It was pretty much intact, dead battery. I hope this experience will trump the alternative :)

  • Laura December 31, 2013 (2:04 pm)

    To the people who have had their cars stolen. A small encouragment. Our neighbor had her Toyota stolen 2 months ago and it was recovered sunday pretty much intact, dead battery. Located about 5 miles away in a neighborhood where neighbors work on cars so it went pretty much unnoticed. It was grazed in a police chase with another vehicle and the rest is history. Never thought that would happen. I know the odds are not great but I hope others can experience the same :)

  • drahcir61 January 1, 2014 (11:14 am)

    If you’re concerned about your car being stolen &/or you drive a make/model that’s at greater risk (eg. older Honda Accords) then you should consider The Club or a kill switch or even a personal tracking device that you hide in your car.

Sorry, comment time is over.