During Tuesday night’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting (full report to come), Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske listed Lincoln Park as one of his emphasis priorities for the summer season, particularly because of its ongoing car-prowl problem. The first of two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports includes another example of that:
Michelle reports a car break-in during the West Seattle High School tennis team’s game at the Lincoln Park tennis courts on Monday. She says two backpacks with “several valuable items” were stolen from the trunk of a Honda Accord, and the debit cards in those backpacks were used quickly at stores including Roxbury Safeway. The car break-ins have been reported to police and they are hoping to find clues on store surveillance video. If you find any tossed-aside backpacks, and/or personal paperwork, please report it to police.
Ahead, our second reader report – the case of the unauthorized tree-cutter:
The anonymous tipster says this happened near in Highland Park, 14th and Barton:
There is a sketchy guy who has been cutting trees without permission and then wanting money; please call police if you are approached by him for work. I think he is just trying to earn a bit of cash, and might not be “all there”, which is fine, but he has crossed the line into property damage and theft, which is not okey dokey.
He stole my telescoping pruning saw while working at one neighbor’s house about a month ago. I caught him walking down the street with it, and he said he’d “be right back.” He came into my yard a few days ago (I think initially forgetting that I was the lady who had been yelling at him about stealing her saw) trying to get more work, and then looked panicked when he recognized me, and told me some story about how he’d bring my saw back that day, and there had been a tool mix up. Still no saw.
2 days ago he cut a full tree down at my neighbor’s house on the other side without permission, dumped that tree in my driveway without cleaning it up, dumped another mystery tree on her front yard that we don’t know the origin of, and then came back wanting payment. She yelled at him, and told him never to come back.
Talking to the neighbors across the street, I found out he has been repeatedly trespassing into their yard and trying to do tree work for them.
I filed a police report for the saw online, and (Monday) an officer came out so we could file a destruction of property report with the police in person.
All we know is his name might be Cody, he is missing some teeth, and he might be staying or working for someone in the apartments at 15th and Barton. Any info would be appreciated.
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