West Seattle Crime Watch: House prowled; suspected car prowlers on video; more

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports and an FYI: First, from Kevin, a prowler spotted early this morning:

I’ve called 911 to report it, but wanted to let you know as well in case anyone else in the neighborhood saw or heard anything.

About 6:45 this morning, I heard someone talking outside that seemed too loud to be coming from the street or sidewalk. I got up in time to see a guy just outside my window walking along the edge of the house to the side gate. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and backpack and carrying what appeared to be a metal rod of some sort.

Our house sits on an upslope. He had to climb the hill from the sidewalk to get that close to the house so it was deliberate. I saw him glance in the basement window which is covered by blinds and also check the gate but couldn’t tell if he tried to open it. He then headed to 29th where I lost sight of him but appeared to go south from there.

I did see a patrol car drive by less than 5 minutes after I called 911. This happened at 28th and Webster.

Next, Rich shared a quick video clip of suspected car prowlers in his neighborhood:

Having been a victim of mail theft 3 weeks ago, a car break-in, purse theft and expensive shopping spree 11 months ago, and a car theft 3 years ago, I finally got around to installing a security camera system on my home (6700 block of Murray Ave SW, a poorly lit street). Sunday afternoon, I noticed an empty Coors Light beer bottle in my driveway. I wondered who would have tossed it and checked to see what was recorded. (The) front camera captured images of 10 teen boys prowling cars on my street at 2:30 am Sunday. One is riding a bike and drinking a beer (which he later tosses in my yard). The bike in question appears to have a headlight on it, and looks an awful lot like John‘s stolen Townie Electra in (this WSB post).

I told my neighbor that I had film of her car being prowled, and was informed that it had in fact been broken into, contents rifled, and that the registration and other papers found in the bushes down the street. I would have figured it was a lone prowler or maybe two… but a pack of 10? Knowing this, readers could be on the lookout for suspiciously large packs of teens out late at night, and if they see this type of activity, call the police straight away to investigate.

The :11 above represents the only usable video Rich recovered, but he has since upgraded and tweaked the system so any future visuals will be more extensive.

Third, an FYI: Someone asked via text if repeat offender Ryan Cox is out of jail; they thought they had seen him at Lincoln Park. We checked the jail register and indeed, his most recent sentence expired on Thursday, and he was set free after almost four months. The circumstances were somewhat complicated, as detailed here.

20 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: House prowled; suspected car prowlers on video; more"

  • joannexus June 14, 2014 (9:09 pm)

    Please send this video to the mayor and new police chief. This situation is frightening.

  • dsa June 14, 2014 (10:25 pm)

    Ditto to what Joannexus said. Please be sure the new chief and mayor get this video.

  • drahcir61 June 14, 2014 (10:43 pm)

    Hopefully a local school principal or teacher or neighbor will recognize a few of these kids. They hang out as groups, shouldn’t be difficult to recognize one & then all.

    This is minor stuff now but without intervention these kids could hit a slippery slope that could ruin their lives.

  • Eric1 June 14, 2014 (11:26 pm)

    What is frightening is that there are ~10 parents who do not know (or care) where their kids are at 3:00am on a Sunday. Responsibility and respect starts at home.
    .
    Unfortunately for the area, the fact that these kids are walking means they are likely your neighbors.

  • K June 15, 2014 (12:26 am)

    What is really frightening is that these “kids” might not have the concept of “wrong house” down. Stupid Seattle jokesters might get a lot more than they bargained for….. I don’t need a gun. I have all I need inside of myself and criminals might meet others who feel the same way if you come in uninvited. Happy Father’s Day and thank you Dad for the hand to hand combat tutorial. Dumbsh#ts don’t know about Japanese Korean conflict and how bamboo grows. Good luck to them. If you come into my house uninvited I will make you cry for a long, long time.

  • Kravitz June 15, 2014 (6:32 am)

    That is really scary to see such a large group of miscreant youth wandering the neighborhood like that. This could so easily escalate into much more than a car prowl. I hate to see the rising reports of things like this happening in our community. How can we change this? What is it going to take to get parents to be responsible for their kids? To get tougher laws/sentencing on those that get caught breaking the law?

  • iknowyou June 15, 2014 (9:36 am)

    These boys will be easily identifiable. Locals. More cameras needed in WS to stop just this kind of thing.

  • Raincity June 15, 2014 (10:14 am)

    Can Rich share info on type of camera he’s upgraded to or some good references on how to pick a system.

  • Seattlite June 15, 2014 (11:53 am)

    iknowyou — I agree w/your comment. The more cameras the better when it comes to these types of night crawlers. The image does not lie.

  • unknown June 15, 2014 (1:55 pm)

    Now you ask for more cameras….what I find “weird” is that when it comes to “you”, you want more cameras but when the city wanted to install cameras down along Alki Ave it was an invasion of privacy… I see nothing wrong with cameras anywhere period, if you’re not doing anything wrong then what is the big deal if the camera’s catch just one POS then it is well worth the invasion of privacy don’t you think?

  • ltfd June 15, 2014 (1:57 pm)

    Come on guys, call it what it is- it’s a gang.

  • West Seattle Hipster June 15, 2014 (5:39 pm)

    Looks like a scene out of the cult classic “Over The Edge”.

    .

    Is West Seattle the next New Granada?

  • Rational Thought June 15, 2014 (10:55 pm)

    While the group of kids IS disturbing for the myriad of reasons described here, how about paying attention to the potential BURGLAR who was looking to break into a home?!?! Having had my car prowled a few times in the last couple of years, it is upsetting. But it is much more upsetting to think that I have to worry about my HOME being burgled when I am asleep in it. THAT is much more of a threat than the idiots breaking into cars. It is especially disturbing since I live less than a block from the scene of the potential crime, but no matter where it is, an attempted burglary is much more dangerous. As for the notion of cameras everywhere ensuring safety and the ridiculous notion that “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about” save your delusions for yourself. The government has no right to monitor my every movement just to give you the false impression that it makes you safer. Britain has CCTV cameras everywhere. Has crime been eliminated? Nope. Can it help sometimes AFTER THE FACT? Yes. But is it a guaranteed crime stopper – absolutely not. And since when does anyone with a brain trust the government to only use information for the purposes that we would applaud? The answer: Never.

  • Seola Prowler June 16, 2014 (4:51 am)

    New prowler casing houses. 6/16, 4:17am. SW 34th Ave @ 106th Street. 2000 Subaru Forester, dark or burgundy, busted license plate light, super bright. Driving up, parking, getting out going into yards or up to houses. Black sweats n hoodie, 6ft or less. Slight build. Reported to SPD they drove by ten minutes later.

  • Johnny Gunn June 16, 2014 (7:56 am)

    Cameras don’t stop burglars, but my gun might :). Lock and load people (using proper gun training and safety of course).

  • G June 16, 2014 (10:26 am)

    Most of you, because you live here F/T, don’t really realize just how badly things have deteriorated; WS makes my middle-class neighborhood in the SFV look like Mayberry in comparison. I get the feeling that there are no expectations in Seattle – about anything.

  • DH June 16, 2014 (10:33 am)

    I’m all for cameras. We already have google street view, local business use them and folks like this one put them up all the time – so you are already being recorded RT. It would be nice to have them at bus stops and places like the Lincoln Park parking lot.

    Anyhoo – adding to the mix – my car was prowled last night. I live near the corner of Delridge & Holden. Needless to say I’m installing cameras myself.

  • unknown June 16, 2014 (3:51 pm)

    RT>>>>

    Everyone has their own opinion but WOW can you say paranoid?

  • Cynaur June 18, 2014 (1:43 pm)

    Leave it to a cowardly “unknown” to talk about paranoia. The commenters here are sharing their experiences in having been burglarized, robbed, and car prowled. Those are FACTS, not paranoia – -so unless you have something constructive to add to this conversation, leave your unfounded name-calling where it belongs — in the small confines of your own head.

  • cbof June 19, 2014 (10:41 am)

    People are really kinda mean to each other on this blog.

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