The WSBeat: 14 summaries, from ‘Hey! Hey!’ to ‘stripper gloves’

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

This edition of our periodic feature The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …

*”Hey…..Hey!” was how one officer got the attention of a man he spotted relieving himself on the door of an Alaska Junction business. As the officer was writing a ticket, the owner of a nearby bar approached and complained that the suspect had a habit of leaving his liquid calling card at her business too, not to mention around the vehicles in the alley and parking lot. The officer said she could ban him from the bar property but had to tell him herself. When she did so, the man swore, called her a name, and offered up assorted other intimidating profanities. He ended up with the ticket in addition to the trespass notice.

*A man with a history of shoplifting at a Westwood Village store was asked to leave the premises around 7:30 a.m. on the 24th. In response, he aggressively threatened to physically assault one employee and then spat at her before leaving. Officers found him on a bus at Delridge and 21st. where he admitted his guilt. He was arrested for investigation of assault and harassment and booked into King County Jail.

*A man acting suspiciously around some cars near 37th and Kenyon admitted to officers that he didn’t live in the area, but that he was just walking home to Burien. It being 2 a.m., they recommended that he “stick to the main roads that are well lit…and stay out of the street.” On a hunch, the patrolling pair decided to circle the block before driving away. On this go-round, on the ground near where they had originally spotted the man, they found a pair of large bolt cutters, vise grips, lineman pliers, and a flathead screwdriver … all commonly used in break-ins. Officers put the tools in the cruiser’s trunk. Just then, they saw the suspect returning to the area–that is, until he spotted the officers, whereupon he ran down a driveway and dove under some bushes. He admitted that he was under Department of Corrections supervision but denied owning the tools. A records check showed that he currently had charges “suspended in the third degree,” so officers took the 42-year-old to a bus stop to catch a ride.

11 more summaries ahead:

*Around 10 p.m. on the 26th, two masked men — one armed with a semi-automatic pistol — broke into a medical marijuana dispensary in the 9400 block of Delridge SW. The clerk was able to fight them off. Both suspects were described as black, between 22 and 29 years old. One, more stocky (and holding the gun) was right-handed and wore denim pants, a black hoodie and a black and gray mask. The other, of medium build, wore all black, with dark blue and white athletic shoes. He wore loose-fitting white cloth gloves and a plastic “V for Vendetta” mask.

*On the 31st, a resident of the 7300 block of 31st SW called 911 with two concerns: 1) An elderly neighbor’s front door was open and 2) No one had seen him for several days. Inside, officers found the man’s body slumped over next to the bathtub. The medical examiner’s staff estimated he had been dead for 48 hours.

*Police are investigating the reported rape of a teenager, brought to their attention when she passed out after an afternoon of anxiety attacks. As she was placed on the gurney for transport to Harborview, she “blurted out” to the medic that she had been raped earlier in the day by a man she knew — who is six years her senior.

*At 11:30 a.m. on the 30th, a 28-year-old Lynnwood resident showed up at his aunt’s house in the 4300 block of SW Andover and tried to force his way inside. For a long time he has been convinced that his aunt is spying on him and accused her of planting hidden cameras — not only in his car but in the house across the street where he used to live. Officers told him to stay away from her home and recommended that the aunt get a protection order. The nephew has a history of meth use and mental health issues.

*On the 27th, 911 operators took several calls about a man “wearing a yellow skirt and swinging a machete” at the park at 18th and SW Barton. One officer recognized the suspect (who had put down the weapon by the time officers arrived) as a 29-year-old homeless man with a history of mental issues and meth use. On this day he said he’d been hired to trim the park bushes but was having difficulties, because in spite of all of his work, the branches kept “magically growing back.” He also explained that his helmet was a gift from the military and that it contained communication devices that helped him coordinate helpful safety events with the “skinheads.” Medics transported him to Harborview for a mental evaluation; officers transported his two-foot long machete (with an 18-inch sharpened blade) to the evidence room.

*On the 26th, in the 9400 block of Olson, an intoxicated man wanted to drive; his wife refused to give him the keys. An argument resulted, as did a 911 call by their frightened seven-year-old daughter.The parents assured responding officers that there would be no more problems that evening.

*A dog owner told police she has received harassing emails and voicemails from a person bitten by her dog, a case investigated by Seattle Animal Shelter with a determination of no wrongdoing. On the afternoon of the 30th, the dog owner called 911 to complain that the person bitten by her dog had been parked in front of the caller’s home for ten minutes and was taking pictures of the residence. Officers advised the owner to call 911 again if she felt her safety was threatened.

*After getting to know each other at twelve-step-group meetings, a man and woman went on a first date. Around 6 p.m. on the 25th, he parked at Westwood Village so that she could use the bathroom at one of the stores. When she returned to the car, her date was unconscious, nodding off next to a used syringe. Recognizing the signs of a heroin overdose, the woman first called 911 for assistance. Then she called her mother for a ride home. Medics transported the man to Harborview for treatment.

*On the 28th, in the 600 block of SW Kenyon: When her male friend failed to call her (claiming he had lost his phone), a woman went out to his car to search for it. Instead of finding the phone, she found a pair of women’s gloves with fur accents. She stormed into the house –demanded to know why he had “stripper gloves” — and then proceeded to smash all the dishes. She was booked into King County Jail for investigation of domestic violence property destruction.

*The owner of an adult-care home called for assistance with a paraplegic, wheelchair-using resident who refused to allow treatment or get help for severe bedsores which had turned black and were nearly gangrenous. Determining that the woman was gravely disabled, the officer filled out the paperwork allowing her to be transported — for her own well being — to Harborview for evaluation and treatment.

*Another citizen was transported to Harborview involuntarily after he suffered a mental-health crisis, stripped off his clothes and stood catatonic on the side of the road at Sylvan Way and SW Holly on the afternoon of the 25th.

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EDITOR’S NOTES: Remember, the CRISIS CLINIC hotline is a resource for those in crisis, including thoughts or acts of self-harm, or trying to find help for someone in crisis: 206.461.3222 … Previous WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also publish crime reports when we get tips or otherwise hear about noteworthy incidents – they don’t all turn up on the scanner, so please don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = call or text 206-293-6302.

2 Replies to "The WSBeat: 14 summaries, from 'Hey! Hey!' to 'stripper gloves'"

  • WestSide45 December 3, 2014 (5:36 pm)

    Good writing. By the way, how did they (you) know the guy was right-handed? Was that an assumption based on the fact he held the gun in his right hand?

  • Breeze December 3, 2014 (7:59 pm)

    …jeesh, what red-blooded American male doesn’t have stripper gloves in his vehicle? Merry Christmas to our SPD and their loved ones.

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