The WSBeat: Theft by tow truck? Plus, pullover rage; mic drop; more

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 …

*Thursday afternoon, a man in a silver Audi drove erratically on Delridge — so oddly that a female driver pulled over to let him pass. Instead, he pulled up behind her, got out of his car with a black handgun, pointed it at her and said, “I’ll blow your head off!” She hit the gas and he kept following, pulling alongside her in the 5400 block of Delridge, yelling and waving the gun. (At times during this incident, the man was described as wearing a skull mask.) When he saw her talking into a phone he suddenly broke off his chase, driving off southbound on Delridge. The license plate allowed officers to identify the driver, whose non-masked description matches the vehicle’s owner–a twenty-year-old Westwood-area resident. He is at large.

*Also on Thursday, a tow truck (with a company logo) showed up in the 5100 block of 47th early Thursday, and one of two men inside jumped out and started a car on the street…not with a key, but with a screwdriver. A citizen saw this and confronted the pair, who claimed to have permission to take the vehicle, which belonged to an elderly gentleman in the neighborhood. Suspicious, she called 911. Officers first called the towing company, and the person who answered the phone denied that the vehicle was on their lot. Officers found differently when they arrived at the business and saw the car in question on a flatbed truck. The two men at the scene told some convoluted stories “that made no sense,” according to the officer’s report. Upon running their names, officers found that one had a felony escape warrant from the Department of Corrections. (He was also carrying a gram of heroin.) This man, a North Admiral resident, was booked for the warrant, and for investigation of vehicle theft and drug possession. The other man, who claimed he had been duped into towing the car by the arrestee, was released at the scene.

Four more summaries ahead:

*Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, a Morgan Junction store manager called police after catching a woman shoplifting. He explained he only wanted her identified and trespassed (banned) from the premises for a year. But a routine records check showed that the West Seattle woman was wanted on over $14,000 worth of warrants from Renton, Burien and Federal Way. She was taken into custody and turned over to Renton Police.

*A man snoozing on private apartment property at the Alaska Junction was cordial when officers woke him and said he couldn’t sleep there. He declined medical help, but did confess that he had an outstanding felony warrant from the Department of Corrections. (He also had 11 aliases.) The West Seattle resident (who actually has an apartment just down the street from where he had laid his head) was booked into King County Jail.

*Late on Friday the 19th, someone described only as “a white male” walked into a church on Roxbury and began yelling. He grabbed two microphone stands and screamed, “I’m going to kill you!” (He did not make reference to any race or religion.) He ran from the hall with the mic stands and grabbed several soft drink cans on the way. Running down Roxbury, he dropped the mic stands in the 700 block and then turned south on 8th Avenue. He remains at large.

*Sunday evening, in the 5200 block of 45th SW, a jingling sound alerted a resident that her dog (trained to ring the bell) needed a potty break outside. When she went to let him out the door, she found a stranger standing in the doorway, bells in hand, and speaking in a language she didn’t understand. She ushered him out the door as he apologized. He didn’t threaten or harm her. He was transported to King County Jail, where he was booked for investigation of criminal trespass.

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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.

16 Replies to "The WSBeat: Theft by tow truck? Plus, pullover rage; mic drop; more"

  • alki resident June 28, 2015 (9:09 pm)

    That tow truck story scares me. Is he still an employee at that company? That poor elderly man, they probably wanted money out of him for his car back.Sick people

  • Bill V June 28, 2015 (9:45 pm)

    “He did not make reference to any race or religion.”
    Phew, I was worried for a second.

  • Oakley34 June 28, 2015 (10:22 pm)

    heats baking some brains

  • jissy June 28, 2015 (10:54 pm)

    Good Lord, that first report scares the crap out of me!!! I would have done the same thing, … often pull over to let tailgaters and crazies pass, I am not in THAT much of a hurry to deal with it. How terrifying.

  • RonS June 28, 2015 (11:40 pm)

    Any recent reports as to why the Police are driving slowly around Belvedere with spot lights shining on homes?

  • Krista C. June 29, 2015 (12:01 am)

    The crime stories this week are gold.

  • Eric1 June 29, 2015 (12:01 am)

    No doubt that first report is scary. Wrong on so many levels. Driving erratically, willing to pull over and brandish a gun. He can’t have a carry permit as he is only 20. The cops should be looking harder for this guy and put him away. Eyewitness description and license plate should be good enough to pull him over. Hopedully he still has the gun in the car and he can be sent away for awhile.
    .
    Any better description of the car? Partial plate or year/model? Silver Audi’s are a dime a dozen.

  • newnative June 29, 2015 (1:33 am)

    I think if charges were filed, it’s fair to report the name of the tow truck company. They lied about the car and somehow were involved with grand theft.

  • KD June 29, 2015 (2:41 am)

    Anyway to publish the tow company name? I wouldn’t want to use them and would look out for the same mean activity

    • WSB June 29, 2015 (5:47 am)

      Megan writes WSBeat from arrest reports. Those are *not* charging documents – if charges are filed, those come from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office at some point down the line, could be days, weeks, or months. (Usually “days” only in violent-crime cases.)

  • just me June 29, 2015 (7:42 am)

    It’s possible the tow ‘company’ didn’t not know about the car being on the flat-bed in their lot, it could be the truck driver went rouge.

    Let’s sling the mud at the bad-guy alone and not at the company, at least until we know for sure what transpired.

  • Wordy June 29, 2015 (9:37 am)

    LOL on the “it could be the truck driver went rouge” from previous comment. Rogue is (I think) the intended word. ;-)

  • sam-c June 29, 2015 (10:16 am)

    The tow truck story is interesting. This morning, when my husband left for some errands, he spotted a tow truck idling in front of our neighbors house. When my husband got out his notebook to note the license plate, the tow truck drove off.

  • Rick June 29, 2015 (10:19 am)

    Rouge is commonly used by rogue tow trick drivers to hide their identities.

  • KM June 29, 2015 (3:13 pm)

    I really like the one with the guy who had an outstanding felony warrant and an apartment down the street. And 11 different aliases. So many questions.

  • Chris W June 29, 2015 (6:45 pm)

    Saw a tow truck idling in an odd place in front of my home recently, and assumed all the construction/density had inspired more trucks. Like in SLU. Some days they are everywhere. Anyway, now I’ll take a closer look if I see one just sitting around in a residential area where there is no restricted parking.

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