By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note 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 (whenever)?”:
*Medics declared a North Admiral resident dead after finding him in his apartment face down, without pulse. Per routine procedure, an officer was dispatched to survey the scene. Finding no signs of foul play, he lifted the victim’s arm and heard a sudden expulsion of air from the man’s mouth. The officer alerted the medics, who reiterated that not only had there been no pulse, but that rigor mortis had started to set in. But to placate the officer, they lifted the victim onto a nearby bed. As the cloth covering the “deceased’s” face slipped off, everyone was startled to see his eyes blinking rapidly. Medics quickly provided life-saving treatment and transported the man to the Harborview emergency room.
*Early Tuesday, officers pulled over a van in the 3200 block of Harbor Ave. SW. It had originally been spotted on Murray Ave. SW, and the occupants were thought to be casing the area. The driver, a Port Orchard resident, claimed he was in the middle of a pre-purchase 2 a.m. scenic test drive along Beach Drive. He refused to let officers search the vehicle, which was lined with racks and shelves and bags of items. A records check showed the driver was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history (burglary, auto theft, theft, vehicle prowling and property damage) and that two women had active anti-harassment orders against him. He has been known to assault officers and to own illegal weapons, handguns, rifles, knives and grenades. He also had a history of substance abuse. His female passenger (who waved and called one of the officers by name) is also a convicted felon with a similar criminal history. There was a large knife at her feet. She had two warrants, one for misdemeanor assault in Burien ($7,500) and failure to appear on a theft charge ($5,050). Thinking that the van contained stolen property, the officers decided to impound it. The driver was released and walked away southbound on Harbor Ave. The woman was driven to Tukwila and transferred to the custody of the King County Sheriff’s Office.
10 more summaries ahead:
*Monday afternoon at 59th and Stevens, a driver hit a parked vehicle, careened off it and smacked into a nearby patrol car. He was arrested for investigation of hit and run and driving without a license, no insurance and inattention to driving. A records check showed that one of his passengers had a felony warrant for theft ($2,500). Another passenger had two misdemeanor warrants from Tukwila ($2,200) Both were booked into jail as well.
*Sunday morning around 6:30, a citizen called 911 to report a suspicious man loitering and “staring” in the 3200 block of Walnut Ave. SW. Officers found him with a switchblade at his side. It turns out that he lived down the street and and had spent the night in the parking strip after a fight with his parents. He allowed officers to look in his bag, where they found cocaine, marijuana, miscellaneous pills, syringes, needles, cooking tins, scale, cotton, foil, straws and small baggies, typically used in the sales of narcotics. He had stomach pain and was taken to Harborview but will be investigated at a later time.
*An Admiral business is out some dollars: A customer came in on Monday afternoon and selected an $80 item. While the clerk was busy with other customers, the man left the store with his item — and $140 from the cash register. The thief is described as Caucasian, aged 18-21 years, with black hair, unshaven stubble, and a heavy beard. His palms had visible injuries/scrapes from a fall.
*A compact white hatchback car — Honda or similar — that has been lowered and that has a very loud muffler. That was the description of the getaway car used by a thief who stole a box of red “Paula Deen” cooking pans just after they had been delivered to an Arbor Heights address on Thursday afternoon.
*Around 4:30 Monday of last week, officers were dispatched to a Metro coach near California and Admiral to deal with a disruptive passenger who was arguing, shouting, and spitting. The combative fellow agreed to get off the bus, but warned the officers (and some medics who arrived to treat his injured ankle) to look out for the mountain lions in the trees above them. The 50-year-old was transported to Highline Hospital for a mental evaluation.
*Around 2:30 Monday afternoon, officers pulled a car over near 26th SW and SW Adams and wound up arresting a 19-year-old South Seattle woman on a $5,000 warrant (failure to appear in a domestic violence case) as well as the driver, a 31-year-old South Seattle resident. Not only was he driving without a license, but he was wanted on $12,000 worth of warrants (obstruction, false reporting, and animal violations). Four other passengers were released with a friendly reminder to always wear their seat belts: The arrested woman sitting — obviously unbelted — on a lap in the backseat is what got the car pulled over in the first place.
*Officers investigating a child-abuse case found cause to take a 5-year-old girl (the victim) and her 7-year-old brother into protective custody at their grandmother’s home while Child Protective Services investigates the latest incident with their mother. The officer asked the little girl if she liked staying with her grandmother. The little girl said, “yes,” and when asked why she responded, “Because my grandma doesn’t beat me.”
*On Tuesday afternoon, in the 1100 block of Alki Ave. SW, two teens — aged 16 and 19 — were too busy swigging cognac to notice officers approaching their vehicle. The 16-year-old was supposed to be under home monitoring while awaiting trial for a previous offense, and he was booked into the Youth Service Center. The older teen was released.
*In the 2900 block of Avalon early Friday morning, an officer found a would-be car burglar passed out, with his head on the driver’s seat. The officer pulled him out by his backpack, and he fell backward onto the ground, his mouth letting loose with both a “grunt” and an overwhelming aroma of alcohol. His backpack was full of burglary tools and a drug pipe. The 18-year-old West Seattle resident was booked into King County Jail.
*In The Junction, a yelling and swearing man was arrested — not for smashing a brick onto a parked car (the owner accepted his apology and his cash) — but for being wanted on a $5,000 theft warrant.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also continue to publish crime reports the rest of the week, when we get tips or hear noteworthy incidents via the scanner, so don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.
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