West Seattle Crime Watch: Holdup in Morgan Junction, followed by search in Gatewood

(Texted photo, during police search in Gatewood)
Thanks to everyone who asked about a police search in Gatewood about an hour ago. It broke up just as we arrived, but we have finally found a sergeant to ask, and we’ve learned it was related to a robbery first mentioned by a commenter. Still many details missing, but here’s what we know:

*A man was held up at gunpoint early this morning in the West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) parking lot at California/Fauntleroy. (The commenter who mentioned it says the victim described the robbers as “teenagers.”)

*Officers searching for the robbers had reason to believe they might be in the Gatewood area, several blocks southeast of the store, so that’s why they had “containment” set up in the 8 am hour – west of 35th, along streets including Webster, Ida, and Othello. We’re told some “evidence” was found.

They’re still investigating actively, and that’s why details are few. By the way, if you happened to see the big police response in the Home Depot parking lot around 9 pm, just next to the precinct, that was not related – they were taking a domestic-violence suspect into custody – that just happened to be where we found a sergeant to ask about the Morgan/Gatewood case.

P.S. This is the third day in a row that someone’s been robbed, armed or strongarm, in West Seattle (our Thursday and Friday stories are linked on the Crime Watch page). So we’ll say this again: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets Tuesday (January 20th), 7 pm at the precinct (Delridge/Webster), and precinct leadership is always there for a briefing on trends as well as attendee Q/A.

ADDED 10:35 AM SUNDAY: Thanks to MK, wife of the man who was held up, we have details of what happened. From her comment below:

Steve had parked his car on 42nd by the McDonald’s and was walking to work. He was approached by Robber #1 and asked the time. Steve looked at his cell phone and it was 7:13 am. Robber #1 pulled out a gun and pointed it in Steve’s face and demanded his car keys, at the same time 4 males surrounded him. One of them searched his pockets, stealing his wallet and cell phone. Robber #2 & #3 took his keys and got into his car but couldn’t figure out how to start it – the car has keyless ignition. Steve was calm and told Robber #1 how to start it and Robber #1 gave the gun to Robber #4 who then had the gun on Steve’s back. Robber #1 went to the car and was able to start it, they all jumped in the car but they didn’t release the parking brake and maybe got 3 feet before all 5 jumped out of the car and ran off. Steve got into the car and drove to work where he called the police. Police responded immediately – they did a search of the area and also dusted our car for fingerprints and were able to pull some good prints.

Hopefully they will be caught- he thought recognized a couple of these punks (shoplifters) and spent the morning searching his shoplifting records and sure enough he found 3 of their photos which he called police and provided a cd of their photos.

Here are the descriptions (all teens/young adults):
Robber #1 short black male
Robber #2 tall skinny black male (previous shoplifter)
Robber #3 average height samoan male (previous shoplifter)
Robber #4 brother of number #3 (previous shoplifter)
Robber #5 tall black male

There was no activity on either our credit cards or his cell before they were closed so we think they were just after the car.

So please note the holdup did not happen IN the store parking lot, as early information had indicated – police responded there because the victim drove there after the robbers fled.

49 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Holdup in Morgan Junction, followed by search in Gatewood"

  • Debra January 17, 2015 (9:52 am)

    It certainly feels like the level of crime has skyrocketed , be it proptery, robbery, violence
    There is less of a sense of safety and sense of community
    Wonder if there is historical data for our neighborhood or others that when you create the level of density crime goes up and yes I get it the more folks that live in an area the percentage would go up but it feels like it has just been out of proportion
    From my perspective we are reaping the “rewards” of the kind of density we have allowed to occur

  • wsn00b January 17, 2015 (10:08 am)

    This sucks. We shop at Thriftway all the time.
    Any insights from Thriftway’s security cameras?

  • westseattlehawks January 17, 2015 (10:24 am)

    Debra, good points. I would add that this is probably more a result of the density surrounding West Seattle (north, east and south) than the density here in West Seattle proper. The vast majority of the crimes taking place in West Seattle are perpetrated by low-lifes from other neighborhoods who view WS as fertile hunting grounds.

  • D-Mom January 17, 2015 (10:27 am)

    Unbelievable! I’m so suck of the crime. I swear it’s making me want to move to the suburbs.

  • John January 17, 2015 (10:27 am)

    Debra is confusing density with crime percentages.
    It stands to reason the more people, the more crime. But that could all be the same percentage.
    One crime for ten people is the same percentage as 10 crimes per one hundred people. The number of crimes increases with population but not necessarily the percentage.
    Crime trends for short durations, three reported near our home in the last week, do not represent overall crime.
    But they are alarming.

  • M January 17, 2015 (10:33 am)

    Pretty brazen during the day in such a populated area. Scary.

    • WSB January 17, 2015 (10:37 am)

      M – I don’t have the exact time of the robbery yet but it was pre-dawn. The report time on the tweet (which is automated from the SPD data system) is 7:29 am. But that could be anything from when 911 was called to when police arrived.

  • GW Resident January 17, 2015 (10:35 am)

    This is getting ridiculous! I’m sick and tired of reading about these kinds of crimes in my neighborhood. I hate that I have to be on high alert for a trip to Target or QFC (now Thriftway). I guess crime DOES pay and punishments are insufficient to prevent criminal-minded punks from doing what they do around here. Watch out for each other.

  • ScubaFrog January 17, 2015 (10:40 am)

    How scary. 3 robberies in 3 days? Good heavens. 2 of the victims were children on their way to school.

    My thoughts go out to the victims, that’s got to be traumatizing. I really hope this trend is short-lived.

  • chuck and sally's van man January 17, 2015 (11:12 am)

    Just speculation, but there’s a BofA ATM in the Thriftway parking lot. It would not surprise me if this was a post-withdrawal type of hold up. Beware of your surroundings folks and who might be loitering or sitting in cars. I frequent Thriftway almost daily and I find this news very disheartening. Diligence and looking out for each other are our best allies. I doubt this is a trend for this nice neighborhood, but sporadic events like this will happen in part because there are so many immediate escape routes. I hope they get the punks.

  • Sillygoose January 17, 2015 (11:12 am)

    WTH is going on around here, at THRIFTWAY I walk there daily and only live a few blocks from there. I wish I could fence West Seattle Proper and you had to show residential I. D. to get in. Get the scum outta here.

    • WSB January 17, 2015 (11:24 am)

      Please remember that as many crime suspects who are arrested live here as don’t. Actually, I’d say if I went back and found 20 stories involving arrests and prosecution in the past few years, MORE of the suspects live here than don’t. Including people born and raised here. There is no area, no population group, immune to or exempt from crime, either by being victims or offenders. It’s not a matter of economic status, either, and I can think of at least three people we’ve reported on in the past year that would be proof of that. – TR

  • drahcir61 January 17, 2015 (11:58 am)

    We need more surveillance cameras … & especially more signs telling the punks they’re on camera.

    Get a few arrests this way & the word will spread. No one should have to worry about being a victim while shopping at a grocery store … geez.

    I get the “privacy argument” but enough is enough. The police can’t be everywhere & these types of problems will only continue.

  • Debra January 17, 2015 (12:03 pm)

    John thank you for the math lesson, you stated what I had stated so appreciate your validation on this issue
    Is there actual data that crime both proptery and against has increased taking into population, density growth
    What is clear is the community is tired of these punks, and there needs to be a reprocussion for their actions versus slap on their wrist
    For my family concealed weapon is looking like a option and I’m a child of the 60s liberal, worked all my live for non profit trying to help the disenfranchised but I am weary of this

  • cjboffoli January 17, 2015 (12:07 pm)

    Research has repeatedly examined the relationship between crime rate and land-use density and has proven that increased density in itself DOES NOT correlate with a rise in crime. If it did then Manhattan – the most populous area in the US with nearly 70,000 residents per square mile – wouldn’t be as safe as it is.

  • Oakley34 January 17, 2015 (12:15 pm)

    When we have people here talking about (even facetiously) building a wall and (in other recent threads) removing transit hubs and demonizing transit riders (which we know are proportionately more used by minorities and lower income folks) there is a problem. I understand folks are alarmed and outraged at the perceived increase in crime, but the acts of a few people are not representative of the whole, nor (as WSB wisely points out above) are they always outsiders invading our pristine home. Some disturbing comments and reactions here lately to some of the (also disturbing) stories that have been coming in.

  • SomeGuy January 17, 2015 (12:45 pm)

    Was at the Westwood GameStop this morning and they have a stern-looking security guard posted inside the store. Related I am sure to the terrible story from a few days ago where a GameStop employee in Renton was seriously injured (throat slit) by a robber. Thinking I am going to cash out my WS house while the real estate market is hot and move to a cheap house somewhere in the middle of nowhere Idaho with 2-3 big dogs and several cases of hollow point.

  • burglarbustindad January 17, 2015 (1:13 pm)

    It is my observation that these criminals choose the option of theft because the consequences are minimal.
    My burglar committed his third burglary at my home in 2009. He has pled guilty to theft related offences every year since.
    He is out now!

  • drahcir61 January 17, 2015 (1:37 pm)

    Crime is based on opportunity … & risk/reward. Despite the good efforts of many people we will never be rid of crime in West Seattle.

    Therefore, you should prepare ahead of time … minimize your own risk, eliminate the opportunity & take steps NOW to prepare for the “what if” scenario.

    Do you carry pepper spray? A whistle? What would you do … run, scream, flag a passing motorist? Think about it now.

    Are you aware of your surroundings & who is approaching you when walking alone or getting off a bus, especially who is walking behind you?

    At home, do you have surveillance cams, even the fake ones? At the very least buy a sign on ebay for $5 … “Smile, you’re on camera!” types … put it in a tree, on your house, or in a window.

    Is it perfect, nope … but it could make them think that picking your home could be risky … “Smile, you’re on camera!” … ebay $5.

    We know crime will continue … be prepared ahead of time, & have this discussion with your kids so they know what to watch for, what to do & how to react … be prepared!

  • Seattlite January 17, 2015 (4:43 pm)

    SPD cannot do this but I can…I profile. Crime is an opportunity circumstance. If I feel someone looks threatening or suspicious, using my own profiling system, I make sure I stay out of harm’s way. Whether I’m in the Alaskan Junction, Westwood, downtown, I stay on high-alert of suspicious looking/acting people.

  • Bradley January 17, 2015 (5:53 pm)

    We were at Home Depot in the parking lot when the domestic violence suspect was arrested at gunpoint by countless SPD. They came from every direction (and not the police station). It was nice to see them with such a heavy response for what could have been a very bad situation (woman and young child in car).

  • zephyr January 17, 2015 (6:58 pm)

    Can we get more information on how the robbery took place? Was there more of a story from the victim that WSB can share with us? From the efforts at “containment” it seems that the robbers were on foot? Did they try to steal his car when he arrived for work?

    .

    Also is there more of a description than just “teenagers”? How were they dressed and what was their physical appearance? Surely there is a more complete report. It would be helpful to us who walk and shop in Morgan Junction to have an idea of who is out robbing people.

    .

    There are lots of robberies, muggings, etc. on Capitol Hill and the Capitol Hill Blog seems to have no problem listing a description of the criminals. With all due respect: is there a policy not to give more complete descriptions lest we offend anyone? This is not meant to be a criticism of WSB at all, just a request for clarification if more information is available.

    .

    I strongly support the WSB and their tireless efforts. The amount of news, information, announcements and encouragement for community that WSB gives us is astonishing. And maybe more news is forthcoming and I need to be patient. But I am concerned that this incident is not getting enough attention. Just that an armed robbery in the Morgan Junction Thriftway parking lot is a really big deal to some of us. We’re not talking about Pioneer Square or the Hill after hours. We’re looking at a mean-spirited vicious crime in one of the busiest centers in West Seattle at 7’ish on a Saturday morning. I really don’t want this to be the new normal. Thanks, ~z
    .

  • CSW January 17, 2015 (8:35 pm)

    A crime like this evolving guns is very serious. Have the little thugs been caught? Is there any more info?

    • WSB January 17, 2015 (9:35 pm)

      Z – what you see above is every shred of information we have. Every single shred. And it’s frankly a miracle we could get that much about something that happened predawn on a Saturday. We did ask a manager at Thriftway, while shopping there later in the day, if the victim was OK, and they said yes, he was, shaken up, of course.
      .
      We have explained many times before, whatever descriptive information we have, we’ll share. Despite being criticized for that; there is a school of thought, to which we belonged in our old-media days, that, for example, skin color/presumptive ethnicity shouldn’t be mentioned if you don’t have anything else to add – but our policy is and has been for years to share anything available, however incomplete. See both earlier robbery cases. For this one, if not for the commenter mentioning secondhand that their spouse heard the robbers described as “teenagers,” we wouldn’t even have that.
      .
      Regarding CHS, which Z mentions as a comparison – As the only other professional, commercial online-only neighborhood-news publication in the city that covers *hard news*, Justin and his team do a kick-ass job. Much of the CHS crime coverage, so far as I can tell, is in blotter style, which means it’s written days later, when written reports are accessible, and MIGHT have more details. Example, if you scroll through CHS right now, this is the most recent crime coverage:
      .
      http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2015/01/blotter-e-pike-club-stabbing-broadway-phone-grab-and-beating-car-prowl-data
      .
      This is a blotter-style roundup of events that happened from four to seven days before the piece was published, plus some stats from the SPD SeaStat briefing that occurred on January 7th. Re: the latter, we published the Southwest Precinct-related information from that briefing within an hour of its presentation:
      .
      https://westseattleblog.com/2015/01/west-seattle-crime-watch-see-where-cars-were-stolen-shots-fired-in-past-month-on-seastat-maps
      .
      This is not a criticism of CHS, and I wouldn’t bring it up if Z had not suggested that somehow you are getting a reduced level of service here at WSB. Our focus is on letting you know what happened, quick as we can. The only way to get a police report the same day is if it is a weekday and the media-relations team downtown can make that happen ON REQUEST. That is the only reason I had some details the past two days on the incidents involving students getting robbed. The only reason I was able to ask them about those incidents in order to *get* a report is that (a) for Thursday’s incident, I happened to see the mention on Tweets by Beat and/or the police-report map that a robbery had occurred at 36th/Myrtle and (b) for Friday’s incident, the victim’s mother texted us to ask if we could request that people look for her daughter’s phone. Police do NOT reach out to us to say “hey, did you know (insert serious incident here) happened?” and the online report system does not make details on incidents available online for days IF at all. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining but it’s hard to explain just how not-easy this is. Even if something happens during the many hours a day we’re listening to the scanner, full details don’t go out over the airwaves, either. If you listen, you will often hear a dispatch “I”ve sent a call to your screen.” That tells us nothing about what is happening and when. It’s why we thank people for texting/tweeting/whatever when they see unusual police activity – that’s often our first hint.
      .
      However, to characterize us as “early and short on details” would not be accurate either, as there is nobody else in this city that goes to the lengths we do to follow cases through court (despite difficulty in getting suspects’ names because the police reports are redacted) and to then report on the pleas, the trials, the sentencings. 95% of those go uncovered by other news organizations, if they even covered the initial crime at all. It takes a lot of work. And we do that work because it’s important. See the reports earlier this week about charges filed in the minimart stabbing and Alki burglary/package-theft cases.
      .
      Bottom line, again, right now I know nothing else. I hope people come to the Crime Prevention Council on Tuesday night because you will be in the same room with either the precinct captain or his operations lieutenant and can hear/ask firsthand about what’s going on. There are no guest speakers on the agenda so far as I’ve heard. The more people who are there, the more questions can be asked, the more you might find out.
      .
      In the meantime, please continue letting us know if you see unusual police activity. Often it doesn’t turn out to be anything worrisome. But sometimes we find out that people assumed we already knew. We might not. No Batman-like light goes up in the sky announcing something. This morning, if not for two people who tweeted, one who e-mailed, and one who texted, we wouldn’t have heard about the Gatewood search, and even at that, despite being based just blocks away, we got there just as the last officer was turning off her/his lights and moving on (we were headed eastbound on Ida – so frustrating!). We drove the nearby streets for a few minutes hoping to find someone to ask. Nada. Then to the precinct, where the front desk was not staffed – a sign said they’d be back in a few minutes; we waited, no one, so we headed back out, thinking we’d try again later, and that’s when we spotted the lights-on cars headed back out, to, as it turned out, the Home Depot parking lot on the other side of the fence! By the way, we had the scanner on the whole time, in the car, and didn’t hear a word about the HD dispatch.
      .
      I left TV seven years ago hoping I’d never have to cover another crime story. Turns out, crime and safety are of high interest to the community, and so it is our priority. We do the best we can and try to get out as much information as we can. I’m sorry that it can leave you wanting more; it leaves me wanting more too, but right now, this is the absolute best we can do.
      .
      Sorry for the TL:DR size here.
      .
      TR

  • Norman January 17, 2015 (8:57 pm)

    As a person whom is in their late fifties whom works in West Seattle this is an alarming trend. Most worrisome indeed I hope we as a community can come together and figure out some kind of fix for this problem.

  • wsres January 17, 2015 (10:08 pm)

    @Debra, well said, I agree. The new huuuge highrise up on California that took out so many small businesses, and other high rises will take the feel of our small beachy community away. Even on Alki houses have been torn down, replaced with high rise condoes, or triplexes. With that comes inner city crime. Ugh.

  • Oakley34 January 17, 2015 (10:16 pm)

    I love you WSB.

  • BB January 17, 2015 (10:34 pm)

    My husband was at the Thriftway in the store while the incident was occurring outside. Before the police arrived as he was checking out a cashier told him that the male Thriftway employee had his wallet taken at gunpoint by five males and they tried to steal his car. This is third hand information and should be treated as such. We posted to WSB because this was shocking to us too and we wanted it out in the community as soon as possible especially because of the previous incidents.

  • Debra January 17, 2015 (10:37 pm)

    Thank you WSB, you all do a fabulous job, I look at your site several times a day just to be informed of my community
    I am impressed with the vigor you search out information and you should be proud of the work you and your team do,
    Kudos to you all

  • m January 17, 2015 (11:53 pm)

    WSB – I so appreciate your stellar coverage, high level of integrity, and professionalism. You’re my most reliable local news source.

  • Silvia January 18, 2015 (6:33 am)

    I saw all 5 suspects and observed them for quite a few minutes they will be crossing 42nd or the entrance of the thriftway parking lot every time a car was coming and they will kind of stop in the middle to slow down the cars as they enter, will cross street and be behind a red suv so I assumed that maybe they wanted to steal a car so at 7:13 i made a call to 911, i was told that unless a crime was being commited they could not send anyone but that they will send some kind of bulletin out unfortunatelly while i went to make the call is when the crime was being commited .

  • M January 18, 2015 (7:48 am)

    @Silvia. I think the lesson here is that is probably more effective to notify WSB of suspicion behavior and community threats that the SPD. At least WSB gets information out that helps me and my family know what is happening in our community. I am appalled that we haven’t seen any info from SPD. As far as we know these thugs are still walking around with a gun ready to rob the next “opportunity” they see.

  • Debra January 18, 2015 (9:00 am)

    What happened to the “call if you see anything suspicious ”
    Wait till a crime is committed? Lucky this person was not killed,
    Perhaps it is time for the police commissioner to hear from concerned west seattle citizens
    Very alarming that us the response Silvia received

  • zephyr January 18, 2015 (9:42 am)

    Thanks, WSB for all your work and dedication. Like I said earlier, I am amazed and grateful for the work your team does—every single day. Sounds like you all presented every bit of information you could glean short of interviewing the victim. I apologize if anything I said sounded critical. I just wanted more information if you could get it. Like “m” said, “You’re my most reliable local news source.” And like the other “M” says, it may be more effective to call or report to WSB to sound the alarm if the SPD is not going to respond. That part is stunning to consider. I doubt WSB wants that responsibility and though I check the WSB before I head into town for traffic, I can’t imagine having to check to see if the coast is clear before going to the grocery store. :(

    .

    So we have learned some more information from this continuing dialog. As two commenters have added—there were FIVE males. That’s a pack, not just a couple of kids. Very troubling to hear that. And they were loitering about the neighborhood blocking traffic, brazenly and confidently hunting for victims. Sounds like we are in the hood now.

    .

    I also heard from a third hand source that the victim almost lost his car in the escapade, but they couldn’t get his vehicle to start and threw the keys back at him. It was almost a car jacking too.

    .

    @Silvia, since you saw the suspects for several minutes, are you willing to describe their appearance? Everyone is so afraid to give this detail. Were they wearing hoodies, etc.? Did they look like typical teenagers from high school or more like street people or transients? Thanks, Silvia for taking the time to call this in to the police. How frustrating that they didn’t send a car to investigate. That is alarming. Sounds like people going early or late to Thriftway, McDonald’s or the BECU cash machine now need to be especially wary. They are likely to be back since it went so well for them the first time.

    .

    Again, thanks to WSB team for getting the word out on this incident. We would likely never have known about it without you unless we happened to be in the store that morning or witness the event. With much gratitude to you Tracy and Patrick. ~z
    .

  • BB January 18, 2015 (10:10 am)

    Zephyr,

    My husband and I are not afraid to put out the ethnicity or the assumed country of origin of the suspects…we don’t think it is responsible because it is second hand information. My husband did not see them, he was in the store. So, what if what he heard second hand is wrong. My husband said if he had saw them he would have no problem putting out a description.

    So, maybe the witness who actually saw them can give a description. I find it troubling that SW Precinct has no way to communicate to the neighborhood that there is a group of males with a gun, robbing and potentially car-jacking in the core of our neighborhood. We plan on attending this Crime prevention meeting.

    BB

    BB

  • Silvia January 18, 2015 (10:15 am)

    Unfortunately it was still dark did not see faces i gather they were teenagers 2 of them their pants were hanging down u know to the point that i do not know how they stay on, wearing caps and hoodies

  • MK January 18, 2015 (10:24 am)

    I am Steve’s wife (the victim in this robbery) and can share more details on this.
    Steve had parked his car on 42nd by the McDonald’s and was walking to work. He was approached by Robber #1 and asked the time. Steve looked at his cell phone and it was 7:13am. Robber #1 pulled out a gun and pointed it in Steve’s face and demanded his car keys, at the same time 4 males surrounded him. One of them searched his pockets, stealing his wallet and cell phone. Robber #2 & #3 took his keys and got into his car but couldn’t figure out how to start it – the car has keyless ignition. Steve was calm and told Robber #1 how to start it and Robber #1 gave the gun to Robber #4 who then had the gun on Steve’s back. Robber #1 went to the car and was able to start it, they all jumped in the car but they didn’t release the parking brake and maybe got 3 feet before all 5 jumped out of the car and ran off. Steve got into the car and drove to work where he called the police. Police responded immediately – they did a search of the area and also dusted our car for fingerprints and were able to pull some good prints.
    Hopefully they will be caught- he thought recognized a couple of these punks (shoplifters)and spent the morning searching his shoplifting records and sure enough he found 3 of their photos which he called police and provided a cd of their photos.

    Here are the descriptions (all teens/young adults):
    Robber #1 short black male
    Robber #2 tall skinny black male (previous shoplifter)
    Robber #3 average height samoan male (previous shoplifter)
    Robber #4 brother of number #3 (previous shoplifter)
    Robber #5 tall black male

    There was no activity on either our credit cards or his cell before they were closed so we think they were just after the car.

    I hope this information helps. The only thing Steve would like to add is Go Hawks!

    • WSB January 18, 2015 (10:32 am)

      Thank you VERY much, MK. I will cut and paste this into the story above, for those who don’t read comments (despite the bad rap comments have on the internet in general, here on WSB they are often, as here, a source of additional information). Hope he is doing OK. – TR

  • MK January 18, 2015 (10:58 am)

    If it had to happen to someone – well I don’t quite no how to put it (this sounds strange) but it’s probably best it was Steve. He’s one of the calmest people you can meet and kept a cool head.
    We actually were able to laugh later that the cell phone they got was an old flip phone that was due to be replaced. They also got his YMCA membership card & medical insurance card. Ok – guess they can go to the doctor but jokes on them, they have a $20 co-pay and Steve only had $10 cash on him (that they took) so they’ll have to pay the rest of the co-pay out of pocket.
    I just want to add – it’s so important to be involved and keep an eye out for your neighbors. We are from Renton and are involved in our neighborhood watch. Yes, crime sucks but we can all make a difference by watching out for one another.

  • zephyr January 18, 2015 (12:37 pm)

    Thank you so much BB and Silvia for responding. BB,I agree that it’s not responsible to put out unverifiable or second hand information. Silvia, your description of their dress was perfect—hoodies and low slung pants.

    .

    MK, THANK YOU so very much for giving us a complete telling of the story and a thorough description. Now we can be on the lookout for these guys. It really helps to understand how the crime went down. Because earlier I had heard (inaccurately) that the robbery occurred in the rear/side parking lot. It happened on 42nd Street behind the McDonald’s.

    .

    They picked the wrong guy (for them, not us) to rob since he recognized them and had archived records to give the police. Wow. That’s amazing. It sounds like they come into our area often if they have been shoplifting here. What punks. Now they have a gun and more nerve to go from shoplifting to robbery. I hope they are apprehended and locked up soon.

    Thank you Steve for your brave and smart response. Go Hawks as well!

    .

    Thanks again to WSB for updating this post and keeping us informed. I really appreciate everyone sharing all the information and working together. Awesome. ~z
    .

  • Diane January 18, 2015 (1:18 pm)

    re ADDED 10:35 AM SUNDAY in this story
    ~
    thank you so much MK for the report; so glad to hear Steve is ok; really appreciate your sense of humor and great example of how to deal with thugs and not get hurt
    ~
    TR, can you please make this a story at top of page so all will see; I doubt most will scroll down again to this story (now down at least 9 stories) to see this very important part added
    ~
    this whole thing is VERY disturbing
    ~
    so these are regular Thriftway shoplifters (good to hear there are photos) who are so brazen as to keep coming back, this time in a pack; so pathetic
    ~
    sure do hope this will motivate more than a handful of neighbors to show up at Crime Prevention meeting

  • Diane January 18, 2015 (1:41 pm)

    so Silvia called the police at 7:13am alerting them of 5 suspects brazenly scoping out someone to carjack and rob, AND the robbery/attempted carjacking occurred at 7:13am, but the police told Silvia “unless a crime was being commited they could not send anyone but that they will send some kind of bulletin”; THIS is very concerning, and I hope will be a major question for the police, and at the Crime Prevention meeting

  • chuck and sally's van man January 18, 2015 (1:50 pm)

    Thank you MK for your vivid (and truly frightening) recap. This neighborhood has lots of walkers at that hour, with people headed down to Ladro or Starbucks, breakfast at McDs, or just headed to an ATM. They could have picked on anyone for a straight-up mugging, but it does sound like they had targeted Steve for a car-jacking. I have to wonder if they just happened to see him, or knew his patterns? Either way, I’m so glad that he reacted so calmly; I cannot imagine having a gun pointed in my face. And, given the strong ID your husband has made, I EXPECT that the SPD will have all five of these thugs behind bars before this evening. Their unacceptable reaction to the call regarding a probable crime about to take place is something they need to answer for, immediately. Great job Steve!

  • Rick January 18, 2015 (8:24 pm)

    Live across from the store and am in there every day for shopping and banking. Please let me add to the statistics. Please. Really. I’ve had guns in my face and I’m still here. Pretty please. Punk a**

  • M January 18, 2015 (8:40 pm)

    I cannot tell you how shaken everyone was on Saturday morning. We were ready to head out and find the punks ourselves.

    Although this was incredibly unfortunate for my buddy, it is kind of like a blessing in disguise. These kids would continue doing what they are doing and get more and more brazen in their attempts until eventually someone would end up getting seriously injured or even killed.

    We were able to retrieve video surveillance of three of the said suspects and it sounded as if they knew who they were, so hopefully, the police are able to apprehend them soon.

    We are a fantastic community and have to stick together.

  • Maria CPT January 19, 2015 (7:35 am)

    I just moved to WS from Rainier Valley. This stuff happens there all of the time (go figure, poverty breeds crime). I’d like to get involved with neighborhood watch were I am since I am accustomed to being on high alert! Your guidance of how to get involved is appreciated.

    Our involvement is key. Love WS!

    • WSB January 19, 2015 (7:59 am)

      Hi – welcome to West Seattle – for starters, tomorrow night’s Crime Prevention Council meeting is the first one in a few months; this is a small all-volunteer group that really relies on public attendance/participation to drive the agenda, and if no one’s there to ask questions/voice concerns, the meeting will be a briefing from police leadership and then :crickets: – 7 pm Tuesday, Southwest Precinct, off Webster just west of Delridge, the meeting room is right next to the public entrance on the parking lot. Lots of parking in the lot and on the street, and if you take the bus, the 120 runs on Delridge, steps away. The West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meets later this month – http://wsblockwatchnet.wordpress.com – that’s a really good place to plug into Block Watch and crime-prevention info. – TR

  • Diane January 19, 2015 (12:20 pm)

    I just got a call to work tomorrow night, so can’t make it to the Crime meeting; sure hope there will be a good showing of concerned citizens to ask questions; especially about the police response to 911 call at time of robbery; according to Silvia, police said “unless a crime was being commited they could not send anyone but that they will send some kind of bulletin”

  • Maria CPT January 19, 2015 (8:32 pm)

    Thanks, WSB. I can’t make it tomorrow, but will reach out to the Captains.

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