West Seattle Crime Watch: Truck break-in, tools taken

Out of the WSB inbox (editor@westseattleblog.com), from Erin:

My husband went out to his work van at 4 am to find the driver side window smashed and close to $8000 worth of tools and wire stolen. We live in the 5600 block of 18th Ave [map]. The scum must have gotten spooked as the left a radio, tool bags and wire sitting in front of the van. We have already made a police report, but are hoping someone may have seen something.

The officer told us it’s been quiet in our neighborhood for a while. This is devastating as the tools are how my husband makes a living, and were paid for out of our pockets. If anyone saw or heard anything, we would really like to know.

I know what people will say: You are never supposed to leave anything visible in your vehicle. We never leave anything visible in our personal vehicles, but it is impossible to empty the work van every day and reload it at 3:30 a.m. He parks it so the side doors face the house, but it wasn’t enough to deter the criminals this time.

11 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Truck break-in, tools taken"

  • JanS December 10, 2009 (10:05 am)

    geez, you’d think that they’d take the frikkin’ night off because of the cold…so sorry this happened to you.

  • sw December 10, 2009 (10:22 am)

    Question (with no snark intended)…

    Why do folks not put alarm systems on their work vehicles? I’d think a $500 alarm system would be a worthwhile investment considering the dollar value of the tools contained within. The alarm itself is a “tool”, if you will. I have a relative who has a work van (company-owned van and tools), and he thinks it is nuts that they don’t have alarms in the vans that employees take home.

    Sorry this happened to you – hopefully you have all your tools itemized and photographed and have some sort of ID number engraved on them. They’ll probably be showing up at pawn shops soon.

    Peace be with you this holiday season.

  • kg December 10, 2009 (11:44 am)

    Quite a few power tools on craigslist this morning when I typed in ‘west seattle’.

  • Sasquatch December 10, 2009 (1:45 pm)

    Sorry to hear your tools were stolen!

    Had some friends who had a bike and power washer stolen from their garage within the past week. In an alley near Chevron on 35th Ave SW.

  • WS Builder December 10, 2009 (1:55 pm)

    We have some tools on craigslist for sale and I can assure you they are not stolen items. Still Craigslist is a good place to check as I am sure some items could be hot.

    We do know how you feel. Once we had over $5000 in tools stolen from a gated and locked home near completion. We filed a police report and an insurance claim. We never recovered the tools and our insurance premium skyrocketed.
    I hope the police catch the crooks and get you tools back. Sometimes I think the mideastern punishment for theft would be appropriate in certain circumstances.

  • old timer December 10, 2009 (3:16 pm)

    “Sometimes I think the mideastern punishment for theft would be appropriate in certain circumstances.”

    That makes at least 2 of us.
    Hands cut off on prime time TV.
    And, to go with that, permanent ineligibility for any public financial subsidies, unless it’s a life long prison sentence.
    Bet it only takes 2 or 3 shows to put this crap to a stop.
    And, if it doesn’t, well then we could have a new
    prime time series – we could call it “Hands Off”.
    Of course, it will never happen.
    Lock your doors, get an alarm, and say your prayers.
    Yeah, that should work.

  • mark December 10, 2009 (4:05 pm)

    Erin,

    What kind of work does your husband do? I would be happy to donate any extra or duplicate tools I have or lend him what I don’t need at the immediate moment. Also, maybe a shameless plug for him? Nothing helps replace what you need with more work!!!

  • gary December 10, 2009 (10:00 pm)

    I’m sorry to hear this happened to you. This kind of thing is really tough on us guys with our own tools/vans trying to make an honest living.

    I know it’s a little late, but like others here have said, a good brand name alarm is a must. Also, tint or black out the cargo-area windows & install a steel cage/wall behind the front seats (or buy a used fleet van that’s already been setup).

    With any luck the scumbag will get popped with your tools, Good Luck!

  • Erin December 11, 2009 (7:49 am)

    Hi everyone, and thank you so much for all of your positive thoughts and offers. They really do mean a lot to us. Sorry for the delayed response, we were pretty busy trying to figure everything out yesterday.
    .
    JanS – the officer told us the extreme cold keeps them from being able to get any good finger prints. Maybe they know that?
    .
    Re: Craigslist and pawn shops – yes, we are keeping an eye on it. But not just searching in WS. The scum had to have a vehicle or they would never have been able to transport everything they took. It was all large, heavy bags.
    .
    Re: Prevention – yes, hindsight is great. And yes we will be taking a few extra steps now. However, there is only so much you can do. After we were able to think about it more, we don’t believe the scum knew what they were getting when they entered the van. They broke the front window opposite the access to the back, rifled through the front but didn’t take anything, then probably saw the tools and reached around the steel cage and unlocked the back. If they were going for the tools originally, they would have just broken a back window.
    .
    Re: A free plug – :) He works for a commercial electric company, so a free plug probably wouldn’t do much. But it is AC Electric Service just in case, and they also work closely with C&R Electric who does residential.
    .
    Again, we are so grateful for the offers and encouraging words. We are by no means the most needful people this season. Insurance will be covering some of our loss and he has already begun working to replace the most essential lost tools.

  • burgled nulu December 11, 2009 (8:39 am)

    …and last but not least, clear out your garage and park your work vehicle inside.

  • Travis December 22, 2009 (1:08 pm)

    Old Timer, I know you think you are funny, but if you want to start using methods of the Middle East why dont we just add beating your wive’s and executing those that disagree with government.
    Your new tv show will be great.
    Thanks for sharing.

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