Thanks to the person who called to say they had heard about this from an employee at the Junction 7-11 (California/Erskine). We have since obtained some information from police: They confirm the store was held up about 1:30 am Saturday. The robber was described “as a white male about 25 years of age, wearing a dark blue or black puffy coat, and had a red scarf wrapped around his face.” He showed the clerk a handgun. Police called in a K-9 to help search but they didn’t find the robber. Checking Tweets by Beat, that’s the only robbery call in the Southwest Precinct coverage area, West Seattle and South Park, so far this weekend. (Side note: If you routinely check the tweets and haven’t noticed this, each confirmed incident generates two tweets – the second one, when a report is filed, so the time will be different. The first tweet describes what was reported – so the second one might classify the incident differently, depending on what’s confirmed. The telltale sign that two or more tweets are about the same case is the incident # in the tweet.)

ADDED: We finally got the written SPD report on this, so we can add a few more details. It says the clerk “initially noticed the suspect standing in front of the business near the Redbox machine. The suspect spoke briefly with a male who just exited a vehicle before entering the store. (He) noticed the male was wearing a red scarf around his face so he watched as he picked up several items from around the store. The suspect brought the three items to the register and asked for scratch tickets. Two other customers were inside the store at this time so the suspect told the (clerk) to assist them first before getting his scratch tickets. (He) assisted the customers, who then left the store. The suspect then looked outside before pulling out a large black semiautomatic handgun. The suspect stated, ‘Give me the f—-ing money,’ (so the clerk) pulled out the whole till and handed it to the suspect over the counter … (the suspect) then walked out of the store and turned westbound where he lost sight of him.”

(WSB photo by Katie Meyer, police response north of burglary scene)
4:12 PM: Busy afternoon for police, again. And also for the tipsters who are quick to let us know when they see police cars going by with lights on – thank you. Here’s the latest: Police have taken two people into custody after an in-progress burglary was reported near 47th and Alaska, west of The Junction.

That’s all the details we have after talking to a sergeant at the scene; if we find out anything more, we’ll add it.

ADDED 4:54 PM: A reader texted the photo of the suspects being arrested outside the a nearby house. (Added: WSB photo of one suspect being walked to police vehicle:)

Scanner traffic indicated some stolen property was recovered.

ADDED 5:17 PM: And here are even more details, just published on SPD Blotter:

A woman called 911 around 3:30 P.M. when she heard the sounds of someone breaking into her home in the 4500 block of 47th Ave Southwest. The woman hid in an upstairs closet as officers arrived on scene.

Officers began searching the neighborhood and found both suspects hiding inside a shed about a block away. Police arrested both suspects and found they were carrying a backpack full of stolen property. Officers will book both 20-year-old suspects into King County Jail on investigation of burglary.

Update this morning from Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske, in a message sent to multiple community groups:

I wanted to update you all that we made an arrest in one of the 5 robberies that occurred here in the last week. We are continuing to work the others.

We’re following up to find out more and will add here. If you’re looking for background – here’s our most recent followup, with links to our coverage of all five of the recent street robberies.

ADDED 10:41 AM: A bit more information: We’ve just confirmed which robbery the arrest was made in relation to – it’s the attempted robbery that happened Tuesday afternoon but wasn’t reported to police until Wednesday, a 13-year-old boy who was asked about his phone at Admiral Safeway and then followed across California SW, where two would-be robbers tried to take it from him. Details were in the followup mentioned above, same link.

ADDED 4:37 PM: Even more information, according to SPD: The suspect’s probation officer happened to spot him in the area and knew there was a warrant out for him, related to a theft case, and contacted police. They arrested the suspect on that and for probable cause in the Tuesday robbery attempt, and he was booked into the King County Youth Services Center, since he’s a juvenile. We will check with prosecutors next week regarding charge(s).

(Wednesday night WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
As we work to follow up on the five street-robbery incidents in West Seattle we’ve covered in the past week, there’s new information from the Southwest Precinct. This update from precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske has just been sent to community groups:

I wanted to update everyone on a series of incidents we have had occur here in the last week, as I have had a lot of folks express concerns, as well as the desire to keep everyone up on significant events.

We have had a total of 5 theft/strong arm robberies since January 15th, most targeting younger victims that range in age from @14 to 18. The items taken are personal electronics, either laptops, pads or cell phones. The two most recent happened along California Ave SW, with the others in the areas of 6500 42nd SW, 36th SW and Myrtle, and 26th SW and Thistle.

Based on what we currently know about the incidents, there may be a connection between two of the cases. Several of the others appear to be stand-alone incidents that have not been repeated in the area.

We have distributed what info we have to the patrol officers so they can be aware of the incidents and suspect descriptions, and they are spending the time they can in the areas most commonly used by students as they travel to and from school. The precinct detectives are working the cases, and they will have access to any and all resources of the precinct, and we will draw in more department resources if they need them.

I will update you as things progress, but wanted you to know that we are aware of this and working on it as a priority. I have cc’ed Mark Solomon on this email, and he will also be sending out some safety information.

Mark Solomon is the SW and South Precincts’ Crime Prevention Coordinator, and his forward of this note included that safety information. We’ll attach it shortly, along with other information we’ve been working on today. First – here are our links to WSB coverage of the incidents mentioned in Capt. Wilske’s note, newest-to-oldest:

*Wednesday evening robbery in North Admiral, with coverage including info about Tuesday incident
*West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting coverage, including discussion of incidents
*Followup report on Saturday morning Morgan Junction robbery
*Same-day coverage of Saturday morning Morgan Junction robbery/carjack attempt
*Coverage of Friday robbery in Westwood
*Coverage of Thursday robbery in Gatewood

ADDED 12:49 PM: Here’s the safety information mentioned above:

(If you can’t see the embed – we hear it’s glitching for some – here’s the PDF.)

ADDED 1:57 PM: The West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network has just announced that Capt. Wilske will be at the WSBWCN meeting next Tuesday (January 27) to talk about this, 6:30 pm at the precinct, all welcome.

Meantime, from the police report on the Tuesday incident, how it unfolded: The victim was at Admiral Safeway with friends at about 2:50 pm and about to leave to head home when the two would-be robbers came up to him. One asked if he could use the victim’s phone, and said he didn’t need to hold it, but just asked the victim to hold up the phone and dial a certain number. The number didn’t connect. The victim left the store and crossed the street; the two confronted him on the northwest corner of California/Lander (by Lafayette Elementary). The report says one stood behind the victim while the other “grabbed his belt loop and tried to reach into his pocket where (he) had put his phone.” That’s when other teens, described as West Seattle HS students, “pulled (the would-be robbers) off” the victim, who they told to go home, which he did. The victim’s father told us that kids should specifically be warned to NEVER let anyone they don’t know use their phone – he says these two were apparently approaching others in the Safeway area first, and then, when his son left the store alone, went after him.

(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli. Above, police near the robbery scene)
5:18 PM: Police are combing North Admiral neighborhoods right now for two street-robbery suspects. More to come.

5:27 PM: They have found a possible suspect. We don’t have full details of the incident yet but police had been seeking two people, one reported to have a knife, another who reportedly told the victims he had a gun. They either stole or tried to steal a phone.

(44th/Atlantic, where police checked a home whose resident reported an intruder alarm)
5:45 PM UPDATE: No word of any arrests yet. An active search continues, with K-9; the actual robbery happened north of Admiral/California.

(Tonight’s search went all the way to the water – above, Don Armeni Boat Ramp park)
Just before this, we had learned of a robbery attempt near there yesterday afternoon; police say they don’t know yet if that’s related. In that one, two people tried to steal a 13-year-old’s phone, but older youth in the area chased them away. It apparently was not reported to police until today. (Added: That attempt happened near Lafayette Elementary around 3 pm Tuesday, according to the victim’s family.)

6:26 PM: Search continuing, and it’s very wide-ranging.

(Sunset/Seattle, atop the North Admiral bluff)
7:23 PM: Police have been searching as far north as Harbor Avenue. Counting the attempted robbery yesterday that we just learned about today, this is the fifth street robbery or attempt in West Seattle in the past seven days, starting last Thursday (January 15th) when two people knocked down and stole the backpack of a middle-schooler walking by Myrtle Reservoir in Gatewood; on Friday, a robber stole a phone from a high-school student walking in a Westwood neighborhood; on Saturday, a man parking near his workplace in Morgan Junction was accosted by robbers who tried to steal his car.

8:14 PM: We’re adding photos from the search. Meantime, we just checked with Lt. Alan Williams, who confirms, no arrests yet, and that the person detained at 45th/Walker was not identified by the victims, so he was released. The robbery itself, Lt. Williams says, happened in the 2300 block of 44th SW. He has no description information at this point aside from “two black males … estimated to be 15-17 years of age.”

First, if you happen to have been at Westwood Village and noticed police this past hour:

SHOPLIFTING/ROBBERY: What was described over the air as shoplifting-turned-robbery at the Westwood Village Radio Shack drew a big police response. Our crew was told the employee wasn’t hurt; they’re still trying to determine what was taken. Police were searching for two possible suspects, described early on as Hispanic women 18-22, both 5’3″ to 5’4″, one thin, one medium-to-heavy, one dressed all in black, one in a gray jacket. We’re hearing of one possible arrest in a residential area several blocks north and will be checking to verify.

(12:35 PM UPDATE: SPD confirms a 15-year-old girl is in custody. Apparently the other possible suspect was not involved in the crime.)

(back to original report) A few other Crime Watch notes from the past few days:

RECOGNIZE THIS CAR? Shay says it’s been parked in her neighborhood for a few weeks and neighbors thought it belonged to someone working nearby, but now realize it’s abandoned.

Police will be contacted if they haven’t been already, but Shay got a stolen car back via this kind of WSB report a few years ago and so wanted to get the word out this way too.

CAR PROWLS: Last Friday night, according to a reader report, three cars, all Hondas, were broken into near 49th/Juneau in Seaview; someone “with a flashlight was spotted at 6 am and fled upon being observed.” No signs of forced entry, so neighbors are wondering if the prowler(s) have “a keyless entry.”

NEXT CRIMEFIGHTING MEETINGS: The West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meets at 6:30 pm next Tuesday (January 27th) at the Southwest Precinct – you don’t have to be a captain, or even in a block watch (yet!), to attend. And if you missed the announcement published here Tuesday morning, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole is coming to West Seattle for her first “community conversation” here, 6:30 pm Tuesday, February 3rd, also at the precinct (which is at Webster/Delridge).

P.S. The chief’s latest quarterly report to the City Council will be presented this afternoon – read it here.

(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.

2:04 PM: For the second day in a row, a local student has been robbed while walking to school. Thursday, it happened in Gatewood; today, in Westwood. The victim’s mom contacted us in hopes someone might see this, tossed aside somewhere:

She told us her daughter’s phone “was nabbed right out of her jacket pocket as she walked from Westwood Village to Sealth High School on 25th ave. SW. We filed a police report but she’d really like the bottom half of her Beemo phone case back. It might have been discarded somewhere along 25th Avenue SW.”

We have requested but not yet received the police report in this case – if and when we do, we’ll add whatever else it includes, including descriptions, if any. Meantime, we asked the mom if her daughter’s OK. “She’s understandably shaken but physically OK. She’s just real sad about losing the phone case.” If you see it, contact police; the case number is 15-017129.

4:10 PM: We’ve obtained the report from SPD but it includes very little additional information. This was reported around 8:30 this morning; police were called once the victim arrived at CSIHS, so there’s no exact address of where she was when it happened. The robber is described only as black, male, maybe 15-17 years old, wearing black. The victim said he came up to her, said “Give me your phone”; she didn’t respond. He then reached into the front pocket of her sweatshirt, grabbed her phone, and ran southbound, toward Westwood Village.

Nine days ago, Beth‘s VW Passat was stolen from her driveway near Lincoln Park. The next day, a reader reported it turned up in front of their home in Beverly Park. Now – Beth says it’s been stolen again:

Turns out they ransacked and found an extra key in my husband’s car. I am
requesting help again since some lovely lady found it last time in the 115th
area. I was having it rekeyed on Saturday!!!

2004 royal blue VW Passat with Sun Valley and state of WA stickers on back,
license #AKD2678 (in a Hans Automotive frame). I am so frustrated!

If you see it, call 911.

P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s first meeting of 2015, with local SPD leadership on hand, is at 7 pm next Tuesday (January 20th). If you have neighborhood crime/safety concerns, be there.

Just found out about this via a routine check of the police-report map: A middle-school student walking to catch a school bus this morning told police that two men knocked him down and robbed him.

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3:54 PM: You might recall last week’s uproar over a county budget change that was scheduled to kick in February 1st, changing how suspects in certain kinds of crimes are handled – booking and releasing them, rather than booking them into jail while they await a bail hearing (often the next day). Here’s our coverage from last Friday. Today, a change: County Executive Dow Constantine has sent a letter (read it here) to county officials including criminal-justice-system leaders, saying that they’ve found “resources” to hold off on “book and release” until at least June 1st, and maybe longer if certain changes can be implemented in the courts. There’s a news-media conference call about this in a few minutes and we’ll be on it – more info to come.

4:23 PM UPDATE: The conference call was relatively short. Constantine spokesperson Chad Lewis said part of the reason why the postponement is possible is that: “The jail population tends to naturally decline in the winter,” so this is not urgent.

We couldn’t help but note that the season hasn’t changed since last Friday, when we were all on the phone talking about this being implemented next month, so, what’s changed? Lewis acknowledged that “stakeholder” reaction played a role.

Meantime, looking ahead as to whether this ever will have to be implemented, the possible changes in court processes outlined in Constantine’s letter, to reduce jail population over the longer term, include “shortening the time between plea or verdict and sentencing.” Lewis says they’re also hopeful the Legislature will address the budgeting problems that have left King and other counties with a shortfall. We asked if there’s a new reason for that hope; he said, “The public safety issue gets more attention” but that’s not the only part of the budget affected by chronic revenue trouble. In response to another question, Lewis insists, “The executive never wanted to put (the book-and-release policy) forward” but didn’t feel he had a choice.

They don’t know yet what kind of a review or assessment will be done between now and June 1st to determine if the book-and-release policy will kick in then, or ever, said Lewis.

(Surveillance-video screengrab)
Following up on last Thursday’s Alki arrest – in which, as reported in our first followup, the suspect was found in a treehouse: 32-year-old Emanuel Kozma is now charged with three felonies, 2nd degree burglary, 1st degree criminal trespass, and 3rd-degree theft. Our first report included a reader report that Kozma was also suspected in a package theft earlier in the day, before the Alki search and arrest resulting from a package theft inside a secure building, and the charging documents include the earlier incident. An excerpt:

… The defendant entered a secure apartment building lobby and stole a package delivered for a tenant. When confronted by a witness, the defendant dropped the items he had taken out of the stolen package and ran away.

When police found the defendant and inventoried his bag, they discovered items stolen from the front porches of a nearby duplex as well as assorted checks not written to the defendant. The residents of the duplex had surveillance video of the defendant stealing delivered packages.

The defendant has had 23 warrants since 2001, based on 30 bookings at King County Jail. At the time of his arrest, the defendant had an outstanding DOC Escape warrant related to his Assault 3 conviction and community custody. The defendant fled when confronted by a witness and hid from police in a tree; he finally came down when a police K9 officer indicated he was in the tree. Also, the defendant has two convictions for Attempting to Elude. Additionally, the defendant’s references were not available to verify his address, employment, or ties to the community. The defendant is facing a significant prison sentence if convicted as charged – his standard range for Burglary 2º is 51 to 68 months. For all of these reasons, the State believes the defendant is a flight risk if released.

The apartment-building theft happened in the 6000 block of SW Stevens; the earlier thefts, in the 2400 block of 55th SW. Meantime, the King County Jail Register indicates Kozma remains in jail, with no bail amount set so far, as stipulated in the aforementioned warrant for escape. We’re checking with the state Corrections Department to see if a photo of him is available to add to this story. (Added 12:04 pm: Thanks to DOC for the fast response – we’ve received a photo and have added it above.)

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports today:

STABBING SUSPECT CHARGED: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed a charge of second-degree assault against Beverlee Darden, the 52-year-old High Point woman arrested after last Wednesday night’s stabbing outside South Seattle Market at 35th/Morgan. In the charging documents, prosecutors say the suspect thought the 17-year-old victim, described as a volunteer at West Seattle Food Bank who lives near Darden, was interested in Darden’s husband, and had been calling her insulting names based on that. On Wednesday night, the victim confronted her about it, and, prosecutors say, while they were arguing, Darden stabbed her. The charging documents say the knife appears to be the same one used when Darden was accused of stabbing her husband last November, a case in which no charges appear to have been filed, but she does have a record – 12 bookings into the King County Jail since 1986, and 10 arrest warrants. She remains in jail with bail set at $50,000.

SUSPECTED TOOL THEFT: From a resident near 21st/Roxbury:

About 10 am this morning I noticed a man in the middle of my planted parking strip. He was messing with some tool boxes. I’m assuming he just stole the two boxes, and a white Home Depot bucket full of stuff. He couldn’t carry it all, so threw what he could in the bucket and took off. My dog was barking at him, and possibly he saw me, so that is why he took off so fast. He only took a drill out, and the rest of the two boxes had stuff in them. So, if your tools were stolen this am, the police have most of them.

11:02 AM: There’s always the possibility these two reports do NOT involve thefts, but in case you can help reunite items with their rightful owners, we’re sharing the reader reports. First, from North Delridge:

I had a package stolen from my porch on Thursday. At least I think it was stolen because it has been reported as delivered and my neighbors don’t have it. It was from Nordstrom but I don’t think it was labeled as such. It had two bras and a skirt. I live on 25th between Brandon and Findlay, right behind the Delridge Library.

Second, if you’re missing a suitcase, through theft or otherwise, a tipster says this turned up on an Admiral parking strip, and tweeted a photo:

It was still there as of first thing this morning, SW Stevens west of 38th SW.

11:48 AM NOTE: SPD tweets suggest the suitcase has been reported to police as “found property,” so if you’re the owner and don’t see this until later, check with them. (Also, see the comments below for an update from the finder.)

ADDED 2:20 PM: Just received a photo of a bicycle found in the greenbelt near Fauntleroy Church:

Morgan says it was there as of early afternoon, “in the Fenton Glen little ravine by the little path to the creek at the far end of Fauntleroy Church’s parking lot … sort of hidden behind a big cedar.”

Michael‘s bicycle is “instantly recognizable,” as he puts it. And now it’s gone … so he’s hoping that if you see it, you’ll be able to help him get it back. He’s part of the Alki Beach Creeps bike club; his “beach cruiser” bike was stolen in Pioneer Square. Call 911 if you see it.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:05 PM: If you think some crime suspects get out of jail too quickly now – wait until next month, when, according to a story KING 5 broke last night, the county might not allow some of them to get booked into jail at all – they’ll be brought downtown, processed, and released. We just heard about this when Mayor Murray’s office sent a news release, saying he has sent County Executive Dow Constantine a letter objecting to it:

Mayor Ed Murray has serious concerns about a King County proposal to release additional felony suspects in property crime cases immediately after booking in downtown Seattle. The mayor outlined his concerns today in a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine.

“This proposed plan presents an unacceptable public safety risk to the residents of Seattle and will undermine our mutual efforts to reduce drug and property crimes,” wrote Murray. “This proposal also has serious potential policing and budget implications for the City of Seattle.” (Full letter embedded below)

On Feb. 1, King County plans to reduce the inmate population by instituting a “book-and-release” policy for several felony drug and property offenses, including auto theft, hit and run (with injury), malicious mischief, reckless endangerment, stolen property, theft, vehicle prowl and drug possession.

The proposed plan will mean that suspects arrested for these crimes in communities around King County will be brought to Seattle to be booked and then released onto the streets of downtown.

Currently, judges individually assess each suspect booked at the jail to decide whether to hold them pending trial. The proposed County plan would eliminate a judge’s review in favor of a presumption of release for these non-violent offenses.

In his letter, Murray outlined alternatives to reduce burdens on the jail (reducing the time between a suspect’s arraignment and trial), as well as reduce impacts on the city (remote booking or mandatory return transportation for suspects brought downtown for booking from jurisdictions outside of Seattle).

We’ve asked both the county and city for a copy of the memo that Murray says police chiefs received this week, and we’ve asked the executive’s office for reaction to Murray’s letter. We’ll add whatever we hear back.

5:13 PM UPDATE: To answer journalists’ questions including ours, the executive’s office set up a conference call last hour, and your editor here was one of four who asked questions. The toplines:

*This is a done deal at this point – it was part of the county budget approved by the County Council and Executive.

*Rather than a budget cut, this was a budget request that didn’t get granted. The County’s director of adult/juvenile detention William Hayes, one of three county reps on the call, said it would cost $5.2 million to open another section of the jail to handle the increase in daily population expected over the next year if everything was status quo – last year’s average daily county jail/detention population (Seattle and Kent) was 1900, 50 over projections, and this year was expected to be 1920. There’s room at the jail – but not the personnel to staff it. That request was not granted. This policy is the result.

*The key talking point was that this would mean a difference of a few hours or few days in time most of these suspects would have spent in jail. It was also stressed that police will have the option to say, we don’t want this suspect released. In response to that, we pointed out that police might not get immediate access to the suspect’s full record, or warrant status. The county reps say that if technical problems keep them from finding out whether there’s a warrant out for someone, they won’t be released until the status can be verified.

*Overall, the county reps (also including Constantine spokesperson Chad Lewis and a budget-office staffer, Krista Camenzind) said a “chronic structural gap with the county’s general fund” is to blame. 70 percent of the general fund goes to criminal justice, from deputies to prosecutors to defenders to judges to jails, and it’s been going down even as the population grows, with a $54 million gap to cover this time around. We asked, couldn’t the civil system have been cut instead of the criminal? Reply: It already had been.

*We asked for a copy of the memo that the mayor mentioned, received this week by police chiefs around the county pointing out which crimes this generally would affect. The county reps say that was a draft memo and they don’t have a final version yet because suggestions were made by chiefs at a meeting yesterday and some of them are being incorporated into the final version.

Overall, Lewis summarized, the county considers this change the “best of bad options that are available.” Hayes said it’s not as if the suspects are being set entirely free – they will have to come in for court dates, and even if they fail to appear, “at some point (the legal system) is going to catch up to them.”

The cynical person might wonder if this is a setup for a forthcoming ballot measure to ask for more criminal-justice funding, we suggested. Lewis said no, there are no plans to seek any kind of a funding measure for public safety; Constantine is pursuing the Best Starts for Kids initiative, Lewis pointed out, an early-childhood initiative that he hopes will reduce the need for criminal justice, years down the road.

ADDED 6:12 PM: The mayor’s office has provided, at our request, the document mentioned in Murray’s letter, circulated to police chiefs earlier this week. Read on for the full text – including the proposed list of crimes; note that not all property crimes are involved – for example, residential-burglary suspects would still be held as they are now, this memo says:

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