(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
5:02 PM: Police and fire are responding to an “assault with weapons” call believed to be a shooting, initially reported in the 4700 block of 38th SW (map), which is just south of The Triangle. The victim is being taken to Fire Station 32, which is nearby. We’re en route. Police are searching the area – radio traffic suggests police believe the victim was shot while walking in the vicinity. More to come.

5:10 PM: Official police info via Twitter – “a man was shot in the mouth.” If you are seeing/hearing a helicopter, it’s TV.

5:14 PM: Per medic discussion on scanner: The victim is a 31-year-old man who was walking his dog when he got hit by a pellet.

5:20 PM: Police were using a bullhorn to try to get someone out of a house on 38th SW. Our crew on the scene reports someone has been cuffed. No formal confirmation yet if that is the, or a, suspect.

5:28 PM: It’s clear from what our crew is seeing and what we hear via radio that police are still trying to sort all this out, regarding the circumstances, and whether the person they were talking to had anything to do with it. Their search remains very active. We’re seeing Gang Unit detectives on scene, though it is always stressed that their presence doesn’t necessarily mean gang involvement is suspected.

5:40 PM: An update on SPD Blotter describes the “pellet” as “possibly (a) BB” and says the victim was hit in the right cheek. Still a very active search/investigation. The injury is described as NOT life-threatening.

6:27 PM UPDATE: Police are reported to be searching the house they’ve been focusing on.

6:33 PM UPDATE: Also via radio – the house is reported to have “checked clear.” (We still have crews at the scene but they’re on each end of the block, as close as anyone will be allowed.)

8:16 PM UPDATE: No updates of note. We’re adding more photos and also this interview with Lt. Ron Smith – who discusses some of what else police found, including damaged vehicles:

The streets in the area are back open as of about an hour ago.

9:04 PM: If you couldn’t play back the video – Lt. Smith says police have no idea what the victim was shot with, describing it repeatedly as an “unknown projectile” that went through his cheek and out his mouth, apparently without even damaging his teeth in the meantime. He told police he didn’t see anyone or anything – just suddenly felt it hit him. Lt. Smith says the search of the house turned up a .22 rifle but it had not been fired recently.

THURSDAY MORNING, 9:27 AM: Just checked back with SPD media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson. He says the “projectile” still has not been found; also, the person who was being questioned was released, no arrest made – this all remains something of a mystery.

My male black Pomeranian was stolen from outside Bartells at 15th & Roxbury Sunday, May 19 at 5:25p. Last seen with two white females (one adult, one possible juvenile) on the #128 Metro bus heading East on Roxbury. I am devastated! If you have any information please call 206.938.4242 or the King County’s Sheriff’s office 206.296.3311. Thank you!! Reward offered!

Also reported as stolen: Golf equipment taken from Alex‘s car outside his home at Beach Drive and Atlas. He writes, “This is the third break-in this year that I am aware of on my little section of the Dr.; I hope word can get around so that neighbors become more aware, and so that we can all help each other by looking out for thugs like these scumbags that stole my clubs.”

Also, be on the lookout for this bike stolen from Lydia:

It’s a Giant Avail III, stolen from her front porch in the 7900 block of Delridge Way SW on Monday or Tuesday.

P.S. Long-form report from last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting is in the works. Two toplines:

-Street robberies are on the upswing – still primarily the type where you’re at risk of getting held up for your iPhone or iPod.

-The most popular brand among car thieves right now is Subaru.

Anne Higuera from longtime WSB sponsor Ventana Construction was working on a project in Ballard when that West Seattle story from a 1961 edition of the Seattle P-I, stuffed in the walls, caught her eye. It tells the tale of how a West Seattle family nabbed a would-be burglar. Click here for a larger, readable version (you might have to click it to zoom in when it opens in your browser – that’s what happened with ours).

Ahead, the current cases:

Garry‘s house in Seola was broken into and ransacked between 11 am and 4:30 pm Sunday:

The brazen thief(s) stole an extendable ladder from my neighbor’s back yard, then used it to get to a 3rd floor window at my house.

They got away with watch, jewelry, credit cards, membership cards, a black Swiss Army backpack, a bag of tortilla chips, and some other small items. I am still cleaning up and trying to get a good inventory of what was taken. Made a real mess of the place, but left large items.

Interestingly, same afternoon, the culprits used the cards at Shorewood Grocery, Target, Bartell, and Big 5. Shorewood Grocery is checking their in-store video, and Target has video and Photos of the people making purchases using my cards. Hopefully the King County Sheriff will be able to get those images and bring the law.

Keep your windows locked.. Even the ones on the third floor!

Also received today – Ben‘s hit-run report from Gatewood, with a photo:

I have gotten to my wit’s end with people and their driving. I thought you could add this to your crimes section. I live near the corner of Thistle and California and this is the second time in 6 months someone has destroyed my car and driven off. I woke up this morning to this; my wheel was bent under the car and un-drivable.

If you have any information, contact police.

Last but not least, a quick reminder that the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s monthly meeting is tomorrow – Tuesday, 7 pm, at the Southwest Precinct (Webster just west of Delridge), with an SPD burglary detective as the special guest, and the usual chance for you to bring up concerns with police leadership.

3:18 PM: A police operation that blocked off streets in Riverview this past hour is reported to have resulted in the arrest of two people in connection with a crime elsewhere in the city. (update) SPD Blotter reports the arrests are in connection with a shooting earlier today in South Seattle.

4:28 PM: Added a photo from the arrests’ aftermath, with some police remaining at the scene. The earlier shooting happened at a restaurant in the 500 block of South Michigan in Georgetown, according to police, with one person shot in the arm. We don’t know at this point whether the people arrested this afternoon lived at the Riverview house where they were found or were visiting.

7:04 PM: One more update from SPD – confirming something we heard during radio communications – investigators found a gun while making the arrests.

12:16 AM: Alan points out in comments that SPD added yet another update late tonight – here’s the additional information relevant to this afternoon’s arrests:

… Patrol officers developed information during the course of their field investigation that led them to a residence in the 1200 block of SW Myrtle Street. Once there, officers saw that the suspect’s Blazer was parked in front of the residence.

Officers surrounded the house and made telephone contact with the suspects. Both suspects subsequently surrendered to the officers and were taken into custody without further incident.

The officers recovered the gun that is believed to be the one used in the shooting. The firearm was submitted into evidence for further forensic analysis.

Both suspects were booked into the King County Jail.

Suspect #1, a 20-year-old male, was booked for Felony Assault.
Suspect #2, an 18-year-old male, was booked for (Felony) Rendering Criminal Assistance.

Hi there, I wanted to let the community know that Ola Salon in West Seattle was broken into and (burglarized) last night. All of our retail, equipment, cash, checks, two laptops and more was stolen. Everyone is safe; we just want to give the community a heads up and to be aware of a robber in the neighborhood. If anyone happened to see anything, please let the police and the front desk at Ola know immediately. Thank you! 206-933-6702

We have another reader report – this one from Mona, who says she ordered something because of a crime report- and now it has resulted in one:

I came home around 5:30 PM today and found (an) empty package on my doorstep which was supposed to have contained the stun gun flashlight that a WSB reader recommended in (comments on) this post. I already filed a report. This happened near 17th avenue SW and Cambridge.

Two cars were broken into, one (the 6500 block) and the other (in the 6700 block). The windows on the outside (rather than the sidewalk side) were almost fully broken.

Analysis:

Observation 1:
The distance betweeen the two houses is far enough that if a person heard one car being broken into, the other one was far enough away that the person would not hear the other being broken into. There were plenty of cars that could have otherwise be broken into. Thus, I think the person has some sense of not awakening the neighborhood.

Observation 2:
Both glove comparment were left open.
a. One car was a loaner car from a dealer, hence nothing of value inside. Two windows broken.
b. The other car had the glove compartment gone thru, with items (old CD’s, etc.) thrown on the drivers seat.

General:
1. Leave nothing of value in the glove compartment.
2. Pay attention to glass breaking noise at night.

Other:

I awoke during the night 4ish and remember a car with its lights on on the other side of the car that was broken into. I thought, that is unusual, but was I going to go out, just barely awake?, and check if anything was happening. In retrospect, that might have yielded an answer.

Much of what Jay wrote dovetails with car-prowl-related advice from Southwest/South Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, in the form of his newest newsletter, received today. In case you didn’t get it – here’s the heart of it:

Recently many of our neighborhoods have experienced a high degree of car prowls. This is a concern from Arbor Heights to Mount Baker, Rainier Beach to Alki, and all points in between. Car prowl is a regional problem, not just a neighborhood problem or a City of Seattle problem.

It’s frustrating in so many ways.

There’s the loss of property. We often think items should be safe in our vehicles; we shouldn’t have to hide our stuff. In an ideal world, that would be true. Unfortunately, there are those who, given the opportunity, will steal from others. If there is something to take, they’ll take it. There’s the damage – if any – done to the vehicle. I say “if any” because many times, the thieves don’t have to break a window to gain entry to the car; the car is left unlocked.

These crimes are so prevalent, happen very quickly with little chance for immediate police response – if the crime is reported – and often occur in late night/early morning hours when there is little chance of the thieves being seen by neighbors.

One frustration for police is that many of these car prowls are not reported. As a result, police may not have an accurate picture of the degree of the problem. I know about many of these incidents because I get your e-mails where you discuss among yourselves what’s been happening in your neighborhoods. Our officers hear 2nd-3rd hand about the incidents because of what neighbors say after the fact. However, the actual number of reported incidents, those that were called in to 911 or reported on-line, do not reflect the level of activity that you are relaying to us. It’s not enough to mention in passing that a car was broken into. That crime needs to be reported. Don’t just email each other or me; make an official report to 911 or on-line.

I’ve heard from neighbors that they didn’t report the car prowl because it didn’t appear that anything was taken, even though it was obvious the car had been gone through. I’ve also heard from neighbors that there was no damage to the car, or the car was left unlocked, and therefore the car prowl wasn’t reported. Just because it doesn’t appear that something was taken or that no physical damage was done does not mean that no crime was committed. Please, report them. If you don’t tell us, we won’t know.

Reporting
To report a car prowl in progress, call 911 immediately. It is a crime in progress and that has a higher priority of response than a crime that occurred some time ago. Answer the call takers questions to the best of your ability. To report a car prowl that occurred sometime in the past; 1) Call 911, tell the call taker up front that it is not an emergency or a crime in progress, but that you want to report a car prowl. 2) Using our on-line reporting system: http://www.seattle.gov/police/report/default.htm In either case, whether you call it in or do it on-line, the information will be entered and a record of the incident will be generated, and you will still receive an incident number for that occurrence, even without an officer showing up to take a report.

The Stuff

A bag containing a laptop. A case with photographic lenses. A passport. A Handbag containing cash, credit and debit cards, driver’s license and social security card. A purse with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Galaxy 2 phone, wallet, $3000 cash. An iPod Nano, miscellaneous power tools, keys to managed rental properties. Backpacks with personal items/effects, purse with wallet, credit/debit cards, ID. A pair of Nike Jordan 5’s.

These are some of the items that have been taken from vehicles in the past week. All these vehicles were parked on the street, often overnight and often in front of a residence. Aside from thoughts of disbelief (like who leaves $3000 in cash in a purse on the floor of a car parked on the street overnight?), the obvious question for me is why are we leaving our valuables in our vehicles when we could take them inside the home that’s less than 30 feet away?

There are ways to avoid being a victim of car prowl. The most effective step is to not leave anything of value in an unattended vehicle. If you are out running errands and are going to be making multiple stops, don’t leave valuables in the interior of the vehicle where they can be seen. Place them in the trunk when you get them before proceeding to your next stop. If you want to enjoy one our local parks, don’t leave valuables inside the passenger compartment; put them in the trunk. However, don’t wait until you get to the park to put your valuables in the trunk; you’ve just shown everyone in the area you’ve put valuables in the trunk. Put the items in the trunk before you get to the park and leave the vehicle.

Recent Car Prowl Arrest
There is a bit of good news. Early morning on Saturday, May 11th, officers arrested three adult males for Investigation of Car Prowl. Once caught, they were found to have stolen property from multiple vehicles. They admitted to trying car doors, and upon finding an unlocked door, went through the vehicles and helped themselves. They admitted to prowling at about 15 vehicles that night. The good news here is that we were able to catch and arrest three thieves who caused a lot of neighbors a lot of grief. This would not have been possible if not for the neighbor who heard a noise coming from the street, and who upon checking it out saw someone sitting in his neighbor’s vehicle who he knew was not his neighbor. These arrests would not have been possible without that neighbor’s vigilance and the 911 call that was made. We’d like to acknowledge the officers who responded to that call and made these arrests: Officers, A. Belgarde, D. D’ambrosio, T. Persun, and D. Ward.

We’ve said many times, car prowl, liked most crime, is a crime of opportunity; if you remove or reduce the opportunity, you remove and reduce the crime. Police can respond to a crime once it has occurred. Police can work to deter crime, but can’t do so if the crime goes unreported. It is through your reporting that police are able to respond and act. Police will do what can be done. However, it is you as neighbors that prevent crime. It is neighbors taking the step to not leave valuables in the unattended vehicle, but instead take them inside the home or workplace with them. It is neighbors knowing each other to extent that they know the person they see sitting in a neighbor’s car doesn’t belong there, and they are willing to say something. You can’t have community without communication.

To find out more about the latest crime trends, and to bring your community concerns to the attention of Southwest Precinct police leadership, be at next Tuesday’s meeting of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm at the precinct (Delridge/Webster). The scheduled guest is burglary Det. Jill Vanskike.

That’s a photo of Chris‘s missing car – be on the lookout:

My vehicle was stolen from my work in the Admiral District between approx. 12- 5 pm on Monday, May 13th. … License plate 003 YAL. 1991 Honda Prelude 2.0 si.

As advised by the SPD tweet, call 911 if you see it.

SEARCH AT SWAC: If you were on Trenton between the Southwest Athletic Complex and Westwood Village around noontime, you might have seen this sizable police response:

SPD media-relations Det. Renée Witt said it had started with a report of several people allegedly drinking and using drugs on the north side of the sports complex. While officers investigated, she said, it somehow became somewhat chaotic – one suspect took off running, and somewhere along the line, officers found bullets, leading them to think a gun might have been in the vicinity, and a K-9 team was being brought in to look. That’s where our information trail ends; we have a followup question out and will add anything else we find out. (Added Tuesday afternoon – SPD Blotter now has details on this case.)

SATURDAY CAR PROWL: A neighbor at 21st/Roxbury reports catching an apparent car prowler in the act on Saturday morning, spotting his neighbor’s car door slightly open and someone ducking down. The watchful neighbor says the victims later reported that police found the suspect with items including stolen property.

ANOTHER CAR PROWL: John says someone went through his car, parked in his driveway at 39th and Dakota, last Thursday night: “The only thing they seemed to have stolen was a really old MP3 player (worth about $5 at most), but must have been in a hurry since they missed other things that I would have though they would have taken.” He suspects he might have left his door unlocked.

HIT-RUN NEAR THE PARK: Another reader named John is looking for anyone who might have seen the hit-run that damaged his car at his home near Ercolini Park between 11 am and noon Sunday:

My neighbor heard the noise, and looked out to see a white larger late model pickup truck backing away from our car and continuing on its way.

I was hoping you might be willing to post this note in case any other people at the park witnessed the event and might have more information on who damaged our car.

If you saw it, contact police.

My neighbors’ house was just broken into at about 3:15 pm today. Several officers responded but didn’t find the guy. He also broke into a lady’s house a few blocks north.

My neighbor has a security camera so got a good description. The police would like help spotting the guy; he can’t be far.

Black male, both large and tall, wearing baggy pants, white tennis shoes, grayish hoodie, was wearing a black knit cap, had a “very overstuffed” backpack.

This happened on the 4700 block of 46th Ave SW. Thank you, let’s get this guy!

Call 911 with tips.

We were driving home tonight and passed in front of Caffe Ladro on SW California at 9:45. The passenger rear window exploded as someone threw a fist sized rock at us.

Three witnesses at Caffe Ladro said a man on a dark maroon bicycle wearing a long-sleeved shirt with white on it was standing on the side of the cafe drinking beer. He was in and out and came in through the back of the cafe. He then stood in the breezeway between the adjacent buildings. We stopped at the end of the block and he got on his bike and rode north down California. Police were called and they are sweeping the area. The dark maroon bike has a flashing light on the back and the suspect was wearing a blue shirt with white and a backpack.

If anyone has any clue as to who this may be – someone that would be at Caffe Ladro at 9:45 at night drinking beer and on a bicycle – please call the police.

(The coffee shop, it should be noted, does not serve alcohol.)

A home on Charlestown Hill was burglarized this morning – while somebody was at home. Marty reports:

My ex-husband’s house was broken into around 6:30 this morning. The back door was kicked in and our dog was found by a neighbor around 7 a.m. Our 17 year old daughter was in the house alone (dad had already gone to work), sleeping downstairs in the basement as this was happening. A neighbor found the dog, called my number which is on her tag. I live in Queen Anne, so called my daughter and woke her up to go get the dog. She heard a lot of noise upstairs and in her sleepy state, assumed it was her dad still at home. As she approached the stairway and called out for him, the person upstairs left out the front door. The only items taken were about 40 CDs from the living room. A very scary situation, which could have ended badly but fortunately did not.

Burglary, by the way, is the topic announced for the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – Seattle Police burglary detective Jill Vanskike “will go over some of the factors that attract burglars to specific homes, common points and methods of entry, target hardening and the protective devices most effective at preventing burglaries. Also, tips on measures you can take to aid in the recovery of stolen property …” The meeting is at 7 pm Tuesday, May 21st, at the Southwest Precinct.

Back to Crime Watch – Gretchen reports an overnight theft:

We had one of our wine-barrel planters stolen off our berm (Wednesday) night. Took either one very strong person to tip the dirt out or two people. Those suckers are heavy! Happened between 10 pm and 4:30 am. We live near 17th and Thistle.

And a reader who doesn’t want to be identified found what looks like discarded crime loot in the Fairmount Springs area:

A duffel bag full of a boy’s baseball equipment turned up in our alley this morning, with some of the contents strewn about our yard. There is no name or phone # anywhere in the bag. I would like to get it back to the owner–looks like a lot of valuable equipment.

You can e-mail the finder at dgmob@outlook.com.

After taking a wallet, phone, iPod, and keys, the report says, the robbers jumped into a white minivan that had pulled up to get them and then sped off northbound on Fauntleroy. The van is described in the report as older, possibly 1980s, Chevy Astro type of van with stripes on the side and damage on the driver’s side appearing as if the vehicle had scraped against something, with scratches and dents resulting all along that side of the van. The robbers were described as about 17 years old, all males around 5’7″ to 5’8″. They didn’t get good descriptions of all of them but did describe the one with the gun as “black, slender, with a shaved head, red sweatshirt, and baggy blue jeans” and another one as “Hispanic or Latino, stockier build, wearing a dark tank top and light-colored pants.” The victims told police they believe they had seen the robbers in the park earlier and believe they might have been followed. If you have any information that could help find the robbers, please call police.

4:47 PM UPDATE: One of the victims has posted a comment, confirming it was indeed near Fauntleroy/Holly, and mentioning some of the items to be on the lookout for.

Checking overnight reports, we see another report from overnight – 1700 block of Alki SW. But not everyone files police reports (checking the report map, we see fewer bike-theft icons than we’d expect, given what we hear about); Sgt. Bauer reiterates the importance of filing a report, and has one more reminder: “Please put identifying information on the bike that can make it easier for us to return it and make it harder for the bad guys to sell the bike.”

(added) If you’re missing a bike that might be one of those two – e-mail Anne at phastphood@hotmail.com.

Second, Chris says a hit-run crash on Saturday left these marks on his car:

My car was backed into (Saturday) morning in the West Seattle Trader Joe’s parking lot. I was parked next to the spot that’s not a spy on the north side of the parking lot. An older model navy blue SUV was parked in that spot and I believe it was this car that backed into me. I am looking for whoever did this or anyone who might have seen something. A photo of my back quarter panel with the offending back bumper mark across it is attached.

Third, just received as we were about to publish this, Annlee reports a car prowl at Lincoln Park:

I was enjoying a beautiful sunny day at Lincoln Park (Sunday) with my sister and kids. We got back to my car and noticed the doors were unlocked. I had only left my window opened a crack but it was enough for the thief to use someone’s broken-off antenna to hook and unlock my doors. My purse and my sister’s purse were stolen out of the trunk with everything inside them. Even my daughter’s sleeping bag was stolen and she was absolutely devastated. Please keep an eye out while visiting Lincoln Park. If you happen to see any gray purses or black wallets with IDs in them, please turn them in. If you happen to see anyone suspicious wandering around the parking lot with a pink princess sleeping bag, please call the police!

In North Delridge, Angela found what seemed to be dumped loot:

She says it wasn’t even all from West Seattle (she’s already spoken with one victim who says her car was broken into yesterday at the Arboretum!):

This morning I found a pile of stuff on the side of the road that appeared to be dumped after a theft. Possibly multiple thefts, as my very minimal poking around turned up at least four different possible owners based on business cards (multiple of the same card), insurance card, registration, and other papers. I didn’t dig very deep; only looked at what was visible & on top when I found it.

About an hour after she reported it to police, who she says “indicated that they’d pick it up and place it into evidence,” it was gone.

Also found: this bicycle. Scott from Seattle Parks sent the photo:

He says, “This bike was found hidden in the shrubs at Hiawatha Playfield. We have it stored at SW Parks District Shop at Lincoln Park; hopefully the owner can get this expensive bike back. Our office phone is 684-7457.”

In case you are missing a bike and haven’t seen two notices posted within the past few days in the WSB Forums – here’s one for a yellow 10-speed, and another one for a blue girls’ bike.

Last but not least, James reports a double theft of 2-wheelers: his “2007 CRF450 motorcycle and Specialized Allez bicycle. These were stolen from my garage on (56th & Dakota) earlier this week.” His report came in via the WSB Facebook page – check out the “posts by others” section there for his photos.