We start with a followup that arrived via the comment section of a Crime Watch story from last weekend – a woman attacked and robbed while walking along Jacobsen Road (south of Me-Kwa-Mooks Park). The details we published last weekend came from her friend. The victim had a detailed description of the attackers’ car; WSB readers offered tips; and then today, a comment including this:

… I’m the one who was attacked by the girls. I want to say a big THANK YOU to whoever called in about the car. I got a call from the detective on the case last week, and he found the driver thanks to that tip. She’s only 17. She’s denying everything, unfortunately, but at least she’s seeing that there will be consequences to her actions. She never did the necessary paperwork when she bought the car, and therefore the police repossessed it. … I am so happy that the police have taken action on this and aren’t letting it go! I obviously won’t get my phone back, but am comforted in knowing that these girls won’t think they can just get away with things like this.

So, again, thank you so much to whoever called in (Jeanine?). Great work!! And I also want to say thank you to Steve and Aria who were both concerned citizens who stopped to help me. Thank God for good people!

Meantime – maybe another good person out there can find the World Cup flag stolen from Liesbet:

My beloved World Cup soccer Holland banner/flag was stolen off my front door railing sometime between 12:30 AM and 9:00 AM (today), in the 3600 block of Beach DR SW. It’s especially alarming as the banner was secured with much rope & knots & tape. Someone had to physically spend some time trying to get it off…right at my front door! It has great sentimental value. Here’s what it looks like:

I will report to police as well. Thank you for any help in finding it…maybe flying on someone else’s balcony??? :-(

11:38 PM UPDATE: Liesbet sent a note to say a neighbor found it heaped on their property. Returned or abandoned by culprits? Whatever the case, she has it back.

(back to original) One more reminder – the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets tonight, 7 pm, NOT in the usual spot; join them at Lincoln Park Shelter 1 (upper area, near the zipline, north of the south parking lot).

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports and an FYI: First, from Kevin, a prowler spotted early this morning:

I’ve called 911 to report it, but wanted to let you know as well in case anyone else in the neighborhood saw or heard anything.

About 6:45 this morning, I heard someone talking outside that seemed too loud to be coming from the street or sidewalk. I got up in time to see a guy just outside my window walking along the edge of the house to the side gate. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and backpack and carrying what appeared to be a metal rod of some sort.

Our house sits on an upslope. He had to climb the hill from the sidewalk to get that close to the house so it was deliberate. I saw him glance in the basement window which is covered by blinds and also check the gate but couldn’t tell if he tried to open it. He then headed to 29th where I lost sight of him but appeared to go south from there.

I did see a patrol car drive by less than 5 minutes after I called 911. This happened at 28th and Webster.

Next, Rich shared a quick video clip of suspected car prowlers in his neighborhood:

Having been a victim of mail theft 3 weeks ago, a car break-in, purse theft and expensive shopping spree 11 months ago, and a car theft 3 years ago, I finally got around to installing a security camera system on my home (6700 block of Murray Ave SW, a poorly lit street). Sunday afternoon, I noticed an empty Coors Light beer bottle in my driveway. I wondered who would have tossed it and checked to see what was recorded. (The) front camera captured images of 10 teen boys prowling cars on my street at 2:30 am Sunday. One is riding a bike and drinking a beer (which he later tosses in my yard). The bike in question appears to have a headlight on it, and looks an awful lot like John‘s stolen Townie Electra in (this WSB post).

I told my neighbor that I had film of her car being prowled, and was informed that it had in fact been broken into, contents rifled, and that the registration and other papers found in the bushes down the street. I would have figured it was a lone prowler or maybe two… but a pack of 10? Knowing this, readers could be on the lookout for suspiciously large packs of teens out late at night, and if they see this type of activity, call the police straight away to investigate.

The :11 above represents the only usable video Rich recovered, but he has since upgraded and tweaked the system so any future visuals will be more extensive.

Third, an FYI: Someone asked via text if repeat offender Ryan Cox is out of jail; they thought they had seen him at Lincoln Park. We checked the jail register and indeed, his most recent sentence expired on Thursday, and he was set free after almost four months. The circumstances were somewhat complicated, as detailed here.

(TOPLINE: Lovett “Cid” Chambers has been sentenced to 11 1/2 years for the shooting death of Travis Hood; as-it-happened coverage below)

2 PM: We are at the King County Courthouse, where the criminal-court judges preside over sentencings on Friday afternoons. This afternoon in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Theresa B. Doyle, the sentencing hearing is beginning for Lovett “Cid” Chambers, the 69-year-old Gatewood man (new photo from today at right) found guilty of manslaughter for the January 2012 shooting of 36-year-old Travis Hood (left) outside Morgan Junction Park. We covered every day of the six weeks of testimony in his trial (coverage links here), concluding April 8th with the jury’s verdict. According to a court document filed this week, prosecutors recommend a 13 1/2-year sentence (162 months) including the five mandatory years for use of a gun, with credit for time served (almost 2 1/2 years so far, since the night of the shooting). More than 25 people are in court for the hearing; we will add updates as the proceedings unfold. Two are holding up signs that say “No Jail for Self-Defense.”

(At tables, from left: prosecutors Margaret Nave & Mari Isaacson, SPD Det. Tim DeVore, defense lawyers Lauren McLane & Ben Goldsmith flanking Lovett Chambers)
Chambers is in jail orange – during the trial, he wore street clothes. Defense lawyer Ben Goldsmith begins by asking Judge Doyle to allow Chambers to be unshackled, and she grants the request. A brief moment of tension ensues – the deputies say they can’t do that without consulting a supervisor; they make a call, and say they are cleared.

2:46 PM: We are starting the sentencing coverage itself here – our chronicling of the previous 45 minutes of argument over whether to grant a new trial (a motion just denied by the judge) is now below the jump. The judge notes that she has received many, many letters in support of Chambers – she says she doesn’t believe she’s ever received so many letters in any case.

Prosecutor “Maggie” Nave speaks first, noting that Chambers spent most of 1966 through 1989 in prison for several major crimes, but they don’t count here for various reasons, so his “offender score is 0,” meaning a relatively light sentence, aside from the mandatory 5 years for use of a firearm.

As noted above, she says the state is asking for “high end of standard sentence,” 102 months for the manslaughter conviction, as “the defendant recklessly fired a .45-caliber handgun at the victim … repeatedly … three shots … It’s very likely the first shot was not a fatal shot … if the defendant had stopped at one shot, it’s likely Michael “Travis” Hood would be here today. … The defendant’s actions in this case were extremely reckless” even, she says, if you believe the defendant’s self-defense contention.

“The first thing is that he retrieved his handgun from (his car) … a handgun that he, a convicted felon, was not allowed to possess … (The second thing) is that he followed (the victim and his friend) up the street … when he had so many other options,” such as running into one of the two nearby bars, made a call for help, run down the street in the opposite direction. “He didn’t do any of those things.” And third, “he shot Travis repeatedly – if he had just stopped shooting, things would have been different. And (finally), he did this while (extremely drunk).” (Almost three times the legal limit, it was noted early in the trial.)

She says the facts of a case cited by the defense as grounds for a light sentence are not comparable to this one. She also says the defense is wrong to contend that a standard sentence would be “overly harsh” because of Chambers’ age and because he has been a law-abiding member of the community since the late ’80s. She acknowledges the circumstances the night of the shooting were “complicated.” Regarding the defendant having “precious few years when he gets out” even if only sentenced to 5 years, she says she wants to say on the record that Travis Hood “has no good years left,” and might have had 40 years left if he had not been shot dead. “He has a friend, a mother, a child … his mother and friends had to sit here in court day after die and endure the defense (portraying him as) a racist, violent person.”

3:04 PM: Brenda Hood, Travis’s mother, reads a letter from his daughter, Destiny Williams, 12 when he was killed. It speaks of crying, of counseling, of depression: “I miss my dad with all my heart. I dream about him a lot. I wake up crying. My world was taken away, and it doesn’t seem like anyone cares.” The letter speaks of never seeing her dad again, of not being able to have him walk her down the aisle someday. Brenda Hood now says that she bought her own plane ticket to Seattle twice and also paid tens of thousands for medical and funeral costs for her son. “While Travis won’t be back in this world, I would like to see justice for him. … I’d like to say the defendant showed no remorse throughout the whole trial … didn’t even show any sadness that the shooting had taken place.” She says she won’t forgive him – “only God can forgive him” – that she hopes he dies in jail and “rot(s) in hell.”

Next, Jodie Davis, a friend of Travis Hood’s, who along with the victim’s mother was in court daily throughout the trial.

She shows a photo of him as he prepared to leave Jacksonville for Seattle, and points out he was “the only white person in the photo.” Through tears, she said she thought that Seattle would be a great place for him, and she says she still has no idea what happened that night, and expresses her sadness that she will never see him again. At 3:11 pm, the judge calls for the afternoon recess. The hearing should reconvene by 3:30 pm.

3:29 PM, HEARING RESUMES: “The state wants Mr. Chambers to die in prison for defending himself,” opens defense lawyer Goldsmith. He gets to the point of the N word – and the variant on it that Hood’s friend Davis had used before the break, saying that it was just the way – as Hood’s friend Jamie Vause had testified during the trial – they referred to each other. Goldsmith contends that in any variant, if used by a white person, it is a slur against an African-American person, and a declaration that their life has no value. So, he says, when those words were used by Hood and Vause that night, “why wouldn’t Mr. Chambers panic? … Lord help any of us faced with a threat to their life and doesn’t behave the way (prosecutors) think they should.” He says the law allows an exceptional (low) sentence in this case. “Mr. Chambers is a kind, gentle, peaceful person, drunk or sober,” he says testimony showed. He speaks of Mr. Chambers’ wife Sara Chambers (who is here today) saying he “gets silly” when intoxicated. Even a prosecution witness, he says, described Chambers as “relaxed” that night. “He had love, friends, family, home, work, anything anybody could ever want. He had a gun that he wasn’t allowed to have. But in the two decades that he had it, he never pulled that gun in anger … Mr. Chambers told the court what happened, exactly what he was thinking, feeling, and he was consistent throughout.”

Goldsmith said even the prosecution witnesses did not describe Chambers’ actions as “following” them. He says even prosecution witness Vause’s description supports that Chambers was acting in self-defense – jumping back, shots close in time, “presence of a deadly weapon (shovel) in Mr. Hood’s hands … There’s no question that Mr. Chambers was in a fight for his life that night.”

Judge Doyle asks, “… when the jury rejected the self-defense theory,” how could the judge take that into account in sentencing?

Goldsmith says the court is entitled to make its sentencing decision separate from what was proven to the jury, and says that much of the testimony corroborated that Chambers could have and did perceive that he was in danger. But, he said, “I’m not asking the court to give him a significant sentence downward based on … that he is a good and peaceful person …” and again mentions that the court received letters of support from people who have known Chambers for “not only years, but decades.” He mentions a letter from someone whom Mr. Chambers helped deal with a threat, and said that he offered to that person that he would “help (her) work with police and courts.”

Regarding prosecutor’s Nave suggestion that he should have run away or could have taken some other action, Goldsmith mentions it happened within seconds, another sign it wasn’t reckless. Regarding his drunkenness, “it was tantamount to him being drunk in his own living room” because it was someplace he had been going for years. Finally “if nothing else, this case has demonstrated to me the living value of my talking because frankly I can’t imagine a world in which Mr. Chambers should have been convicted, and when I talk to people about this case, they are constantly shocked that he was convicted. .. There is not much I can do for Mr. Chambers but the law allows this court to do what is right.”

Chambers’ wife Sara now is coming up to speak.

“I’ve been married to him for more than 22 years. He’s always been a kind and gentle husband … has many friends .. I’ve seen him sober, I’ve seen him drunk, I’ve seen him happy and sad, and consistently he is an even-tempered man who thinks of other people as much as he thinks of himself …” He would only do something like this if he feels his life is threatened, she concludes.

Chambers himself declines the chance to speak.

Judge Doyle (left): “I don’t think this is an appropriate case for a sentence below the standard range.”

She says that his 20 years of law-abiding community life is not a criteria for that. She acknowledges the difficulty of the case and testimony – “imperfect self-defense.” She recaps the different versions of that January night’s events, told by Jamie Vause and by Lovett Chambers.

“It’s clear the jury didn’t believe the self-defense theory and … found him guilty of manslaughter, apparently finding that he recklessly caused the death of Mr. Hood. What wasn’t disputed was that Mr. Chambers had a .20 blood alcohol content many hours after (the shooting) … it may be that he doesn’t remember much of what happened.” She continues recapping what testimony said led up to “Mr. Hood picking up the shovel, Mr. Chambers shooting him three times. There really was no sensible explanation about why (he) would follow Mr. Hood and Mr. Vause up to the truck. That was the big gap. Why did he do that?” So, she said, she did not find a reason to impose a sentence below the 78 to 102-month standard range. “I do however find this an appropriate case for the bottom of the standard range and for all those same reasons – there was a very sharp division in what happened.”

3:54 PM: So, she summarizes, based on everything she’s heard, “the court thinks it’s appropriate to impose the bottom of the standard range – that’s 78 months.” And she notes there is no discretion in the additional 60-month firearm enhancement. 138 months total, with credit for time served (he has been in jail since shortly after the shooting 2 1/2 years ago).

Judge Doyle also orders the standard no-contact orders for witnesses and 36 months of community custody (probation); there also will be a restitution hearing at some point. Goldsmith asks for an “appeal bond” of $50,000. Judge Doyle says she would rather make that decision at another date, given that it’s already 4 pm. Nave says another hearing on a motion is pending and so they don’t want Chambers sent to state prison until that hearing, and the “appeal bond” hearing, can be held. The hearing is set for 8:30 am next Wednesday (June 18th).

We recorded video of the hearing and will upload upon return to HQ, adding here later tonight, along with more photos from the hearing.

(Added late Friday/early Saturday – the sentencing video in 2 parts, before and after the 3:11 pm break)

BELOW: THE FIRST 45 MINUTES OF THE HEARING, THE (DENIED) ‘NEW-TRIAL’ MOTION:

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We mention stolen cars here (among other stolen items) whenever we hear about them, in case that helps get them back (as happened with Paul‘s car, found by Barb the other night). So here are two more we just got word of – both ’92 Accords. first, from Jason:

My white 1992 Honda Accord was stolen at 3060 SW Avalon way on Monday afternoon, in between 2 pm and 5 pm. It’s a 4 door, it has a silver Superman sticker on the back window, and the plate is AEG2888 with a Western Washington University Alumni frame on the back. Please let me know if you have any information!!

And from Marshall:

Last Saturday night my 1992 dark blue Honda Accord 2 door LICENSE PLATE AGW2562 was stolen from the Lincoln Park neighborhood area. Generally between Solstice Park and Lincoln Park between Austin and Kenyon. Car is very dark blue with large areas of peeling paint on roof and trunk, some slight recent peeling paint on hood, slight dent in driver door noticeable from squished Black rub strip, grey interior. Usually the cars are abandoned by now but this car had a full tank of gas and some emergency money in the glove box so it may take longer for the crackheads to run out of use. If seen, please call 911 and/or take a picture with your phone of anyone you see in near or using the car, $200 reward if found. Thank you!

(Lincoln Park, by the way, is where you’ll find next Tuesday’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting.)

Notice anyone suspicious in Heather‘s neighborhood today?

I live on 11th Ave SW in the Highland Park neighborhood. Today our home was broken into between the hours of 1:00-5:00pm. Electronics, jewelry, and cash were stolen. People entered through a basement window. We have reason to believe that this could have been done by more than one person due to the fact that we found two golf clubs in the main floor bedroom that came up from the basement. Wanted to reach out to the community to see if anyone saw anyone in the area. It is worth noting that we did have visitors today so we had multiple vehicles in the driveway and in front of the house, even while we were away. So we want to know if anyone was knocking on doors or “surveying” the neighborhood today so we can also give that info to police.

According to our custom West Seattle list of SPD Tweets by Beat, this happened in the 7900 block of 11th SW (map). While the SPD police-reports map appears to be lagging, Tweets by Beat also lists six other residential-burglary reports as new to the system today – we won’t be able to find out until tomorrow if all of those burglaries really happened today, or if this is just when the reports were approved (if one of these cases involved you, please let us know – editor@westseattleblog.com): 3000 block of SW Bradford, 3100 block of SW Raymond, 8600 block of 46th SW, 9000 block of 35th SW, 4500 block of Glenn Way, and 3600 block of SW Henderson.

P.S. – NEXT WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL MEETING ANNOUNCED: Next Tuesday, the WSCPC meets for the last time until September. And the meeting’s going outdoors for the occasion – 7 pm June 17th, Lincoln Park shelter #1, with SPD Bike Patrol officers in attendance to explain their summer plans. As always, Southwest Precinct leadership will be there too with updates on crime trends and a chance for you to bring up neighborhood concerns. (This map shows you how to find Shelter #1.)

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight. We start with a story that unfolded over the past hour or so:

In a Monday WSCW roundup, we mentioned two stolen cars that SPD had put the word out about via @getyourcarback – we hadn’t heard at the time from either car’s owner, but since dispatchers broadcast the information and said the vehicles were missing in “William sector” (western West Seattle), we republished the Twitter reports. Later in the day, the blue Civic’s owner, Paul, e-mailed us to say that was his car. Fast forward to about an hour ago, when Barb in Gatewood texted us to say she was catching up tonight on WSB stories and realized that the unfamiliar car that had been in front of her house since yesterday was Paul’s. She called police; they arrived; Paul headed there from his house near Fauntleroy Park, about a mile away. He called as we were writing this, saying it seems to be in OK shape – ransacked, but the baby stroller and car seat were still there, and it runs OK: “I’m shocked that it was stolen, and shocked to have it back.” (And he says: Thanks, Barb!)

We also have a followup tonight in the saga of the stolen car found Monday afternoon when it crashed into a Highland Park fence.

We requested and obtained the police report today. The suspect arrested a few blocks away is just 13 years old; the report starts with the basics reported here Monday, that he was followed and detained by a witness a few blocks away. Police say that after being read his rights, he confessed to stealing the car because he found it with a key in its ignition. He started driving around and eventually was speeding in the 8100 block of 11th SW, then lost control and went up over the sidewalk and planting strip and into the fence and ivy – “threading,” as the report put it, between a fire hydrant and the parked motorcycle belonging to the witness who chased and caught him running away. The report says the suspect was booked into the Youth Services Center for investigation of auto theft, and that police were recommending additional charges of hit-and-run and property damage. We will follow up to find out if the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office formally charges him.

Finally, a case of vandalism in a local parking lot – while a teacher was picking up treats. Keith writes:

My wife’s car was keyed this morning at the Roxbury Safeway down near White Center. So frustrating. She makes only teacher pay and works hard for a living. This happened while picking up cookies for her class as a gift. She wrote on Facebook this morning, ‘My car got keyed this morning at Safeway. I am so sad. But I guess the day can only get better.’

This isn’t big time property damage, but an unnecessary reckless act. She always allows adequate space for other cars around her, this made no sense.

Before we published this, Keith wrote with an addendum, “It isn’t just the car door. They keyed the whole side length of the car from the taillight all down to the front. There was no vehicle either side of her car when she arrived, or left.”

We start this round of West Seattle Crime Watch reports with details on a daytime strong-arm robbery last Thursday in the 5200 block of Jacobsen (map). uphill from Beach Drive. Ashley writes:

I have been out of town and while I was gone my housesitter and best friend was walking up Jacobsen and was assaulted.

It was Thursday at 4:30 pm and there were plenty of people around. The car drove by her, and she noticed the girls looking at her. Then they pulled over (which she didn’t notice because she had headphones in). Then one of them grabbed her hand that her phone was in and stole her phone while another one pulled her back by her hair. She tried to fight for her phone and in the struggle she was pretty scratched up.

Then the girls drove away quickly and a few people that were nearby helped my friend by letting her use their phone to call the police, and walking her home.

Ashley says her friend described the car as a tan mid-’90s Pathfinder and got its plate number (starting with AHN). We are checking with police to see if that led them to any suspects.

Ahead: Quick notes on two car thefts, two cases involving lawn mowers, and what we have learned about a weekend Junction incident that several people asked about:

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Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

CAR STOLEN IN SEAVIEW: From Jessica:

My mom’s 1991 Honda Accord was stolen sometime after 10:30 pm on Friday, May 30th, near Raymond and 49th Ave SW [map]. It is goldish/sand in color with license plate AJY3779. If seen, please call or text 206-852-6289.

HIT-RUN IN ARBOR HEIGHTS: We don’t know yet exactly where the actual hit-run happened, but a witness saw the fleeing car just before 10 am today:

I was walking my dog … when I heard a vehicle approaching from a side street at a high rate of speed. I got over as far as I could, in time to see the vehicle spin out into the intersection. The vehicle had severe front end damage, and bits of debris were flying off as it sped toward 35th. I don’t have a cell phone, so used a neighbor’s phone to call SPD. They confirmed that there had been a hit & run in the neighborhood (Arbor Heights). The location where I observed this was the intersection of 37th Ave SW & SW 102nd St [map]. The vehicle was traveling south on 37th, then east on 102nd. It probably turned onto 35th from there, but I could not see in which direction. Dark green older-model Honda sedan (probably Civic) with heavy front-end damage. License # AHH****. Hopefully SPD will contact me, as I also have a description of the driver.

BURGLARY IN SUNRISE HEIGHTS: From Vernon:

I wanted you to know that my house (near Kenyon/29th Ave SW; map) was burglarized Wednesday between 2:00 and 4:30 pm (right after the school let out?). They went down the back alley, down my driveway, and into the back yard. From there they took one of the patio chairs and climbed up onto the electrical box for the hot tub and gouged the screen out to get to the kitchen window, which was left ajar. Once in, they stole the laptop in the living room, went into another room and stole an iMac, then went into my room. They ransacked my room until they found the safe which weighed about. 200 pounds. They carried it out of the house through the back door and more than likely into a waiting vehicle, probably parked in my back driveway. I talked to my neighbors either side of me but came up empty.

If you saw anything in that area last Wednesday afternoon, let police know.

P.S. This is NOT a West Seattle case but the suspect could be anywhere so we’re sharing the link to SPD’s updated blotter post on the early-morning double murder in Leschi because they have JUST named a suspect and included a photo. Obviously, if you see him/have any info, call 911. (5:24 pm update – SPD just announced he’s in custody.)

(UPDATED 3:33 pm with hospital-room meeting between crash victim and Good Samaritan)

10:57 AM: The bicycle rider badly hurt by a hit-run driver last week is recovering and talked with KING 5 reporter Elisa Hahn for the story you can watch above (and on the station’s website). 30-year-old John Macy and his family hope someone will come forward – maybe even the driver her/himself – to solve the case. The newest information is still the same update reported here a week ago, republished below:

Detectives have reason to believe the suspect vehicle is light metallic blue and is missing the right-side mirror. The vehicle should have damage to the front bumper as well as heavy damage to the windshield. The suspect’s vehicle had been traveling westbound at the time of the collision and likely continued over the lower bridge and into West Seattle. Detectives are asking anyone with information to please call TCIS Detective Andrew Norton at -206-684-8934.

(It happened the night of Thursday, May 22nd, around 9 pm.)

3:33 PM UPDATE: We just learned from Harborview Medical Center that David Peterson, the Good Samaritan who spotted John Macy in the road, met him today at the hospital:

That photo is by Bobbi Nodell of Harborview, who says the family asked that they share an update so we could share it with you. She quotes David Peterson as saying, “A huge weight has been lifted knowing he will be OK.” The photojournalist you see at right is from KING 5, which will have a followup on TV tonight.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In the second of two back-to-back sentencings involving high-profile West Seattle cases, King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer has just sentenced 19-year-old Trevonnte Brown, whose robbery spree aboard a RapidRide bus in Morgan Junction last November ended when passengers grabbed and tackled him.

Brown was sentenced to the recommended 13 1/2 years total – 8 1/2 for the robberies, 5 mandatory years for using a gun – not only for the bus robberies that night but also for another robbery on board a Metro bus earlier that month (not in West Seattle). And prosecutor Alex Voorhees noted that the defendant had told police that he participated in “numerous” strong-arm robberies.

Over the objection of the defense lawyer, she played the video of the bus holdup for the judge, from the moment it showed Brown rising from his seat and pointing his gun at people to demand their phones, to the pileup that followed, restraining Brown and taking away his gun, after one of the victims, Casey Borgen, grabbed his arm. The video continued to roll as a woman called 911, with at least three men keeping Brown down, who could be heard yelling that they were hurting him. A shorter form of the video was shown on citywide TV last year, including this KING5.com clip:

The video continued rolling in court until the point where police entered the bus. They were heard to call the guys who restrained Brown as heroes; Voorhees pointed out that Brown continued acting “abusive(ly)” as he was taken away, including doing damage to a police car. (pleaded guilty last month.)

Voorhees mentioned that Brown had confessed but that she was struck “by the lack of remorse” shown by Brown, who she says told investigators he had been “committing robberies since high school … he acknowledged that these three incidents we have before the court today are by no means the first foray … (though perhaps) the most extreme” because he used a gun.

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(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

A year and a half after 38-year-old Amy Lynn O’Brien drove her car into two students across the street from Chief Sealth International High School, an emotional hearing has ended with King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer sentencing her to one year, twice the six-month recommendation prosecutors had made, and ordering that the sentence begin immediately.

We reported last month that O’Brien pleaded guilty to hit and run and second-degree assault, the charges originally filed against her.

(WSB photo from the aftermath of the incident in November 2012)
In November 2012, she was arrested for hitting the two girls after getting upset about the 17- and 18-year-old girls’ interaction with her unleashed dog Both girls were hospitalized with serious injuries; O’Brien turned herself in the next day and spent about a week in jail before being released on personal recognizance, remaining free until now.

Both victims, Jessica and Cassandra, were present in court for the sentencing and spoke to the judge, as did the defendant.

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Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports today. From Trissa, a theft at Camp Long:

We were at Camp Long with students & had locked a purse in the kitchen during the day. It looks like it didn’t get locked after lunch & someone snagged it and a Nike jacket between 12:30 and 2:45. We’re filing a police report and looked through the bushes and along the road leaving camp. If anyone comes across a silver coach bag, please let us know!

At Schmitz Park, someone is vandalizing a tree, says the Seattle Nature Alliance:

Last week, someone had apparently cut and peeled bark from this old-growth native Western Red Cedar in Schmitz Park, leaving a bright red scar.

A few days later, more bark had been peeled from the same cut. Removing bark can harm trees and is not allowed in Seattle Parks. Trees like this cedar are among the few remaining old-growth trees we have left in Seattle. They have stood for hundreds of years. They were protected for us, and we are protecting them for future generations.

From South Delridge, Mike spotted possible evidence of package theft – an empty parcel box, with packing material nearby, left on “the curb along the south side of Barton, where the stub of 17th off Delridge used to be.” He reported it to a Seattle Police officer he found nearby, so if you’re in that area and missing a package, be sure you report it so they can connect the dots.

Four notes in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon. First, if you noticed the Guardian One helicopter back over Highland Park/White Center again a bit earlier – it was helping deputies catch a suspected car thief. More on our partner site White Center Now.

Speaking of vehicle theft – Adam Werner from Clean Air Lawn Care (WSB sponsor) e-mailed this afternoon with good news about the stolen truck reported here a month ago:

I want to let everyone know that our stolen truck was recovered this morning off of 43rd and Aurora. The truck is in the same conditions as the night it was stolen (minus a tank of gas). We had a woman call us this morning who noticed that the truck had been parked there for several weeks. Thank you to everyone who has been on the lookout or has continually asked if we had found it. This is a great start to our Memorial Day weekend!!

Anyone missing a bicycle? Ciara says this has been outside her apartment complex for at least two days:

She’ll be reporting to police, who are expected to come pick it up, so if you recognize it, make sure you’ve filed a report, and then check with SPD.

Finally, Dawn has a message to whomever keeps stealing parts of her bamboo fence in Westwood:

To the Westwood thief. Please stop taking my fence. These are solid Tonkin cane bamboo that cost me an arm and a leg to build. You want some, go buy your own.

P.S. Next crime-prevention meeting in West Seattle – the WS Block Watch Captains’ Network meets Tuesday (May 27th) at 6:30 pm, with a guest speaker talking about auto theft and how to prevent it. All welcome, not just Block Watch members/captains.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

On this second consecutive day of Guardian One visits to West Seattle, you might remember a helicopter search near The Junction one night almost four months ago, when a stolen pickup truck was driven through a fence, and the suspected driver was found inside a nearby house where he used to live. The man arrested that night, 32-year-old Nicholas Broughton, was charged with hit-run, trespass, possession of a stolen vehicle – and got out of jail two weeks after his arrest, posting bond after his original $100,000 bail was cut to $25,000 by King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer.

Less than a month after that first arrest – as reported here – more charges were filed against Broughton in a separate case, alleged ID theft involving credit/debit cards stolen in car prowls (with at least one West Seattle victim). Superior Court Judge Patrick Oishi denied prosecutors’ request to raise Broughton’s bail after those charges were filed, even though they told him about Broughton’s lengthy criminal history and record of failing to appear.

So now, three months after that second round of charges, we discovered via a routine check of online files that an arrest warrant is out for Broughton today because of … a failure to appear. Court records show he didn’t show up for a case-setting hearing yesterday. If and when he’s found – the bail amount will be that original $100,000, as approved yesterday by yet another Superior Court Judge, Jim Rogers. We’d assume 911 would want to hear about it if you see him – mention the warrant. (The photo above, originally shown in our March report, is from the state Corrections Department, taken during a previous prison stay by Broughton.)