Three Four reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today – click ahead for details:

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(WSB photo, September 26, taken while law enforcers were searching Puerto Vallarta)
Six weeks after the arrest of Eduardo Morales-Cardenas, owner of Puerto Vallarta in The Junction, for allegedly buying stolen liquor, he is now charged with two felonies. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Morales-Cardenas and four others this afternoon; he is charged with trafficking in stolen property and attempted trafficking in stolen property. Prosecutors are asking that bail for Cardenas-Morales be set at half a million dollars, though he has no criminal history. He is scheduled to answer the charges in King County Superior Court two weeks from today. We just received the charging documents and are reviewing them now .

ADDED: Charged along with Morales-Cardenas are Amber Vincent, Shaye Glenn-Nitschke, Eric Olson, and Michael Jensen. Jensen, Olson, Glenn-Nitschke and Vincent are charged with 2nd-degree organized retail theft, with the victim named as QFC; Jensen, Olson, and Vincent face a second version of that charge, with the victim named as Safeway; Jensen and Olson face a third version of that charge, this time against Costco. The charges against Morales-Cardenas mention Safeway and QFC. Here’s what the charging documents say happened:

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Another day in court today for Michael S. Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off his monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, turning up eventually in West Seattle, arrested for harassment and under investigation for sexual assault. The City Attorney’s Office has added another charge to the case that started with harassment, when Stanley was arrested in an Admiral alley two weeks ago – he is now also charged with resisting arrest, and pleaded not guilty this morning. We have an inquiry out seeking more information on the new charge and will add it here when we have it; meantime, Stanley remains jailed, bail still set at $100,000, and he’s scheduled to return to Seattle Municipal Court in two weeks.

Stanley is not yet charged in the alleged sexual assault of a teenager who reported it to police after the harassment arrest, but our partners at The Seattle Times reported last week that Seattle Police have completed their part of the investigation and referred it to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Five reader reports in this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – starting with a business burglary. Louise at Life in Balance Physical Therapy and Pilates says:

Life in Balance was robbed last night and an assortment of items were taken including 2 laptops, iPad, iPod, Biofeedback and stim machines. A cervical traction unit, a printer and many other smaller items.

They’re at 5410 California SW. Further north, in The Junction, Marjorie at Ma’Ono Fried Chicken and Whisky reports vandalism/theft, with plantings taken from the tree wells outside the restaurant sometime Wednesday night/Thursday morning. “We had several succulents in our planting area stolen … It’s very sad that someone would do this.”

On to Lincoln Park, where Jesse reports a car prowl this week:

Just wanted to pass along that we had our window smashed out at Lincoln Park (Wednesday night) between 5 and 6 pm and purse stolen from the trunk. Someone must have been sitting in the lot watching us arrive and get out of the car, because they went straight for the trunk release and the purse we tried to hide. Definitely an unpleasant surprise but we’ve had exceptional service from 911, SPD, and the credit card companies. So, that’s a silver lining.

Janna e-mailed to report a burglary in Arbor Heights, near California/104th:

Tuesday (Oct. 22nd), sometime while we were at work (during the day), our house was robbed. When I arrived home we found the house completely ransacked, glass everywhere from the shattered slider, and the “guard dog” shaking like a leaf.

In the end nobody was hurt, they really didn’t take anything of value – house was staged, electronics were unplugged and all lined up – but we think they got spooked and ran off without the loot. They did get away with jewelry, cameras, change jars, and some other weird stuff…etc.

My concern, is them coming back. We do have an alarm system, but these thieves are smart and know how to avoid tripping the alarms. And gave the dog treats to keep her quiet, which ultimately made her super sick – not awesome!

And Meg in the 4200 block of Beach Drive reports vandalism and theft, with stolen items to watch for:

On Saturday, Oct. 19, I was leaving my condo building at about 5 pm and noticed that the right panel of the door buzzer system had been loosened (that’s the vandalism part) and was not secure. I attempted to correct it, but it came off in my hand, so I placed it inside the building. This was finally corrected Monday, Oct. 28.

In the meantime, a package was delivered by UPS on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and brought inside by my neighbor and placed on my doormat (which is not visible from any exterior door). My neighbor said it was no longer there when she left her unit on Saturday morning, Oct. 26. On Monday the 28, she came home to find the buzzer repairman working on the door unit, and saw the opened package down by our mailboxes (inside the front door). The package had been opened with a sharp instrument and the contents and packing slip removed (the burglary part). It contained one of a kind collectible stones and a metal specimen valued at over $700.

The seller will be sending me photos of the 3 stones and the metal specimen that I’ll provide to the police, but in the meantime I would appreciate anyone who may have received either offers to sell these to them or gotten them as gifts to be aware they are stolen property. I will offer a reward for their safe return.

Here are photos she just sent – click any image to see a larger view:

Four days after a 34-year-old Highland Park man was arrested in his van near Chief Sealth International High School and cited for indecent exposure, the City Attorney’s Office says the charge was dropped today, announced when the man appeared in Municipal Court for what was supposed to be an arraignment. CAO spokesperson Kimberly Mills explained via e-mail that the city did not have the jurisdiction to charge him: “The City declined to file in this instance because it is not a crime that can be charged under the Seattle Municipal Code right now. It is a charge that is filed under the Revised Code of Washington (which is the county prosecutor’s purview). The case is being sent to SPD and the county, where it will be considered for a charge in King County District Court.” Mills explained that this type of charge and others WILL be part of the Seattle Municipal Code as of November 1st; here’s the September news release explaining that

Tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup starts with an incident late today in Morgan Junction: We received several messages about a guns-drawn police response in the California/Beveridge vicinity; here’s the explanation from Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams:

An adult male was arrested after he allegedly pointed what appeared to be a handgun at an adult female victim. The suspect also was reported to have verbally threatened to shoot the victim. Southwest Precinct patrol officers arrived quickly and arrested the suspect. A weapon that appeared to be a handgun, but actually was a pellet gun, was recovered from the suspect’s person. The suspect was booked into King County Jail for Felony Harassment.

We have (updated) four reader reports to share tonight too. Matt e-mailed this morning to say:

I noticed there is a string of car break-ins reported recently. Last night our Honda Accord had the driver-side window smashed in. They didn’t take anything as there was nothing to take; however, it did look like they rifled through the car. We live on Beach Drive, near Lowman Beach Park.

Steven reports a theft over the weekend from his home in Highland Park:

My garden zombie and doormat were stolen. Also, a black skeleton hanging from the house. These items cannot be seen clearly from the road, unless you are looking from neighboring streets. I am including a picture of the garden zombie, and it should be easy to locate should it be outside.

Also, the doormat is easily identifiable as it says “Oh sh** not you again”. If you have seen any of these items please let me know. I have filed police reports already.

And a followup on the Infiniti reported stolen from 35th SW early Friday:

So Seattle Police found my Infiniti last night in the International District. No obvious damage. Outside is ok; inside is trashed and needs extensive detailing. In it, I found many comfort items (clothes, cooking pots, mechanical radio, phone chargers) of an urban nomad, it seems, including a crack pipe. Gas level was at E.

ADDED: One more reader report, from Joel, shortly after we published this. He reports an attempted burglary at his Gatewood home in the 8300 block of 39th SW, second time in three months, with a burglary attempt at his neighbors’ home on SW Rose as well.

8:38 AM: Be on the lookout for SB‘s car:

Our white 1994 Honda Accord was stolen from the back of our house in the 3800 block of 35th Ave. SW early this morning. I noticed it was gone when I woke up and looked out the window just after 3 a.m. It was there when I went to bed just before 10 p.m. License plate is 182 ZVK. I filed a police report and noticed that this is just a block from where an Infiniti was stolen about the same time yesterday. They’d wiped the condensation off of the window of another car we have…apparently to look inside and see if there was anything valuable in it…or if the keys were inside?

We have pictures since we’ve been trying to sell it. It was all cleaned up and ready to go. :-(

We’ll add a photo if we get one.

10:26 AM UPDATE: SB says police found her car:

SPD called just after 9 a.m. to let us know they found it. It was abandoned with a bunch of stuff inside and minus the stereo in an alley behind 60th just north of Admiral.

Unfortunately, if you check the comments, another car was then stolen there. If we get more info on THAT car, we’ll update this again.

Two more reports for West Seattle Crime Watch tonight. First – multiple West Seattle High School parents shared an e-mail sent by the school administration:

… Around 2 p.m., a man who is a parent of a student at our school, entered the main office and was acting suspiciously.

Security was called and in talking to the man, noticed he had a knife attached to his belt buckle. This is a violation of our zero tolerance of weapons rule. 911 was called and the Seattle Police Department arrived quickly. The man had left our school already, but was arrested outside and taken into custody.

We are proud of our staff and security for acting so quickly. No students were in the area or involved in the incident.

We are looking forward to a safe and fun homecoming dance tonight, and we want to let families know that we will continue to be vigilant when it comes to safety in our school.

We don’t have any other details about this yet, nor do we know the man’s status. Meantime, we have a reader report from Jude, asking you to be on the lookout for a car stolen early today:

My Infiniti FX35 was stolen from right in front of my house at 3 am on Friday, 10/25. I live on the 3700 block of 35th Ave SW. The vehicle is brown with a silver roof rack. Plate 520-XWQ. I have all spare keys so it interesting how this was done given that a key fob is required to allow ignition — not to mention how the door was opened. Hope the car died out somewhere for lack of a RFID key on the perpetrator. Wishful thinking. I did file a police report this morning with the Southwest Precinct.

If you see it or have information about it, call 911.

P.S. This isn’t crime but it does involve the local precinct – if you have leftover/unneeded/expired drugs in your home, TOMORROW is the day to drop them off at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) front desk, 10 am-2 pm, for the fall edition of National Drug Take-Back Day.

This morning’s arrest near Chief Sealth International High School (WSB coverage here) was actually the second flasher-type arrest in West Seattle in less than 12 hours. We’ve obtained the report on an indecent-exposure arrest last night at Westwood Village; the 35-year-old man arrested in that incident got out of jail about an hour ago. The suspect in this case is reported to have exposed himself to two workers at an unidentified Westwood business through its front window, as they were closing up around 9 pm last night. The police report says the same man is believed to have caused “disturbances” at “a total of about six different businesses” at Westwood last night and that he also is believed to have “inappropriately touched women.” The report SPD provided to us on request concludes:

Routine records check of (the suspect) shows that he is the subject in a previous indecent-liberties event and is a documented officer-safety hazard. In speaking with (him), he appears to be suffering from some kind of mental disorder and if left untreated could very easily escalate his actions.

Despite that, the jail register shows his bail was set at $1,000 and that he got out of jail at 2:02 pm, a “conditional release,” according to the register. Indecent exposure is a misdemeanor; we are checking with the City Attorney’s Office to see if they can tell us more about the status of this case.

(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
10:12 AM: Police have just confirmed the arrest of the man at the center of our photo, taken into custody after a student reported seeing him masturbating inside that van parked near Chief Sealth International High School this morning, though they don’t know yet if he is connected to any of the “flasher” incidents over the past few weeks. Here’s the report just published on SPD Blotter:

Southwest Precinct officers arrested a 34-year-old man for lewd conduct earlier this morning in the 2400 Block of SW Thistle Street.

At about 8:30 this morning, a 17-year-old female student was walking to school when she passed a dark blue mini-van parked on the street. As she passed the van, she observed the suspect inside masturbating. The girl immediately ran to school and reported it to the principal’s office. Officers immediately responded and located the van and contacted the suspect. He was positively identified and arrested by officers.

The suspect was transported to the Southwest Precinct where he is being interviewed by detectives. He will later be booked into the King County Jail. It is unknown at this time whether this man is connected with the previous incidents near other West Seattle schools.

We heard the original call – which drew quite the police response, given the recent incidents – and took the photo above while officers were questioning the man at the scene (we’ve blurred out the suspect’s head and the van’s license plate). But we had not confirmed, prior to the SPD Blotter post, that the person taken in for questioning had been arrested and would be jailed. We’ll update with anything else we find out later today.

2:42 PM: The suspect is not on the King County Jail register as of last check, and the official police report as it currently stands does not indicate any link to other incidents, so far. He is a Highland Park resident who does not have a felony conviction record.

4:53 PM: The suspect, Danen Romine, is charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure in Seattle Municipal Court – as opposed to King County Superior Court, when you are cited, it is an official charge. His bail is set at $500 and he is scheduled to answer the charge tomorrow morning (the jailhouse courtroom has arraignments in city cases on weekends).

9:58 PM: The jail register shows Romine posted bail and got out after less than five hours, just before 7 pm tonight.

More than a year after a beating and shooting outside an Alki restaurant/bar, a King County Superior Court jury has delivered its verdict for the man charged in connection with it. The trial of 28-year-old Michael Helmer of Kent ended one week ago today with jurors declaring him guilty of four counts of second-degree assault. The incident in August 2012 rocked the community enough that the establishment outside which it happened, Bamboo Bar and Grill, hosted a neighborhood meeting and promised changes. (This summer was much quieter at the beach, as discussed with police at last month’s Alki Community Council meeting.)

Prosecutors said Helmer was one of two men who attacked another man outside Bamboo (the other apparently has never been found); another man tried to help the first victim, who was on the ground and being kicked, and was shot by Helmer, with the bullet traveling through his arm and lodging near his heart, where it couldn’t be removed.

A witness followed Helmer and called 911 with updates until police arrived, at which time he pointed out Helmer, and officers made the arrest, subsequently finding the 9-millimeter gun wrapped in a jersey. He’s been in jail ever since – so those 14 months will likely be counted toward whatever he gets when he is sentenced November 8th. Prosecutors are recommending 6 years and seven months – the combination of 43 months (four concurrent terms) followed by 36 months for use of a deadly weapon.

P.S. – Thanks to the WSB reader who asked tonight about this case, which we had not checked on lately; the information above comes from court documents we downloaded while researching her inquiry.

No new flasher incidents reported so far today – but we have two updates:

*Two schools, Madison Middle School and Schmitz Park Elementary School, have sent letters home to parents to make sure they heard about yesterday’s incident in north West Seattle.

*Seattle Police have published an “update” on the Tuesday incidents. Comparing it to what they released yesterday, includes some changes in the story of exactly what happened, and some slight changes to the suspect’s description.

More details on all of the above, ahead:

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One day after the West Seattle arrest of Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off a monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, he has just appeared in Seattle Municipal Court (via video feed). Our partners at The Seattle Times report that Stanley pleaded not guilty to harassment and that his bail is set at $100,000. Earlier this morning, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe told WSB that Stanley has not yet been booked in the alleged Admiral-area sexual assault that police learned about after the initial harassment arrest, so he will not have a bail hearing in that potential case today. Any additional information in the case today will be added to this story. (Photo: King County sex-offender-registry page)

ADDED 1:54 PM: News release about this morning’s hearing, sent by the City Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the current case:

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue set bail at $100,000 today for registered sex offender Michael Shawn Stanley on a misdemeanor harassment charge filed by the City Attorney’s Office.

CAO asked for the unusually high bail for a misdemeanor based on information from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating a separate, alleged sexual assault by Stanley on a teenage male. Stanley, an American citizen, re-entered the United States recently from Canada where he has an extensive sex crimes record. Also, in this state, he has been convicted of first-degree burglary and DUI.

The misdemeanor charge alleges that Stanley, while intoxicated, was making loud noises in an alley behind a residence in West Seattle. When the victim asked him to be quiet, Stanley repeatedly said he would beat the victim up.

The City’s sentencing recommendation is 364 days in jail/274 days suspended, an anti-harassment order and a substance-abuse evaluation plus any recommended follow-up (with Stanley remaining under the court’s jurisdiction for two years).

ADDED 5:51 PM: KING 5 obtained video from Admiral Chevron that they say shows Stanley in the mini-mart there very early yesterday with the teen who told police he had been sexually assaulted. See their report here.

(UPDATED with first official info from police – scroll or click to end of story)

6:09 PM: We’ve just learned that police are investigating another case of a “flasher” near a local school. This time, it was reported by two students from Madison Middle School. According to the mother of one of the students, the man was exposing/touching himself while in a car, with the door open, near 45th and Andover (map), about two blocks south of Madison, around 2:45 pm. She says he was described as a “30-something white male, dark hair, heavyset. Black, small 4-door sedan in poor condition.”

We are trying to reach police to see if they believe it’s linked to any of the previous recent incidents in West Seattle. (P.S. If you are just catching up with the day’s other news, that was 6 hours after rapist Michael S. Stanley was booked into jail, so there’s no chance it was him.)

6:28 PM UPDATE: And now we’re getting word of an incident outside Westside School (WSB sponsor) today as well – one of the schools targeted in earlier incidents. Multiple parents just tipped us – here’s an excerpt from the note that went home:

I regret that I must write to inform our Westside Families of another incident that happened at school today. This afternoon, several Middle School girls were playing near the fence along 32nd Ave. A man drove up, stayed in his car and began to touch himself inappropriately. The girls immediately walked away from the fence, notified an adult and were not in any physical danger. Staff were present on the playground and observant of the students. Parents of each of the girls involved have been contacted personally by the school.

Our primary concern is to keep your children safe at school and in the community. Our playground perimeter is fenced and secure, and we have video cameras in place. We have adults with children at all times on our playgrounds and in school. Just as in the previous incident, we are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will provide as much information as possible to support them in finding this individual and preventing him from engaging in this type of activity. We will also communicate with our colleagues at other schools that have been affected by recent similar events.

Those incidents were (links go to our coverage):

*September 9, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Westside
*October 1, Hope (reported child-luring attempt, while the previous three were “flashers”)

It should be noted, police have never said whether any or all of those are believed to be related.

9 PM UPDATE: SPD Blotter now has a report on today’s two incidents – go here or read on for the full text:Read More

(UPDATE/EDITOR’S NOTE: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for sexual assault – scroll down for newest info)

9:50 AM: Just published on SPD Blotter:

Seattle police have arrested Sean Michael Stanley, a violent sex offender who fled Canada and entered the US earlier this month.

Just before 6 AM this morning, police received several reports that a man was yelling in an alley near the 2300 block of 44th Avenue SW in West Seattle.

One caller told police that when he’d asked the man to quiet down, the man had threatened to assault him.

When officers arrived at the scene, they Stanley, who became combative with officers and claimed he had a knife.

Officers found a small knife on Stanley, who appeared intoxicated, and booked him into the King County Jail for harassment.

ADDED 10:45 AM: First – in case you are wondering which alley in the 2300 block of 44th, police say it’s the one between California and 44th, behind the Admiral Theater (added: photo of the general area).

No word yet what he was doing in West Seattle; in case you haven’t seen the regional-media reports about Stanley, here’s one from the Seattle Times (WSB partner) published before today’s arrest. He is 48 years old and was out of prison in Canada after serving time for crimes including, reports the Times, “raping an 82-year-old woman who used a wheelchair and of luring and sexually assaulting two mentally challenged boys.”

On October 1st, he removed a monitoring device he had been ordered to wear, and eventually made his way to the U.S./Canada border crossing in Blaine, north of Bellingham. He turned up in Seattle last week and, while local authorities aren’t sure if he is required to register here – Canada didn’t even want him extradited – he did register as transient, saying he was living near Pike Place Market. Here is his page on the King County sex-offender registry site; we’ve added the photo from that page to this story.

11:07 AM: According to the King County Jail Register, Stanley was booked at 8:42 am and his bail is set at $1,000. He is listed on the register as Michael Shawn Stanley; the names/aliases listed on his sex-offender-registration page are Michael Sean Stanley, Michael A. Bigwolf, David Quintasket, Carl C. Youngpine. He is a U.S. citizen and entered the country on October 7th, according to Canadian reports. There’s more about his background in this story, which notes that he has a record with at least four dozen convictions.

11:39 AM: Since the charge on which he’s being held is a misdemeanor, it’s being handled by Seattle Municipal Court and the city attorney’s office, whose spokesperson Kimberly Mills says he is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow morning.

12:23 PM: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for a reported sexual assault just before his Admiral arrest early today. An update from SPD Blotter:

Shortly after arresting sex offender Michael Sean Stanley this morning, Seattle police received information that he may be the suspect in a sexual assault in West Seattle earlier today.

According to the report police received this morning, Stanley met a 16-year-old male at a grocery store, struck up a conversation with the teen, and walked with him to an alley in the 2400 block of 44th Ave. SW. In the alley, Stanley plied the teen with alcohol, grabbed the teen, and sexually assaulted him. The 16-year-old pulled a knife on Stanley and was able to run to another location and contact police.

Detectives believe this incident may have preceded several calls to police about noise and threats in the alleyway. After investigating those complaints this morning, officers arrested Stanley for harassment.

Stanley, who fled Canada and entered the US earlier this month, is currently in the King County Jail, but will be re-booked on additional charges today.

Stanley is currently registered as a sex offender and is under the supervision of the King County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are now working to determine how this will impact his offender status.

Since attempted sexual assault is a felony, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will now be involved in the case; we’re checking with them regarding plans for a bail hearing – most likely won’t be before tomorrow.

3:32 PM: No new updates yet – the jail register still shows Stanley behind bars. He has been out of prison in Canada since April 2011. We haven’t found court documents for any of his cases but he does have a record in our state as well, dating up to the turn of the millennium. He had a King County Superior Court case from 1983 – when he would have been in his late teens – but the docket doesn’t cite the charge and the records are not available online.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE, 10:05 AM: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office tells WSB he has yet to be booked in the sexual-assault case, so he won’t be on the bail-hearing calendar for that today. He is in Seattle Municipal Court right now and citywide reporters say he has pleaded not guilty and that bail has just been set at $100,000. Separate story to come.

Relatively quiet weekend – no major incidents – but we do have reader reports to share in West Seattle Crime Watch today, and we’ve checked the Seattle Police map for current trends, noting for starters that burglaries are still running above average:

The map shows 23 burglaries reported in West Seattle since last Monday. That’s compared to 24 the previous week, and up from last October, which SPD online stats say averaged 18 a week. Eighteen is also the weekly average this year, through August, the most recent month for which SPD has published monthly stats. To see addresses, go to the map and click on any icon, which will tell you the street/block number and when it was reported.

Ahead – a stolen-vehicle report plus a look at the map/numbers for how that category of crime is trending in West Seattle right now, as well as other reader reports on car break-ins, mail theft, and two likely stolen items found:

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(WSB video of Justin Wood being taken from courtroom post-sentencing)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In King County Superior Court this past hour, Judge Julie Spector has just given 25-year-old West Seattle serial burglar Justin Wood a sentence of less than 4 years under the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative law, after emotional pleas from several of his victims – and after giving him her own furious rebuke.

We published multiple reports about Wood’s crimes earlier this year. He is the burglar arrested twice in one week (one scene, at 48th/Findlay, is in the photo at right), as reported in February, at which time we learned he had confessed to numerous burglaries, and was already facing charges in a case from last fall. In August, we reported on the plea bargain that led to this afternoon’s sentencing.

Judge Spector mentioned before the hearing that she had received letters from many other victims in the two months since Wood pleaded guilty to seven burglaries as well as attempted burglary and two gun thefts. He has no felony history; the state had recommended the “high-end” sentence of about 7 years.

“This has been my case from the very beginning,” said deputy prosecuting attorney Darren Thompson. “We’re in an interesting situation because the defendant confessed to 28 residential burglaries” among other things. “Mr. Wood actually came forward… he drove around with (a detective) and showed him all the victims’ houses … to be fair, some of them would never have been solved (otherwise).”

He added that the state also left it open for the defense lawyer to request a “prison-based DOSA,” – Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative – since “Mr. Wood obviously suffered from a drug addiction when these crimes were committed.” But, “these are crimes that cannot be fixed… (if he) served the 44 months (that such a sentence would involve), it would not be enough.”

And that was clear, once the victims in the courtroom came forward to tell their stories, mostly through tears and/or anger.

The first victim to speak to the judge said he had a message directly for the criminal: “You should know that you violated my life in a very personal way. … My life has changed since the day you broke into my family’s home and you stole part of our lives. You didn’t just steal money and objects but part of our lives … Among the items … were a couple that really hurt … You stole my wedding ring. That can never be replaced. … not with the same one that I put on my finger the day I got married.” The man struggled with tears. “You stole $80 from my 7-year-old son’s wallet. Can you imagine …”

He broke down again and apologized for that to Judge Spector, who told him not to apologize. So he continued:

“Can you imagine my son, one of the happiest kids on earth … he worked really hard to save that money and was so proud … can you imagine how upset he was when I had to tell him someone broke into our house and took his money.”

Others in the courtroom were audibly crying by that point.

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A West Seattle break-in last night has two young suspects in custody today. Here’s the report just published on SPD Blotter:

Two 13-year-old boys are in the Youth Services Center this morning following a burglary last night to a South Delridge apartment.

Last night, at about 11:30 pm, a man called 911 stating that he had just confronted two teenage burglars inside his residence in the 7900 Block of Delridge Way Southwest. After the confrontation, the suspects fled south out of the apartment.

A few minutes later, a Southwest Precinct officer arrived in the area and saw two teenage suspects matching the description provided by the victim get on a bus in front of the apartment complex. The officer detained the two while other officers contacted the victim.

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We start our weekend-ending West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with a semi-happy ending. From Adam:

I just wanted to let you know that a bicycle that was stolen from me a year ago has been recovered. It is thrashed, but it is back. I just went to identify it at the station today. They say they are cracking down on the bicycle thefts and identifying more and more. They found mine in a stash that an arrested burglar told them about. The police are taking notice. Just wanted to let you know about a successful recovery. I thought I’d never see it again a couple months after it was nabbed. This is kind of awesome. $900 bike, a tune-up and some new parts are better than dishing out another $900.

Remember that SPD is tweeting info on bicycles it recovers – check @getyourbikeback.

Now, two reader reports received this weekend. From Jackie:

On Friday morning, the staff at Images hair salon arrived at work to find the police waiting there. Someone had smashed the front door, entered the salon then (burglarized) and ransacked it. According to the officer, they have a good idea who did it, so we are hopeful the fingerprints they found will put this person in jail.

The salon is in the 5000 block of California SW, south of The Junction. Next, from Rachel:

Thought I’d share for other Highland Park residents that my car was broken into Wednesday night and my GPS was stolen. I thought my husband had just gone looking for something in the car because our items were shuffled around, but the doors were locked in the morning when I got up to take my kids to the zoo. My husband just noticed today that the GPS was missing. No broken windows, just a thief courteous enough to lock the doors when they were finished.

P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting is this Tuesday – and as always, you are welcome to bring neighborhood concerns/questions to police leadership for Q/A during the meeting, which also is scheduled to feature guest speakers, as noted on the WSCPC website. 7 pm Tuesday (October 15th) at the Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster.

6:58 PM: Police and fire have rushed to the 2500 block of SW Barton to respond to an assault-with-weapons call. Details as we get it.

7:02 PM: We’re told it’s a stabbing with two victims – our crew is on the way and we hope to find out more shortly about circumstances and conditions.

7:10 PM: Our crew says one victim is being treated by the bus stop across Barton from Target, the other by the Westwood Village McDonald’s.

SPD now says both victims are “males believed to be in their late teens.” Seattle Fire, however, says one is a 21-year-old man, the other a 15-year-old boy.

7:19 PM: Our crew at the scene says police are still trying to sort out whether the victims were stabbed where they were found. No word of any arrests yet. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to early assessments.

9:29 PM: No new information. We’ve added two photos taken before police cleared the scene about an hour ago.

10:33 AM FRIDAY: Just published on SPD Blotter:

Gang Unit detectives are handling the follow up to a stabbing of two people last night at the Westwood Village.  The two victims, ages 15 and 21, were transported to Harborview Medical Center with multiple  stab wounds.

At about 6:45 pm, several Southwest Precinct officers were handling a disturbance call in the 2600 Block of SW Barton when someone came running up to them stating that someone had been stabbed across the street.  Officers immediately ran over and found the 15-year-old male on the street.  Seattle Fire was immediately called and responded.  A second victim, the 21-year-old, was found across the street. 

As the victims were being attended to, their friends told officers what had happened.  The group of friends had gone to Westwood Village when they confronted another group of Hispanic males.  The two victims reportedly got into a fist fight with the group and during the fight the man was stabbed by one of the suspects.  The Hispanic males reportedly then fled.  The 15-year-old and another friend gave chase, catching up to and confronting them near the QFC.  According to witnesses, the 15-year-old collapsed in the street with multiple stab wounds.  Both of the victims were treated at the scene and then transported to HMC.  The suspects, only described as Hispanic males, fled the scene. 

Gang Unit detectives responded to the scene and will be handling the investigation.