West Seattle, Washington
26 Friday
Many questions about the police motorcycles spotted in the area – it’s more motorcade/escort training, confirms Seattle Police.
“Click It or Ticket” will also be “Hands Off Your Phone, or Else” starting later this month, warns the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, which just announced: “Between May 20 and June 2, motorists in King County can expect to see law enforcement patrolling city and county roads in search of unbuckled drivers and passengers and drivers using their cell phones. Last year, during this same time period, officers on routine and extra patrols statewide issued 3,171 seat belt violations amongst the 11,047 motorists who were stopped. Similarly, last year during this time period, 1,059 cell phone violations were written.” The departments that’ll participate in these patrols include Seattle Police, says WTSC.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”:
*A homeless 24-year-old who hangs out in the Admiral area was spotted last weekend as he sat down at an establishment in the 2600 block of California Ave. SW. Because officers knew he was wanted on a criminal trespass warrant, they stopped to chat. A routine search of his backpack turned up a bolt cutter, hammer and box cutters (Suspect: “I use them for work.” Officer: “Where do you work?” Suspect:“I’m unemployed.”), along with 53 prescription pain killers and a plastic bag full of jewelry. He was booked into King County Jail for the warrant, possession of a drug without a prescription, and possession of burglary and auto theft tools.
Five more summaries ahead:Read More
2:01 AM: Via text and e-mail, several people have asked us about some kind of police operation at 24th and Holden, including use of a loudspeaker/megaphone to try to get someone to come out. Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says King County is serving a warrant – in other words, trying to arrest somebody and/or conduct a search – and SPD is not involved. So we don’t know what or who the subject of the warrant is, but we will ask the Sheriff’s Office later this morning.
12:21 PM: KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West says it was NOT their operation – their SWAT team WAS out last night but in an entirely different part of the county. So we’re still trying to find out what this was about.
12:43 PM: Two people told police they were robbed at gunpoint on Fauntleroy Way last night, north of Lincoln Park. We’ve just obtained the police report. They told police they were walking northbound on Fauntleroy just before 10 pm after walking in Lincoln Park when “they were accosted by several males, one of whom brandished a black handgun, who demanded their money and belongings.” (The report mentions that police were dispatched to the 6600 block of Fauntleroy, but that is some distance from the park, so it’s not clear whether it happened there or whether they kept walking afterward.)
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.
With reader reports about bikes found as well as bikes taken, West Seattle Crime Watch has featured more bicycle-theft reports than usual lately (with one even caught on camera). 
And Southwest Precinct‘s Sgt. Joe Bauer confirms to WSB that it’s a heightened concern. How to thwart these thieves? For one, he warns that bicycle owners need “to secure their bicycles in the underground parking garages. We are getting a lot of stolen bike reports that seem to be mainly on Avalon and in the North Admiral and Alki areas. We have had some on Fauntleroy too. I’d like to remind folks that the bikes are not secure just because they are in the garage. Lock them up or, better yet, keep them in another location in the building if possible. If the bike won’t fit in the condo or apartment, folks can always take the seat and front wheel off to make the bike a little less appealing to the thief.”
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.”
Thanks to the people who tipped us about some kind of police operation under way in the vicinity of the Super 24 store along Delridge. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand arrived and found SWAT officers, guns drawn, and someone apparently in custody. No one is commenting at the scene so we are trying to find out more. Traffic was stopped on Delridge for a while but Patrick says it’s just been allowed to resume.
Update tonight in the tale of a dog that Seattle Police rescued from a car at Westwood Village, reported Wednesday on SPD Blotter: Today’s Blotter followup says Zipper the puggle is being kept at the Seattle Animal Shelter while an animal-cruelty investigation is under way. Witnesses told police the car in which Zipper was found had been parked at the center for six days, though it hasn’t been determined if Zipper was inside the whole time. Zipper apparently was supposedly under a dog-sitter’s watch, while his owner was out of town.
6:01 PM: Seattle Police are checking out what’s described as an unattended briefcase at 34th and Kenyon. This comes a short time after a suspicious item was checked out downtown – SPD tweeted about that one – and turned out to be nothing.
6:29 PM: Same thing here – while we had sidetracked to check out a car crash reported to be blocking traffic nearby, this scene cleared, uneventfully.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with an incident that brought several texts/calls tonight because of a big response:
Police responded to an assault call in the West Seattle Stadium area. According to Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis, a woman under the influence of the drug known as “ecstasy” attacked someone by hitting them with a skateboard. Lt. Davis says she’s in custody. The victim was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
Also tonight, two reader reports. First one is about attempted burglaries (these came up at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, too, and we’re working on the full report on everything discussed there). John in the 5000 block of 40th SW reports:
My back door was kicked in yesterday morning at 7 am, as was my next-door neighbor’s door. Nothing was stolen out of either house. My neighbor was home at the time, I was not. I understand a house two blocks from me had the same thing happen around 3 pm yesterday.
From Miranda, word of a stolen moped – the one in this montage:
She says it was stolen Sunday night or Monday near 59th/Alki: “The moped is a Motobecane; it has pedals but is missing it’s motor as we were working on updating it. The front wheel is bright turquoise and the back on is a maroon-ish color. It’s very unique so it’s hard to miss.” If you’ve seen it, call police.
If you have unused and unneeded – or expired – prescription medication(s), another Drug Take-Back Day is coming up on April 27th. Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis says the precinct (on Webster just west of Delridge) will be the local drop-off site again this time, 10 am-2 pm. He also notes that they cannot accept syringes/needles – just medications; more info here. Last year, participants dropped off 238 pounds of unwanted medications at the SW Precinct – more than anywhere else in the city.
2:52 PM: Police and fire have responded to 31st and 108th in Arbor Heights – it’s an “assault with weapons” call – details as soon as we get them.
2:56 PM: According to SPD’s Det. Jeff Kappel, this appears to be self-inflicted. No word on the person’s condition; we’re told they are being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
P.S. As we always note in such cases – if you know someone talking about or threatening self-harm, Crisis Clinic is there to help – 24-hour hotline, 206-461-3222.
In case you don’t regularly read SPD Blotter, we wanted to pass along this statement from Seattle Police regarding the aftermath of what’s happening in Boston:
Our thoughts are with the people of Boston, the athletes participating in the Boston Marathon and their families.
We have been in communication with the Mayor’s Office and the Office of Emergency Management. We haven’t received any information to indicate that there is a threat to Seattle. Still, we have begun taking reasonable precautions to protect our community. On-duty resources have been directed to increase their patrols in our neighborhoods and around our infrastructure. Seattle residents may see an increased police presence.
We are also asking for public support. Please report any suspicious activity to 911.
The Boston Marathon website says more than 500 participants were from Washington; if you know anyone who’s there, please let us know whether they’re OK. Our partners at The Seattle Times have talked with some people from the region who are in the area.
6:46 PM: Thanks to those who asked about a significant police presence in High Point – turns out a Seattle Police car is one of two vehicles involved in a crash at Sylvan and Lanham. WSB’s Katie Meyer reports that the scene is clearing; no serious injuries reported – the officer is being checked out after reporting getting bumped around a bit.
7:47 PM UPDATE: Added Katie’s photos from the scene. As you can see, both cars ended up off the road – and, Katie adds, while both had significant damage, both were driven back onto the road. A tow driver helped clear debris:
Officers at the scene say the crash circumstances remain under investigation.
(Thanks to the WSB’er who texted this photo from Avalon/35th)
You might see Seattle Police motorcycle officers out in motorcade formation around West Seattle over the next few hours – as happened one week ago – and once again, it’s just training, according to Officer Renée Witt in SPD Public Affairs, who shared the alert.
Police are investigating a suspicious incident that happened in Schmitz Park this evening. The person who reported it has just sent her story, and we’re sharing it, not in the interest of panic, but in the interest of “knowledge is power,” particularly since we have unsolved incidents including last Tuesday’s California SW attack. Here’s what she wrote:
I was walking with my 3-year-old son just inside the entryway to Schmitz Park behind the elementary school. We wanted to see some big trees, but I had a strange feeling that we needed to turn back. I heard some rustling and had an urgent feeling we needed to get out. We had to maneuver around a puddle, and I glanced over my shoulder. A man with reddish hair, a slight build, with a brownish sweater, tan pants, and brown shoes was running straight at me. If I hadn’t turned around and looked him in the face, he would have overcome me. When I looked at him, he stopped and turned sideways. He had something he put in his pocket. He sort of made another move forward, because as I looked around, we were still out of plain view. So I used a very loud voice to tell my son we were going home now. My son made a lot of noise complaining that he didn’t want to go home. I kept my eyes on the man and picked up my protesting, screaming son. And the man literally ran back into the park.
Police reiterate that they want to be notified, via 911, when something suspicious happens – and that’s exactly what this mom did.
(Screengrab from Seattle Channel substituted when briefing ended; we’ll replace later with archived video)
10:49 AM: The formal announcement is expected within a few hours, but now several citywide news sources are reporting that Seattle Police Chief John Diaz is stepping down after almost four years (as interim and then permanent chief). Our partners at The Seattle Times 
quote City Councilmember Bruce Harrell as the source, as does KING 5; Diaz’s departure was first reported on Twitter by KIRO TV. All say that Assistant Chief Jim Pugel (at left in WSB file photo by Christopher Boffoli) will serve as interim chief.
11:15 AM: The mayor and police chief are planning an 11:30 a.m. briefing. (added) You’ll be able to watch the live webcast above.
11:49 AM: The briefing has begun – click “play” on the video window above to see it live.
12:00 PM: Chief Diaz recounted department accomplishments during his tenure and offered words of thanks. Now the mayor is speaking, and doing the same. Some of the major incidents mentioned as happening during the chief’s tenure included the murder of West Seattle High School graduate Officer Timothy Brenton and the Café Racer/downtown murders that ended with the killer’s West Seattle suicide last May.
12:08 PM: Assistant Chief Jim Pugel says he “promise(s) to continue to work … with everyone who has an interest in seeing Seattle as an even better and even safer city” while serving as interim chief. He also thanks SPD officers and community members for their role in that. After brief remarks, the mayor is asked “Why now?” and he punts the question to Chief Diaz, saying it was his decision. Diaz subsequently says that he evaluated issues such as innovation and reform, and he felt they are under control, and that things are “going extremely well,” so he decided “It was time” for him to retire. So why not wait till after this fall’s mayoral election? McGinn is asked. He replied that the search process will take so long, he doubts “any final decisions” would be made until after November.
12:28 PM: The briefing is over. Chief Diaz’s retirement is scheduled for the end of May. We’re taking down the video window but will re-add the archived version when it’s available on the city website. Meantime, the official news release has arrived via e-mail – click ahead to read it:Read More
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”:
*On the morning of Monday the 1st, a 59-year-old Admiral resident was booked into King County Jail after he pointed a handgun at three construction workers at the home next door and ordered them to “Get the “F(&*” out of there!” When questioned by an officer, he repeatedly denied having pointed a weapon. Interestingly, when he admitted he had a gun and told the officers where to retrieve it, it matched the victims’ descriptions perfectly. The police report noted that the gun had one round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the magazine. He will be investigated for harassment.
Four more summaries ahead:Read More
(UPDATED THURSDAY EVENING with more information on suspect’s background and status – scroll down)
(Monday night photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
As first reported here Tuesday, friends and family of the man shot Monday night at Charlestown and Avalon, 27-year-old musician Rick Powell, on duty at the time as a driver for hire, were told Powell was defending himself during a robbery attempt – and that the man found shot minutes later on Delridge was the suspect. (Here’s our original coverage from the night it happened.) We had been asking police for confirmation and just got it. We also have heard from a friend of Powell’s, who says his surgery on Wednesday went well. Benefits are being set up to raise money for Powell – including this one.
Meantime, here’s how SPD Blotter‘s Jonah Spangenthal-Lee tells the story (followed by additional information we have researched):
A 19-year-old felon is in jail recovering from gunshot wounds and facing charges for seriously wounding another man in an exchange of gunfire during a violent robbery attempt in West Seattle …
.
Shortly after 11 pm on April 1st, a 27-year-old for-hire driver pulled his Cadillac over along SW Charlestown Street and Avalon Way SW, and stepped out of his car to smoke a cigarette.
As the victim was standing on the street, 19-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia-Mendez — released from a Yakima prison just four days earlier, after serving time for burglary and robbery — drove past the victim, and pulled down the street ahead of the 27-year-old man.Garcia-Mendez climbed out of his car and closed in on 27-year-old, drawing a handgun, and shoving it in the victim’s chest.
1:32 PM: Thanks to Mary for sending a photo and word that the westbound bridge was shut down for what looked like a motorcade headed this way:
Janet then reported a sighting near West Seattle Stadium. SPD Public Affairs says nothing’s on their radar – so for now it’s a mystery; still checking!
1:43 PM UPDATE: Det. Renée Witt in Public Affairs has since confirmed – it’s training. And our crew just caught up with them and has confirmed the same:
Motorcade (escort) training happens here every so often, and we’ve published mentions over the years – but you never know; once in a while, it just might turn out to be somebody like the president of Bulgaria.
The WSB Crime Watch page includes the latest list of Seattle Police‘s automatically generated tweets with reported incidents and the blocks where they happened. But we have a notation right above the box: The tweets are ***NOT*** always what they seem. Here’s the latest example of what that means: We’ve been getting questions since last night about a tweet that alarmingly reads HOMICIDE, dated yesterday afternoon, with the location 35th/Charlestown.
First thing this morning, we checked with SPD, and Det. Mark Jamieson confirmed what we had suspected – that was the tweet for homicide detectives (who do investigate non-fatal cases as well as fatal incidents) returning to the scene, as we showed you in our update last night. (There was even another tweet – note the identical call number – labeled FOLLOW-UP.) We replied to the people who inquired – but since we are still getting questions, we’re publishing this in hopes of reassuring others. (The map occasionally has mistakes – a few months back, it showed the HOMICIDE icon where none had occurred – we were told that one was because of a typo in an incident code entered into the system.)
10:29 PM: Police are investigating a report of gunshots fired toward or near a West Seattle home. No reports of any injuries, so far. We don’t have a hard and fast address for it yet, but one caller says it’s in the vicinity of 20th and Cloverdale (map), where similar incidents were reported recently. Per the scanner, witnesses reported a car resembling a gold Taurus headed northbound on 20th afterward.
WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Not long after that report, police now say, they got a second one, just a few blocks west, in the 2400 block of SW Thistle. A man said someone fired a shot at him from a passing vehicle – details are in this SPD Blotter update, which also includes the latest on the 20th/Cloverdale gunfire report, though police say they are not sure if the two are related.
Quiet day in West Seattle Crime Watch – only one reader report today, and checking the police-response map, we note the incident markers are relatively sparse. Today’s lone reader report involves a suspected casing/prowling incident this morning in what we might describe as Upper Alki – read on:
Read More
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