West Seattle Crime Watch: Defiant shoplifter; locker; rocks

handcuffs_2.jpgJust went through a couple more days worth of police reports – this list is nowhere as long as the one we posted the other day, but a few unusual incidents — five, to be exact — starting with the case of the defiant shoplifter:

First, a couple notes. The report copies we see now are “redacted,” which means certain details are blacked out before the reports are released to the media. Some are details that generally weren’t reported anyway, such as exact addresses. But occasionally, as you’ll see in this first summary, other details are redacted too, and when that figures into what we report, you will see (redacted) in the text. Also note that the reports are sometimes delayed a few days while they go through the police department’s processing queues, so while these are reports we downloaded Thursday night, most date back a couple more days. Now, on with our summaries:

DEFIANT SHOPLIFTER: Around 12:30 am Tuesday, police were called to a store in the 4000 block of California SW because a teenage boy had taken off with two bottles of Smirnoff Ice. Police got a good description from someone at the store, and found the boy walking northbound on California. The police report picks it up from there:

I told the subject to come over to my patrol car and he refused. He then told me to “(redacted).” He kept walking N/B on California Av Sw and when I walked toward him the subject started to run and went E/B through the yards. I lost him in the alleyway to the East. [Another officer] attempted a K9 track with negative results. [The store] did have a good video of [the thief].”STOLEN FROM UNLOCKED LOCKER: Later on Tuesday – around 5 pm — a theft was reported at 24-Hour Fitness in Westwood Village. A woman told police someone had taken $400 cash from her unlocked locker.

STOLEN FROM UNLOCKED CAR: Just before 3 am Tuesday in the 1900 block of Walnut, a woman heard footsteps outside her house, then two male voices, and looked outside. She saw a “light-skilled black male, late teens to early 20s, approximately 5-10, leaning over into the passenger side of her vehicle … wearing a light-colored jacket … short hair or a shaved head. She yelled “Hey!” and that suspect yelled back (his exact retort was redacted) before walking away. She didn’t see the other person. She told officers $10 in quarters were taken from her car, which was unlocked.

ROCK-THROWING TEENS: Police arrested four teenagers Monday night, after an incident that started with a call about teens on the Delridge Community Center playfield allegedly throwing rocks at cars and a nearby house. A second call came in as police headed that way. When officers stopped boys matching the description, the boys denied involvement and said they were just walking across the playfield to a bus stop on Avalon; police noted that if that were so, they were going the wrong way, as they wouldn’t be able to reach that bus stop from the route they were taking. A neighbor eventually identified the suspects, who were arrested; one had an ammunition clip in his possession, according to the police report.

SUSPICION-STIRRING VISITOR: Around 4 pm Tuesday near 106th and 35th in Arbor Heights, a woman heard someone trying to turn her doorknob; then the doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw someone she described as “Asian male, late teens-early 20s … light-colored T-shirt and gray shorts.” He asked her for two dollars. She got scared and called 911; he was last seen walking eastbound on 106th. She told police she believed he was casing her house for burglary prospects.

As we always remind you – don’t hesitate to call police when you see or hear something suspicious, and of course when you believe a crime has been (or is being) committed. In addition to 911, there’s a non-emergency line at 206/625-5011. A big collection of Seattle Police crime-prevention resources is linked from the Southwest Precinct’s Crime Prevention page. Previous WSB police-report coverage is archived on our Crime Watch page.

6 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Defiant shoplifter; locker; rocks"

  • JanS May 31, 2008 (1:07 pm)

    I’m sorry to hear about the monetary thefts, but…if you’re going to 24 hour fitness with $400 in your purse, and you leave your locker unlocked, you’re asking for it. If you have money or other valuables in your car, and you leave it unlocked overnight…you’re asking for it. Don’t ever think you’re immune because of where you live or where you’re at. Be proactive…and use your head…..and you can prevent these things from ever happening.

  • charles walling May 31, 2008 (1:13 pm)

    this morning on the 6000 block of 24 sw, two police cars were close to my house, they were down the road talking. then two more came and left. that was probley before 9 am. they finaly left, but were down there a long time. have no idea what went on.

  • Bonnie May 31, 2008 (5:43 pm)

    Jan, I was going to say the same thing about the thefts. Lock up your valuables, please!

  • Karen June 1, 2008 (8:50 am)

    charles, maybe it had to do with the accident that left a car in someones front yard. Aid took someone away-kind of looked like a crime scene to me.

  • charles walling June 1, 2008 (10:54 am)

    dcon,t think so karen, never seen a wrecker come down the road. they stood around by the side of the road talking, bushes kept me from seeing any more

  • WSB June 1, 2008 (11:19 am)

    The car in the front yard accident (we went by to check it out, no traffic blocked, no major injury, house not damaged that we could tell so we didn’t shoot it) – unless there was another one we missed, that one was just across from Westwood Village, where the block # was 2500 SW Trenton and the other crossstreets would have been in the 8000-9000 range, so definitely not charles’ incident. We’ll look in the next batch of reports we review but keep in mind, oftentimes there’s nothing major going on. Someone texted us the other day about “major police and FBI presence” at Delridge and Juneau … we checked with the precinct … they were all just going to lunch at Olympia Pizza. (But keep letting us know when you see something going on, sometimes it IS a big deal.) — TR

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