We’ve just gone through the last week’s worth of West Seattle police reports from the Southwest Precinct, so we can bring you summaries of notable incidents. We start with the arrest of a teenager who confessed to car prowling (described by local police recently as the most serious current crime trend): Early Friday morning, police answered a call about two suspicious males leaving a driveway at 32nd and 97th. When they got close to the area, they saw two people take off running as soon as the patrol car was within sight; the two, ages 18 and 14, were stopped behind Roxbury Lanes/Casino. As an officer patted down the older suspect for weapons, he felt various items which the suspect said was change he’d taken out of a gray SUV a few blocks away. A wallet also turned up, and the suspect said that had been taken from a vehicle. After being placed under arrest, the 18-year-old told police he had gone into five vehicles in all, but said that the 14-year-old had not gone into any of them. The 18-year-old was booked into the King County Jail for theft. (The jail register says he got out 36 hours later, with bail having been set at $475; it also lists a two-day jail stay for the same suspect less than two weeks earlier, for investigation of car prowl.) Ahead – car prowls that did NOT result in arrests (so far), a purse-snatch attempt in Morgan Junction, a 50 mph drunk-driving suspect in a 30 zone, a fence-jumping shoplifting suspect who needed medical attention, and much more:

PURSE-SNATCH ATTEMPT: Just before 11 am last Tuesday, a woman had just parked in the 4300 block of SW Frontenac and was walking toward a nearby coffee shop when someone approached her and tried to pull her purse off her shoulder. When she yelled for help, the attacker punched her on the neck and kept trying to get the purse. She kept yelling and the would-be thief finally gave up and ran off. The only description is white, in his 20s, around 6 feet tall.

SHOTS FIRED: Just after 2 am Saturday in the 9000 block of 18th SW, a man reported hearing shots fired; police found a “live Lugar 9mm round” in the street. The witness said the gunfire seemed to be related to a white Chevrolet Caprice that had been parked in the area but left before police arrived. No injuries or damage were reported.

BUSINESS BREAK-IN: An alarm was tripped by somebody breaking into Skylark in the 3800 block of Delridge early Friday morning. A back door had been forced open; police, with K-9, searched but didn’t find anyone inside. The only items believed to have been missing were “6 open bottles of liquor off the back bar.”

CAR SET ON FIRE: Two people sitting in a car in the Roxhill Park parking lot at 29th and Barton early Sunday morning saw someone run up to a nearby car, go into it, then run away – right before the car started burning. Engine 37 arrived and put out the fire; nobody was hurt, and the witnesses said they didn’t see the arsonist clearly enough to give a description.

TRUCK THEFT: A 1997 Chevrolet AstroVan was reported stolen from California/Admiral sometime late Wednesday night or early Thursday.

CAR THEFTS: A 1987 Nissan Sentra was stolen in the 6900 block of Delridge between noon Friday and 9 pm Saturday … a 1991 Honda Accord was stolen Saturday night or Sunday morning in the 9400 block of 25th SW.

OFFICER SPOTS STOLEN CAR: Last Wednesday afternoon in the 8600 block of Delridge Way, an officer was passed by a black Dodge Durango; he checked its license number and discovered it was stolen. He pulled the 38-year-old driver over and held him at gunpoint until backup arrived.

ANOTHER STOLEN CAR RECOVERED: A 2007 Saab station wagon reported stolen from the 3000 block of 38th SW last Saturday night/Sunday morning was found Sunday afternoon in the 3200 block of 46th SW, less than a mile away.

LIGHTNING MAY NOT STRIKE TWICE, BUT APPARENTLY BEER THIEVES DO: Late Wednesday night, an employee at the Harbor Ave 7-11 called police to say that two men, described only as one white, one Asian/Pacific Islander, “very calmly stole four 18-pack cases of Busch beer” – and, the employee told police, he believes the same two did the same thing the night before at about the same time.

SHOPLIFTING SUSPECT JUMPS FENCES, THEN COMPLAINS OF “HEART ATTACK”: A 20-year-old store security officer from Jefferson Square Safeway told police he chased a shoplifter who left the store with a cart full of items he hadn’t paid for. The 43-year-old suspect reportedly jumped two or three fences before the officer caught up with him and cuffed him at 40th/Alaska, at which time he complained of chest pain. Police arrived after medics did.

THIEF AT THE LIBRARY: Last Saturday afternoon, a man went to Metropolitan Market, bought half a dozen bottles of wine, then walked over to the nearby library to use a computer. He put down the bag and covered it with his coat; after less than an hour, he discovered the bag had been taken as well as his checkbook, a credit card, and a bus pass that had been in his coat. After police took the report, the victim called the bank to report the card stolen, and had been told it already had been used at Admiral Chevron’s mini-mart, the nearby Jack in the Box, and the nearby Bartell Drugs. The police report goes on to list two suspects believed to have been using the cards: a 20-year-old Renton woman and an “unidentified” 16 or 17-year-old boy.

CAR PROWLERS FLEE IN PICKUP: Around 7:20 last Tuesday morning in the 2200 block of 42nd SW, two men were spotted taking something out of a Ford Ranger pickup, and taking off in a beat-up ’80s Mazda pickup “with a handicap tag hanging from the rear-view mirror,” according to the police report. The Ranger’s owner reported an iPod missing from his truck; the only description available for the two suspects is that one was white, 20s, bright-colored shirt.

CAR OWNER HEARS A BREAK-IN HAPPEN: Just after midnight last Wednesday morning in the 6900 block of 36th SW, a woman heard noise outside her house, grabbed a flashlight and went out to investigate. She saw two men near her house and told them police had been called, at which time she says they walked away fast; meantime, she checked out her car, saw that the door was slightly open, the dome light was on, and items from the center console were strewn across the seat, but nothing seemed to have been stolen except about $1.50 in change.

TWO CAR BREAK-INS NEAR SALTY’S: Between midmorning and mid-evening Wednesday, a Mercury Marquis was broken into in the Salty’s lot. Property was taken but isn’t described on the media-cleared police-report copy (except for the $350 total estimated loss). Around the same time that break-in was reported, police also answered a call about an Acura Integra being damaged and broken into in the east lot at Salty’s; damage/loss in that incident is not detailed but was described as totaling more than $19,000.

YET MORE CAR BREAK-INS: One happened in the 9000 block of 15th SW sometime Thursday morning. A 2004 Kia Sedona was broken into, with the stolen items including the victim’s purse and about $10 cash…. Also, early Tuesday morning in the 9000 block of 14th SW, the window of a 1996 Mercedes was smashed, and thieves made off with an iPod, about 100 CDs, and the stereo faceplate … Tuesday morning in the 9200 block of 11th SW, a 2009 Toyota Corolla was broken into, and a leaf blower taken … Then Tuesday night, also in the 9200 block of 11th SW, a window was smashed on a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, and items were taken … Thursday morning in the 4900 block of SW Dakota, someone smashed a car window and took off with items not listed in the police report; damage and loss are estimated at more than $3,000 .. Friday night or Saturday morning in the 7900 block of 17th SW, a 1997 Chevrolet Venture minivan was broken into.

DOOR KICKER: Last Tuesday morning in the 8600 block of Delridge, someone apparently tried to kick in a door. A resident heard the noise and saw a man walking away – the same suspect is believed to have been seen in the area before, and is described as black, 5-9, 150 pounds, in a black jacket with gold trim on the hood. Police found a dirt footprint on a door and believe that’s the one that was targeted by the kick-in attempt.

TIRE SLASHERS: Just before 5 pm last Tuesday in an alley behind the 4000 block of California, a woman called police to say she had just seen four “black males who appeared to be in their late teens” slash the tires of a parked car and run away. The responding officer confirmed the front and rear tires appeared to have been slashed with a knife, but couldn’t find the people who did it.

PROWLER CONFRONTED: A man living in the 5600 block of 46th SW says he confronted a man he saw peering through his back door around midmorning last Friday. Asked what he was doing, the man said “looking around.” He was gone before police arrived but the report says the suspect matches the description of a “burglar known to frequent the area” – white, clean shaven, dark brown hair, late 20s, at the time wearing dark clothing with two gold chains around his neck.

GARAGE BREAK-IN ATTEMPT: In the 1400 block of Alki Ave, a woman called police to report what appeared to be pry marks from a condo-building door that leads into the building’s garage. Police didn’t find anything obviously wrong in the garage, but the woman said she had heard of other garage burglaries in the area recently and wanted to make sure this attempt was reported.

MAIL THEFT: Sometime late Tuesday morning, mail left in a box for a carrier to pickup was stolen in the 4100 block of 32nd SW.

CAR WINDOW SMASHED: Saturday night or Sunday morning, someone smashed the window of a 1986 Honda Accord parked at Fauntleroy/Trenton.

50 MPH ON CALIFORNIA SW: That’s how fast a suspected drunk driver was believed to have been going before police stopped him at California/Lander early Sunday. He admitted he had been drinking at a Junction bar but said he had only had two drinks. The breath test showed levels at .19 and .18.