West Seattle Crime Watch: Wheels of misfortune

| Crime | West Seattle news

We’ve seen it before – and sadly we’ll likely see it again. Mariko just e-mailed to share the news of how she woke up to a car without wheels, in the 5900 block of 34th SW (map):

Just thought I would let you know that we awoke last Wednesday morning to find all 4 of my car tires stolen and my car on jacks. My neighbor reported seeing 4 Caucasian males leaning over my car with 2 vehicles blocking the street at 3 am… The police said it was really common for these people to cruise the streets looking for parts. It was pretty brazen to jack the car up on the street and steal the tires.

Just thought I would pass that along. Thankfully I have the club and they didn’t steal the whole car.

Concerned about crime, even if you’ve been personally spared? Tomorrow night’s your next chance to voice your concerns, hear about trends, and talk directly with local police, as the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets @ 7 pm Tuesday, Southwest Precinct.

Sue June 15, 2009 (1:43 pm)

This happened many years ago to a friend of mine in NYC – she didn’t realize it had happened until she got into the car and started to drive – that must’ve been a rude awakening! I’m so sorry it happened to you though. We bought the wheel lock option on our car, although I know it’s not foolproof – if they want them, they’ll get them, but hopefully, like our Club, it’ll deter most of them.

MargL June 15, 2009 (1:55 pm)

If you see something like this happening outside at 3AM is it better to just quietly call 911 or shout out the window “WHAT are you doing to my neighbors car!?!”

bridge to somewhere June 15, 2009 (1:56 pm)

broken record time: it’s a shame Mariko’s neighbor didn’t call the police. in my experience the police respond extremely quickly when they think a crime like that is in progress; when i called-in a car break-in at 2am there were two squad cars there in under a minute, and the second they got there and didn’t see the criminals they instantly fanned-out with searchlights a-blazin’.
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given the size of west seattle, the frequency of wheel-theft crimes, and the number of suspects in this case, i susspect catching these guys in the act would likely have put a HUGE bite into the number of these stolen wheel crimes we see on WSB.

bridge to somewhere June 15, 2009 (1:57 pm)

MargL — get their descriptions (especially license number and car make) and call 911.

tip? June 15, 2009 (2:37 pm)

last week I saw a caucasian male selling car parts out of his car on Alki – he was parked behind Tiffany’s in their spot. He opened his trunk (Gold Acura TL – I have the plate) and showed the kid his stuff – the kid picked the front plates of a car (blue) and money was exchanged and the kid put the parts in his car and left. And the caucasian male quickly left and went around the corner (towards Starbucks). He was blonde. Although I have no proof the parts were stolen. He could have owned them – my gut said no. I have plates from both people though because I couldn’t get the picture of the completely stripped Honda on WSB off my mind. I did not report to police because the guys were gone by the time I could and they couldn’t search the trunk anyway on heresay.

simpson June 15, 2009 (2:43 pm)

I hope that everyone is especially carefull these days…stay alert and don’t leave anything to valuable lying around outside your house. In some cases like this you can’t always stop the guys but just make sure you always lock your car and house. People are getting desperate and anyone can be a victim. Take care everyone.

DM June 15, 2009 (2:56 pm)

I agree with part of what MargL said. Always call 911 if you see something suspicious. Do that first. And then get a license plate number or car description if you can. But I would discourage shouting out, ESPECIALLY if you’ve already called the police. That would alert the thieves and they would most likely take off before the police can arrive. Also, shouting could put you in harms way.

MB June 15, 2009 (3:30 pm)

I am shocked the neighbor didn’t call police, why on earth would anyone not call???…so sad.

Leroniusmonkfish June 16, 2009 (3:56 am)

Did someone forget the phone number to 911 again?

chris June 16, 2009 (9:42 am)

ohhh. I thought marge said Shoot out the window.

Sharon June 17, 2009 (1:50 pm)

I had a van stolen when I lived right on California Ave. I only had the van for one day and poof, I came home from work on night shift to find it gone. The police had been alerted by a bunch of neighbors where the culprits had driven my van, another van and a Jeep that also were stolen that night. All the vehicles were crashed into someone’s rockery awakening the neighbors some blocks away. The police told me that they knew the “gang” who was behind this and other stolen vehicles crimes but they “could not do anything about it” since they were juveniles. The police said they were understaffed in their office and that since my insurance was going to pay that I should not be upset! I supplied them with alot of forensic evidence left behind befor the van was parted out and junked but they were not interested. It was a terrible experience, not only losing the van but with the police and insurance company. Sorry that it is still happening and you had to go through it!

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