West Seattle Crime Watch: Pizza burglary attempt; metal-theft try

From the WSB inbox, two West Seattle Crime Watch reports from incidents apparently thwarted today along separate sections of 35th SW – first, a burglary attempt at Red Star Pizza; second, a metal theft attempt – read on for both:

From Michael at Red Star Pizza (on 35th SW in Sunrise Heights)

Around 10 am this morning we got an call alerting us to a possible break in, by the time we arrived less than 5 minutes later the police where already there and had thankfully secured our store.

Upon reviewing our neighbors and our own security tapes, we were able to give a good description of the burglar to the officers. The suspect is being described as an 20-40 year old male wearing dark colored jeans w/pointed toe cowboy boots and light colored jacket. He most likely was scared off by the sound of the alarm and the appearance of an random passer-by before getting anything of true value. He was last seen fleeing in a south-west direction from the store. On our tapes he is seen as possibly using a specialized window-breaking burglar tool. This is leading us to believe this is not his first attempt at burglary and most likely already has a criminal history.

We are a small family owned and operated restaurant, therefore we run a very slim profit margin in order to be able to offer the high level of quality at the low prices we do to all our neighbors here in West Seattle. Even though our good friends at White Center Glass cut us a great deal on it, the window replacement definitely set us back so we want this person caught an held accountable for the damages at least. Therefore, Red Star Pizza is offering a 500 dollar cash reward for information leading to this person’s arrest.

Please help us catch this criminal before he strikes again. Please call the store at 206-923-0555 if you have any information that can help.

Second, from Patrick:

Just after 1 PM today, my neighbor called me to tell me that he had seen two men in a white Chevy van (license plate A5919–) taking items from my back yard off of the north area of 35th Ave SW.

He told them to put back the items and they left. They told him that they knocked on my door. (apparently that makes it OK to steal) I have lost quite a bit to scrappers/thieves over the years and this is the first time they have been caught. I called in to report the attempted theft to the non emergency number and the police asked me to call back after 3 PM to give them the information.

13 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Pizza burglary attempt; metal-theft try"

  • marty June 18, 2010 (5:36 pm)

    Call back after 3 PM? I guess the time you called must not have been convenient for them.

  • Patrick June 18, 2010 (5:53 pm)

    I called back after 3. This time they told me that I would have to go back to my house and wait for an un specified amount of time…. Just to give them the plate numbers. Last time we did that for a car break in, they never showed up. We had to call them again the next day. I understand that they are busy, but I kind of get the feeling that the police do not want us to report crimes.

  • JumboJim June 18, 2010 (9:38 pm)

    Glad to hear the Red Star people weren’t hurt too badly by the break-in. We’ve found them to be very nice on our several visits so far and quite surprised by the quality of the pizza! They may not have the rep of some other pizzerias yet, but if I can have anything to do with spreading the word they will eventually.

    Good luck catching the low-life scum who tried to break in.

  • Give it up mcginn June 18, 2010 (9:38 pm)

    It is important to report it, I know it sucks but please get the info to them

  • Concerned June 18, 2010 (10:22 pm)

    again with the delays to report … no answering the phones … telling us to call back later …NOT responding at all … maybe we can tell the guy with the gun to our heads to come back later! The cops aren’t available! SCARY!

    Glad they responded to Red Star! I haven’t been there yet, but I just noticed it the other day! I will use their business!

  • REDSTARROX June 19, 2010 (3:09 am)

    I HOPE THEY CATCH THE RED STAR BURGLARS..that place rox and anything setting them back is setting the community back..

  • george June 19, 2010 (8:50 am)

    Red Star does rock! If you haven’t already, give them a try. They make affordable pizza good again (sorry Zekes, sorry Pagliacci, but good pizza doesn’t have to be priced like an entry!)

  • gtothen June 19, 2010 (10:15 am)

    Who buys this scrap metal & can’t there be more regulation around it? Are they at least required to show ID?

  • Tim June 19, 2010 (10:53 am)

    Yep, red star is awesome, so glad no one was hurt.

  • Jay June 19, 2010 (11:43 am)

    The cops are just too busy busting jaywalkers to trouble themselves with real crime.

  • Concerned June 19, 2010 (1:01 pm)

    I don’t like to bash the police … I know there are plenty of good “cops” (my son is one, but not in this state) … but it’s sad when you can’t get a response … I don’t call the police for fun … I call when I feel there is a treat to me, my family, a citizen, or my neighborhood … AND I’m tired of being told by a recording to call back later!(OMG!) or getting through to the 911 and getting no response! Happens too often! and not just to me!

  • HolyKow June 21, 2010 (10:31 am)

    If you call the non-emergency line for the police, then you should not expect a response within the hour. That being said, you should expect a call back within 24 hours and have a more reasonable window for a cop to show up than you get from the Cable Guy….

    However, with budget cuts abound, not hiring new cops, and other issues in our area (especially west seattle these days…), this is just another tangible effect of the time in which we live.

    Be safe, be ready.

    hk

  • 3dogslater June 21, 2010 (3:40 pm)

    I love Red Star Pizza! This is sad news…The owners are hard working good folks who really do go the extra mile to give you quality ingredients at a low price. I hope they catch this guy before he hits another local good biz. Hang in there Red Star. Maybe you can run a special and part proceeds will go to your repairs. Call it the “Broken Window thief re-coop special” I will order one to help pay for the window!
    KB

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