By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:

*A mystery surrounds a green Ford pickup truck and its driver, seen doing off-roading-style maneuvers in the mud, kicking up dirt and grass and driving through private yards in the 2400 block of SW Juneau on Monday around noon. Alarmed when the driver suddenly stopped alongside the yard of a child-care center and smiled, the caregiver hustled the children away from the area. They were unhurt, and the truck left the area “without further incident.” Here’s the mystery: The truck had a “Seattle City Parks” placard on its side. A parks supervisor told officers that no employees were working in the area at that time, no trucks in the parking lot had mud splatter, and that the partial license plate reported did not match any Parks Department vehicle. The driver was a white man, age 22-29.

Six more summaries ahead:

*Just after midnight Saturday, several young men heard an altercation and came to the aid of a woman who was being assaulted by her boyfriend at 16th and SW Holden. According to the police report, the boyfriend had dragged the victim across the street by her ponytail, choked her until she couldn’t breathe, and threatened to kill her. Punches were thrown between the suspect and the Good Samaritans. When officers arrived, the suspect claimed to be hurt. He was taken to Harborview under guard and will face investigation of felony domestic violence assault and felony harassment.

*Angered when his nephews refused his orders to leave the High Point Community Center on Friday, an 18-year-old began struggling and using choke holds on them. Hearing the youngsters’ screams, an employee told the man to not yell at the kids. In response, the suspect turned his anger on the woman, chest butting her and yelling epithets. The woman pushed him away, but he followed, calling her names. A second employee told the suspect to “chill out” and got punched multiple times for his efforts. He also got hit in the head with a telephone receiver by the mother of the two kids who came into the center to see what was going on. The family left, with the 18-year-old threatening to come back and shoot someone. He was later arrested (after initially lying about his identity) and booked into King County Jail for investigation of two counts of domestic violence assault, false reporting, assault and harassment and a second instance of assault. Officers recommended that the kids’ mother face charges of assault. She has been told not to return to the center.

*It took just three minutes for a court-appointed attorney to end a call with a belligerent DUI suspect who had been taken to the Southwest Precinct early Monday. The 53-year-old Kenmore resident had already worn out her welcome with the arresting officers, who had noticed her driving erratically on Delridge, near Myrtle. She finally came to a stop at 18th and Holden after making a series of illegal turns and fishtailing all over the roadway. Her eyes were watery and bloodshot and officers could smell burning marijuana in the vehicle. She had also urinated all over herself. Swearing and full of crude epithets, she was detained in a holding cell while officers checked her record. Driving with a suspended Oregon license, she had been arrested for DUI in Washington in 1987, 1995 and 1999 and was wanted on a Snohomish County misdemeanor warrant for $1,100 for marijuana possession. She refused a breathalyzer test, but given her record, the officers requested — and were granted — a search warrant for a blood draw (to determine her level of intoxication) at Harborview. She was then booked into King County Jail for the existing warrant and for investigation of DUI, reckless driving, and driving with a suspended license.

*Dispatched to the Youngstown area for a disturbance around 4 a.m. Tuesday, an officer found a woman being chased down SW Genesee by a man who was carrying an infant. The two defied an order to stop and ran into an apartment unit, the crying woman repeatedly yelling “We are fine, go away.”The subjects were warned to open the door or it would be kicked in. They refused, and officers made entry, with the man refusing to obey officer orders to “go to the ground.” He was handcuffed and booked into King County Jail for investigation of obstruction. Neither he nor the woman wanted to cooperate or answer any questions.

*Just after midnight Tuesday, a man was standing in the road and yelling near the intersection of Fauntleroy and Hudson. The excitable fellow told officers, “They robbed me and put a gun to my head.” A records check showed he was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant, and he was booked into the King County Jail.

*A one-year-old boy was taken into protective custody after officers responded to a fight disturbance in the 1000 block of S. Cloverdale around noon on Sunday. He and his mother were sleeping — along with her friends — on a couple of blankets on the floor. A bullet hole in the wall was the remnant of a shooting a few days earlier. There was no food in the cupboards or refrigerator, and the child was running barefoot amid the used heroin syringes and razors that covered the floor.

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The WSBeat has an archive category of its own, though we’re still linking the weekly reports on the WSB Crime Watch page, so you can catch it there if you miss it in the main news stream. We also continue to publish crime reports the rest of the week, when we get tips or hear noteworthy incidents via the scanner, so don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear news. Thanks!