By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:

*Around 6:30 Friday night, a man entered a Junction business, grabbed a purse from a display, tucked it under his jacket and ran down the street. An employee gave chase, yelling at the suspect and finally catching him near California and Alaska. She was able to grab the purse back while the man kept traveling southbound. He was white, aged 30-49, approximately 5’8” and 140 pounds. Several teeth were missing; he wore a black t-shirt, and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

*After visiting Alki a couple of weeks ago, a Kent resident packed up his beach gear and headed for home. One piece of gear inadvertently left behind was his gun: He assumes it fell from the edge of the truck bed where he had absentmindedly placed it.

10 more summaries (including a string of business break-ins, and the saga of how a dog helped a man get home) ahead:

*Several crimes targeting businesses, though police are not yet saying if they seem to be related: Overnight between Monday and Tuesday, someone threw a rock through the window of a Junction-area veterinary office, stole $5 from a drawer and several bottles of drugs. … Early Saturday, someone targeted another vet’s office in the area, this time with a brick through the front door. Nothing seems to have stolen. … In the 3700 block of California overnight on Friday/Saturday, someone shot a BB or pellet through the front window of a business. In the Morgan Junction early Saturday, someone threw a rock through a glass door of a business and stole a custom bicycle. … Early Tuesday, a citizen called 911 to report an open/broken door on a business in the 8800 block of 9th SW. Officers discovered that a metal padlock had been cut, the inner door glass had been broken and found the cigarette display case in disarray, with a pile of cigarettes at the door. … Overnight Saturday, someone shattered the glass door of a business in the 9400 block of Delridge Way and stole some money from a cash register, totaling about $25. And around 4 a.m. Sunday, in the 9400 block of 16th, someone broke into a business, filled a bag with cigarettes, and left. The video provided to officers might prove helpful in this case.

*A local woman has received many harassing phone calls from a man claiming to be some sort of collections agent. (The suspect uses the name “Officer Calvin Smith.) He insists that she owes nearly $400 and that she should pay it via credit card over the phone or he will come to her place of employment to collect it. She told him to contact her lawyer. The man has her Social Security number and other personal data. Apparently the man has scammed other people using this method. An officer advised the victim to alert her credit bureau, warned her about online predators, and reminded her to not give out private data. (This type of scam is detailed here.)

*Friday around 11 a.m., at a bus stop near Delridge and Juneau, a man sat down, reached over, and grabbed a gold chain from another man’s neck. The victim and witnesses gave chase, but the suspect got away.

*Apparently unhappy about being back at a mental health facility after a court date, a patient took off running westbound on SW Holden on Thursday around 2 p.m.

*A routine check of a license plate at 17th and Trenton showed that the driver was not only driving with a suspended license, but he was wanted on a $5,000 DUI warrant from Seattle Municipal Court and a $1,000 Seattle/King County Sheriff’s Office warrant for malicious mischief. The Burien resident was booked into King County Jail.

*After an evening of drinking and gambling, a woman passed out in a car in the 9200 block of 35th early Friday. When she woke up she became suspicious of her friend, considering that he was holding a ring that had been on her finger. (She was also was missing $440 of casino winnings that she had tucked into her bra.) She demanded that she be allowed to search both him and the car but had no luck finding the bills. She suspects that her friend hid them when he went to some nearby bushes to tend to his, uh, toilette.

*Around 8:30 last Thursday evening, a car pulled alongside a young man who was walking in the area of 10th S. and Donovan. A passenger pointed a sawed-off shotgun out the window at the victim. The suspects rode in a white four-door Honda Civic or Accord with a spare tire on the right rear wheel.

*Several people reported seeing strangers (one with a half-full pillowcase) around a home in the 9200 block of Fauntleroy Way on Saturday afternoon. As it turns out, someone had broken into the home, stealing a necklace with a purple stone and leaving a pry bar behind on the bed. The suspect carrying the pillowcase was a white man in his early 20s, 5’8, with a thick build, blue jeans, dark hair and a short beard. The second suspect was a white man in his 20s, 5’9, with a thin build, clean shaven, and with short brown hair. He might answer to the name of “Mike.” One was seen leaving in an older hatchback similar to a Ford Horizon.

*Early Monday, in the 5000 block of Fauntleroy Way, two brothers (ages 34 and 37) got into a fight over household chores. As the officer arrived, he saw one brother (with a bloody head wound) rushing toward the other with a baseball bat. An investigation found that the unarmed brother (who made the 911 call) was found to be the original aggressor. He was booked into King County Jail for investigation of nonaggravated domestic violence assault.

*An officer responded to the 5900 block of 18th SW early Thursday to what was reported as a possible burglary. It turned out to be a friendly scuffle between intoxicated friends. One combatant — a guest in the home — decided to leave but was so drunk that he couldn’t remember his name or address. Luckily he was accompanied by his dog, whose collar contained helpful information. Man and dog were escorted home by officers.

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WSB Editor’s Note: The WSBeat has an archive category of its own. 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 something happening.