By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:

*On Tuesday afternoon in a Junction-area alley, an alert officer spotted a man that he knew was wanted on a $10,000 warrant for driving under the influence. Upon arrest, a records check showed that he was wanted on a second $10,000 warrant for failure to appear on an assault charge. The West Seattle resident was booked into King County Jail.

*A citizen reported that a man was walking near 16th and SW Orchard with his pants down. Officers found the suspect near Delridge and Orchard, trance-like and unresponsive to verbal commands. He was transported to Harborview for an involuntary commitment. He is already well-known to area officers as a prolific residential burglar.

*At 12th and Cloverdale, a mom and 13-year-old son went out to their car early Monday and discovered a man crouched by the passenger side door with a lit blow torch in his hands. The passenger window had been heated up and partially melted. The man walked away, into a nearby yard. As the pair drove off, the damaged window shattered all over the boy. Officers found the suspect at a nearby home and booked him into King County Jail for investigation of property damage. (The previous week, the same car’s rear window had been shattered under suspicious circumstances.)

*When he pulled out of a Harbor Island-area parking lot without his lights on late Friday night, a driver was in the direct sights of an officer waiting at a traffic signal. The officer followed and was forced to use lights, siren, and a spotlight to catch the driver’s attention. But the car finally came to a stop…right in the middle of the lane. The driver smelled strongly of intoxicants and his mood shifted rapidly, from asking, “What are we doing here?” to calling the officer several unprintable epithets, finishing off with, “You are bald, f(#%ing ugly, and I am pi&%ed.” The SE King County resident (who, as the officer stated, “still had a long way to drive in his condition”) was arrested and released to the custody of his wife, who picked him up at the Southwest Precinct. Because he refused to take the breathalyzer test, he automatically forfeited not only his personal driver’s license but his license as a commercial truck driver.

*An officer witnessed a bumper-car extravaganza on Friday, Dec 2nd, around 8 p.m., in the 2400 block of SW Holden. An approaching car swerved to the right, collided with a parked vehicle, sideswiped two others, careened into a fourth, and finally came to a stop after colliding with a fifth. The driver (who has a history of DUI incidents) smelled of intoxicants and admitted to drinking three vodka and cranberrys, but thought he was OK to drive. He was taken to Harborview for treatment and will be investigated for DUI and negligent driving.

*In the 5600 block of Fauntleroy Way SW late Monday, a man came home intoxicated and noisy, and when his ill girlfriend asked him to tone it down, he “flipped out” and began kicking the wall. She locked him outside, but he kicked at the front door until she opened it. He threw a plate to the floor, and he grabbed the keys from her hand. She locked herself and their child in the bedroom, but he kicked in the door and shoved her into a nightstand. Someone heard the ruckus and called 911. The woman was given domestic-violence information. The man was booked into King County Jail for investigation of domestic-violence assault.

*An employee of a West Marginal Way company reported seeing a vehicle “peel out” of the company parking lot on Friday, Dec. 2, with a long cable hanging out the rear driver’s side door. The car was a forest green 1990s four-door sedan, possibly a Nissan Maxima. The cable—which is used to connect barges to power on shore—was black, 300 feet long, and approximately 1 3/8 inches thick. Its value: $7,500.

*On Monday, around 2:30 p.m., in the 6400 block of Sylvan Way, a 14-year-old boy was attacked by three others who got off the school bus at his stop. They hit him with their hands and feet, knocked him to the ground, and stomped and jumped on his head and upper body. A citizen intervened and the suspects fled the area. The victim doesn’t know why he was targeted. The suspects are three black male teens wearing Northface-brand coats (two black and one black and red).

*In the 9200 block of 15th last Sunday evening, a man approached woman with children and asked for money. She refused and he became upset and argumentative. She ushered her kids into a nearby home but continued to interact with the man. He became more hostile; she called 911. The call-taker heard a male voice say, “I’m going to go get a gun.” He left on foot. The suspect is white, 30-49, 5’11” 200 pounds. He had blond or strawberry hair in a tight/high fade style and wore and black or blue sweater and khaki pants.

*On Monday afternoon, officers spotted a man urinating on the sidewalk in the 7000 block of Delridge way. He was compliant, but a search turned up two fixed blade knives, one in each rear pants pocket. The knives were confiscated and the man was booked into King County Jail for investigation of unlawful use of a weapon.

*Officers were dispatched to a domestic disturbance near Alki on Thursday afternoon. Though the argument had been limited to verbal jabs, the female half of the pair met officers with her hands behind her back and asked to be taken to jail. When asked why, she replied, “I just want to get some sleep.” The officer explained that she couldn’t be arrested for no reason and added that the county jail was not the best place for a nap.

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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 = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.