West Seattle Crime Watch: Casing thwarted; Beach Drive break-in

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Another apparent case of crime prevention via vigilant residents/neighbors. We just heard from one who doesn’t want to be identified but does want to tell the tale of what just happened in his North Admiral neighborhood about an hour ago – read on for that plus a Beach Drive burglary:

First, the suspected casing:

We live on the 1300 block of Sunset Avenue SW between 45th and 46th Avenues SW in North Admiral. On Friday, February 10th at 1:00 PM a young male (approx. late teens / early 20’s, apex. 6′ 1″ tall, 160 Lbs.) wearing a pair of slacks, and a stylish tufted long winter jacket and a Trucker’s- Style baseball cap repeatedly rang our doorbell and knocked firmly on our front door. This continued persistently for approx. 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. The dog was barking incessantly in response to the bell-ringing / knocking.

When I got to the front-door to answer it the person in question had stopped ringing the doorbell / knocking and had quickly vacated our front porch walking briskly southwest down Sunset Avenue SW toward a recent model, light gold colored, four-door Mercedes Benz (Lic. AFV 4—) parked with the engine running two-houses down.

I yelled, “Hey Buddy.” The person in question did not stop, or turn around; but quickened their pace to the waiting Mercedes Benz. The front-passenger-door to the Mercedes Benz swung open and the person in question got into the vehicle which sped off southwest down Sunset Avenue SW.

I immediately called the 911 number for the West Seattle PD, who dispatched 2 patrol cars in the area. In addition, two separate patrol cars did stop by our home to confirm our suspicions that our home / neighborhood was being cased by subjects known to them.

(We don’t publish full license plates except at a vehicle owner’s request, but the partial should be enough for you to know it if you see it.) Second, a break-in on Beach Drive, reported by Block Watch captain Adele:

Sometime between 8:30 am and 2:00 pm yesterday, a home in the 5400 block of Beach Drive was entered while no one was home and laptop and other items were stolen. Police were notified and came to interview neighbors about anything suspicious that had been observed. The neighbors have all been notified to be on alert for cars and people that neighbors do not recognize. If any further information is available, please notify police at SW Precinct.

P.S. If you didn’t make it to the public-safety forum in North Highline – some West Seattleites did – and want to know how it unfolded, here’s our report on White Center Now (including video of the entire hour-long gang briefing/primer).

Dave February 10, 2012 (2:54 pm)

Have had several breakins,etc, in our Top Hat neighborhood, lately. A few days ago, a neighbor confronted a skeazy looking young man on a bike who was slowly cruising up and down our dead end street, looking way too intently @ the houses.
She said he sped off when she began loudly demanding to know what business he had there.

Aman February 10, 2012 (3:10 pm)

I spoke the Seattle Police today who were cruising our West Seattle neighborhood and asked them if it is better to call the general Police Department number or the 911 emergency number regarding “suspicious activity.” They advised, “CALL 911, ALWAYS.”

SB February 10, 2012 (3:16 pm)

It seems strange that someone would try so hard to get into the one house where there was a dog…?

xyz February 10, 2012 (6:42 pm)

In the past month in the Westwood area, I’ve had two instances where someone rang my doorbell, once around 9PM and another just before midnight, my dog barked and by the time I got to the door there was no one around. Looked up and down the street and did not see anyone or any cars. Don’t know if it was a prank or someone casing the area. Our block watch has been notified.

Tom February 10, 2012 (10:50 pm)

My house on Beach Dr was robbed yesterday but with a little effort we tracked down one of the stolen items on Craig’s list. When I met with the seller and confirmed the serial numbers matched the police moved in and nailed him. Pretty nice to see the punk that breaks into your home wind up in handcuffs. It was even nicer that I got to get into his face a little before he was taken away.

Scratch one punk!

KN February 11, 2012 (12:38 am)

@Tom that is awesome. So tired of hearing folks getting invaded this time of year. Nice to hear someone turned the tables on the criminals. Be vigilant, people!

Aman February 11, 2012 (8:22 am)

Tom – Did the criminal fit the description of the perpetrator in the 2/9 W.S. Blog Story “Casing Thwarted” by chance?

“young male (approx. late teens / early 20′s, approx. 6′ 1″ tall, 160 Lbs.) wearing a pair of slacks, and a stylish tufted long winter jacket and a Trucker’s- Style baseball cap.”

Did the vehicle match the description mentioned in the “Casing Thwarted” 2/9 W. S. Blog story by chance?

“recent model, light gold colored, four-door Mercedes Benz (Lic. #: AFV 4 — – – ).”

Glad to hear you caught the criminal and got an item back. Good luck with the remaining items. Thank You!

Lfauntleroy February 11, 2012 (8:50 am)

When our home was burgled two years ago- I straight up asked the police officer if a dog would make a difference? And he said he had been to two other calls that week where the resident’s pit bulls had been poisoned. So, if they have decided on your place and determined that you are not home, dog or no dog those creeps are going in. My neighbors dog was traumatized and locked in a bedroom when they got home to their ransacked home.

Tom February 11, 2012 (9:52 am)

Same age but that’s about it. I have the guys picture on my phone so I’ll see if there is a way to post it on here. He was driving a late model red BMW which was full of stuff like camera bags and computers. They couldn’t get in the car without a warrant but rest assured they will do so early next week.

If others in the area have been robbed maybe it’s a good idea to contact the SW precinct burglary unit and let them know.

WSB February 11, 2012 (9:57 am)

Tom – we don’t publish photos or names of people who haven’t yet been charged, and if this all played out over the past day or so, charges wouldn’t have been filed yet. But we’d be interested in tracking the case through the system if you have the suspect’s name and can e-mail it to us. Otherwise – it is difficult to get names because they’re blacked out on the reports that are made public – but once we have a name, we can follow the documents, hearings, etc., check with prosecutors … TR