West Seattle Crime Watch: Reader reports thwarted theft

| Crime | West Seattle news

From Kim, who suggests others be on the lookout for a would-be thief spotted late this morning:

Just thought I would pass along that my husband, a friend and I just caught and stopped a bike theft. We noticed this guy walking through our side yard (there’s no fence but still odd for people to walk through our yard) at around 11AM. He was walking very slowly and even paused when we caught each other’s gaze through my window. I walked outside and caught him grabbing my neighbors old bike from under a pile of other items. When I yelled to him that those items were not his, he didn’t even jump. He just stood up and walked out of the yard slowly and even had to pass me to get out of the yard. Very strange and totally brazen considering it was midday on a weekend. Thankfully I had my husband and his friend here to run outside and make sure he didn’t try to come back. This guy was African American, late teens to early 20’s, wearing a black jacket with a white hoody layered underneath, black jeans and a ball cap. He left walking south on California Ave. We live on the 2100 block of California. Keep a lookout for this guy, he was obviously not scared of getting caught and may try this in someone else’s yard.

Todd Anderson December 23, 2012 (2:18 pm)

I was walking yesterday along Harbor Ave and California Pl. at the small pier there that juts into the Sound….I looked over the concrete barrier and there was a very valuable looking bike that appeared to be stashed there. I went by this morning and there was a different valuable looking bike dissembled in the same spot. Obviously thieves are stashing their stolen bikes there until later. All efforts to inform the police via phone call and online failed…….I give up.

Sarah December 23, 2012 (3:40 pm)

I believe I deterred a bike theft yesterday in a very similar situation. I heard the neighborhood dogs barking more than normal. When I looked outside I saw three mid to late teen boys, two African American and one Asian, coming down the street, looking in each yard as they passed the houses. One was on a bike. Although neighbors were outside and a Comcast tech was up on a ladder working on a line, they went into my neighbor’s yard. I went outside and asked them what they were doing. They said they were getting their friend’s bike which had a flat tire. I’ve never seen them on our street before and they yard they went into belongs to a disabled woman who lives alone. The bike they were looking at belonged to her daughter, who is out of high school and doesn’t live at home anymore. When I went back inside, I watched them run/ride down the street. The Asian boy had his hoody pulled up over his face.

Kim December 23, 2012 (8:41 pm)

It’s sad that this kind of thing happens around the holidays. It just surprised me that this guy was not even scared to look me straight in the face when I called him out and he was doing this in broad daylight. Hopefully he knows I have some big guys around the house so he won’t be trying anything like that again. I guess maybe it’s time to consider putting up a fence and blocking off that grassy area.

Batman December 24, 2012 (1:57 pm)

Hi Todd- Did you try this number? This was the reply I received when trying to report a non-emergency situation online. Hope this helps.

Please contact our 911 Non-Emergency unit at (206) 625-5011 and press 2 at the first automated system and 8 at the second automated system. You will be connected to a dispatcher who can take a report.

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