By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” We skipped a roundup in mid-December, so there are several incidents from that time toward the end:

*On December 27th, officers were dispatched to a North Admiral apartment where an elderly man who needs a wheelchair had been beaten all over his body by his adult son. Dad also had a severe contusion over his left eye and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Son had fled the scene before officers arrived.

*On the 28th, on Marine Ave. SW, a man saw a stranger in a neighbor’s car. He pulled the man out (the suspect’s three friends scattered) and held him while he called 911. Before officers arrived, the friends returned. One punched the victim in the chin, causing him to let go of the suspect. The suspects were described as four thin white males, about 17-18 years of age, wearing all dark clothing.

*On the afternoon of the 30th, a car broke down on the lower West Seattle Bridge. The driver pushed it clear (though the vehicle was sparking and smoking) and then walked away, dropping a small handgun in a construction tool belt nearby. A bit later (after officers found a stun gun in a holster in the vehicle), a woman (claiming to be the driver’s girlfriend) and another man arrived. She gave officers the boyfriend’s name, but she was evasive and nervous. A records check showed that her boyfriend was a convicted felon (prohibited from having a gun) and was wanted on two warrants. The car was left at the scene and the weapons taken as evidence. The gun had a magazine loaded with five .22 caliber rounds.

*A dog walker called 911 after finding a shotgun in a wooded part of Me-Kwa-Mooks park on the 28th. An officer confiscated the firearm.

11 more summaries ahead:

*Having noticed an increase in the neighborhood rodent population, a woman in the 5900 block of 42nd SW is upset with a stranger who feeds cats near her garage. On the 30th, she confronted him, but he was insistent in his mission. When she tried to clean up the food, the man pushed her. Feeling threatened, she called 911. Officers suggested she not confront the man again (since, they noted, it seems he has mental issues and might be unpredictable) but encouraged her to call police if he shows up again. The suspect was described as a white male in his 60s with thin build, dark clothing, and long gray messy hair showing from beneath a red knitted cap. He is also missing several teeth.

*On the afternoon of the 27th, a young woman was out for a run near 27th and SW Kenyon. She saw a man standing mid-block in front of a beige sedan, with his pants pulled halfway down, penis exposed, masturbating. She turned around and ran back home, and her mother called police. The suspect was described as an Asian male in his early to mid twenties, 5’5, medium build. He wore a blue and white ski cap, dark shirt and khaki pants.

*An officer’s report documents a dispute between cousins in the 8100 block of Delridge Way on January 1st. Amid broken glass and blood spatter, the officer discovered additional evidence: “I spotted….a large piece of female hair on the ground. Suspect X claimed ownership of it.”

*Mid morning on December 28th a citizen reported a suspicious vehicle in the 3800 block of 19th SW. The woman inside the white, 1980 Chevrolet El Camino claimed she was looking for a lost cat, but the citizen suspected that the woman and two male companions were casing the area. Though the car was gone when officers arrived, the report noted that it is registered to a man known to associate with “questionable characters” in the area.

*On the afternoon of the 30th, in the 9400 block of 20th SW, a young man experiencing what mom and neighbors call increasingly confrontational episodes, stood outside throwing things into the street. Though he has never been officially diagnosed with mental illness, mom told officers that he has been copying down license plates in the neighborhood recently and claiming that the government was out to get him. The young man was irrational and erratic with officers and said he wanted his lawyer from London. He was transported to Highline Hospital for a mental evaluation.

*A citizen reports that he lost his locker key while working out at the Junction YMCA. When he got a spare from management and opened the locker, his wallet and cell phone were missing.

*At an Arbor Heights boarding house, a resident called 911 to say that she was trying to watch a football game, but her “mental” neighboring tenant was playing loud music and singing to God. (“Off key!” she added.) Saying his voice was “horrid,” she had gone to his door and told him to shut up. The complainant has lived in the home for two months. The singer for three years. Officers promised to document the incident in case of future troubles.

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Below: Several incidents that, as noted in this roundup’s introduction, had been in queue since mid-December:

*Around 5 p.m. on the 17th, near Delridge and SW Trenton, a woman was checking the bus schedule on her iPhone when a man stopped and asked if she had change for a $20. She said no. He walked away but returned a few minutes later yelling, “I have an emergency. I need your phone!” as well as “I’ll hurt you if you don’t give it to me!” The man grabbed the phone and ran east on Trenton and north down an alley.

*On the 12th, sometime between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., someone broke into a home in the 5200 block of 40th SW. In addition to jewelry, the burglar got away with an AR-15 assault rifle with sling, scope, 10-15 rounds of ammunition, as well as four 30-round magazines.

*Twice in one week, adult sons with drug dependency issues caused problems for their families. In an Arbor Heights home, one broke into mom’s residence while she was out of town. Nothing seemed to be missing, but it turned out that he had stolen items from his grandmother earlier in the day. And near the Alaska Junction, another young man grabbed his mom’s wallet and stole $200. When she objected, he threatened to hit her with a glass container.

*Westwood-area parents called 911 on the 15th after their 18-year-old son came into their bedroom while they were asleep, wrapped his hands around his mom’s neck, and claimed that she was evil and no longer his mother. After a minute he let go, said, “I love you, mom and dad.” and then left the residence for points unknown. The parents suspect he is suffering from mental illness but have not yet had him evaluated. Officers suggested they expedite that process.

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EDITOR’S NOTES: Remember, the CRISIS CLINIC hotline is a resource for those in crisis, including thoughts or acts of self-harm, or trying to find help for someone in crisis: 206.461.3222 … Previous WSBeat roundups are archived here. We also publish crime reports when we get tips or otherwise hear about noteworthy incidents – they don’t all turn up on the scanner, so please don’t be shy about letting us know when you see/hear something happening = calling or texting 206-293-6302 is the best way.