West Seattle Crime Watch: Gatewood shots? Plus, street robbery

Two West Seattle Crime Watch cases tonight – and three reader reports from earlier. First, we have information now from police regarding the reason for a search around the Fairmount Park and Triangle areas – a street robbery in the 4700 block of 40th SW (map) around 8:30 pm. According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, the victim said he was confronted by a white man in his 20s wearing a gray hoodie and demanding money. “The suspect struck the victim on his head with an object that the victim described as a handgun, took some cash, then ran off. Patrol officers and a K-9 unit checked the area but were unable to locate the suspect. The victim did not require any medical attention.”

A few hours later, 911 received multiple calls – and we received a note – about possible gunshots heard in the Gatewood/south Morgan Junction area; our note was from someone near Gatewood Elementary. We have not yet heard if there was any confirmation of gunfire, such as casings or property damage; we’ll check again later.

Ahead, three Crime Watch reader reports, two with photos – a stolen bike to look for; a car-prowling MO to watch out for; and another garage break-in:

First:

My bike was stolen this weekend, sometime after 9:30 pm on Saturday and 9:30 am Sunday. It was locked securely to a wall bike mount in my apartment building’s parking area. The bike was not visible from the street but we’ve had a couple of car break-ins the past month and I’m sure they saw it. The bike had a very thick, secure lock but they were able to cut through it. I’d love to get it back and am willing to pay if someone finds it — a hybrid Schwinn woman’s bike that I bought used and they likely won’t get more than $50 for it on the street.

I’m attaching a photo of it; the bike no longer has the mirror and has a basket mount on it for the front (although the basket was not on the bike). It also had a small white light attached that could “strobe” or be constant. Again, it’s not anything that will yield a lot of money but it was very much valued by me!

From an anonymous resident who just wanted local residents to be alert:

We live on 35th Ave SW (north of The Triangle, south of Admiral). One of our vehicles that we park on the street in front of our house was broken into around mid-November. A little more than $6,000 worth of items were stolen from the vehicle. The thief used a screwdriver to break off the lock (see attached photo):

One week ago, the same vehicle was targeted the same way—they broke off the lock. Then again last night we found that the alarm had been triggered, but the lock had not been broken. Each time, this has occurred while we were asleep (otherwise we would hear the alarm) on Sunday night. Also, I don’t really think it is related, but less than a month ago, our next-door neighbor’s house was burglarized during the middle of the day (I believe it was a Saturday).

And another Avalon Way condo-garage break-in. From Joe:

Luna Court Condos on Avalon Way was hit again early on March 8th. This time the P1 garage was broken into and 4-6 bikes were taken. The intruder pushed out a screen panel in the garage door and was able to get into a space about 9 inches tall. Once in the garage he went right to the bike rack and helped himself. Seattle Police were furnished a copy of security camera footage from two different cameras. The intruder looks like the same person that broke into the P2 garage on February 15th.

We’re one week away from the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19th (7 pm, Southwest Precinct) – while you are welcome to bring any crime concern, and find out about the latest local trends, the special guest and topic at the meeting will be graffiti vandalism. What to do about it, how to report it, what’s the difference between gang tagging and non-gang graffiti – that’s just some of what might come up. All welcome.

17 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Gatewood shots? Plus, street robbery"

  • E March 12, 2013 (6:51 am)

    I reported graffiti on the fire hydrant near my home ages ago and they’ve done nothing. Obviously graffiti is not a real priority.

  • datamuse March 12, 2013 (7:22 am)

    E, who did you report it to? Seattle Public Utilities will come out and remove it from public property if you call their graffiti hotline. I called in a light pole near Westcrest and they came and painted it over.

  • g March 12, 2013 (7:22 am)

    I heard the ‘shots’. I’m not sure if they were gunshots, but they definitely could have been. Based on the sound, I would guess the point of origin was west of California, around Fauntleroy/Graham. That’s a guess.

  • RS March 12, 2013 (7:47 am)

    A street robbery at 8:30 in a busy spot? Eek…

  • wetone March 12, 2013 (8:39 am)

    “a street robbery in the 4700 block of 40th SW” seems there has been a few problems in this area recently. Hopefully they catch perps before somebody gets hurt worse. A lot going in west seattle for being a low crime area.

  • Norma March 12, 2013 (10:18 am)

    It feels to me like crime is up in W.S. or is it just that we’re better informed by WSB and SPD. Our property insurance has sure jumped and it’s not based on a jump in property value. I still think we have one of the best neighborhoods in Seattle though! At least we try to watch out for each other and how about those people who were out cleaning up litter and junk last weekend?

  • brian March 12, 2013 (11:47 am)

    If someone breaks into your car and steals $6,000 worth of items then you should seriously reconsider where you’re storing your valuables.

  • LC March 12, 2013 (1:30 pm)

    I definitely heard 5 shots in a row last night sometime around 11:30-ish. We’re at Willow and California. It didn’t sound too far off, but maybe a few block down Fauntleroy.

  • E March 12, 2013 (2:45 pm)

    Yes I reported it on the SPU graffiti “hotline”. I spent quite a long time navigating their automated system and then left a message with all the information they required.

  • onceachef March 12, 2013 (3:45 pm)

    The car theft sounds as if you were targeted (or are being targeted)…by someone who knows you have expensive equipment in your car? As brian stated above, your car is obviously NOT where you want to store whatever it is they’re stealing. Either that or sleep in your car!

  • Dan March 12, 2013 (5:45 pm)

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who heard the shots. I called the police but I hesitated at first. I would encourage everyone if you ear something, call it in!!! It sounded like small caliber gun fire and it was five rapid shots. Lets keep our eyes and ears open and keep WS as safe as possible!!!

  • Christopher March 13, 2013 (11:46 am)

    re. the hydrant w/ graffiti on it:
    A can of spray paint is a dollar. (use primer) Be a good citizen and take care of it yourself instead of relying on overextended government resources and then whining about it. Take pictures of it first.

  • joel March 13, 2013 (8:31 pm)

    re hydrant….let the city do it. you are already paying tax dollars for these resources….no need to spend more of your money.

    last I checked the cheapest can of spray paint was $4, not $1

    keep calling the hotline. you are not whining….

  • oz March 13, 2013 (11:01 pm)

    actually you can find cheap spray paint joel the resources are over extended because of the amount of tagging going on everywhere come on it takes a minute.

  • phil dirt March 14, 2013 (8:33 am)

    If you get caught spray painting over a tagged hydrant, you’ll probably get arrested for defacing public property.

  • cinder March 14, 2013 (12:53 pm)

    Was the bike stolen near Avalon,Saturday nite around 10:15 I was driving home from work and seen a person pushing to white bikes down Andover,just off of Avalon,Twas a male with dred locks half way down his back.

  • DbCoop March 19, 2013 (2:54 pm)

    Phil Dirt is correct, thinking of it as taking the law into your own hands, the city hates it.

    Our block in Seaview has been tagged recently, cement walls, fire hyrdrants, tele-poles, street signs, garbage cans, etc. I wonder what the jolly is for these idiots? You want to claim my garbage can by tagging it? Go ahead but you better start paying the high utility bills that go along with the ownership!

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