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.
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