By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

This edition of the WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled in the past several weeks by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases 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?” It’s actually two rounds of WSBeat, due to various delays in getting the first one published; we start with the most recent round:

*A 30-year-old Kent resident grabbed a flag from a Fauntleroy area yard, marched through the streets and down to the ferry landing, where she managed to disrupt the 5:00, 5:40, and 6:00 p.m. sailings. She explained that someone was after her and going to kill her. She was arrested for pedestrian interference. A search turned up a packet of meth. She was transported to Harborview for a mental evaluation.

*In other flag news, a Westwood-area resident reports that someone stole a gay-pride flag from her yard on the 25th.

*Magazine sales crews were in the area on the 25th, and several Admiral-area residents experienced some uncomfortable encounters, accusing one man of “verbal aggression.” Officers found both the suspect and his “boss” and notified them that they needed city permits in order to sell door-to-door. The officer also told the salesman that he needed to change his sales skills. (Note that a prominent “No Soliciting” sign is one of your best deterrents to these incidents, according to law enforcement.) One of the sales crew members is also suspected in the theft of mobile phones, an Ipod and a wallet from a home in the Morgan Junction area. She was seen on surveillance video trying to use one of the stolen credit cards at a local grocery. She is a black female, 25-30 years old, and wears a gray hooded jacket and a pink knit beret-style hat. She remains at large.

*A local man contacted officers after his consumer complaint resulted in a series of harassing and threatening e-mails from a north Seattle business. Officers read both sides of the exchange, agreed that the victim’s contact had been polite and had been aimed at bettering the store’s image (i.e., improving customer service). In return, he received profane messages promising further harassment, warned that the suspect had searched the victim’s information on the Internet, knew where he worked (it was a previous job), and was going to try to get him fired. The officers took a report in case of future problems, told the victim to keep copies of all communication, and provided him with an incident number.

*A local man was scammed out of $80 by a young woman — a recent acquaintance — who claimed to be behind on her rent. He offered to help pay and drove her to what she claimed was the “landlady’s home” in the 7700 block of 31st SW. The young woman took the money, saying she was going to a rear door to pay the landlady, but never reappeared.

*Officers responded to a disturbance call in the 5000 block of Fauntleroy Way on the 23rd and ended up arresting a 19-year-old woman on a $5,000 theft warrant.

*A counselor at a downtown medical clinic called 911 recently to say that a suicidal patient with access to guns had walked out. Officers were able to track down the 53-year-old. She agreed to return to the hospital and handed over six handguns and six rifles for safekeeping.

*A 65-year-old suffering from post-traumatic-stress-disorder barricaded himself in a copier room at a local nursing home. Armed with a butter knife, he wrapped an electrical cord around his neck and opened a nearby faucet, causing water to overflow into the room. Though he threatened to electrocute himself and anyone who tried to come in, officers finally convinced him to set down the knife, turn off the water, and come out. He was transported to Harborview for a examination.

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EARLIER IN MAY …
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*In the Genesee neighborhood, a family received a written complaint about their dogs barking. Suggested solutions in the note included poison, a barking collar, and a trip to Schmitz Park, where the pups could be put down with a bow and arrow.

*A woman was driving westbound on Charlestown near California one Tuesday evening when a southbound silver SUV pulled out of an alley, right in front of her car. The driver got out of the truck yelling. When she opened her car door, wondering what she had done to make him so angry, he punched her in the face, grabbed her bicep and then punched her again. He returned to his truck and drove off. He was described only as white, between 30 and 50 years of age, about 5’9, with a medium build.

*While walking to school on the 10th, a Denny International Middle School student was robbed by a man described as black, in his mid-thirties, who took makeup, $10, and a phone charger from her backpack. (He also stole a cell phone from another child.) The suspect was described as black, in his mid-30s, wearing a cream-colored short sleeved V neck shirt and blue jeans. He had a tattoo on one of his upper arms, a muscular build and a bald head.

*On the 10th, several customers at a Westwood Village store stepped in after seeing an upset parent grab his two-year-old, hold her face close to his, and threaten to kill her if she ran off again. When the man left, an employee took down his license-plate number. Officers visited the residence, where the man admitted that that his language had been inappropriate, even though he had been upset about her disappearance. There was no domestic-violence history at the address, and the little girl was sitting on her dad’s lap and seemed happy. A report of the incident will be filed with Child Protective Services.

*Around 6 am on the 11th, an alert neighbor called in a possible car prowl in progress in the 9400 block of 21st SW. Officers caught the suspect, a 23-year-old Burien resident, in the back seat and booked him into King County Jail for investigation of possession of stolen property.

*Late morning on the 11th, a citizen called 911 to report a man down at 20th and Barton. He had been punched by two known suspects who were reported to have run off toward a business at the corner of Roxbury and 16th. The 37-year-old victim was covered in blood and medics determined he had a broken nose.

*On the 10th, in the 2700 block of 37th SW, a citizen reported that a possibly mentally disturbed male was yelling at everyone on the block. As officers arrived they were flagged down by a woman who had been harassed by the man as she walked her dog. He repeatedly sang, “I’m gonna kick you in the face!” while brandishing a weed whacker with both hands and telling her to keep walking and clean up after her pooch. An officer recognized the suspect from an encounter in the fall of 2012, in which the man had been completely cooperative. This time, the suspect kept yelling during their interaction. A family friend arrived, had never seen the suspect like this, and wasn’t aware of any mental issues. Based on the suspect’s appearance, the officer suspected that narcotics use might be an issue. The friend stayed to calm the suspect down. The suspect was warned about yelling.

*911 operators received a call from a West Seattle nursing facility, stating that one resident had assaulted another…..with a napkin.

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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.