West Seattle Crime Watch: Purse-snatch attempt; yard lewdness; stolen bike

| Crime | West Seattle news

Three cases in West Seattle Crime Watch – one spotted on the police-report map, two from reader reports – all three ahead:

PURSE-SNATCHING: Just noticed this one in a report attached to a marker on the police-report map. A woman walking in the 1600 block of Alki SW (map) just after 10:30 last Saturday night almost lost her purse to a would-be thief who tried to grab it off her shoulder while walking past her. The strap broke but she held onto the purse, she told police; the would-be thief, who was accompanied by a boy of about 14, took off running.

YARD LEWDNESS: A resident in the 7100 block of 34th SW (map) texted to report finding a man “hiding” in their backyard, fondling himself, around 3 pm Monday. “I yelled at him a few times and he did not stop,” the resident reported. The man was described as light-skinned, “Caucasian or maybe Hispanic” with dark-brown hair pushing out of the sides of his hat, wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and running shoes. The resident is concerned because their home is just half a block from Our Lady of Guadalupe and about two blocks from West Seattle Elementary.

STOLEN BICYCLE: Have you seen Lisa‘s bicycle?

It was stolen from her condo building in the Alki Point area last weekend. Let police know if you’ve seen it – report #2014-147490.

NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME CONCERN? Bring it to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting, 7 pm Tuesday, May 20th, at the Southwest Precinct (Webster west of Delridge).

Emily May 14, 2014 (10:10 am)

Hey,
Now that the weather is nicer, there is a lot of pot smoke on Alki. I don’t really want to bring my young kids down there. Do you know if police plan to enforce public smoking laws and fine people?

WSB May 14, 2014 (10:14 am)

Would be a good question to bring to the WSCPC meeting next week. We’ve heard police say they WILL enforce. But – otherwise, you might recall, voters told the city in an election years ago to make marijuana laws their lowest-priority enforcement task. Even before it was legalized.

Starsky May 14, 2014 (10:16 am)

Lisa, ithink your bike is across the street from the library on 35 the have. Looks like the one in the pic

sgs May 14, 2014 (10:53 am)

Tuesday around 3:30 – 4:00 there were several (4?) police cars around 46th and Alaska and then down at Ercolini park. Haven’t been able to find any information on what was occurring there.

WSB May 14, 2014 (11:04 am)

SGS, someone e-mailed us yesterday to say police had asked them if they had seen anyone with something resembling a rifle. I have no further information beyond that. There were certainly no shootings. If you can, it often helps to text or call us at the time a sizable police presence is scene – we can either get info by going there, or by trying to reach police and asking “what’s happening RIGHT NOW at (wherever)” but afterward, if no crime was confirmed and no report taken, it’s impossible to follow up … 206-293-6302 is our number – thank you!
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P.S. Per the SPD incident-response map, the call appears to have ended without a report, labeled “suspicious circumstances.” Keep in mind that somebody’s call about “a person with a gun” can be a person with a TOY gun. Here’s hoping that’s all it was. – TR

Lisa May 14, 2014 (1:43 pm)

Thank you for keeping an eye out for my bike! Is it still there? I can drive over now

Kay Smith May 14, 2014 (1:44 pm)

Regarding Lewd yard intruder: A man fitting this same description did the same thing at SWAC track – springtime a few years back, wearing exactly the same outfit. He persisted even after I had the police on the phone – he finally ran toward Westwood. I saw the same man at Westwood a year later and called the police and they said they could not do anything about it if he wasn’t “caught in the act”. This may be a local resident. Both times he was wearing gym shorts, running shoes, a hat, dark brown hair sticking out of his hat and both times I saw him he was wearing sunglasses.

drahcir61 May 14, 2014 (1:47 pm)

Lisa (& all bike owners), you can register your bike with the National Bike Registry. In the event your bike is recovered by police they will be able to find the owner via the NBR database.
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Obviously this won’t prevent a theft, a good lock is essential, but the NBR is only $10 for 10 years of registration & it might just get your bike back.
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Also, they even let you register your bike *AFTER* it was stolen (I assume you need your bike specifics & s/n) but that’s also an option.

SAR May 14, 2014 (2:07 pm)

I work with the person that saw this nasty man. The police never even came to her house after she called them. When she insisted someone come and make a report this morning, they were rude. This is a very scary thing for a woman to have happen. Way to go SPD.

Lola May 14, 2014 (2:56 pm)

SGS & WSB, I live near Ercolini park and I know that up the street from me lives a kid maybe 14 or 15 who is a little off. Every day when he gets home from school around 2:30 he dresses up in his Army Garb from head to toe and comes out with his brightly colored Nerf Guns and heads to the Park. I was talking to another Neighbor the other day about him and they told me that the police had stopped him before as he used to carry toy black guns that looked real. I know he is harmless but it is alarming to see him running around the park with all of his Army Garb on with the toy guns. I know the parents are aware of what he does but they do not seem to stop him from going to the park every-day.

WSB May 14, 2014 (3:10 pm)

I know who you’re talking about and he’s been mentioned before. Police are well aware of him too, it seems. And that was who I thought of after hearing bits and pieces of this, which is why I mentioned the possibility of a toy gun…

sam-c May 14, 2014 (3:01 pm)

SAR- that’s how SPD responded? really ? that’s incredibly disappointing.

Alanah May 14, 2014 (7:05 pm)

Lola – I also live in the neighborhood. The young person is not “a little off”. He has a disabiliy. He is a very nice person, and I’m sure he’d be happy to talk to you anytime. He would LOVE to tell you about his equipment! He knows a lot about the military. He also happens to really like being a “soldier”. Since we all share the neighborhood, and all know he is doing something he enjoys daily – nobody who lives here should be surprised to see him. Instead, we could explain to new friends and neighbors that he has a disability. Let’s protect him from gossip, and watch out for him.

WSB May 14, 2014 (7:17 pm)

Thank you, Alanah. I can also vouch for the young man’s niceness and friendliness – he has come up to say hello at many of the events at which we have tabled in the past several years and we always look forward to seeing him, always a big smile. – TR

ScubaFrog May 14, 2014 (9:11 pm)

Alanah and Tracy thank you for candid, kind things you said about the young man – and for clearing that up.

Alanah I’m 110% in agreement about protecting and looking out for our disabled members of society.
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On a side note, it’s scary to hear about the purse snatcher, and the flasher… Sometimes flashers’ behaviors will evolve into even more aggressive acts. I sure hope this pervert doesn’t hurt anyone (aside from the psychological trauma he’s already caused).

phil dirt May 15, 2014 (7:21 am)

I, too, live in the neighborhood and frequently see the young man who many of you refer to. He often walks by my house and exchanges a hello with my wife and I. We both worry about him. He wears military looking clothes and usually has a toy rifle. He is always friendly, but by his appearence, he could easily be mistaken for somebody who isn’t. I hope the police are aware that he lives in the neighborhood and is NOT a dangerous person.

DH May 15, 2014 (1:24 pm)

Hey Kari – if you ever see the creepy lewd dude again – I would suggest taking his photo if you have a camera phone and if you have the chance. At least we could warn people. If any of us find him in our yards – video tape him w/ your phones. Even if SPD doesn’t respond – that way we have proof and we can identify him.

Willie Murderface May 17, 2014 (11:35 am)

Man, I wish my biggest worries about this community were potheads on the beach and a kid with a toy gun.

My first thought would be “are they police going to do anything about the gangs and violence on the beach?”.

Would you keep your kids away if people were smoking cigarettes on the beach? Cause they do that. They also drink. But, out of sight, out of mind, right?

Sorry, comment time is over.