The WSBeat: Seven cases from the Southwest Precinct files

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

This edition of our periodic feature The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently 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?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …

*Responding to requests for additional patrol and for help with known shoplifters, officers arrived at an Admiral business on Monday the 30th. They immediately spotted one of three young men specifically named to be banned from the premises. In addition, officers knew that the 16-year-old was wanted on a felony warrant for 3rd-degree assault. They asked him to put his hands behind his back, but the young man denied his identity, struggled, and had to be placed on the ground in order to be handcuffed. Both this young man and another 17-year-old were banned from the store and acknowledged that if they return they’d be arrested for criminal trespassing. The 16 year old was booked into the Youth Service Center for the warrant and for investigation of resisting arrest.

*Around 1 p.m. on the 30th, in the 7500 block of 30th SW, a woman reported that a man was hiding behind her neighbor’s garbage cans and masturbating. He fled before officers arrived.

*On the 26th, around 1 a.m., a Renton man was robbed at gunpoint at the Don Armeni boatramp by a stranger who asked for a cigarette. The suspect also demanded the keys to the victim’s car, a 2002 BMW 330I. The robber was described as a dark-skinned Asian male, about 5’7” 190 pounds, with a goatee. He wore a black beanie cap, black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

*Early on the morning of the 28th, a citizen found a purse hanging on a fence in the 5100 block of SW Edmunds. Inside the purse, narcotics paraphernalia: Pieces of tin foil smeared with a black substance, and a small plastic bag of black tar heroin.

*An apartment in the 6900 block of Delridge Way SW has become known as a haven for partiers, with doors and windows open at all times for visitors. The tenant has been warned about the visits being a violation of her rental agreement. A citizen called 911 on the 25th, after a man who was no longer welcome climbed through the back window and caused a disturbance. Officers noted that the inside of the apartment has been destroyed and that the woman’s young daughter has been going door to door throughout the complex, stating that she is hungry and asking for food. Child Protective Services has been alerted.

*Around noon on the 28th, officers arrived at a chronic nuisance home in the 7700 block of 20th SW after citizens reported that a woman was chasing a man with a knife (which turned out to be a fencing sword). The man was gone when officers arrived, but his girlfriend said he woke up in a bad mood and broke a fish tank. He initially refused to leave but ran off when she picked up the sword. The interior of the home was “complete disarray,” with dirty dishes and molded food. In the basement, officers found a mattress on the floor next to a large puddle of vomit. While searching the premises to be sure the boyfriend wasn’t there, officers found three men living in a tent in the detached backyard garage, surrounded by boxes of needles, discarded used needles plus small baggies commonly used for drug sales. One of the men has an extensive criminal history with the Seattle Police Department, mostly related to illegal narcotics. Officers said conditions were not suitable for the woman’s eleven-year-old son. She cried and said she’d take son to her moms until she cleaned and until the power was restored. (It had been shut off the day before.). She was told that if officers returned and found the home in the same condition, her son would be given to Child Protective Services (which was notified about the Saturday incident). The SW Precinct Community Police Team has been alerted to the ongoing issues at this residence.

*After their 71-year-old patient called, cancelled his appointments, and said he “wanted to die,” a clinic nurse contacted police to do a welfare check on the man. Officers arrived at the Westwood-area home on the afternoon of the 27th and found him in a back bedroom with garbage piled all around, a plastic container holding urine, and the ceiling above the bed starting to collapse. The rest of the house was cluttered with dirty dishes and mold. The man was transported to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

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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 = call or text 206-293-6302.

6 Replies to "The WSBeat: Seven cases from the Southwest Precinct files"

  • Concerned April 2, 2015 (10:23 am)

    There is a lot of sadness in these reports. Kudos to concerned citizens for calling in these reports to help out the children and the elderly.

  • Azimuth April 2, 2015 (11:18 am)

    A lot of sadness indeed.

    If anyone ever asks me for a cigarette or light or similar, I immediately look for a way out of there. It happened to me once many years ago, but fortunately I managed to get out of there without getting robbed.

  • BJ April 2, 2015 (2:01 pm)

    “Officers said conditions were not suitable for the woman’s eleven-year-old son. She cried and said she’d take son to her moms until she cleaned and until the power was restored. (It had been shut off the day before.). She was told that if officers returned and found the home in the same condition, her son would be given to Child Protective Services (which was notified about the Saturday incident).” Notified Shmotified. That child should’ve been taken away from her right then and there. No doubt. Guarantee we’re going to be reading about her, her cracked out house and this unfortunate child in the future. And it won’t be pretty. What a bunch of crap.

  • Mike April 2, 2015 (3:34 pm)

    Agreed BJ, hard core drugs around Children is not ok. So sad.

  • helridge April 3, 2015 (1:12 pm)

    What’s really sad is the kid caught for resisting arrest wasn’t even charged for it. Courts keep giving said teen chance after chance after chance. Such a laughable justice system.

  • ME April 4, 2015 (9:52 am)

    What I find ironic about the chronic house on 20th is that it is roughly 1 block from the SW Precinct. I wonder why nothing has been done about this person/people as it states this has been an ongoing issue, most especially because there is a child involved. I am disgusted!

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