West Seattle Crime Watch: Bee Garden mosaic vandalized; suspected stolen car; break-in attempt

| Crime | West Seattle news

(UPDATED SUNDAY NIGHT with confirmation car was stolen)

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:

BEE GARDEN VANDALISM: When volunteers arrived for today’s work party at the West Seattle Bee Garden, they discovered that mosaic sign made by students at West Seattle Elementary had been vandalized overnight. Christine sent the photo and says someone threw a brick into the sign; it’s been reported to police, and, “We hope someone saw something or heard something.” They also are hoping someone will offer to help repair it. We’ll be following up on this; if you can help with repairs, westseattlebeegarden@gmail.com

STOLEN CAR? A resident who e-mailed recently about ongoing problems in the (updated) 8600 block of 25th SW has a new report today – a suspected stolen car left nearby this morning, after two stolen cars were recovered there recently.

“Police were called and agree it’s probably stolen but not reported yet. … Plate AQC4102, 4-door light blue older model Honda with a red disabled plaque hanging from mirror.” Also, the resident reports, a battery was stolen out of a neighbor’s van. (Sunday night update – we found SPD tweet from an hour after we published this, confirming this was a stolen car. Also added photo sent Sunday by resident who spotted it.)

BURGLARY ATTEMPT: From an Arbor Heights resident:

My home (located on 35th SW, near 100th) got broken into on Wed, 4/22. I came home from work to find the glass of the patio sliding door shuttered and the security alarm going off. I called 911 and the police officers came and searched the premises. Looked like nothing had been stolen. I am pretty certain that the sound of the alarm scared off the would be intruder and they fled without taking anything.

Getting the home security system installed turned out to be the best investment I have made to the house!

Not having a door overnight and then dealing with the subsequent repair work the next day to install a brand new set of sliding doors (it turned out, the doors were not standard size so lots of adjustments had to be made around the opening) in pouring rain was pretty annoying but my house was okay and so was I.

m April 25, 2015 (12:49 pm)

Who does that? Destroys public art created by children. Sick.

JayDee April 25, 2015 (1:42 pm)

What was the nature of the vandalism? Did they break/flake off part of the sign? Or stickers?

WSB April 25, 2015 (3:56 pm)

JayDee – see the white area toward the right side of the sign – tiles all broken off there – we have since been over to the Bee Garden for a followup (will publish tonight) as we were going to cover today’s work party anyway; the tiles also are smashed away on the other side. They’re not sure exactly what the material is between the mosaic sides, possibly hardie board (sp?). so whomever hurled the brick at the sign smashed away the tiles on both sides in the spot where it hit. It’s a welcome on one side and a “see you later” on the side shown in the photo. – TR

Cheryl April 25, 2015 (1:43 pm)

What “m” said. Sick.
.
Also, it makes me hate people. A lot.

trickycoolj April 25, 2015 (2:01 pm)

Looks like summer is starting early in High Point. Awesome.

justadumbguy April 25, 2015 (3:59 pm)

grumble, grumble, grumble, the heck is wrong with people? grumble, grumble, grumble.

CanDo April 25, 2015 (4:50 pm)

That’s awful. Hope the vandals are caught and forced to make huge amounts of mosaic signs out of teeny tiny tiles for months without end.

ChefJoe April 25, 2015 (4:57 pm)

Hrm, maybe some of that steel mesh like is insert in the fences could be folded inward around the edges and installed as a protective barrier for the sign ? Could provide a bit of “drive by” protection as well as make a nice trellis for decorative beans or some other vine.

HP resident April 25, 2015 (5:09 pm)

Sorry to hear the Bee garden sign was vandalized. With regular break ins, parked car hit and runs, graffiti, trash freely thrown on the streets, it is not surprising that the public resources are now also being attached by a few of the local criminals. You think those receiving assistance to live in a nice neighborhood would do more to value it and less to destroy it.

WSB April 25, 2015 (6:12 pm)

If you have any information, please contact police. Otherwise, I don’t believe they’ve speculated as to whether it was the work of residents or visitors, let alone their assistance status – we tend to find people arrested for crimes are more often NOT from the neighborhoods where they happen, but that’s just anecdotal – TR

flimflam April 25, 2015 (8:57 pm)

what a jerk move that is. probably a dumb, bored teenager. really couldn’t think of something better to do with your time?

ws_suzanne April 25, 2015 (11:33 pm)

I would love to donate to a fund to repair this beautiful mosaic. Is there a bank where I can do this?

Lauren April 26, 2015 (7:28 am)

Hello Suzanne, how generous of you, thank you! Yes, donations can be made out to the West Seattle Bee Garden, and mailed to 6013 Lanham Pl. SW Seattle 98126. We have a special account with the organization GROW, so I’m not sure you would be able to make a deposit at a bank. Happy Sunday!

Laura April 26, 2015 (7:42 am)

It’s too bad people have to vandalize the beauty others create. I wish people would stop long enough to consider the kind of world they would like to live in instead of living in the moment.

JayDee April 26, 2015 (1:28 pm)

I will bee happy when my check to the Bee Garden is cashed. It is winging it’s way to you, though not on a bee-line. I am not good with tile work, but I can wield a pen…

bluhorizon April 26, 2015 (3:42 pm)

Flimflam and HP resident,

Regarding Comment by flimflam, “probably a dumb, bored teenager” + Comment by HP resident, “You think those receiving assistance to live in a nice neighborhood would do more to value it and less to destroy it.”
—————-

If either of you have evidence or crime information, please do post it. Also, see comment by WSB: “… please contact police.”

If you have a helpful suggestion for the victims (such as ChefJoe or WS_Suzanne), please by all means post that too.

Otherwise,speaking of respect(HP’s comment), speculating about a crime and /or suspects of which you have zero first-hand information is not only wildly disrespectful to the larger groups that each of you have implicated, but also to the entire WS community who don’t share your biases. In addition, such “comments” are not helpful and particularly disrespectful to the people who are actually suffering loss here.

If you find that you simply are unable to keep unfounded blame or fear mongering to yourself, please find another venue. The WSB Comment section is not the place. Thank you.

Lauren April 26, 2015 (6:16 pm)

Thank you very much JayDee! Events like these are heartbreaking, but always significantly improved by the generosity and good intentions of the community. There are more good people in this world than bad, and that makes me smile. Thank you!

ws_suzanne April 27, 2015 (12:26 am)

Lauren, Thanks so much for letting me know. You’ll get my check in Tuesday’s mail. I wish I could donate more! I really hope the sign is repaired very soon.

Sorry, comment time is over.