West Seattle Crime Watch: Street robbery, burglaries, bike thefts, and a new survey

| Crime | West Seattle news

In today’s edition of West Seattle Crime Watch, four incidents found in SPD’s online files, plus a reader report:

STREET ROBBERY: Checking the SPD online records, we found this incident from Wednesday (October 12th). Police were called to North Admiral at 12:44 pm after someone called 911 to report a street robbery. The victim told police he was near Admiral and California, walking to a friend’s house, when he noticed someone walking behind him. The victim was talking on his phone when the person behind him came up, grabbed it out of his hands, and ran. He chased the robber to Ferry SW, asked for the phone back, and then was knocked down and hit by the robber, who ran away southbound on 42nd SW. An area resident “heard a commotion,” the police report says, came out of her residence, saw the victim, and called 911. The robber was described as a “Hispanic man, 19-20, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, short brown hair, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.” Police searched the area but didn’t find him. The victim was reported to have suffered scratches to the knee.

BUSINESS BURGLARY: Another one from SPD online files – a Harbor Avenue business reported last Tuesday that it had been burglarized the previous Friday night/Saturday morning, and the burglar(s) had gotten away with money from a cash drawer.

PARK BURGLARY: Also sometime last Friday night/Saturday morning, an online report says, someone broke into the Camp Long Lodge by smashing a kitchen window. Nothing was taken.

SHED BURGLARY, BIKE STOLEN: One more report from the online files: A storage shed in the 3200 block of Belvidere was broken into last Saturday night or Sunday morning, and a bicycle was stolen. No description of the bicycle.

READER REPORT, BIKE STOLEN: The photo and report are just in, from Brad:

Stolen around Oct. 3 or 4 from a bike rack at our apartment building at 2312 California Ave. SW. It’s a KHS Urban-X with 26-inch wheels.

Call police, and let us know, if you see/have seen it.

PUBLIC SAFETY SURVEY: Seattle University researchers have just launched this year’s survey to collect information about crime and safety concerns around the city, so that SPD can update its neighborhod policing plans. The survey will be open through the end of November, but don’t procrastinate – if you have a little time, answer it now. It’s at publicsafetysurvey.org, available in seven languages – Amharic, Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese.

Mike October 15, 2016 (4:16 pm)

sorry to hear of the robbery and being hit for trying to get it back. For those with an Android phone, I suggest using the device recovery / tracking feature https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6160491?hl=en

This can help police track the robber in real time.

22blades October 15, 2016 (4:21 pm)

So… I saw a Tow Truck with no front license plate stopped at a weird location in the Admiral District. It was a flatbed with one car on the flatbed and another in tow. I stopped by to ask about his license and was promptly told to “F— Off”. The only markings were a faded “J’s Towing” * sign on the door on an obviously new truck that looked out of place and a rear license plate. The car in tow did not have any towing lights hooked up as he quickly drove off. I also know from my own tow experiences that tow trucks have multiple plates for the operation.

Anybody know what the required markings are?

*There seems to be a legitimate “J’s Towing” registered in the Leschi area.

Mike October 16, 2016 (8:06 am)

A legitimate tow truck has multiple plates and would always have the hazard / brake lights on the vehicle being towed if not on the flatbed. That response from the driver is a good sign they’re not legitimate. You could still let SPD know about this incident, anything helps track down crime in the area.

Chuck October 15, 2016 (6:07 pm)

Hey 22–if in doubt, call it in. Especially w that kind of reaction from the driver. Easier said than done, I know. Still regretting not calling police when I watched a guy climb a locked apartment gateway at 35th and Morgan a few weeks back to let his gf in. Maybe he lived there, maybe not. But yeah, my spider sense also tingled at that time, too.

22blades October 16, 2016 (4:50 pm)

The short answer is; I made the call.. The long answer is; reporting it on the phone was painfully slow, the representative was impassionate and basically, if I I don’t have a plate number call back. It’s frustrating and demoralizing to “do the right thing” when it’s this unrewarding. Then SPD was kind enough to send a representative to our block party but we all kinda looked at each other when he said “if all you worry about is a car broken into, you’re lucky”. I understand thier staffing issues, prioritization and the difficult environment they work in, but, giving a pass on any crime is not right. I’ll still “make the call” for dangerous debris, suspicious activity and crimes but my expectation keeps plummeting. Sorry for the soap box, but I just want us to live in a safe neighborhood. Thanks

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