One followup and two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

CHARGES FILED: Prosecutors filed charges today against the two burglary-ring suspects arrested at an Alki house on Monday – 26-year-old Joseph F. Sims, below left, and 29-year-old Shon Shanell, below center. 25-year-old Alonzo Severson, below right, had already been charged, as we reported yesterday in our coverage of the media briefing about the case.

(Washington Department of Corrections photos)

The documents finally provide a little information about why Sims and Shanell were at the house in the 3200 block of 62nd SW where they were arrested by Bellevue Police on Monday. BPD had been trying to arrest Sims for several days and, according to the charges against Shanell, “received information that Sims was staying at a residence in (that area of Alki).” They staked out the house starting around 6 am. At 9:30 am, Shanell drove up in the matte-black Audi we photographed yesterday at BPD headquarters:

Sims walked out of the house, the documents say, and that’s when police arrested them both. They both were described as having thousands of dollars in cash in their possession, and both were said to be wearing diamonds – Shanell was wearing the watch stolen from Mariners star Felix Hernandez’s house in Clyde Hill.

The documents include a few more details, such as that Sims had been out of prison for less than a year before his alleged crime spree started. He’s described as “probably one of the most prolific and dangerous burglars in recent Seattle history.” And the charging documents show that much of the evidence involved cell-phone tracing; Sims allegedly would turn his off just before a burglary, and then on again afterward, and the documents mention a trace on January 1st in West Seattle, though none of the accusations involve any burglaries here.

Sims is charged with 11 crimes, including eight counts of residential burglary. He is being held without bail. Shanell, who got out of prison last October, is charged with possession of stolen property, and also has been charged in an unrelated case involving alleged eluding and animal cruelty. His bail is set at $175,000. And Severson’s bail is set at half a million dollars. Prosecutors say more charges are possible, given these barely scratch the surface of the 100-plus break-ins they believe were committed by the suspects. The documents also mention an alleged accomplice, a woman who allegedly assisted with some of the burglaries while dating one of the suspects. She is not charged.

Two reader reports via e-mail:

STOLEN MAIL FOUND: From LL:

I was out for a walk this morning and found a pile of mail on the corner of SW Trenton and 17th Ave SW. The addresses were all from the 8800 block of 24th Ave SW. I called the USPS 800 # to report the theft and their reply was “put the mail in a bag and give it to your mailman.” I took it to the Westwood post office instead. This happened last year in January. Someone was stealing mail on 17th & 18th Ave SW between Elmgrove and Henderson. The thieves seemed to target houses that had mailboxes next to the sidewalk.

CAR PROWL: From Michelle: “Another car prowl. (Wednesday) morning a window in my husband’s car shattered when he closed the door. The car dealer said there was evidence of crowbar marks on the door. We are on 46th between Hill and Walker.”

The two men arrested in connection with Sunday’s theft of the ATM from the West Seattle Junction US Bank are now charged, and the court documents fill in some of the information we didn’t have in our followup after their bail hearing on Monday.

The suspects are 28-year-old Nathaniel Grier of Shoreline and 35-year-old Joseph Annable of Sammamish. Both are charged with 2nd-degree burglary, 1st-degree theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and attempting to elude police.

The documents confirm that the forklift left behind at the bank, worth $4,000, and shown in our photo above, was stolen from Junction True Value a block west, and reveal that the cargo van found with the ATM inside was stolen from the University of Washington Bookstore. The charging papers also say the ATM contained at least $45,000 when stolen, but the suspects apparently were unable to get into it. The pursuit that led to the arrests on Sunday, hours after the West Seattle theft, was “called off several times,” the charging documents reveal, because of how dangerous it got to be, crossing several jurisdictions, with the stolen van at one point swerving toward a state trooper who was assisting someone at roadside.

Grier’s bail is set at $205,000; his criminal history goes back at least 13 years, and he is said to have confessed to at least eight thefts, four “successful.” Annable’s bail is set at $75,000; he does not have any recent criminal history. They are scheduled for arraignment (to answer the charges) on February 8th.

11:26 AM: We’re at Bellevue Police HQ as BPD and Seattle Police go public with more details about the “high-end burglary ring” linked to the two Alki arrests we covered back on Monday.

They’re talking behind a table covered with what they say is seized loot – cash, jewelry, purses, more. They say the victims include Seattle Mariners star Felix Hernandez. (Added – What was taken from him included a keepsake watch:)

They say the burglaries happened starting in April 2016. “The thieves would use luxury automobiles to commit their crimes in an attempt to blend in with the neighborhood traffic …” Here’s a map of some of the incidents:

The arrests in the 3200 block of 62nd SW followed a nine-month investigation involving Bellevue, Seattle, Kirkland, Medina, and Clyde Hill Police, according to the information we’ve received so far, even before the briefing (which we’re recording on video) begins.

Police say the three suspects are expected to “be charged today with numerous counts of burglary” and are identifying them as 23-year-old Alonzo Severson, 26-year-old Joseph Sims, and 29-year-old Shon Shanell.

11:33 AM: The briefing has begun, with Bellevue Police‘s chief saying the two people arrested in West Seattle were the “two remaining members of the Rock Smash Burglary Crew.” He says the items stolen by the ring totaled at least $3 million in value, taken in the course of “at least 123 residential burglaries.”

They worked in daylight and “often defeated (alarm systems).” The chief says they won’t elaborate on how they tracked down the suspects, but that police spent “hundreds of hours” doing that. He says they have recovered at least $400,000 in stolen items, and that the suspects seem to have motivated just by “greed,” and lived it up on the spoils of what was stolen.

Deputy Chief Carmen Best from Seattle PD says “these are significant arrests” and that they don’t believe any other suspects are on the loose.

The police leaders here say that breaking the case started with discovery of a phone in a Mercer Island yard – the citizen who found it turned it in to police, who made note of a call that came to the phone, and it rolled on from there, exemplifying the “if you see something, say something” philosophy.

11:44 AM: We asked the first question, about how the suspects arrested in West Seattle were linked to the house in Alki where they were found. Police wouldn’t elaborate on that but they said these suspects “were very good at what they did” and that investigators were often just a step or two behind – the suspects apparently even did “counter-surveillance.” But one of the suspects arrested at the Alki house, they say, Shon Shanell, allegedly was wearing a wristwatch among the items stolen from Mariners player Hernandez.

In some of the burglaries, police believe the burglars were armed, and they say that in some incidents, residents were home when the burglaries happened.

Other details as the Q/A section goes – some of the handbags being shown here among recovered loot are worth tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars.

They’re looking at safe-deposit boxes and storage facilities to see if they can recover even more of what was stolen.

Another local note – we don’t know yet if any of the burglaries happened in West Seattle (that section of the map, above, is covered by its legend), or if the arrest location is the only link.

The suspect that was arrested elsewhere was taken into custody after leaving jail about a week ago following a hold in connection with a Department of Corrections warrant, per the Bellevue chief.

11:59 AM: The Q/A has wrapped up and police are taking us and the other media crews to see the vehicles they have seized in relation to this – “five luxury cars” are mentioned in the news release. We’re also checking on the suspects’ status – Shanel is being held without bail; Severson is being held on half a million dollars bail and is listed as having been charged already; Sims is being held without bail.

12:23 PM: Here are the vehicles. BPD tells us the Audi is the one they seized at the arrest location on Alki.

While the cars were not stolen, we’re told, they are believed to have been bought with money resulting from the crimes.

12:39 PM: Reading the charges already filed against Severson, the evidence includes a monitoring bracelet he had to wear from another case, allegedly placing him inside some of the burglarized homes. The jail register shows he has been in since January 12th, meaning that the two arrested in Alki are Shanell and Sims.

ADDED 9:36 PM: We’ve added more photos inline above, and right above this line is our video of the entire briefing.

Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning:

(WSB photo, added 10:21 am)

GUNFIRE ON PIGEON POINT: Last night before midnight (while we were covering the “heavy rescue” crash in North Admiral), we heard police dispatched to reports of possible gunfire on Pigeon Point/North Delridge. This morning, a reader reports seeing a car with shot-out windows near 23rd and Andover, and we’ve just obtained details from SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson:

Last night, just after 11:00 pm, officers responded to several calls of shots fired in area of 23 Ave SW/SW Andover. Officers contacted witnesses who heard the shots. One person said they witnessed shots coming from a white car, another person stated it was a black car. Officers located a parked car in the 4000 block 23 Ave SW that had been struck by bullets. Officers found one shell casing and one bullet fragment near the intersection of 23/Andover.

No injuries were reported.

ARBOR HEIGHTS SUSPECT OUT: The man arrested after the Arbor Heights search on Monday morning, 28-year-old Matthew Melzer, is out of jail this morning after a plea bargain. According to Municipal Court records and the King County Jail Register, Melzer was cited for two counts of second-degree criminal trespassing (a misdemeanor) and pleaded guilty to one; the other was dropped and he was credited for time served, then released from jail at 8 am today.

READER REPORT – CAR PROWL: Just out of the inbox, from Jon:

I live between California Ave and 44th Street just off SW Hinds St. I awoke this morning to find my truck light on. Upon closer inspection, it appears that someone had rummaged through my truck as the console was open and things were strewn about the cab. Nothing appears to have been taken (as I don’t leave anything of value in there), but it’s frustrating nonetheless. If you live nearby, please keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

FOLLOWUP TODAY ON BELLEVUE POLICE’S ALKI RAID: Thanks to tips, we reported Monday on Bellevue Police arresting 2 at a house on 62nd SW. BPD told us it was related to a “series of burglaries” around the region and that more info would be forthcoming. Check back here on WSB later today, because we’re expecting to have that info soon – BPD is hosting a media briefing, with its police chief and Seattle PD Chief Kathleen O’Toole, at 11:30 am, announced with the intent “to discuss the dismantling of a major burglary ring in the region. The investigation that will be discussed is believed to be the largest burglary ring case in terms of loss value in the history of the city of Bellevue. Recovered stolen property and several seized vehicles will be on display. Some of the recovered items on display were stolen from a notable sports figure.” We’ll be there.

(ADDED) STOLEN TRAILER: As mentioned in the WSB Forums – be on the lookout:

2008, white, 5×7 TNT cargo trailer. Stolen from Fauntleroy & Othello between Tues Jan 24 9pm- Weds Jan 25 8am

No distinguishing marks or pictures, unfortunately. Lic # 7052VJ Washington

The trailer is completely FULL with my trade show display for working at the home & garden shows (backdrop, shelves, cookware)

Call police if you see it.