WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 1965 Valiant stolen; another hole-in-gas-tank case; more

| Crime | West Seattle news

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, starting with the theft of a classic car:

STOLEN 1965 PLYMOUTH VALIANT: You would know it if you saw it. Devon sent that photo with this report:

One of our daily drivers was stolen from outside of our house within the last month and police have had no luck tracking it down. The thieves broke into our home, found the keys, and as well as taking other valuable things from inside, they took our car. It is a 1965 Plymouth Valiant 4 door that is a creamy white color and has areas on the doors where it is just primer (white). It was taken from 28th Ave SW between SW Holden & SW Webster. We made a police report as soon as it happened with the Southwest Precinct and the case number is 17-343770. It is a one-of-a-kind car in this area and we’re hoping someone has seen it or knows something! Thank you.

ANOTHER HOLE-IN-GAS-TANK CASE: Last Wednesday, we mentioned a report of multiple punctured gas tanks. Nick reports it happened to him today:

This morning around 9 am, my Toyota Tacoma truck had its gas tank drilled out and emptied of 17 gallons of gasoline while I volunteered at Fairmount Park Elementary. This was in front of 5437 Fauntleroy Ave SW, near SW Findlay St.

I plugged the hole with a bolt and made it to the Toyota dealer in SODO, where I was told this has been happening lately, especially to pickups. I filed a police report, but with no suspects or witnesses, I don’t see the vandals being caught…yet. Keep an eye out for people lurking around vehicles with a drill…

BROKEN CAR WINDOW: This too is not the first such report we’ve received lately. Kyle sent the photo and report from Arbor Heights:

This morning I came out to my car to find the rear windshield had been broken. We live on 100th and 39th.There are never any valuables kept in the car; as a result no items were taken. This appears to be just vandalism. We thought that we lived in a safe neighborhood and we have a street light right in front of our house, but now we are thinking we need to invest in a security camera.

He later sent an update, mentioning finding a one-inch marble inside the car, suspecting that is what was used to break the window.

P.S. Next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – when you can bring neighborhood concerns to, and hear about crime trends/crimefighting emphases from, local police – is a week from tomorrow, Tuesday, October 17th, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct.

hj October 9, 2017 (8:30 pm)

A couple of days ago I saw a guy sleeping in the back of an SUV parked near Safeway on 42nd much like that, with an obviously broken rear window. I, of course, did not rush to judgment.

Heather October 9, 2017 (9:26 pm)

I seem to recall car windows being shot at by a suspected B.B. gun last year too. (marbles / bb’s)

Carlye October 10, 2017 (9:08 am)

My neighbor also had her back window shattered yesterday AM by a marble. This was at 104th/California. Hers was the only car on our street that had damage. My dog was up barking between 4-430am Monday morning, so I am assuming it happened then. What a Monday morning bummer!

Swede. October 10, 2017 (10:10 am)

How do they sell the stolen gas? Assuming it’s not stolen for personal use since having that little money seams like you wouldn’t afford a car in the first place…

Katie October 11, 2017 (7:57 am)

@Swede. Well not having money now doesn’t mean someone never had money. And it’s easy to drive a car around uninsured or underinsured.
- Swede. October 11, 2017 (9:27 am)
  
  ‘Underinsured’ can’t be done, they won’t sell insurance bellow the state limit since it’s useless. Un-insured is what it will be.
  
  It was a bit of a rhetorical question really. I don’t think anyone is stealing the gas to drive their vehicles, it’s likely to sell to buy drugs. Which made me interested of how/where is stolen gas sold? That’s got to be a tricky thing to unload really.