In West Seattle Crime Watch, two followups and an alert:
FOLLOWUP – SUSPECT AWAKENED IN STOLEN CAR: Remember last Friday’s incident in Arbor Heights during which Guardian One‘s crew recorded that video of Seattle Police awakening a man found asleep in a stolen car? The suspect got out of jail tonight after five days. Prosecutors have yet to charge 34-year-old Craig R. Crisler in last week’s case but we are identifying him because he was being held on a warrant from a similar case in which he is charged. Crisler was charged three weeks ago in a February case in which police found him asleep in a stolen pickup truck in Burien. Also asleep in the truck, a 6-year-old whose mother is described in court documents as Crisler’s girlfriend; he was taking care of the child because she had been booked into jail two days earlier. The child was turned over to CPS; meantime, it was discovered that the stolen truck had been painted a new color since it was taken, and that it was found to contain tools including a pressure washer stolen from someone else. Crisler missed a court appearance in the case and that led to a warrant carrying $5,000 bail. He posted bond tonight and got out before 9 pm. Court documents from the Burien case show his last known address in North Shorewood, not far from where he was arrested last Friday.
SPEAKING OF STOLEN TOOLS: We’ve published more than a few reader reports recently of tools stolen in break-ins, both vehicles and structures. This alert from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner says it’s a trend:
The SW Precinct Crime Analysis Unit Detective informed us of a recent crime trend involving burglaries of sheds, outbuildings, and garages. A variety of items have been stolen including bicycles, power tools and generators.
Please keep an eye out on your sheds/garages/out buildings! Ensure they are securely locked, regularly check to see if your door has been tampered with, take inventory of your items and secure bicycles with quality locks! Remember to always report theft and suspicious behavior to the Seattle Police Department by calling 911.
ONE MORE FOLLOWUP: Back on March 24th, we reported on trouble for a Southwest Precinct police officer while he was taking a suspect to jail – the suspect allegedly started a fire in the patrol car just as they were arriving downtown. As first reported in The Seattle Times, that suspect, 24-year-old Nickolas J. Osborne, is now charged with felony malicious mischief and misdemeanor harassment.
We have obtained the court documents, which say the latter charge is for the original reason he was arrested, reportedly harassing Lincoln Park and Lowman Beach park visitors and threatening them with a stick. The former is for the squad-car fire. The charging papers say that even before being placed in the car, Osborne was accusing police of being “agents of the Illuminati” out to get him; in the car, police say, he “slipped his handcuffed hands to the front of his body, unbuckled his seatbelts and began violently kicking the rear driver side window.” The officer radioed for backup at that point. Osborne then allegedly said the officer would have to kill him and should be nervous. After that, the charges say in-car video shows Osborne picking up a lighter from the car floor (whose lighter, it doesn’t say), using it to generate a flame, and setting the car ceiling on fire, including a camera; he was recorded, the report continues, saying, “There we go! Let’s both burn in hell!” Shortly afterward, the officer pulled over and got the suspect out of the car; Osborne’s clothing had ignited but he wasn’t hurt, nor was the officer. The car was damaged badly enough that it had to be taken out of service, SPD says. Osborne remains in jail, his bail set at $10,000.
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