WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen gray pickup; stolen e-bike; dumped tote bag and groceries

STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK: From M: “Parked in street at 32nd/Kenyon, stolen sometime last night, early today. 2014 dark gray Toyota Tacoma pickup, long bed with canopy. Has a dragon boat sticker in back canopy window, and a Hawaiian sticker.” We’ll add the plate when we get it. Call 911 if you see this pickup.

STOLEN E-BIKE: From Patricia:

Last night someone got into our garage and took our e-bike, near 35th SW and Thistle. The battery was charging, so it was not with the bike. Similar detail to the post on 2 July Gatewood car prowl with glove box contents scattered on passenger seat. Opened garage with the remote in the car, then took the ebike.

DUMPED TOTE BAG/GROCERIES: Also along Thistle, just east of California, we discovered this on the south-side-of-street planting strip, and are wondering if it was taken in a car prowl: A spilled bag of groceries – unopened cans of soup, a bag of pasta, bottles of sauces. There were drink cans when we first noticed this two days ago, but those are gone now. While using a grabber to pick up the remaining cans, we noticed a name written on the grocery bag, in childlike printing, first name starting with E and last name Baff— (we tried looking online for a match, no luck), and this striped mini-tote bag:

We’re leaving the items on the planting strip in case someone recognizes them. If we wind up having to dispose of the food (which is now in an otherwise-clean black bag), we’ll make an equivalent cash donation to the food bank that serves this area, hate to see it wasted.

Mj July 3, 2020 (5:54 pm)

Bike theft needs to be stopped. The crime needs to treated like a car theft. E- bikes cost a lot of money and are the main transportation mode for many, like a car is for others

Eric1 July 3, 2020 (9:18 pm)

LOL MJ. I wouldn’t bring up car theft as an example of how we should treat bike theft. You have to steal many cars before you get jail time in Seattle (if ever). Heck, from experience, I know the car owner ends up paying most of the bills in the case of auto theft. Right now, I think the cops just let you pick up your bike. If the city treated bike theft like cars, there will be a private “tow yard” for bikes and a fat contract to some towing company related to a city clowncil member. You would pay tow fees, impound fees, storage fees, retrieval fees, and after hour fees. After you pay, then they will let you look at your bike. It might have been stripped for parts, wrecked, have some used needles in the basket, smell like weed, etc… Then they would offer to dispose of it for you for a “nominal fee” if you don’t actually want the bike any more….
- Guy July 3, 2020 (10:48 pm)
  
  Ha! The last time my vehicle got stolen, it didn’t show up for six months. By that time, I had received the small pittance from my insurance company and delivered title to the vehicle to them. When the police called me and told me the (completely stripped) vehicle had been left on a side street in Burien and I had to make arrangements to have it towed away, I got great pleasure in telling them it wasn’t my problem and they needed to call my insurer.

gatwood July 4, 2020 (9:28 am)

I’d like to point out the tow costs for stolen vehicles is waaay less than for impound due to tickets for instance. I got my truck out for around $200 which is a fair price to cover the cost of the truck and driver. The police offer to notify only and not to tow but they will not stand by the vehicle if you elect to come get it – which means the thief can just drive off with it so I elected to have it towed.

Sorry, comment time is over.