CRIME WATCH: About the SWAT raid at 17th SW/SW 107th

(WSB/WCN photos)

Thanks for all the tips about this SWAT raid just west of the busy 16th/SW 107th intersection (Taco Bell, etc.), at the east end of a popular route between south West Seattle and White Center. We got there just as the operation was wrapping up. Some research revealed that it was NOT a King County Sheriff’s Office operation, though that’s their jurisdiction – it was led by Renton PD. They weren’t able to provide us information immediately – but we just got some from KCSO’s Major Jeffrey Flohr, speaking at the North Highline Town Hall that we’re covering right now for our partner site White Center Now. He said the operation was indeed in partnership with Renton PD – it started with officers pulling over a car last night (where, he didn’t say) and finding 10 pounds of meth, leading to warrants being served today, including this one.

Maj. Flohr said several people were taken into custody today at locations including this one, and that drugs and money were seized.

We’re hoping for additional info from Renton PD tomorrow.

45 Replies to "CRIME WATCH: About the SWAT raid at 17th SW/SW 107th"

  • The King October 15, 2020 (8:54 pm)

    This is a small sample bust. To put this one in particular into perspective, one gram of meth yields 10 to 25 hits, there are 453 grams in an ounce. Do the math at TEN POUNDS. Yet local politicians will not openly acknowledge our area has a drug problem. 

    • Brian October 16, 2020 (12:02 am)

      Huh. Seems like something that should be legalized if you ask me. 

      • WW Resident October 16, 2020 (6:58 am)

        And see, that’s the problem. Compartmentalized thinking. Legalize meth, problem solved. I’m sure the average person couldn’t care less about meth being legal or not, because that’s not what’s affecting the average person. It’s the petty theft, the burglaries, the identity theft, and copper theft that usually goes along with it. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt if all these catalytic converter thefts weren’t linked to meth or Heroin users. 

        • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (1:51 pm)

          It doesn’t have to be drug users doing these crimes. “People have a tendency to go the path of less resistance “. Hence crime period. Let all try as you suggest. Broaden our scope and not just go after low hanging fruit.

      • West Seattle Hipster October 16, 2020 (7:12 am)

        You sure that’s a good idea?  I don’t consider meth a recreational drug, nor does it have medicinal purposes.  It turns its users into zombies.

        • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (1:56 pm)

          Not exactly. Amphetamine Hydrochloride, pharmaceutical grade meth. If you can’t get it you may be self medicating. 

      • wscommuter October 16, 2020 (12:59 pm)

        @Brian … wow.  Just … wow.  Legalize meth?  Really difficult to wrap my head around the depth of how stupidly dangerous that idea is.  

        • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (1:59 pm)

          At the outset you think. But Portugal, decodified drugs all illicit drug crime dropped off.  To boot, if you don’t want it don’t. And the same thing was said about pot some few years ago.

      • Joseph October 16, 2020 (2:53 pm)

        Meth kills users in just a matter of a few years in many cases. It also causes countless debilitating strokes and heart attacks in young adults, and even teenagers. It makes chronic users so delusional and paranoid that they’ll actually attack innocent people in psychotic rages. I’ve seen this first-hand in San Diego in the 80s, when it was the meth capital of the world. I lost one of my closest friends to it.

        • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (2:04 pm)

          My condolences. Its actually sleep deprivation is the behavior you’ve unfortunately seen. Not the drug.Peace

    • Nate October 16, 2020 (7:20 am)

      There’s 28 grams to an ounce, 448 to a pound

    • dana eberhardt October 16, 2020 (2:13 pm)

      No they don’t even acknowledge that there is a massive meth problem that blows the so-called opioid problem out of the water they’re so dumb they think people are still taking pills the only ones that are taking pills are the rich kids that are 17 years old and hardcore heroin addicts but the real problem is math and they just look the other way even though they’ve done two huge busts in the last week nope no methproblem here

    • zark00 October 16, 2020 (2:59 pm)

      Yeah, none of your numbers are right at all.The price of meth can vary widely, ranging from $3 to $500 per gram. Since most hits cost about $5, and a gram contains about four hits, most grams cost between $20 and $60. addictioncenter dot comIt’s like 5,000 “hits” for whatever that information is worth – which is nothing.Meth is super addictive, you should feel sorry for anyone addicted to meth, it destroys people lives very quickly.  The only way out of this increased access to recovery.  Right now if you are addicted to meth, and don’t have a lot of money, treatment is basically unavailable to you. 

    • Keggerdog October 17, 2020 (5:34 pm)

      There are only 28 grams per ounce. 

  • G October 15, 2020 (9:06 pm)

    Hmmmm…. I recall a WSB post back on October 5th about a mystery helicopter over West Seattle in the area of this raid… Could it have been the DEA helo that’s based at BFI gathering intel?

    • WSB October 15, 2020 (9:09 pm)

      Don’t know. But what the major said sounded much more like the warrants were a direct result of yesterday’s pullover.

  • Beto October 15, 2020 (9:39 pm)

    Great job, Renton PD!

  • bolo October 15, 2020 (10:19 pm)

    So THE KING, according to my calculations based on your information, that 10 lbs. meth is 726,000 – 1,816,000 hits? Yikes!

    Likely paid for by our missing Prius catalytic converters and bicycles.

    • lol October 15, 2020 (10:43 pm)

      LOL

    • The King October 15, 2020 (11:05 pm)

      My bad, there’s 453 grams in a pound……still though. 

  • 1994 October 15, 2020 (10:50 pm)

    I am not a math smarty but I googled those numbers. 453 Grams (g) =. 15.9791 Ounces. Or google it this way 1 ounce (oz) is equal to 28.34952 grams (g). Or convert 10 Pounds to Grams is: [Grams] = 10 x 453.592 = 4535.92….. Any meth is too much meth.

  • montanapup October 15, 2020 (11:10 pm)

    And currently selling to those who are desperate for a mere $150 per gram. More expensive than heroin right now. Yep. Folks are so desperate, they are buying the white because brown is hard to get. Don’t get me started on the “pressed” fentanyl being sold as “oxy” and “xanax”…..

    • Brian October 16, 2020 (12:03 am)

      Literally none of this is true or makes sense. Your understanding of drug nomenclature is completely unfounded and whatever you wrote there makes zero sense 

      • Timothy October 16, 2020 (5:40 am)

        Yes it does, I followed it quite easily.

      • Jim October 16, 2020 (6:37 am)

        Okay, Brian, make some sense for us.

      • Patrick October 16, 2020 (6:51 am)

        It makes perfect sense!  Sometimes when I am winding down for bed and I can’t find/afford my sleepy time tea, I’ll instead chow dow on a fistful of those energy pills from the gas station, and then wash it down with an energy drink or two.

      • WW Resident October 16, 2020 (7:01 am)

        And yet you have no rebuttal on anything to clarify your stance and “correct” the perceived erroneous stance you replied to. You merely repeated makes no sense. Then enlighten us 

  • Ralphed October 16, 2020 (3:01 am)

    Meanwhile- DEA just made record 5800lb meth bust in California. Do the math on that!

    • Question Mark October 16, 2020 (2:38 pm)

      What would be really helpful would be for Americans to do the math on the fact that a 5800 lb meth bust is a drop in the bucket in this country, which is awash with illegal meth. Closer to home, there are literally people lining up at dealers’ places 24 hours per day.

      Whatever we’re doing as a country isn’t really even close to stopping the flow.

  • AMD October 16, 2020 (3:19 am)

    I know these guys get training for stuff, but it kind of seems like riding on the back of the vehicle like that is not exactly the SAFEST way to travel.  And the direction they’re heading in that photo is away from the house, implying they’re done, so it seems even more unnecessary to have them clinging to the back of a vehicle when I’m pretty sure the department has cars with seats and seatbelts and everything….

  • Flo B October 16, 2020 (6:46 am)

    So Brian what is “true” what do you want legalized???

  • Math teacher October 16, 2020 (7:34 am)

    Meth, heroin, and fentanyl are killing our neighbors. This graph is from King County’s opioid dashboard:

    • Lisa October 16, 2020 (10:38 am)

      Thank you for the graph, Math teacher. Each drug listed is in full view on Utah Ave S in Sodo – where we find needles, etc and people in distress, with their minds and body in utter chaos. I saw a near knife and machete vs axe fight near materialize 40’ away, have had cars and business broken into and one IV drug user found his way into a Seattle institution who locked himself in a bathroom for hours… once it was realized, he was “escorted“ out. Needles were all over the place. And a disgusting mess. HERBOLD!!! Listen and do your job and work for citizens – not just the vagrants who create problems the rest of us. (This is my edited abridged nice edition, Herbold)

    • Question Mark October 16, 2020 (2:34 pm)

      Note to King County and WSB readers: Methamphetamine is not an opiod.

  • Sillygoose October 16, 2020 (7:46 am)

    BRAVO to our officers!!!  lock all of these dealers and junkies up!!!!  

  • Jim October 16, 2020 (10:31 am)

    Maybe there will be less junkies hanging out at the corner store now?

  • roundthesound October 16, 2020 (12:33 pm)

    I drive by here frequently and I used to think there was a bus stop there because people are always posted on that corner by the mini mart, like the guy who sits in the armchair; until my partner pointed out there was no bus that goes down that street over a year ago. And Renton PD gets credit for this bust because local Seattle/King county sheriff/Burien PD can’t figure out what’s happening right under there noses. The guy who burnt down the funeral home used to hang out there too. 10lbs seems like a lot and whoever got caught must have gotten a sweet deal since that arrest lead to multiple locations getting busted. The swat team was probably only going a block or 2 to wherever they staged for this bust to their regular vehicles with seatbelts.

    • WSB October 16, 2020 (1:00 pm)

      We have a bit more information – the original stop was apparently in Burien after all (still have to confirm this) – still haven’t gotten information on exactly how Renton factored into it. Stand by for updates.

  • Omg October 16, 2020 (12:53 pm)

    To the person that said legalize Meth…you must be on it to say that. My entire family has been destroyed because of it. Even if you’re trying to make a joke….bad joke man. Know your audience. SMH 

    • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (2:22 pm)

      Not in defense of a joke in the least. Although the decodifying, like Portugal is an alternative. 

  • Benjamin October 16, 2020 (1:48 pm)

    The continued criminalization of drugs is a net negative for our society.  we have a large group of heavily armed individuals for this action yet the people that want to use (meth, in this case) can still find some easily.  These types of actions will never bee 100% without error and we will end up with dozens more Breanna Taylor(s) every year.  LEGALIZE IT!

    • Marcus October 16, 2020 (7:08 pm)

      Then how would the police departments get their insane budgets approved?  And think of the poor for-profit prisons!

      • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (2:28 pm)

        “For profit prisons”, great topic for a entirely new and different forum. To answer your question. They would have to find their way with less. “Like everybody else. “

    • Joseph October 16, 2020 (10:30 pm)

      Legalize an EXTREMELY dangerous drug that causes strokes and heart attacks in young, healthy adults and eventually kills almost every chronic user? 

    • BlkmaleHRhero October 17, 2020 (2:23 pm)

      Well said!

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