WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: School sign stolen for 4th time; early-morning prowler; pharmacy robbery

| Crime | West Seattle news

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

SIGN STOLEN AGAIN: The photo and report are from Julie:

I wrote back in June to let you know the upsetting and disappointing news that a Black Lives Matter sign (see photo) our PTA placed on the Myrtle St. fence at Gatewood Elementary School was removed and stolen. It has been replaced three other times since then, the most recent time being January 7th — all of these signs have been placed with the full permission & support of our school administration. Then unfortunately last night, it was taken again for the fourth time. Someone is trying very hard to block this message of solidarity and support for people of color in our community, and we ask that people be on the lookout. We are planning to have members of our community add their own signs supporting the movement to this fence during Black Lives Matter at School Week, February 1st-5th.

PROWLER: Dom says this security-video screengrab shows a prowler spotted in Sylvan Ridge Townhomes between 4:30 and 5:30 this morning.

Neighbors have reported various items missing, and Dom notes that video shows the prowler “trying to steal things from our patio and/or appears to then spend significant time trying to see if the sliding door is unlocked. She then seems to look underneath items on our neighbors’ stairs, perhaps to see if there’s a spare key beneath.”

PHARMACY ROBBERY, ASSAULT: This summary is from the SPD Significant Incident Report file, which says it happened around 8:11 pm Monday night at the 15th/Roxbury Walgreens:

Three suspects entered the Walgreens pharmacy by jumping over the counter. They demanded Oxycodone and Promethazine. They did not want to wait the 5 mins for the medicine cabinet timer, so they took about $300 from the register. As they were leaving the store, a female was entering. The suspects punched her several times in the face before taking her purse, which contained about $600. The suspects broke the front door off of the frame to exit Walgreens.

flimflam January 20, 2021 (4:15 pm)

lovely news all around, sheesh…

WSREZ January 20, 2021 (4:29 pm)

Story 1: Horrible. I would be willing to donate for them to put a more permanent kind of sign in place or even just to replace it (again). Sigh. People are messed up.Story 2 and 3: the drug problem is out of control. both situations scream major desperation to continue their addiction.

Alyssa January 20, 2021 (5:12 pm)

I graduated from gatewood the class of 2012 and they were amazing with the diversity and I know they still are. I would love to help make signs because it’s such an important message, especially for kids that are young

Sassy January 20, 2021 (8:38 pm)

Maybe put the sign on the inside of the fence and attach multiple zip ties? Obviously these folks are cowardly white suprematists in their thinking and might be thwarted by this extra measure. But really … after today’s amazing message of unity and acceptance — of inclusion and the celebration of all of US — this kind of nonsense has no place in our America.

Donny January 20, 2021 (11:30 pm)

It is obviously a white supremacist stealing this sign. That’s the only possible conclusion. Who else would want to BLM sign to post on their garage wall? No drug user or otherwise homeless person would possibly want this signed as they don’t have a garage wall to put it on.

Feel Good Posturing January 20, 2021 (8:59 pm)

West Seattle is out of touch, the comments so far are more concerned about a sign than a violent robbery? And I don’t understand the ending, a woman was able to enter… but they had to break the door off the hinges/tracks to get out? Does Walgreens lock their employees in with clearly dangerous people who are threatening violence or death against their employees? Did an individual there make the decision to risk all of their lives? The thought of a minimum wage child running the checkstand being locked in a store by a delusional manager is upsetting, I hope I am misunderstanding. The report is missing a lot of information, why is there no photo or video of the perpetrators? Why do we have a private citizen’s video of some petty private crime but none from a public store assault that undoubtedly has cameras?

WSB January 20, 2021 (9:04 pm)

This is all the information we have. We hadn’t heard of the Monday night robbery until it turned up in the Significant Incident Reports, which we check daily – police sometimes update them daily, sometimes don’t (there was a 10+-day lag in late December). They’re just a fraction of incidents, and in general, we are very dependent on tips/reader reports. Many police dispatches are done screen to screen rather than over the air so there’s no other way to hear about it. Or if we don’t hear in real time, getting info takes a while – somebody texted us to report a robbery tonight at the other Walgreens; I won’t be able to get details until tomorrow. As for photo/video, police occasionally release security video images of suspects they’re looking for, none so far in this case – TR
Graciano January 21, 2021 (4:42 am)

I don’t think they broke a locked door off at Walgreen’s, it is more like their struggle to get out and punching the women at the doorway probably broke the door.Anyways isn’t it against Fire Department regulations to have exit/entry doors lock when the business is open?
Simple January 21, 2021 (6:47 am)

What some have chosen to comment about here is not just ‘a sign.’ They are particularly concerned about racist hate related crime in the community. Also, the more simple explanation than your story of a delusional manager locking child laborers in, is that these drug crazed criminals ran towards an entrance door instead of an exit door and chose to break out of it instead of taking the time to find an exit door. Many places have one way operational doors.
Mel January 21, 2021 (8:13 am)

I agree. The stealing of the sign is unacceptable, however, are people that desensitized to violent crime in our neighborhood? This is a multi faceted problem. There’s no criminal recourse for people committing crimes, and if the people who committed this robbery are addicted to drugs, there’s no way to force them into treatment. I don’t know when things will start to get better in this city, but any of us could have been in Walgreens (or another store) when this was taking place. Scary.
momof3boys January 21, 2021 (8:58 am)

I took the “broke the front door off of the frame” to mean that the door was broken by being slammed open so violently, NOT that the door was locked.
- Simple January 21, 2021 (10:52 am)
  
  Also possible!
  
  Feel for those who were in the store and experienced this and the woman assaulted, hope all are recovering okay. All of these reported incidents are discouraging and disturbing to hear about.
  
  There is also kindness and love and hope out there, turn your face towards the sun to feel its warmth (well, metaphorically speaking, on this rainy day)…
Ws January 22, 2021 (2:45 pm)

Thank you I was reading the comments on this and all people care about is a sign you don’t think the lady that walked in a store that just got robbed gets punched multiple times while having her purse stolen is more important then a sign being stolen your sick in the head

Jort January 20, 2021 (9:01 pm)

Imagine being so fragile that you have to tear this sign down, like a coward, in the night. What an instructive example to show our schoolchildren about the terrified, gutless reactions that pathetic, frightened white people have when brown people seek equality. Truly the picture of white fragility, to be so scared of the great threat of this …. sign.

Neighbor January 20, 2021 (10:46 pm)

For story 2, the same person hit my house and our neighbors on 28th Ave SW up the hill from Sylvan Ridge at approximately 5:45am. They were looking in our houses with a flashlight, upturned doormats, and attempted to enter the neighbors house. I called the police while watching this, they arrived and intercepted the person in their white small size car as they left, but did not detain them. The person left some stolen solar yard lights in our yard (SPD took them as evidence..) and they also stole two of our street address numbers off our fence. Whoever posted the video screenshot, feel free to email me (westseattle@cdine.org) and I can share my police case number.

Neighbor January 21, 2021 (9:51 am)

Another update – after posting the above message, two people have already emailed me with pictures of different battery powered solar landscape lights / art pieces that were stolen! The suspect was inspecting my battery powered solar yard lights as well, but didn’t take them. I’m not sure what the appeal of stealing these is, the only thing I can imagine is they are harvesting lithium batteries to scrap or something.

River January 21, 2021 (10:06 am)

Any video of the Walgreen’s incident? What cowards to bring violence and harm to the community. Hope the victim is ok.

DrugstoreStories January 21, 2021 (3:01 pm)

I was in that Walgreens one evening a few months back when there was an attempted robbery. The female cashier told me the same guy robbed her in the morning for some vape cigarettes and had come back every hour since in a different shirt and attempted to rob her again. It’s not ok that she has to deal with that to make a living.

Elle Nell January 21, 2021 (9:45 pm)

I live a few blocks above Gatewood toward 35th and have had 2 signs removed. One was just taken and the other was left, cut up. I have also noticed other neighbors who have had their BLM signs taken. This is NOT ok. And while I believe in peace and love, I would love to catch the fool taking BLM signs!! Please keep your eyes open and this IS considered a hate crime in my book—- I now have a nice sign in our widow and bought a 3×5 flag, flag pole and mount. I am SICKENED that someone in this neighborhood is such a blatant BIGOT.
I am willing to donate to Gatewood with money or sweat equity for a nice solid, piece of art that says, BLACK LIVES MATTER ‼️‼️

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