Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:
ROAD-RAGE ARREST: A 39-year-old West Seattle man is in the King County Jail after an alleged case of armed road rage. We’ve obtained the police-report narrative, and that’s what we’re summarizing here:
Just before 2:30 pm Monday, a 911 call came in from a woman who said another driver flashed a gun at her. The officer met her at 8th SW and SW Cambridge; she was described as “visibly shaking.” She told the officer that she had just left work and, the report narrative says, “wanted to merge with the westbound lane of Olson Pl Sw from 2nd Av Sw. As she attempted to merge, (another vehicle) came up fast behind her. She then merged into a different lane and the vehicle changed lanes as well closely behind her vehicle … She was initially confused, thinking it was a police vehicle because it looked similar, and she thought she was in the way. But then she changed lanes again, and again the vehicle changed lanes with her. As they approached a stoplight [8th/Roxbury], the other driver … pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.” She said she asked him why, and that he told her to “shut the f*** up.” She took a photo of the vehicle, a Ford Explorer, and got the plate number.
Using that, police went to the registered owner’s house and found him there. The report says he acknowledged owning a gun, for which he had a valid concealed-pistol license, and that he had “drawn it during the (reported) incident.” He claimed the driver cut in front of him twice and, the report continues, said that “he could see the other driver yelling at him and he was not sure why since she was the one making the lane changes. As they got to a stoplight, he noticed the other driver rolling down her window. Because he was afraid of what has been happening here in West Seattle, he unholstered his gun from his waistband and only pointed it south. He assessed the situation and re-holstered his gun. The other driver was yelling at him and spit toward his vehicle. He said his window was up the whole time.”
So how did the investigating officer sort this out? They wrote, “I inspected the passenger side of (the suspect’s) vehicle but did not see any sign of spit or liquid. Both sides of the story were consistent with each other’s except for the point of where the firearm had been pointed.” Assessing the types of vehicles driven by both parties, the officer wrote, “The height of (the suspect)’s vehicle would not have given (the victim) a view of the gun if it had just been unholstered and not pointed at her. Since (her sedan) was at a lower vantage, she could not have seen the gun, unless it had been lifted high enough … At this time, I determined that (the suspect) violated SMC 12A.14.075 – Unlawful use of weapons to intimidate another.” With his permission, they located and confiscated the gun, described as a Glock, along with “a magazine carrying six 9mm rounds, plus one more in the chamber.” The suspect was then booked into jail. So far as we can tell, he has no criminal record.
Also today, one reader report:
BUSINESS VANDALISM: At least two Triangle businesses were hit by vandal(s) overnight, according to a texter who sent photos from neighboring Rudy’s Barbershop and Realfine Coffee, including this one:
The texter said they had heard other businesses might have been hit, but we’re not seeing police-report numbers yet.
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