WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Water Taxi dock theft; gun seized in 7-11 shoplift-turned-robbery

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:

WATER TAXI DOCK THEFT: Thanks to commenter RodgerM for the tip on this. Metro confirms that thieves hit the West Seattle Water Taxi dock at Seacrest overnight. Spokesperson Al Sanders tells WSB, “Several weights were reportedly stolen. They were located underneath the passenger boarding ramp at Seacrest Dock and are used as counterbalance. The Water Taxi’s engineering team installed a temporary system to replace the weights early this morning with no disruption to service.” We have followup questions out, including how much the stolen weights are worth.

GUN SEIZED AT 7-11: This photo tweeted by SPD this morning is related to a West Seattle incident last night:

According to the report narrative we just obtained from police, the call to 911 around 9 pm was that someone was inside the 35th/Barton 7-11 with a gun. Officers arrived and quickly took a 45-year-old man into custody. The clerk told them he saw the suspect “concealing merchandise in his coat,” the report says, and confronted him, at which time the suspect threatened to kill the clerk (which turned the case from shoplift to robbery). But then the suspect allowed the clerk to check his pockets, in which the clerk found the gun (as well as merchandise) and took it away. The suspect reportedly said he would leave if he got his gun back, and the clerk told him no, he had to wait for police. The report says the gun “had a purchase history from 1978” that was traced to a deceased person. Officers also found “six unfired .22 caliber rounds of ammunition” (as shown in the photo). The suspect, who has a felony record so shouldn’t have been in possession of a gun, was booked into King County Jail. (Wednesday evening update: He remains in jail tonight, with bail set at $30,000.)

Neighbor March 23, 2022 (10:56 am)

Is this just a cry for help? The 7-11 robber seems to have done the minimum to commit an actual go-to-jail crime *and* get caught. Conceal small items, make a threat, carry an old target pistol ok, robbery. But then let themself be searched and disarmed by a store clerk and then sit and wait for police? It’s like they *want* to be in jail.

Mike March 23, 2022 (11:52 am)

I feel bad for the store clerk having to deal with this crap. Glad nobody was injured or killed this time.
Cranky March 23, 2022 (4:16 pm)

It’s so easy to just dismiss this as ‘an old target pistol’. What? Sure, it fires 22 caliber ammo and is aimed at you. I question your ability to just think this is nothing more than ‘oh, I didn’t really mean any harm?Someone aims a firearm at your head and I’ll hear you talking a different tune
dmb March 23, 2022 (8:58 pm)

mental illness, not hardened criminality. thats a fun cowboy plinker for sure, plenty lethal, but not a weapon a serious criminal would employ given the cheap, concealable, and far more dangerous options out there, with well reviewed $250 (taurus) handguns that deliver $550 (glock) performance and reliability.

momof3boys March 23, 2022 (11:40 am)

Definitely strange, but I’m so glad the weapon was confiscated, and best of all, no one was hurt

Just wondering March 23, 2022 (12:46 pm)

I don’t know what size the weights were but did anyone check to see if they were just tossed off the dock into the water?

StopCuttingDownTrees March 23, 2022 (1:03 pm)

Sounds like the 7-11 clerk literally dodged a bullet. Confronting an armed felon in the act of a robbery and disarming him? Wow. Kudos to this B R A V E clerk for taking a dangerous felon off of our streets.

Sillygoose March 23, 2022 (2:01 pm)

BRAVO to the store clerk!!!! Nice to read a good guy won story, as for the pistol being for target practice nope this is what a firearm looks like not some military semi-automatic!!

Ace March 23, 2022 (8:09 pm)

I hope to never face that clerk in a game of Poker. That dude is hard-core and deserves a reward for his actions! Imagine working night shift at 7-11, and having to deal with situations like this on a regular basis. These workers deserve more!

Chuck Jacobs March 24, 2022 (10:15 am)

That’s a Rohm RG24. a Google search will show it paired with “worst revolver ever made” quite a lot. You will find a picture of it in the dictionary next to “Saturday night special”.

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