WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another overnight crash results in arrest; shoplifting turns violent

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

ANOTHER COLLISION LEADS TO ARREST: Less than an hour before last night’s deadly West Seattle Bridge crash, SPD and SFD were dispatched to an unrelated crash on West Marginal Way SW. Today, SPD says that crash resulted in an arrest for investigation of DUI and a firearms violation. Their summary says it happened in the 4500 block of West Marginal [map] around 11:30 pm, and: “The first arriving officer found a heavily damaged pickup truck which struck and bounced off a utility pole, then came to rest on nearby railroad tracks.” The driver, a 23-year-old man, was found nearby. Police say he told them he had fallen asleep whiled driving, and denied having consumed alcohol – but they spotted an empty beer can in the truck, and noticed “signs of impairment.” So they did a field sobriety test, and after taking him into custody based on those results, they found “a loaded and concealed full-size handgun” in his pants pocket (SPD photo). He didn’t have a concealed-carry permit. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for evaluation of possible injuries.

SHOPLIFTING TURNS VIOLENT: Just got a reader tip on this and have only preliminary details – if you saw police at Jefferson Square around 1 pm, they were investigating a case of shoplifting turned violence. According to the tip, three people “tried to leave the [Bartell Drugs] store with a basket filled with items.” They are reported to have assaulted and knocked down someone who tried to stop them. We’ll add whatever more we find out. (added) The description of the main assailant was, according to exchanges between dispatch and officers: Black, female, wearing a black top, gold chain, black and white shots.” She is reported to have punched a woman and pulled her hair; the victim declined medical attention. The attacker was last seen “turning the corner into The Junction.”

14 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another overnight crash results in arrest; shoplifting turns violent"

  • Rhonda March 22, 2023 (2:12 pm)

    The DUI laws in this State are atrocious and pathetic. Our Legislature in Olympia had a VERY good bill to lower the blood alcohol threshold from a sloshed .08 to .05 but they couldn’t even pass that small step. Washington State has some of the weakest DUI laws in North America, yet our lawmakers, once again, put their tails between their legs and ran. They have the blood of DUI victims on their hands.

  • Lincoln Park Mom March 22, 2023 (3:06 pm)

    ENOUGH!!!!  I am so tired of bad behavior!  I have zero tolerance at this point!  Put the drunk driver away, take his truck and his license!  He’s done!  Shoplifters, burglars, assailants, The list  goes on and on.  STOP!  The Seattle pride is dwindling.  I’m so angry!

    • neighbor March 22, 2023 (5:47 pm)

      I know, right? Some days I find myself agoraphobic. Sad to admit.

    • Derek March 23, 2023 (9:40 am)

      Could we have this same attitude towards CEOs who steal wages? And cops who go to January 6 riots, etc. etc. LAwlessness shouldn’t be just a couple laws broken. 

      • Lincoln Park Mom March 23, 2023 (1:01 pm)

        Of course. But I’m referring to this specific news article.  When it’s about CEO’s and Jan. 6, I’ll be happy to share my frustration.  I’m sticking to topic Derek.  

      • CarDriver March 23, 2023 (2:23 pm)

        Derek. These people committed a crime. Diverting attention from that fact is important to you because???

    • Stephen March 23, 2023 (6:19 pm)

      Amen

  • 4thGenWestSide March 22, 2023 (4:48 pm)

    It’s so depressing that stories like this no longer surprise me at all. I hate that I’m becoming numb to it all. 

  • Flyfisher March 22, 2023 (5:18 pm)

     Umm hang on a sec…they found a weapon in a pants pocket after giving him a field sobriety test. Lucky he wasn’t impaired or crazy enough to use it on them. Somebody missed a training session…

  • Cogburn March 22, 2023 (7:26 pm)

    This thievery is not to “put bread on the table.” If it were, the city could open a free bakery to solve the problem. It is lawlessness. 

    • Brian March 23, 2023 (8:57 am)

      It’s wild that you posit that “solution” as if the state (and by “state”, I just mean govt here) would ever build and operate something like a bakery to feed people directly. It would be amazing if they did that but that is not what this country does. 

  • Sue H March 22, 2023 (11:47 pm)

    These assaults and thefts are just getting ridiculous, and the fact that these people keep getting put right back onto the street is obviously not deterring anyone from continuing to try. I never would have thought that 1:00 p.m. on a weekday was a dangerous time to go to Jefferson Square. I run errands on my lunch hour all the time and other than the normal checking of my surroundings, I’ve felt pretty safe. Apparently I was wrong. It’s very disheartening.

  • Bee March 23, 2023 (8:46 am)

    Well said Lincoln Park Mom

  • HS March 23, 2023 (9:15 am)

    There were three women who used to shoplift from the now closed Pharmaca. I saw them once, similar physical description to the Bartell crime. They were selective in what they took and I got the impression that they were filling online orders from the list they referenced while filling their basket. Perhaps the same group?

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