WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen brown Kia Soul; car break-ins; package theft

| Crime | West Seattle news

Reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN CAR: In the photo above is Teresa‘s brown Kia Soul, being driven Saturday night by a thief who took it from 35th SW between Henderson and Trenton. Teresa spotted it on 29th SW by Nino Cantu SW Athletic Complex: “I looked north and saw a smaller guy standing by my car on the side of the road, doors open on both sides. I was completely stupid in the moment and walked toward him, saying, ‘Hey, that’s my car,’ and he dove in, tried to run over me, and took off south down 29th. I could see him for about six blocks until he curved around on Cambridge.” Plate # is AAN6185, SPD report # is 23-131049.

CAR BREAK-INS: In that general area, with postseason sports still under way, Kamil wanted to issue this warning: “Friday there were two reported car break-ins around the SWAC softball and baseball fields. We believe it was motivated by the Metro League tournament happening at the same time, and both resulted in loss of property and broken windows.” Both happened on SW Trenton, says Kamil, who did not have a police-report # yet.

PACKAGE THEFT: From Katie in North Delridge:

Porch pirate stole a large package off my porch Saturday around noon in broad daylight. Both our security cameras caught him. White male, bald, maroon shirt, gray shorts and sneakers. Happened on 26th Ave. SW. Between Hudson and SW Alaska.

Police report # is 23-130980.

Weary Leary May 14, 2023 (8:07 pm)

The kid driving it came really fast on 29th towards Cambridge. I was coming down Cambridge and luckily saw the fast coming car on 29th. The kid driving it clearly had no mindset that cars might be coming around that corner, as he took a wide turn onto Cambridge. This happened maybe around 5:00 or 6:00, I’m thinking 6:00pm. I swerved and gave a honk to let him know he needed to gain better control of the road. It looked like about a 19 year old white boy (I think he mighta been smilin too). Didn’t even dawn on me that he just stole that car! Not more than maybe two months ago there was a smashed up little car on Cambridge up partially on a curb, think that was a Kia Soul. They say it’s not yourself you have to watch on the road, it’s the other drivers!

sgs May 14, 2023 (8:47 pm)

Anyone know of a sociologist who has studied what’s going on in our country and published some explanation as to why we’ve gone so low so fast? Unbelievable.

OneTimeCharley May 14, 2023 (11:58 pm)

I’m sure folks are working on just that. Personally I think it’s a ‘perfect storm’ scenario. Pandemic obviously, but also the knock on effect of a near constant state of “war”, both metaphorical and literal, for the last 20 years. War has been shown to lead to extremist ideology afterwards, when the warriors come back at home. Germany post WWI is often mentioned as an example of this, but there are many examples once one starts looking closely at individual conflicts. Technology now allows mass influence on a scale that formerly only belonged to network televisions and the largest of newspapers. Considering all the entities seeking to influence our future as a nation, foreign and domestic, combined with the ability now to fund it completely and limitlessly with untraceable dark money. Finish it all off with a massive opioid problem, problems sustaining affordable housing, and very thin margins on any potential political consensus and you have what I referred to above as a ‘perfect storm’. I’m sure I left other factors out as well, but if a large enough portion of the population simply gives up, then the entire system collapses in upon itself. Cheery huh?
- sgs May 15, 2023 (6:01 am)
  
  Good analysis. Fighting giving up a lot these days, but though whatever we do will not be enough on a personal basis, it matters that we do it.
  - OneTimeCharley May 15, 2023 (11:12 am)
    
    It sure does SGS. It sure does. Glad to still have you in the game and proud to be on your team. These problems are all fixable, so let’s take it to ’em. Be well!
Also John May 15, 2023 (11:43 am)

Releasing the bad guy is the problem IMO. We need 10x as many prisons. If you commit a crime, and are caught, you should go to prison. Currently we process the criminal and put them back on the street. Why go straight if that’s the worse? Criminals need to know the risk they’re taking.

KR May 14, 2023 (9:28 pm)

Besides auto theft, doesn’t that up the crime to ‘attempted’ something or other?

Steph B May 15, 2023 (5:52 am)

Someone tried to break into my car Thursday night. Instead of smashing the windows, they gouged out the driver’s side door lock, and scratched the door. I have a Kia Sportage, and it was stolen last October, recovered the next day. It’s a sad state of affairs that my first thought was that at least they didn’t take the car or break the windows this time. They didn’t manage to get inside. This is at 24th and Holden.

Torso_McTeague May 15, 2023 (10:54 am)

All, I’m the Kia Soul owner from the article, and huge thank you to WSB for posting it. The police found it early this morning in Tukwila, and we were able to recover it (damaged but drive-able). Some advice, since this was the first time I’ve been through this and ran into some hiccups:If the police ask you whether you want it towed or to be notified of the location when/if they find the vehicle, ask for the tow. I opted for the location (again, stupidly…I was in a bit of shock and was not making smart decisions), asked dispatch if I could change my mind at the time of the call and was told yes. However, I missed the call because of sleep focus on my phone, and was left with only the “you have to go recover the vehicle yourself but we can provide a police escort if you call us from the location” option. Which further meant randomizing family from the Tacoma area to come get me to do just that…a huge pain I could’ve avoided if I’d just said “tow it” in the first place. Also, Kia dealerships in the area are so backed up because of this TikTok “Kia Boyz” situation that most are not accepting any more towing drop-offs, and the ignition replacements are back-ordered until June. If you have an older Kia, I highly recommend additional security and vehicle trackers until the replacements start…neither of which I had, and am now researching.

WSB May 15, 2023 (11:00 am)

Thank you for the update!

RecreationalDriver May 15, 2023 (12:07 pm)

Everyone please consider installing some manner of kill switch in your automobiles. It’s often easy enough to DIY after watching a couple YouTube videos. If you only drive occasionally you can even remove a relay or disconnect some other part between outings. It’s worth the peace of mind.

Sandrina Reyes May 15, 2023 (1:50 pm)

2 Adult bicycles stolen from my patio first Saturday I moved in. It had no open gate or access to the public. It did not face the road. Two adult males, hopped my fence and rode off off on them. The cameras did not deter them at all. They were way to comfortable imo and had the audacity to take a cigarette break before taking them. They clearly watched us move in and noted what to take. Location North Delridge across from the Playfield.

WSB May 15, 2023 (3:06 pm)

I’m sorry to hear it – we can include in a Crime Watch roundup if you email us info (including photos if any and police report #) – westseattleblog@gmail.com
- Sandrina Reyes May 15, 2023 (5:58 pm)
  
  Thank you for the offer. Unfortunately we don’t have any pics that clearly identify what the bikes look like. We checked with our insurance and the value is not high enough for a claim. I emailed the non emergency contact to report the bike theft but no one got back to me.

Joan May 21, 2023 (7:57 am)

There’s a brown Kia soul parked on Bonair Place in a reserved spot where there’s not been a Kia soul before. It has different plates, but they could have been changed. Tried to figure out how to report this to police report but too confusing. Maybe worth a look.