This time it’s the ampm store at 7301 Delridge Way SW – police are investigating a report of an armed robbery there. Early description of the robber is male, Black, late teens, covered face, all-black clothing, armed with a gun, got into a black SUV and left northbound. This is the fourth convenience-store robbery in West Seattle in the past nine days; the other three were at 7-11s.
Sad, but it’s the new normal. I only wish for the safety of the people who work there. You shouldn’t have to put your life on the line to serve the public..,
WSB. Has there been any indication that these robbers are connected to any of the other WS convenience store robberies?
Armed Robbery is Robbery in the First Degree, a Class A Felony. Class A felonies are punishable by sentences up to life in prison. Now I’m sure sentencing guidelines limit the incarceration time for that substantially, but the gravity of the crime remains and these geniuses are risking that for the amount of money in an AM/PM cash register. I guess harsh sentences have little effect when the criminals are too dumb to do a proper risk analysis.
With plea bargains and good time, a first time offender will do about ten years on the Rob 1. That’s with zero felony points. A career criminal who is “off the scale” or maxed out on felony points will do considerably more time. Then there are enhancements if a firearm was used during the crime versus a knife or a meat cleaver. The criminal justice system in WA is like taking a date to the dollar menu. A nice and polite person may just get the McChicken and a small Diet Coke, whereas a ratchety person will get the McChicken and add extra mayo and cheese, this person may even get dipping sauces that are extra if you don’t order the chicken nuggies, and then to top it off, this person will order the large mocha frape, with extra chocolate drizzle, which also comes with that sneaky Seattle sugar surcharge. Before you know it you’re paying a Canlis sized bill at the Golden Arches. It all makes sense to me.
The police cannot be everywhere. It’s not like there is a police station next door to this business. Ohh wait!
And the SW precinct is less than 1000ft away… this is what happens when there’s a lack of respect for police, by criminals and non-criminals.
This is what happens when they know the police are too busy harassing the homeless to respond to actual crimes.
Data doesn’t lie. There are still only a half dozen detectives assigned to sexual assault cases, creating a huge backlog, while police working on sweeps of homeless camps remain a top priority, with additional resources. Anyone who works downtown, or spends any amount of time there can see the huge use of resources that has been poured into having 3-4 beat cops walking every block in the downtown core, stopping to “chat” with anyone who so much as sets a bag down on the sidewalk. And not just for MLB weekend (this is just the most well-publicized reallocation of police resources for this purpose), it has been going on since the pandemic. If neither raw numbers nor the evidence of your own eyes aren’t enough then I can’t help you, Buddy.
Maybe data doesn’t lie, but K cites no data.
K’s anecdotal bias is convincing, however.
Piling on – K, you do not know what you’re talking about. As someone who works in Pioneer Square and daily deals with the open air drug market/rampant drug use around 3rd/James, I’m really, really good with the police interfering with that activity. More broadly, police attention to camps is targeted, limited and occasional. It has simply nothing whatsoever to do with staffing on the precinct level for dealing with street crime. Your disingenuous quoting of staffing for SPD SAU is a clever lie. The staffing shortage there is about the overall lack of police – hiring will take years to get those numbers back where they need to be. I assume you enthusiastically support that goal …
K, you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. SPD rarely visits homeless encampments unless there’s been a call to 911, which often come from encampment dwellers and nearby residents. When city officials order an encampment sweep, SPD is ordered to attend.
By the very nature of their existence criminals do not respect the police.
Respect is earned, not given. Forgetting this is how our police department got so incredibly corrupt.
Can’t believe another store was hit. I know the stores have been robbed by different groups or individuals but I wonder if it’s organized in some way? Have you heard anything about detective theories on these robberies?
Doubt it’s a organized ring, you typically don’t get much from a corner store robbery few hundred at most maybe some cigs and alcohol. Theft rings usually about stealing cars, robbing house, banks.
That makes sense. These robbers must be pretty low to risk so much for so little.
Per “Goggle” Maps, it is 400 feet from the mini mart building to the police precinct “as the crow flies.” It seems plausible that the perp(s) knew that almost no police are at the precinct, especially in the middle of the night shift.
That precinct is basically closed. I tried to go there to retrieve a stolen phone (that was recovered from a stolen Kia) and had to wait outside until i saw police driving by for help. The doors are locked and not much is going on there at all.
Why isn’t there more outrage and community support for the employees ? All this banter about police activity completely misses the mark. So many times we are called to boycott businesses and Im curious as to why no one is talking about it as these 7-11 employees are putting their lives at risk every night. Do you know the socioeconomic status of people work at the 24-hr. businesses? Remember when the local Taco Time decided to stop taking cash for the safety of the staff? How can we convince this company to reduce their hours? When was the last time you bought something at 7-11 between midnight and 6am that was necessary and couldn’t wait? Is what you need in the middle of the night worth someone risking their life?
A recent business spotlight news article on the 7-11 stores was in The Seattle Times. News article focused on the franchise aspect of the business and the current struggles to running a store 24-7, of which crime is a biggy. The franchisee must be open 24-7 or risk repercussions. 7-11 is now owned by a Japanese firm.
Frequently these stores are franchises owned by families who also work at the store. For example, for many years my family owned the gas station across from Safeway on Admiral Wy and most of the employees were family members.
Not having 24 hour convenience stores will never happen. There’s needs like cash payment for gas, cigarettes, bottles of motor oil, empty gas cans and of course the ATM. 24 hour convenience stores are too much ingrained into the society of America. Don’t see them going anywhere, as corporate unfortunately always looks at the bottom line.
Exactly. I have seen one on Ambaum in Burien,, however, that locks the doors after a certain hour and you walk up to a window and ask for what you want that way. Seems so much safer for them.
Look up apathetic in the dictionary and you’ll find Shoebox. Can’t change things because people are too used to getting gas and cigarettes at 3am? That’s ridiculous. Change is alway possible. What if it was someone you cared about that worked there and faced the risk of an armed robbery every night they went to work?
Just so we’re clear, you’re suggesting we reduce the operating hours by community boycott in order to protect workers by taking away some of their shifts? That’s a curious way to address crime but seems to miss the mark when it comes to supporting the employees.
Franchisees should reserve the right to hire armed security guards to deter this behavior
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