WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Mailbox break-in; car windows smashed; video from December arrests in 3 carjack attempts

Tonight, we have two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, plus SPD-released video from a triple-carjack-attempt case we covered in December.

MAILBOX BREAK-IN: Via text – this happened in a building at California and College in Admiral:

From security footage from the manager – at around 3:30 AM a man used the USPS key box to access the building door, then used USPS mailbox key to open all boxes, went through the mail, then closed it back up. He busted a separate mail box for commercial residents, then opened two adjacent doors, 1 leading up to floors and the other into a hallway leading to the back door into the alley where he left.

When the manager filed a report with the USPS he was told that one of their trucks was stolen with the keys in it. He also tried to open the large blue USPS box in front of La Premiere Apts but was not successful … I ran into the mailman & he opened the box to see if the entrance door key was there & apparently he put it back so he could come back. So this guy is very intentional he has the USPS master key, uses it to go in and out of the buildings, takes the mail he wants, puts the key back to come back for more crimes.

The SPD report # is 24-904172.

CAR WINDOWS SMASHED: The photo and report are from Jeffrey in The Junction:

At 4532 42nd Ave SW, my car window got smashed inside the parking garage. And, I noticed outside the apartment complex on 42nd Ave SW, there was another vehicle that was street parked with a smashed window. According to building staff, they’ve been hearing the whole block has been experiencing smash and grab.

SPD RELEASES VIDEO FROM DECEMBER ARRESTS: Today, SPD released an edited video compilation from a case we covered extensively when it happened almost three months ago – three West Seattle carjacking attempts in one night a week before Christmas, followed by a pursuit that ended with police arresting teenage suspects near Boeing Field. First, here’s the new video:

Here’s our original report as it all unfolded the night it happened, and here’s our followup after the suspects were charged three days later (as shown in that story, the charging documents in December even had framegrabs from the video made public today). So what’s happened since then? The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says the 16-year-old and one of the 14-year-olds are on electronic home monitoring, while the other 14-year-old remains in detention.

9 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Mailbox break-in; car windows smashed; video from December arrests in 3 carjack attempts"

  • Mike March 13, 2024 (5:47 am)

    Glad nobody was killed by those teens.  Watching the video, they easily could have killed a lot of people.  Judges are way too lenient.

  • Anonymous March 13, 2024 (10:11 am)

    If anyone can identify this person call the police as he is a serious treat to our community if identified as there are two reports files 1 via the USPS and 1 with the SPD as its a serious Federal crime having stolen the USPS truck/keys  to conduct his crimes/repeated?

    https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/3-usps-mail-trucks-stolen-west-seattle-with-mail-inside/Q5BHRLJWGRBYTLP6HQY3GASUJ4/

    As per this article the USPS trucks were stolen in the Alki neighborhood and  this recent crime was in the Admiral neighborhood and it might be the only footage that exists, therefore we don’t know how many buildings he has conducted & will continue to conduct these crimes as he puts the entry door keys back into the box and most apartments do not have  surveillance cameras. 

  • Ms. Sparkles March 13, 2024 (11:01 am)

    I know teen’s brains aren’t fully developed so the answer to my question of “What were they thinking?!?” is probably that they weren’t.  But I would hope basic empathy would’ve made them pause before some of these actions and it didn’t…. so are they lacking empathy?  Or were they too jacked up on adrenaline to feel anything else?I wish we could know what was going on in their heads – I feel like the only way to address the problem is to really understand it, and my brain just can’t comprehend this.

    • 1994 March 13, 2024 (10:42 pm)

      My theory is the teens know they have this undeveloped brain thing going for them. They take the risk and probably guess correctly the consequences will be no big deal, just get electronic home monitoring. 

  • Gregg March 13, 2024 (11:33 am)

    That mailbox at California and College is now gone. Did USPS remove it?  That’s just one less place to drop off mail. 😖

  • Tired of the BS March 13, 2024 (2:26 pm)

    This is why we need police pursuits.  Great job SPD!!!

  • Gatewooder March 13, 2024 (8:30 pm)

    Excellent work SPD. Wonder if those were the same ones who were doing the majority of kia thefts? Fit the description of the kids I caught trying to steal a kia in broad daylight. 

  • tim March 14, 2024 (8:43 am)

    I vote all those cops for president!!!

Sorry, comment time is over.