WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Home-invasion burglary

10:43 AM: Reader report from a resident on 26th SW north of Roxbury who called this in to 911 around 4 pm Friday:

I was not feeling well and was asleep when I was awakened by a woman with a flashlight coming into my room. I chased her down stairs and caught her as she was fleeing out my front door. This is when a male accomplice came back and pushed me while demanding I let her go.

The police did not see a point of entry. Since, the doors were open and undamaged I decided to check my back yard and discovered they had removed a glass panel from a bedroom window as a point of entry. The person that installed my security doors told me that they would never get through one of their doors and it would be more likely that an intruder would come through a window instead.

I immediately noticed that all my keys were gone. This has resulted in my spending a considerable amount of money trying to remedy the situation.

The case number is 25-55434.

The victim did not include descriptive information, so we’re asking on followup.

2:46 PM: Here’s their reply regarding descriptions:

Both of them were in their late 20s to 30 with dark complexions; he was about 5’10” with short black hair and a medium build, dressed in all-black clothing, and he was carrying a paper bag with unknown items.

She was also in her late 20s to 30, about 5’8″ with a dark complexion and black shoulder-length hair and had a medium build and spoke with a slight accent. She was also dressed in all-black clothing. She dropped her flashlight and pair of tin snips while I was chasing her out. The items were turned over to SPD.

24 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Home-invasion burglary"

  • Meryl March 1, 2025 (11:06 am)

    Terrifying. I’m glad you are physically ok. 

  • Check who’s been coming around March 1, 2025 (11:07 am)

    If they used a window it’s likely someone who had come before and seen it was an easier entry point and they had enough time to remove the panel. Get motion activated flood lights if possible with an alarm. Homeowner is lucky they ran away although they have your keys. It could have been fatal at that point. They will probably come back. Guard your mailbox and switch to a locked one or hold your mail for time being. 

  • WS citizen March 1, 2025 (11:11 am)

    The continued presence of so many people in the neighborhood occupying tents, Rvs and trailers on the streets and along the streets without proper housing and employment likely creates the conditions for such antics and criminal behavior. The activities ousted from SW Trenton St on the north side of the Westwood Village Post Office are still in our neighborhood. One only needs to observe the broader area. It’s a vicious circle. Anyone else wish those individuals that are “off a positive track in their lives” could find a real solution to getting on a wholesome positive path. 

    • DRW March 1, 2025 (12:20 pm)

      Yes I agree WS Citizen. Now there’s that encampment on Barton Pl. Very unsafe for King County’s Transit Village. That stretch is walked by a lot of kids changing busses and just trying to get to school.

  • Alki resident March 1, 2025 (11:57 am)

    A whole set of keys were found on Roxbury and 17th yesterday afternoon by a lamp post. 

  • Alki resident March 1, 2025 (11:59 am)

    The post of a picture of the keys is on the “ white center” page 

  • Rlv March 1, 2025 (12:25 pm)

    WS citizen, do you have specific information that this was done by any of the groups you mentioned? If so, it should be shared with the police.If not, that’s an unfounded assumption that does help the person victimized and spreads falsehoods. 

    • Jeff March 1, 2025 (1:08 pm)

      You know….  We’re not talking about beyond a reasonable doubt here.    Preponderance of evidence is more than enough to have an opinion.   When I see a broken down RV covered in tarps surrounded by bike parts, I feel completely justified in considering those people thieves.    It is possible I might be wrong, but probably not.   When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras.

      • Joe March 1, 2025 (5:59 pm)

        Jeff – 100% agree. It’s amazing how naive some people can be. 

        • CAM March 1, 2025 (6:40 pm)

          I agree Joe. It is very naive for a person to believe they can draw a conclusion for which they have no evidence other than their own internal biases. It is entirely possible that the people who committed this crime were unhoused and residing in this neighborhood. It is also equally possible that they were unhoused and not residing in that neighborhood, they were housed and residing in that neighborhood, or they were housed and residing in a completely different neighborhood. There’s no information provided in the description of the events or of the physical characteristics of the suspects that would lead a person to be able to draw an inference about their housing status or location of their residence. The victim when providing their account specifically gave descriptions that avoided drawing conclusions about that, race, and national origin. I have a ton of respect for them that in the setting of their trauma they were able to demonstrate logic and respect. Maybe the commenters here who weren’t attacked in their beds could possibly have the same tact. 

  • Rlv March 1, 2025 (12:32 pm)

     That *does not* help the person victimized – my apologies for the typo.

  • Meeeee March 1, 2025 (5:07 pm)

    So SPD didn’t even walk around the property to discover the point of entry?                                                                                                           Embarassing for the cop who was too lazy to even walk around and see a window removed.                                                                                                                      It’s basic patrol procedure to do a walkaround, and this cop didn’t.                                                                                                                                                          They really don’t help their reputations when they only do the bare minimum of writing a report.                                                                                                                                                                                                             

  • WS citizen March 1, 2025 (5:46 pm)

    Dear resident thank you for making your reader report. I’m certain I’m not the only one who is appreciative and thankful that you were not physically harmed. I realize the high emotional & financial consequences as having experienced returning to my home with a man & woman trespassers present. I actually smelled their presence before encountering them. I made the decision to snap their photo & tell them to leave & not return or I would call
    911. The woman said she just wanted a coat & said they were homeless living in the area of the 1st Ave S bridge.
    The man headed towards the patio door (they broke in thru) to leave & I directed them instead out thru the nearest exit …the garage. I found a crow bar left behind next to where the man had moved to when I discovered him. It’s a sad situation all around. Sad too that I felt compelled to act vs call 911 in the moment in light of the understaffed SPD situation as well as ultimately move to another west seattle neighborhood.

    • Alki resident March 1, 2025 (7:33 pm)

      From my experiences, the suspects will make their way to your heart and make you feel sorry for them. By doing so, you yourself will become less defensive and more vulnerable because “ they’re just cold and down and out”. Things could’ve gone bad very fast and you could’ve been harmed, especially with the crowbar. We aren’t so short handed that police won’t show up to a burglary in progress call. This likely isn’t their first time breaking into houses and they will do it again, it’s just a matter of time. Another tactic is when catching these people in your property, they’ll start crying to gain your sympathy. It’s an old tactic and does work on people who aren’t realizing what’s going on. Both of these situations happened to us so I’m happy to share. I’m glad you’re ok, this is extremely violating. Get your property secured with cameras and clamps on your gates so they can’t access in the future. Good luck

    • Question Authority March 1, 2025 (8:11 pm)

      It was a traumatic experience and all you wanted was them out of your space, you’re fortunate that crowbar wasn’t used against you, and that coat excuse is downright lame.  I once came across a man who had just attempted to pawn my stolen lawnmower.
      His excuse was ” hey man, I borrowed this from a guy I know because I need to mow a friend’s lawn.”  Needless to say, I have my lawnmower and he soon wore handcuffs that fit just right because I have no sympathy or tolerance for thieves.

    • Amy March 1, 2025 (10:07 pm)

      Sure Jan

  • DBurns March 1, 2025 (8:15 pm)

    Thank you to RLV and CAM for pointing out how biased and frankly, disgusting, it is to make the assumption that these intruders were from an unhoused population – or any particular population for that matter! Property crimes and home invasions have happened for many years before obvious evidence of folks forced to live on our streets. How can you in good conscience blame a whole group of people without any evidence other than your biased opinions? Please think about this and maybe even learn about the PEOPLE who live on the streets in our community. They’re all kinds of folks, just like the variety of folks in the houses in West Seattle. I pray that you are never selected for jury duty. Oy. 

    • WestSeattleDad March 1, 2025 (8:50 pm)

      Yea they probably live in Admiral or Seaview. 50/50 they’re in tech.  Eye roll.  

      • Bill#1 March 2, 2025 (12:34 pm)

        Thanks for the reality check!

  • k March 1, 2025 (8:37 pm)

    By assuming it was the homeless and telling everyone to focus on them, you are basically giving a LOT of housed criminals carte blanche to commit whatever crimes, because they know people will only be looking at the homeless encampment to find the perpetrator.  Yes, there are homeless people who commit crimes.  There are also housed people who commit crimes.  I’m imagining the victims of this crime want them caught regardless of their housing status, and the more open-minded everyone can be, the more likely the criminals are to be caught.

  • Kel March 2, 2025 (3:46 am)

    Maybe stupid question but…is it that easy to remove a glass panel from a window?  Do some just pop out?  Just wondering if I should be concerned re my seemingly locked windows?  Thanks. 

  • Jake March 2, 2025 (1:48 pm)

    Any footage of the robbers? Home invasions have gone up the past year. I think there’s a repeat West Seattle person casing houses using utility vests in the day time to do so. 

  • PotKettleBlack March 3, 2025 (5:04 pm)

    We should all expect to see more and more of this over the next 4 years. As MAGA voters start to lose their businesses, run out of food, and watch their kids die of measles they’ll do what fascists have always done when things get hard… they’ll steal. It’s why they are always so keen on deportation. The people they are kicking out own things they obviously can’t take with them. Cars, TVs, clothing, etc. It’ll be a while before they start checking for gold teeth, but that’s mostly cause they don’t really read any history.

  • WiseWoman March 15, 2025 (8:05 pm)

    This happened to my friend in Burien a few years ago. Broke in while sleeping and stole keys to his cars. 

Sorry, comment time is over.