WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Five shoplifting suspects arrested at Westwood Village

| Crime | West Seattle news

8:44 PM: Seattle Police report another enforcement operation targeting shoplifting at Westwood Village. Here’s the short summary they released:

At 1000 hours (Tuesday, February 10), GIU Detectives and Southwest Patrol Officers conducted a joint Organized Retail Theft Operation at Marshalls and Ross at Westwood Village. Detectives teamed with loss prevention representatives to identify and apprehend suspects. Five suspects were arrested for shoplifting. Approximately $1,300 in stolen merchandise was recovered. This was a team effort and could not have taken place without the hard work by GIU detectives, patrol, and partnership with the loss prevention employees at Marshalls and Ross.

(GIU = General Investigation Unit.) We don’t have the suspects’ names so far and are trying to determine their status.

9:04 PM: The problem, nonetheless, persists – police just dispatched three calls for alleged shoplifting at Marshalls that occurred within a span of minutes.

11:05 PM: After some speculative searching through online records, we found one of yesterday’s arrestees in the Municipal Court system, which meant we could see the police narrative presented at his probable-cause hearing this afternoon. It says the 34-year-old suspect had “14 prior incidents” of shoplifting at the Westwood Village Marshalls, totaling a suspected $1,776, not counting the $168 in items he is accused of stealing on Tuesday. He was also arrested there in early January after loss-prevention staff called police; he had been “trespassed” previously, and the document from that case – which remains open – says he had been a “frequent” shoplifter there since last September. There’s no record of jail bookings prior to the one in January, though. In both that case and this one, he has been routed through the city Mental Health Court after concerns from his defense attorney, and while awaiting evaluation related to the January case, is now ordered for an evaluation in this one too (they’ll be compiled). In January, Mental Health Court Judge Willie Gregory granted release on personal recognition; today $500 bail was ordered, and the suspect remains in jail tonight.

I love mysteries February 11, 2026 (9:03 pm)

I wonder how our new City Attorney will treat such offenders.

WSB February 12, 2026 (11:01 am)

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So far pretty much the same as the old City Attorney. The CAO is who pushed for bail – low, but it’s a misdemeanor – in this case; in the previous one, they did not object. Again, as written above, this is going through Mental Health Court, which has some different elements, such as the upcoming evaluation.

1994 February 11, 2026 (10:22 pm)

Unfortunately everyone pays for the shoplifters. We all pay through the trouble they cause for the merchants, the legal system….I hope the shoplifters get some trouble back because they earned it.

K February 12, 2026 (4:29 am)

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Not everyone. They make sure shareholders and upper management compensation remains intact, and only shoppers and low-level workers eat the consequences of their staff cuts. There used to be a time when the answer to shoplifting was having employees on every aisle of the sales floor. Now they cut staffing back to bare bones and blame politicians when their own failed business practices enable shoplifters.
- Sanity Check February 12, 2026 (7:39 am)
  
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  Yep, everyone’s fault except the criminals.
- dwg February 12, 2026 (8:29 am)
  
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  This is the equivalent of “well, did you see what she was wearing?”
- Jerod February 12, 2026 (9:57 am)
  
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  Maybe they cut staffing to bare bones because they were forced to pay exorbitant minimum wages. How about some accountability to the folks committing the crime….for the 15th time.
  - Jake February 12, 2026 (10:34 am)
    
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    Jerod, so you want people making unlivable wages… and you think THAT income gap will reduce crime somehow? Uh, no. And before you go “then take another job” I must keep tapping the Unemployment Rate sign.
  - GH February 12, 2026 (7:24 pm)
    
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    Before you cry too much over the poor businesses and the “exorbitant wages” they have to pay, please remember that often times…. they don’t! The total dollar value of wage theft every year in the US is significantly higher than the total dollar value of retail theft.
    
    For some reason one of those types of theft is considered criminal and the subject of sky-is-falling cries of fear, and the other isn’t. Wonder why that is.
- Scarlett February 12, 2026 (11:49 am)
  
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  The “they” are the shareholders, technically speaking. The only purpose of management is to return value to the shareholder who receive a dividend – profit – and/or asset appreciation. In other words, the CEO is the employee of the shareholder, whether one owns one or a million shares.
Jake February 12, 2026 (10:33 am)

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Not enough CEOs/owners being taxed to pay for the poor. Income inequality leads to crime.
- CarDriver February 12, 2026 (2:23 pm)
  
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  Jake. Really? You believe poor=criminal=there should be no consequences because they’re poor so right and wrong doesn’t apply.

Lauren February 12, 2026 (7:58 am)

Well, 15th time’s the charm I guess.

John S February 12, 2026 (11:21 am)

If you’re trespassed from a business & return to said business (while trespass is still in-effect) & you then steal it becomes what I thought was a burglary charge, a felony. So curious as to why this subject was in municipal court which is only for misdemeanors as he should have been charged with burglary charge, a felony and therefore in superior court and also booked into jail. Glad SPD is helping these businesses fight theft & especially go after the habitual offenders, now only if judges could actually hold said criminals accountable then we may see a reduced level of this crime.

WSB February 12, 2026 (12:20 pm)

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The judge isn’t the one who decides the referring jurisdiction (if any). I checked first with KCPAO and no cases related to this had been referred to them.

Watertowerjim February 12, 2026 (1:40 pm)

Costco model for all.Membership card or you don’t get in.Check your cart for accuracy on the way out.$5/year and universal to all stores who want to sign up.Paying for people to check your card and check your cart is way cheaper than the theft.