West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary victim catches suspect

Last night at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (earlier reports here and here), Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen briefly mentioned that officers had been busy yesterday afternoon chasing after burglars who’d hit at least three places. He also said an arrest had been made thanks to alert citizens noticing and reporting someone suspicious. This morning we have the story firsthand from one of those citizens – who happened also to be among the victims – and actually tracked down one of the suspects:

Our home, in which we have lived for 26 years, near 35th and Morgan [map], was robbed September 15, 2009.

Our neighbor saw a youth with a backpack leaving the area about 4 PM.

My wife arrived home at about 4:30 PM and found a window screen off a back window, door open, drawers open in bedrooms, my son’s coin containers on the floor, and a laptop computer missing.

I returned home about 5 PM and decided to check the Westwood QFC to see if the thief had deposited the coins my son had saved for years on his dresser.

There was the thief, feeding my son’s coins into the Coinstar machine. I introduced myself and asked to look in the backpack, there was the computer and my son’s iPod speakers…I detained this young man until the police arrived.

Several youths left the parking lot in a white car with a spoiler in a hurry when the police arrived.

Our possessions were returned and the thief was described to me as a convicted felon.

We have asked police for more information today about this case and any other related break-ins yesterday and will add to this story when those details come in. 4:54 PM UPDATE: Talked with Detective Brian Ballew. He says they’re not sure if this suspect is linked to the two other burglaries yesterday afternoon – the only thing in common is that “large amounts of coins” were taken in the others. Also they’re not sure if anyone else was actually involved with this break-in – the one suspect who was nabbed matched the description of the one person seen afterward – but someone did drop the suspect off at the QFC, and, as described above, left in a car described only as “white … with a spoiler.” Det. Ballew also confirmed the suspect was booked into jail and that he has a record.

39 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary victim catches suspect"

  • Sean September 16, 2009 (12:03 pm)

    *High Fives* Good job man! Genius on the coin thinking too!

  • nuni September 16, 2009 (12:03 pm)

    oh my goodness!! Great job on catching this guy. Smart thinking!

  • miws September 16, 2009 (12:12 pm)

    Wow! What a great resolution to this incident! Smart thinking, “Dad”!

    .

    Now, let’s hope they lock that revolving door after this (alleged) perp is convicted, and that his buddies get caught too…

    .

    Mike

  • Jen September 16, 2009 (12:27 pm)

    This is 100% pure awesome. This kid might want to change his line of work, since it doesn’t appear he’s very good at it.

  • Stacey September 16, 2009 (12:28 pm)

    THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!

  • Danielle September 16, 2009 (1:07 pm)

    Greatest story ever. Wow. That kid must’ve been shocked!

  • Sotavento September 16, 2009 (1:11 pm)

    Whoot! whoot! Outstanding!!

  • margaritaville September 16, 2009 (1:16 pm)

    Wonderful news!

  • Copper Nulu September 16, 2009 (1:24 pm)

    Great results, but this could also have turned tragic…
    I wonder what SPD recommends in such situations?
    If you call 911, without confronting and holding, the suspect would likely get away.
    I am glad that no one was hurt.

  • Andre September 16, 2009 (1:26 pm)

    Congratulations to “Dad”! Intelligence and courage go a long way.

  • WSN Helen September 16, 2009 (1:28 pm)

    I’m just a little confused about the wording of the story. If he was a youth/juvenile how was it possible for him to be a convicted felon? Or was he 18 but young looking?

    And he actually let you look in the backpack? Wow.

    Waiting for the details from the police follow-up –

  • CA September 16, 2009 (1:47 pm)

    Wow that is a great story! What in the heck made you think to check QFC…lol…and yes I agree with Helen HE LET YOU LOOK IN BACK PACK??? Dumb kid huh? Smart Dad though! Glad everything went well…I can wait to hear more!

  • cmc September 16, 2009 (1:47 pm)

    So great! But, it does seem odd that a “convicted felon” let him look in his bag, and be detained. Why didn’t he take off?

  • angrywestseattleite September 16, 2009 (1:50 pm)

    Great job in catching him, but don’t worry everyone, he will be back on the streets in no time.

  • mark September 16, 2009 (1:56 pm)

    wow, you guys are tough on the victim here. I don’t think he said the kid was a felon, I think the cop said he was a felon. Felon can also be a pretty broad term, if you take what the officer said at face value. The perp may or may not have been convicted of an actual felony but be a known “felon” who has been busted before.

  • burglerbustindad September 16, 2009 (2:10 pm)

    The thief and I had time to talk while we waited for the police. Many things he said were not true. He did say he was 19, and yes, it was the officer who described him as a convicted felon. He tried to leave but was discouraged.
    I will follow up.

  • OP September 16, 2009 (2:11 pm)

    That puts a captial A in Awesome! Smart thinking on hitting the Coinstar, sir! A little deductive reasoning and a little luck go a long way.

    I am a tad curious how the young man was “detained”. Hopefully it was with, shall we say, an unecessary but justified amonunt of force before the police arrived….

  • onceachef September 16, 2009 (2:12 pm)

    Great idea to check QFC! Congrats on getting your stuff and stopping this guy even if it is temporary. Mark- who’s being tough? The guy was caught “red handed” and has a prior record…you want people to be politically correct? Personally, I don’t care what he’s called…he’s a thief!

  • Claire September 16, 2009 (2:23 pm)

    Way to go!!!!!! Take that thief!!!!

  • mark September 16, 2009 (2:31 pm)

    You think I was being easy? I was in no way defending the punk, but the victim here. I would consider the punk a felon, if he isn’t yet, I am sure he will be one day soon enough.

  • burglarbustindad September 16, 2009 (2:34 pm)

    Here is a public record on the event
    http://your.kingcounty.gov/dad/inmatelookup/interimResults.aspx?ba=209033113&bt=1072

  • Michael Phelps September 16, 2009 (2:40 pm)

    Hi, I won 8 gold medals at the last Olympics but that pales in comparison to what the dad did in catching this guy! Fantastic work!

  • Cheriberri September 16, 2009 (2:55 pm)

    I bet you made your sons day!! That is really awesome…. good thinking !!

  • Jennifer Nicole September 16, 2009 (3:04 pm)

    Awesome! I’m glad you caught this kid, “Dad.”

  • Bruce W September 16, 2009 (4:21 pm)

    You’re a better man than me. By the time the cops came, that *$&%@ woulda been IN the Coinstar.

  • dq September 16, 2009 (5:03 pm)

    burglarbustindad… i’m still smiling at your moniker and your story. top notch.

  • justcuz September 16, 2009 (5:53 pm)

    hmmmm…might be worth leaving a jar of pennies & nickels around just in case! Nice to hear the good guys win once in awhile.

  • seven September 16, 2009 (6:44 pm)

    Police don’t usually describe someone as a convicted felon if they actually haven’t been convicted of a felony.

  • WSN Helen September 16, 2009 (7:15 pm)

    It was mostly confusing having the suspect described as “kid” and “youth” and also “felon”. It seemed like he was 16. But since he is apparently 19, he is clearly an adult. And in rather big trouble.

  • Ex-Westwood Resident September 17, 2009 (9:06 am)

    Age makes no difference in the classification of the crime. If a 15 year old commits armed robbery it is still classified as a felony and if convicted of that crime he is a felon. The area where age comes in to play is the sentencing and trial; are they tried as an adult or juvenile? Which has a direct bearing on the length of their confinement, whether their records will be open and where they are confined.

  • burglarbustindad September 17, 2009 (12:49 pm)

    King 5 news was just here
    film to follow at 5 PM
    Not sure I was ready for my “closeup”

  • KBear September 17, 2009 (1:52 pm)

    “Convicted felon” is redundant. You can’t become a felon without being convicted.

  • Jen September 17, 2009 (8:45 pm)

    OMGoodness! You are by far the coolest ever!! My husband and I just watched your story on King5 News and we both were clapping for you!!

    Stupid thieves…..maybe they will think about people like you before they rob someone else!!

  • T September 18, 2009 (9:45 am)

    Made CNN Headline news, saw it this morning, 09/18/09, fantastic story, way to go burglarbustindad. Keep up the good work WSBlog.

  • The Old Wolf September 20, 2009 (7:21 am)

    The response of the police in these cases is always the same: “We’re glad it came out well, but you should never do that.” Well, burglarbustinddad, if more people had your cojones, and stood up for themselves, criminals would think more than twice. Congratulations!

  • Tony September 21, 2009 (1:12 pm)

    Hey Burglarbustindad,

    Did you ever coach your sons little league baseball team?

    -Tony

  • burglarbustindad September 21, 2009 (5:49 pm)

    Yes I did Tony
    Great to hear from you my FB friend

  • Anon September 23, 2009 (12:09 am)

    I saw that go down! That QFC has two Coinstar Machines, I can’t believe you were so accurate on where he was! All I heard was some rustling, and I saw a man (You) take down what seemed to be a young kid. I saw the laptop bag drop to the floor. There was yelling, and I saw you holding him, then taking him to the floor! His face was so red! In no time, mall security was there, then the police officers showed up.

    You go, man!

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