A 19-year-old man is in King County Jail, charged in what court documents call “a violent, random sexual assault on a complete stranger.” In the case (first reported at seattlepi.com; we obtained the court documents online today), Arjay D. Caraang is accused of approaching a 17-year-old girl who was walking in the 9200 block of 8th SW (near Westcrest Park) around 9 pm on July 21st, trying to talk to her, then grabbing her, groping her, and pulling her clothes off. The court documents say she broke away and ran; her screams brought help from passersby who chased the suspect, subsequently arrested by police. According to the court documents, Caraang has four felony convictions dating back as far as six years – three are “taking a motor vehicle without permission,” one is “attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle” – and five misdemeanor convictions, one for theft and four for driving-related offenses. The address listed for Caraang is near Roxhill Park; his bail is set at $77,500.

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon: First, info on the reason for a police search early this morning in The Junction. Police confirm a man reported being robbed at gunpoint at California/Alaska at 2:15 am. According to Det. Jeff Kappel in the media unit, here’s the description he gave officers: Black man in his mid-20s, 5-7, 180 pounds, short hair, mustache, black T-shirt, black cutoff-jeans shorts, black handgun, took off on foot headed westbound. A K-9 team joined the search, but the reported robber wasn’t found. (Hat tip to Lisa at CAPERS, who says the man who reported the robbery came into her store this afternoon; he told her it happened in the alley behind the west side of the Alaska-to-Oregon block. Also in The Junction, Katie e-mailed to ask what happened to the window at Northwest Art and Frame (right). Turns out a would-be burglar smashed it early Tuesday. The online police report says they did not enter the business; a staffer we talked to this afternoon said it didn’t appear anything had been taken. That would be at least the fourth case of business-window-smashing in West Seattle in the past few weeks (after Zebra Print and Copy in The Triangle and Freshy’s Coffee and The Swinery in South Admiral).

Two items in West Seattle Crime Watch. FIRST: A scare in the 5400 block of 26th SW (map) just before noon. A man claimed he had been shot. Police and fire responded, and determined he had not been shot, nor assaulted, though he was “scratched up.” According to Det. Mark Jamieson in the SPD media unit, investigators are still trying to sort it out, but the initial belief is that the man was either under the influence, or having psychological problems, leading him to make the false claim. SECOND: A wild night at a Fauntleroy/Raymond (map) apartment building, according to the couple who wrote with kudos for police, and an account of what happened – read on:Read More

We’ve been talking with police for a few hours to try to find out more about a search this evening in the Admiral area – thanks to everyone who called about it. Details are now on SPD Blotter: Police are seeking a man wanted for “domestic-violence threats” in the 6300 block of 22nd SW, then spotted in Admiral. They found his car, but not him. Full story here.

Before you lock up for the night, a reminder in this report from Kris:

Hi there, I wanted to report that my parents’ car on 47th Street SW (by Sunset) [map] was broken into last night and it looks like others might have been hit overnight. They left other vehicle information outside the car. Fortunately not much of value was in the car but others should be on notice to ensure they keep their cars locked on the streets. It’s unfortunate as we had assumed we lived in a pretty safe neighborhood.

We checked the available-so-far online police reports and aren’t seeing other reports in that area so far – but the “other vehicle info” could have come from elsewhere (there’s a 5100 block of SW Hudson car prowl listed for early this morning), or might be from incident/s not reported to police (who stress that it’s important to report, even if nothing was taken).

Three items in West Seattle Crime Watch this noontime. First, new details on the California/Andover mini-mart armed robbery reported here early this morning. According to Det. Mark Jamieson in the SPD media unit, the description given by the victim helped officers catch the alleged culprits at Delridge/Orchard – they pulled over a white pickup truck with four males inside (the victim had said two got out of the truck and robbed the store, just before midnight). Det. Jamieson says two suspects were arrested and booked into jail, while the other two were “interviewed and released”; he also confirms that a handgun was found in the truck. Meanwhile, two WSB’er reports have come in this morning – one, a woman looking for the hit-run driver who struck her as she crossed the street this morning; second, a car prowl – read on:Read More

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes today about tagging/graffiti vandalism. First, just in from a resident southwest of The Junction who wants to be anonymous, this report and photo:

Reporting multiple graffiti tags around our house at the corner of Erskine SW and SW Hudson. Garage door and “Do Not Enter” sign (west side of Erskine/Hudson intersection at one-way of SW Hudson) was marked with [five letters starting with Z, ending with R]. The tag was done with a black graffiti paint marker sometime between July 20-21, 2010. Good news is the graffiti is removed and our immediate neighbors are on the lookout. Hope this helps!

Our general rule (there’s bound to be an exception now and then, such as a request by police) is that we don’t show tags/graffiti vandalism without blurring, nor publish the full tag. Police do ask that you photograph tags before you paint them over, and there may soon be a new way to get those photos to investigators more quickly and easily: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James told the Delridge District Council last night that SPD is working on yet another new online reporting feature (following the launch of the reporting system mentioned here yesterday) – they’re looking at a feature that would allow citizens to upload photos. That would enable use of a new software package that detects similarities between tags/graffiti photos, so police can gather even more information to use against anyone they arrest. (Right now, though, even the new online system tells you that you must call to report this type of vandalism: 206-625-5011.)

Two items to share in West Seattle Crime Watch: First – remember Sharon, who shared the story two weeks ago about a burglary near Lincoln Park with loot including the family van? Tonight, a followup:

Our VW Eurovan is home, much the worse for the wear. (was stolen from our home at the end of SW Othello St 6-30-10). The Kent Police recovered it 7-13-10. Seems the van was in use for criminal activity. They found an acetylene torch, bolt cutters, tool box, etc in the van. Can you imagine a VW camper as a getaway vehicle!!? We think they were depending on the “nerd factor”. We haven’t recovered any of the other items stolen from the house. Service station video (in Tukwila) of someone using my debit card helped nail the thieves. So looks as if the thieves were not from West Seattle.

And from Keith:

I thought I’d send in a message to let you know that 3 telephone poles in our alley on 47th were tagged the other night. Not sure how many alleys or homes were hit. We are on 47th near Andover/Charlestown.

Two weeks from tonight, it’s Night Out – the neighborhood-building, crime-preventing block-party night – if you let us know – thanks!

Thanks to Brenda and to John Moore of Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) for sending in the tip after seeing the broken glass – Someone smashed The Swinery‘s front window overnight and made off with its cash register. We talked to The Swinery’s Garrett Doherty, who said there appeared to be a scattered trail of small change leading southbound. We’ve also checked with Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James, who says the thief/thieves didn’t actually go into the shop – they managed to grab the register through the broken window. Though sometimes commercial burglaries come in waves, he says there hasn’t been an unusual number lately. (Last night he told the Alki Community Council that crime overall has been quieter in West Seattle lately; our report on the ACC meeting’s coming up later.) No arrest in this, yet.

After several notes scattered over the course of the afternoon/evening, we finally have information on the big police presence that several people noticed in Highland Park and south White Center at midday today: Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith tells us tonight that it started with a report of a “domestic-violence disturbance” in the parking lot of Walgreens at 15th/16th/Roxbury. The suspect, a man in his late 20s, ran; he eventually was found hiding in bushes two blocks away, but matters were complicated by the fact the victim was uncooperative, says Lt. Smith, and tried to keep officers from finding the suspect. Once he was found, he was booked into King County Jail in connection with an outstanding warrant. Also tonight, two reader reports – a stolen car, and a car prowl – read on:Read More

If you see somebody under a car/truck – that might not be roadside repairs – read A’s report, after the jump:Read More

While we’re devoting much of the day to West Seattle Summer Fest coverage, the other news will go on. We’ll keep this story ongoing for any non-breaking Crime Watch reports that need to be added during the day. First one comes from Mary in Seaview, who sent the photo at left, explaining, “I just want to report that our car was vandalized, probably last night. We saw some orange paint that had been sprayed on a white fence on 49th last night as we walked home from Morgan Junction, then discovered that our car and a neighbor’s car had also been sprayed with a line of orange paint. I did report it to police.” Morgan Junction also is the location of another report from an incident Wednesday night – read on (also added, possible casing on Puget Ridge):Read More

(updated) Four West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share – starting with a burglary that included a van theft, and a request that you be on the lookout for the van. Read on:Read More