West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
In addition to what’s on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today, the King County Courthouse is the site of two court hearings of note:
(From left, Charita Dumas, Joy Anderson, Shelly Williams in court last June; photo by Christopher Boffoli)
COOPER CHALLENGE: According to anti-school-closure activist Chris Jackins, three parents’ challenge to the closure of Cooper Elementary School will be argued at 1:30 pm before Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas in courtroom W-965. In the last round of school closures, Seattle Public Schools closed the Cooper program along with the Genesee Hill Elementary building, moving the Pathfinder K-8 program – long “temporarily” housed at GH – into the Cooper building. Judge Greg Canova denied a motion for summary judgment in the case last summer (WSB coverage here); that meant it would go to a full hearing. Cooper parents Joy Anderson, Charita Dumas and Shelly Williams (shown in the photo above from last June’s hearing on the summary-judgment motion) contend the school was closed without a proper hearing; the district said state law only required hearings for school buildings that were closing, not school programs that were closing in buildings that would stay open.
ADMIRAL ASSAULT CASE SENTENCING: Three months’ work release is the recommended sentence for 23-year-old Jedidiah Doyle. He’s the man arrested after the August Admiral assault (reported here), a pistol-whipping in which Doyle’s gun (for which court documents say he had a concealed-weapons permit) went off once. He pleaded guilty last month to one count of assault. His sentencing is scheduled for 2:45 pm today in Superior Court courtroom E-955. The victim recovered, but according to court documents, he suffered a broken nose and broken facial bones and was left with “stitches in his face that extended from his chin to the top of his head.”
From a burglary victim who asked to be anonymous, but wanted to share advice that might help others:
We were burglarized on Friday afternoon. We live in a townhouse east of the Alaska Junction. The intruder came in through the window on the ground floor. They took a number of things, including my beloved camera, all my lenses and some of my wife’s jewelry. Fortunately everything is replaceable and nobody was hurt, including our cats. Everyone should take a second look at their ground-floor doors and windows and reinforce them. A number of things could have prevented this from happening. Most of them very cheap solutions. I’ve spent most of the last two days making the house more secure and we will be getting an alarm system. It’s frustrating.
Here’s the official Seattle Police advice on burglary prevention; it’s perma-linked in the resources list at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page.
NEW JUNCTION BUSINESS: Got a note and a tweet about this late last night; we’d already been checking into it after the notice turned up online: A liquor-license application notice is posted at the former Georgia Blu storefront next to KeyBank in The Junction; the application says a “beer/wine specialty shop” license is being sought, under the name Bin 41. We reached the proprietors, but they’re not ready to discuss their venture yet.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE TOTEM POLE CASE? Also from the e-mailbag, a few notes this week asking whatever happened in the case of the stolen/recovered West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole (coverage archived here). The suspect still is not officially charged, but prosecutors told us this week they expected the case to be referred to their office “soon.” A special task force of the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which donated the pole and its park to the city more than 30 years ago, will meet with the Parks Department next week to talk about next steps in returning the totem pole to the park, and whether it needs restoration work first. The Rotarians also continue to accept donations for the Totem Pole Restoration Fund (go here).
Good news from Siobhan, who sent a Crime Watch report on a stolen red Neon a week ago: The car’s been found:
I am happy to be able to say that it has been recovered and has very little damage. They broke the keyguard on the door handle to get the lock opened, and then broke off the bottom plastic piece on the steering column to get it started. They rummaged through everything, including the trunk, figuring out that the back seats folded down from inside. They took a few things, but nothing that I really care about, except for the fact that they were my items and they took em. Nothing valuable.
My birthday was January 6th and I kept hoping they would call me… all day long.. nothing.. then at 6pm I got the call that my car was at the TBT Towing impound lot on 1st ave. What a great birthday present. :)
If you think you can leave something of value in your car, maybe because it’s someplace so visible thieves wouldn’t dare try anything, consider the lesson AJ and fiancé just learned. AJ, who’s in the 7500 block of 34th SW (map), shared this note sent to neighbors late last night.
Just wanted to alert you that my fiancé’s car was broken into tonight. We aren’t sure when the exact incident happened but we estimate somewhere around 10- 11pm. His car was parked right in front of our house and the burglars broke in from the street side (his passenger side of the car). They rummaged through his glove compartment before grabbing his book bag (that had his Mac book in it.) Worst part was, we were sitting right in our living room when this happened. Please keep an eye out for your valuables, as we unfortunately learned the hard way.
We start tonight’s Crime Watch roundup with some information on an incident that several people have e-mailed tonight to ask about – another guns-drawn arrest on The Bridge late this morning. We started checking on it after one note then, but didn’t get enough details to report until we saw Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James and Lt. Steve Paulsen at tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting (separate report to come). Lt. James says it started as a domestic-violence incident in northeast West Seattle – the call went out to watch for a certain vehicle with a suspect who apparently has had encounters with police before; after a brief pursuit the vehicle was stopped on The Bridge, and the numerous police vehicles that had been engaged in “containment” to try to catch the suspect pre-bridge flocked to the scene. The domestic-violence victim, Lt. James says, was not seriously hurt. Now, on to several reports including graffiti – with a request for ideas – a car theft, and a car break-in:Read More
First, the arrest. Seattle Police announced tonight that 26-year-old Shane Carlson is back in custody; he’s the suspect wanted in connection with more than 30 medical- and dental-office break-ins around the city, including West Seattle. Police released his photo in November; tonight, this SPDBlotter update says he’s been arrested in Eugene, Oregon. Meantime, two Crime Watch reports came in today – first, from Elizabeth in Westwood:
Last night, the Village Square condos across from Westwood Village were hit again by a car prowler. We were notified by the association president around 11:00pm, and it had just happened – he was inside for maybe half an hour before he left again and noticed the glass. The driver side window was smashed and the back seat was pulled out to get to the trunk. After we were hit the last time (see here: westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=21064), we stopped keeping anything in the car, so there was nothing to take. A neighbor actually saw the guy, and said he was mid-height, Caucasian, kind of chubby, and had dirty blond hair pulled into a ponytail and was driving a green sedan. The cops said a guy matching this description has hit a number of cars in the area, so be on the lookout.
And from Ian in North Delridge:
Just had a car cover stolen off my car this morning just before 7 am (they were caught on camera). This is at Youngstown on the North end of Delridge. Kind of troubling that somebody would try to steal something would take a little bit of time to grab from a place with 40 people living right above and people right about to get to work. If anyone saw somebody carrying a bulky white fabric object to a car on Delridge right before 7, please contact me or the police. It’s not a high-ticket item, but the car needs protection against the spread of rust, so I’ve got to buy another now when that money would have gone towards the car.
Last but not least, the following was posted as a comment on a Crime Watch story that’s a week old, so you probably haven’t seen the comment. It’s a response of sorts to another comment in the thread, which was itself a burglary report not necessarily related to the original story – that happens sometimes with Crime Watch stories. So for context, here’s the New Year’s Day comment by “jmo“ noting a burglary; and today, from “mom of jmo“:
My daughter posted our burglary while we were away before we returned. 2 Laptops were stolen and my jewelry box. I am thankful that the thieves did not destroy the house. I want to make a proposition to the thieves! You by now have figured out that the jewelry you stole from me has no real value….just to me for the memories some of the pieces hold. There is a large porpoise bracelet…a little unusual, huh?? If you would return the jewelry box and contents to me I will pay you $1000., no questions asked. I would just like to have my things returned. So you figure out how to do it!! Hopefully you read this blog or have a friend who does!! Oh, and by the way..you stole my husband’s electric toothbrush. Don’t use it!!! I would regret anyone catching his disease!! And also, we have 2 large, very mean dogs when someone enters the yard. Lucky for you they were boarded. We are not going to board them again but rather leave them outside when we are gone (don’t worry readers they have warm cover and beds). Thieves, please don’t make the mistake of returning!!
Credit for the tip on this story goes to this comment (from “amused“) on yesterday’s report about changes at City Hall:
A spokesperson for new City Attorney Pete Holmes confirms that the office’s Southwest Precinct liaison, Beth Gappert, is moving. According to Kathy Mulady, Gappert is moving to the office’s Vice section (the assistant city attorney in that section is moving to supervise the Domestic Violence division). She says John McGoodwin, liaison for the South Precinct, will also handle the Southwest Precinct, though how that will be divided, “he is still figuring out.” (We are working on a follow-up interview.) Mulady says the East and West Precincts also will be covered by one assistant city attorney, Jim Kenny, and adds, “There is some moving around of positions, but Pete Holmes is well aware of the value of the precinct liaison program and respects the work the attorneys do in the community.” This is a big change for the Southwest Precinct, where Gappert worked closely with police on many cases, and also was a familiar face at monthly meetings of groups including the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council and South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition. She arrived at the SW Precinct in April 2007.
(Side note – if the name Kathy Mulady sounds familiar, she is a West Seattleite who worked for the P-I till it went online-only, and also did some reporting for WSB last year before going to work for Holmes.)
Brief followups tonight on two weekend incidents. First, several people e-mailed us Sunday afternoon about an incident early that morning in the 4500 block of 40th SW (map), involving police using a bullhorn to call to someone. We got a bit of info today from Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James, who says it was ultimately a false alarm of sorts, first called in as “a burglary in progress where the complainant did not know the address. Officers arrived in the area but the witness refused to come outside to contact the officers. A loudspeaker was used to try to contact the witness and have him come out. Once the officers made contact with the complainant, it was determined that there was no burglary or any other type of criminal activity.” Second, we also asked a question brought up by several commenters on Saturday – whether there are any indications that the two burglary suspects arrested on The Bridge (WSB coverage here) were linked to other burglaries beyond the one in which they’re suspected of involvement that day; so far, says Lt. James, no.
Siobhan first reported this tonight as a comment on another story but has since sent the photo you see at left, along with details: The red Dodge Neon Sport with a trunk fin and Idaho plate 1G55739 was stolen very early New Year’s Day from a carport behind an apartment building by Pizza Hut on the SW corner of 35th/Morgan (map). Siobhan adds, “The back bumper has two Scottish stickers on it. One is the St. Andrew’s Cross and the other is an Oval with a St. Andrews Cross the letters SCO and the Rampant Lion. It also had a Jolly Roger License Plate in the back window. If anyone sees it PLEASE have them call 911.. it has already been reported stolen so it’s in the Police System on their ‘Hot List’.” And a side note – a minivan stolen from Georgetown the same morning was found in the alley nearby (its owner had arrived to pick it up); Siobhan says the speculation is that the thief or thieves ditched it and took the Neon – which police have said before (see this report from October) is not unusual.
3 Crime Watch reports to share tonight – 2 cases of vandalism at local homes – one that happened earlier tonight – plus a car prowl. First, from FH in the 3400 block of 45th SW [map]:
I wanted to report that our front door window pane was smashed at a little before 6:00 pm tonight. A neighbor walking by heard a crash and then saw a kid run from our front yard across 45th Ave SW to Madison Middle School. He called the police who came, reported in the incident and provided a case number. … The neighbor said he also heard a crash of glass from the corner of Spokane and 45th Ave SW.
A North Admiral resident reports:
Writing to report that our house on 46th Ave and College [map] has been vandalized twice in the last week. December 25th and December 31st after dark our house was egged and mail removed from a locked mailbox and strewn across the porch. The vandals had to climb very steep stairs and the house is not surrounded by trees or bushes, it is out in the open. Report filed with the police department and they will be patrolling more frequently in the next weeks. Hope neighbors will keep a look out and report suspicious people, especially after dark. The postman observed that other houses were not egged so this feels like a repeat-targeting of our house. Wondering if there have been other reports such as this.
And from Annamarie in the 6900 block of 25th SW [map], who reports several cars were prowled in her neighborhood Wednesday night; she discovered she was among the victims after a neighbor’s phone call:
We both had not locked our doors and they did not break anything. I am missing CD’s, tools, etc. My car is parked right outside my bedroom window with security lights and all…but I did not hear them. I just want to get out a warning. I normally lock my car doors but must have not remembered …
As reported here last night, the west end of the West Seattle Bridge was shut down for a while late New Year’s Eve because of a multi-car crash. SPDBlotter has published a short update today, saying the driver, first reported “driving erratically” on The Bridge, is suspected of DUI:
(The car) subsequently struck two other vehicles as well as the jersey barrier forcing the shutdown of the westbound lanes for 90 minutes. In addition, the eastbound lanes were shut down for 15 minutes while the jersey barriers were moved back into place. There were no serious injuries and the suspect driver was processed for DUI.
Three reports to share tonight (here’s how to reach us, with a Crime Watch report or anything else). First, from Suzanne:
Just wanted to let everyone know that a burglary happened at our house yesterday between 11 am and 1 pm on the 3700 block of 42nd Ave SW [map]. Stolen items included jewelry, laptop computer, camera, and various other electronics. The police officer responding to our call said that there have been an increase in burglaries in our area and that everyone should be vigilant. Please be on the lookout as we’d hate to see this continue in our and surrounding neighborhoods.
From Sonja:
I wanted you to know of a break-in the 6300 block of 38th Ave SW [map] early this evening. It’s my friend’s home and she called me about 4:45p to cancel our plans because her back glass door was shattered and her TV was gone. She thought it strange though since her laptop and other electronics were untouched.
And from Morgan, via Facebook:
I would like to let everyone know that my family’s home was robbed yesterday (december 28th,) We’re in the Arbor Heights area. We believe that the people came through our dog door in our back yard. If you have a dog door I would advise that you keep it locked unless you’re home. They took mainly electronics and jewelry.
Morgan says her neighbors spotted a “small gray car” in her home’s driveway at one point. Meantime, Seattle Police have some specific burglary-prevention tips online here.
(photo courtesy St. John the Baptist Church, taken Dec. 24)
West Seattle’s St. John the Baptist Church has just sent in a Crime Watch report, hoping you might know who damaged its luminarias, which were meant to light the way from Christmas to New Year’s. From St. John’s rector, Rev. Peter DeVeau:
We were saddened to discover that our Christmas luminarias had been vandalized between 1-6 p.m. on Sunday, December 27, 2009. All but one light bulb were removed and several light bulbs had been smashed on the walkway outside the main entrance to the church. A couple of the luminarias had also been damaged.
The luminaria display was put in place to brighten the entrance to the church during the twelve days of Christmas through the Epiphany on January 6, and would be a beacon of light for the Emerald City Wanderers’ New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day walks which begin and end at the church. The display is especially meaningful to many members in the congregation, as it surrounds the Churchyard where many loved ones are buried.
If anyone has information about this senseless vandalism, please contact the church at 206-937-4545 or rector@SaintJohnOnline.org.
Two break-in reports this morning – one of them, from West Seattle’s best-known arts nonprofit, ArtsWest in The Junction. Executive director Alan Harrison writes:
I just wanted to report that at 6:00 Wednesday morning there was a break-in at ArtsWest. Someone (or perhaps more than one) broke the back door’s glass with a rock, ran in, and tried to steal the Lucite donation box. The alarm went off and the perpetrator smashed the box to the floor, breaking it and sending money everywhere before running away. We don’t think he/they took much money, but the new door is going to cost us $500 to fix. There was a police report on it. If anyone has any legitimate information about the break-in, they can report it to SPD.
$500 is a lot of money to ArtsWest. If anyone would like to donate money to help us fix the door and install a new security/camera system (an additional $1600), call us or click directly (here).
If they’d like (it’s optional), under the “Designation” box, they can type in “Back Door.” Maybe it’s a sign of the economic times, that someone would try to rob a nonprofit, but if you could spread the word, maybe we can continue to put our resources behind producing art instead of broken glass.
ArtsWest (a WSB sponsor for the run of “Plaid Tidings,” which continues with a show tonight at 5 and concludes this Sunday) can be reached by phone at 938-0963 (administrative) or 938-0339 (box office). The non-emergency number for reporting info to police is 625-5011. P.S. We asked about insurance:
We do have insurance, but there’s a $500 deductible. And the upgrade to the security system is not covered and was not budgeted for the year, so unless we can raise some specific money for that, we’ll have to decrease funding to one of our programs.
Meantime, our other break-in report is residential – burglars that moved fast while residents were out shopping – read on:Read More
Though as noted earlier, charges are not yet filed, a question that’s frequently discussed in comment threads (and elsewhere) is: What was the motive for the Nov. 30 theft of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole (past coverage here, newest to oldest)? We have obtained a court document which may shine a little light – it’s the “probable cause” document filed in connection with this week’s arrest – read on:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from BB in Seaview – a description of someone who appears to be searching for metal to steal – read on for her report:Read More
Last week, we got word from Alex Pietsch at the City of Renton that their city was the rightful home of the totem pole found in Oregon with the stolen West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park pole (here’s our 12/15 report; photo above was provided by police after the poles were recovered 12/10 – the Renton totem’s on the left). Today, the Renton Reporter has published an update about plans for its restoration. (The plan for ours is still in the works; the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s restoration-fund info is here.) We also have one update on our Tuesday report that the suspected thief was arrested again – he was released from jail last night after seven hours. Still watching for the filing of charges.
(1 of 2 police cars that were still in the neighborhood when we arrived)
Here’s why police converged on Palm Avenue in North Admiral earlier this morning: They had a search warrant for the home of the suspect in the Nov. 30 theft of West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park‘s 18-foot totem pole (inset Rotary photo). The search was wrapping up when we arrived, and we didn’t see anything being brought out while we were there, but Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen tells us officers have arrested the 69-year-old man again – this time in connection with the theft of the totem pole found on a trailer in Oregon along with the West Seattle totem (as we reported last week, that second pole turned out to have been stolen from outside the Renton Fred Meyer store). As with the first arrest, he was not at his home when police arrived, but was taken into custody elsewhere in West Seattle, and has been booked into King County Jail. We are not identifying the suspect until he is officially charged; we are checking frequently with King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe, who just told us the case has yet to be referred (with ongoing investigations, that’s not unusual). We’ll update the latest developments if/when more information is available. Meantime, if you’re catching up on the backstory, here are links to some of our previous coverage:
Original story on then-suspected theft (published Dec. 3)
Theft suspect arrested (Dec. 9)
Stolen pole found in Oregon with (then-) mystery pole (Dec. 10)
Stolen poles brought back from Oregon (Dec. 14)
Second pole identified as having been stolen from Renton (Dec. 15)
Stolen West Seattle pole won’t be re-installed immediately (Dec. 17)
1:17 PM UPDATE: Lt. Paulsen says additional search warrants have been served in connection with the case – two in Black Diamond. No word yet if anything was found.
This morning, e-mail came in from Lee:
If someone wakes up and is missing lit-up Xmas animals from the front of their house, I just walked by a seal and another thing (didn’t look too closely as I was rushing to catch a ferry) at the bottom of the Thistle stairs on the side of the street.
Just went down to check – what Lee reported is still there, along Thistle at 46th (map):
Whether related or not, that sighting comes hours after a report of stolen decorations in North Admiral – witnessed by “octoberjem,” who posted the report in the WSB Forums, including a description of and partial plate from the pickup truck seen making a getaway. Read that report here.
Just a few weeks ago, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department was investigating the deadly shooting of four Lakewood Police officers. Tonight, they are dealing with an attack on two of their own: 2 Pierce County deputies shot after answering a domestic-violence call in the Eatonville area. According to what Pierce County spokesperson Det. Ed Troyer just said in a live interview on Channel 7, both are in critical condition, and the person who opened fire on them was killed. For information directly from Pierce County, watch the red-bordered emergency-info box on its website, here. KIRO’s developing story is here; developing coverage from our partners at the Seattle Times is here; ongoing Twitter updates related to the story are here (tagged #eatonville). With the four Lakewood officers killed the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton – a former West Seattleite – killed on Halloween night, this makes seven eight law-enforcement officers shot in the Puget Sound area in the past seven weeks. 11:52 PM: Tacoma’s News-Tribune is also posting updates – here’s their story, updated a few minutes ago. We’ll be monitoring Web/Twitter over the next few hours and will note any major developments here.
12:08 AM UPDATE: Seattle Times photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux is at Harborview Medical Center, where one of the deputies were airlifted, and reports via Twitter that Seattle PD Deputy Chief Nick Metz reports that deputy “is still fighting.”
12:58 AM UPDATE: The Times has reported that the other deputy, at Madigan Army Medical Center, has spoken with investigators. And Pierce County has identified the suspect who was shot and killed as David Crable. And Cliff DesPeaux has uploaded this video (first streamed live a short while ago) of Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor at Harborview, asking people to keep the deputies in their prayers.
1:21 AM: According to seattlepi.com’s Casey McNerthney, the deputy who’s at Madigan is doing better and is now listed in serious condition instead of critical.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight: First, via Twitter, Marty reported a burglary attempt today at his home near 35th/Othello (map) – we don’t have the full narrative but he did say police caught the suspects. Meantime, Cathy at 45th/Stevens (map) reports a car break-in, and something heartening she heard when she reported it to police:
Just a reminder to lock your doors and keep valuables out of the car. When I called to report it the dispatcher asked what kind of car. He said someone had already called in suspicious behavior on my block regarding my car. I was glad that I live in a community where people look out for others.
Seen this car? West Seattleite Bill Schrier hopes so. You may know him as webmaster for the 34th District Democrats, and/or in his acclaimed role as technology boss for the City of Seattle. But right now, he’s a car owner who put out a photo and details on Facebook, which we’re republishing here with his permission:
Be on the lookout for our 2001 silver Honda CRV stolen from Queen Anne at about 5:00 PM (Thursday). … License #940XMJ (Washington State), has a Wisconsin Badgers sticker on the back, plus the unique combination of an Army Reserve bumper sticker and a “peace” bumper sticker (which are shown as insets in the photo …). Call 911 if you see this vehicle. I’m offering a reward of everlasting gratitude and dinner in our remodeled kitchen. After talking to the responding police officer: (1) if you have a Toyota or Honda, get a club or similar very visible locking device and (2) park in West Seattle, not Queen Anne.
4:17 PM UPDATE: As Bill posted below in comments, his car has been found – with some distinctive new items inside:
SPD found it on University Street downtown across from SAM earlier this afternoon. Trashed inside (stuff strewn all about, CD’s missing), but only noticeable damage was a crack in the front bumper. Now I have two more requests: (1) anybody know a good auto detailer to clean the perp germs out of the car? and (2) be on the lookout (BOLO) for the perp who eats Mrs. Freshly’s Golden Honeybun donuts, shops at Whole Foods,and wears a size DD black bra,all of which I found in the vehicle!
ADDED 5:37 PM: And if you are skeptical about all that, Bill posted this photo on his FB page as proof (again, used here with permission):
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