(WSB photo from Tuesday)

Back on Tuesday, we brought you first word of a Bellevue Police raid at a house in Highland Park. BPD didn’t have a lot to say that day, but now they do:

Bellevue police Tuesday arrested five people suspected of being part of a large identity theft ring that allegedly operated out of a residence in West Seattle. Investigators with the department’s Special Enforcement Team were conducting surveillance on a residence in the 9400 block of Ninth Avenue SW in West Seattle when they saw two people leave the residence and get into a stolen car.

After obtaining a search warrant for the residence and vehicle, they arrested five people in the residence, including the two who had gotten into the stolen car earlier. They arrested the suspects, two women and three men, on suspicion of crimes including possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property and identity theft.

During the search of the residence, police found credit cards, Washington drivers licenses and personal and financial documents of dozens of people. They also found and seized equipment used to make fraudulent identifications and financial documents.

In the stolen vehicle they found multiple crowbars, suspected stolen credit cards, gloves, screwdrivers and a brass knuckle-shaped stun gun.

(Bellevue Police photo)
Multiple shaved keys and narcotics were recovered inside a small backpack that officers had observed one of the suspects place inside the vehicle. A stolen credit card was also recovered from the center console. Investigators were able to link the stolen vehicle and one of the suspects to an April 7 vehicle prowl in Bellevue.

Investigators are contacting victims, including multiple Bellevue residents, and the investigation is being forwarded to the King County Prosecutor’s Office for consideration of charges.

We’ll keep an eye on the case to see if any local crimes turn out to be part of it.

Be on the lookout for Kit‘s van:

My 2003 white Ford E250 van was stolen between midnight Wednesday and 3pm Wednesday (the 13th) from the covered parking at 4540 45th Ave SW, The Westerly Apartments. The parking area actually faces Glenn Way. It has some body damage on the passenger side, and it has a bumper sticker on the back that says “Film is Truth.”

I have reported it to the police.

Getting followup information on criminal cases often takes a while. This is one example. But now we know a lot more about the suspect arrested on Beach Drive last Wednesday, including where the case stands and how the incident began.

38-year-old Joshua C. Utecht is the man police arrested on Wednesday afternoon, found hiding under a deck/porch, allegedly after crashing a stolen Honda CR-V (described in court documents as having “stolen, swapped plates”) on Atlas Drive and bolting downslope to where he was found with the help of a K-9 team.

Utecht has since been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and reckless driving. He also is being held on a warrant for escaping state Department of Corrections supervision. Court documents say he has been under DOC supervision for eight years, during which time he was found guilty of two robberies and a burglary. He had been under supervision since getting out of prison less than two years ago. And he is a fugitive from Louisiana.

The probable-cause document and police report say this all started with a call to police when a man and woman were seen acting suspiciously earlier Wednesday afternoon in the 6700 block of SW Holly and near 48th and Eddy. An officer arriving in the area spotted a suspicious vehicle in an alley between 47th and 48th, Juneau and Raymond. The officer checked its license-plate number and discovered the plate had been reported stolen. He spotted the woman who had gotten out of the car and yelled at her to get back into it; she just kept walking. Meantime, the car took off, headed northbound “at a high rate of speed” and went down Juneau to where it turns into Atlas, crashing into a garage, car, and pole in the 5900 block. Passengers pointed police to where they said a man had fled the car and headed downslope toward Beach Drive, dropping a folding knife – locked in the open position – as he ran.

Meantime, police discovered the stolen plate – missing since early March – didn’t match the car, whose ID number revealed it to have been stolen in January. After Utecht was found hiding on Beach Drive, he told a sergeant that the car was “borrowed.” He also said the woman who he had left behind in Seaview wasn’t involved in anything bad, while describing himself with an unflattering expletive. His last known address, as listed on the police report, was in the Alki area. He’s being held without bail on the escape charge, while bail for the new charges was set at $30,000. (We also looked up the case related to the escape charge. The “escape” – which, when related to supervision, is more like “not reporting in” – isn’t described, but the case itself traced back to November 2009, with Utecht found in White Center in a car stolen from Beacon Hill, then eluding a King County Sheriff’s Deputy in a high-speed chase, which ended with the car abandoned in Seola Beach and Utecht found by the Guardian One helicopter after running through a ravine and hiding in a shed.)

Four reader reports in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch update:

BURGLARY: From Dani in High Point: “My husband and I were burglarized on Saturday, April 9th around 8 AM, on Raymond & Lanham Place. I left with my dog and locked the door behind me. My husband was home. I was gone for roughly a half hour, and came home to a busted door (as though someone used a pry-bar or just kicked it in). Two wallets, my purse and cell phone were noticeably taken. A neighbor returned the purse and wallet (no contents missing but some sparse change), which were found in the High Point Commons Park. My husband then followed the trail of evidence and picked up several receipts from his wallet. He went up towards 30th & Graham St., and noticed his wallet had been tossed over someone’s fence. A minimal amount of cash was taken, but everything else in place but his ID. We are looking for ANYTHING that will jog memories.”

ATTEMPTED BREAK-IN: From Melissa: “Just wanted to let the blog know that we caught a man wearing a backpack and no shirt or pants attempting to break into our shed in the North Admiral area at 830 pm. After being unsuccessful he moved onto our neighbors’ shed. He was caught by police after a neighborhood search near the intersection of the West Seattle Bridge and Admiral.”

CAR PROWL/VANDALISM: Meredith says this happened at 19th and Austin: “Someone smashed in my rear car window with a brick last night between 3:30 am and 7 am. Nothing was taken. My car was parked just off the street in my driveway.”

PLAYGROUND VANDALISM: Over the weekend at Ercolini Park, someone defaced a fence with obscenities and play equipment with a vulgar sketch. Paul, who e-mailed us about it, reported it to police; we didn’t get to check with Parks today on whether it’s been painted over/removed yet but will tomorrow.

Out of the WSB inbox this morning, from Jen:

We just reported our car stolen. It was stolen from our driveway sometime between 10pm and 5am this morning. It was a 2012 black VW Passat TDI; WA license plate AWL8083. We live on 36th and Juneau [map]. Please let us know if you see it!

Don’t even think about leaving your purse/wallet or another personal item in your cart while you grocery-shop, warns a reader who just sent this report: They made a brief visit to Trader Joe’s on Saturday when “a woman … started engaging with me to distract me. In minutes my wallet which is essentially my purse was gone. In about 10 minutes this group of people were making purchases at the Target in Westwood Village for hundreds and hundreds of dollars on all 4 of my cards. There was definitely a group of people involved in this scam. The cops were called to Trader Joe’s and immediately called a squad to Westwood Village. They were able to identify two suspects based on the time stamp of the transactions. We never caught this person but this person has all my information from where I live to the business I own. I wanted to let you know so people can become aware since these people have a plan, and (I) don’t want it to happen to anyone else.”

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes:

CAR BREAK-IN: The victim of a car prowl in the Admiral Safeway lot around 4 pm yesterday called from her home phone to report this – she couldn’t e-mail because she would usually do that on her phone, and it was among the items stolen, along with a burgundy-colored Coach purse, “the large satchel type,” with a large gold emblem. It was “partly covered” on the passenger seat, and the thief broke out the passenger-side window to get it.

WHEELS/TIRES TAKEN: Tahira says her sister was visiting overnight Thursday/Friday when they woke up to find her car on blocks, wheels and tires taken:

It happened in Gatewood, next to Trinity Church at 35th/Austin.

BURGLARY FOLLOWUP: If you didn’t see this in comments yesterday – the surveillance image of the burglar who broke into Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) early Thursday has led to an ID, according to Laura Schneider from Meeples. No word of an arrest or stolen-property recovery yet, but knowing who it is was the first step, and she thanks everyone for both tips and for the expression of support.

P.S. Next crime-prevention-focused community meeting is the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council on April 19th, 7 pm, at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).

4:34 PM: That video just released by Seattle Police, 14 hours after the early-morning Highland Park Way crash that killed two people – including the driver of the stolen vehicle an officer was pursuing – shows the two minutes leading up to and including the crash.

Also new, via SPD Blotter, police say the driver of that car, a Honda taken at gunpoint in Beacon Hill about three hours earlier, was a 16-year-old boy. The update says that while a handgun was found in that car, detectives “do not yet know what role the 16-year-old played in this morning’s carjacking,” which happened on Beacon Hill.

Along with the video we have embedded above, SPD’s update also includes an audio clip from radio communication going back to the officer who first spotted the stolen vehicle near the Southwest Precinct.

The King County Medical Examiner did not release the teenager’s identity today but did identify the 21-year-old man killed in the westbound car he hit, a 1996 Honda Acura Integra, as Devin Francis. A dog found in the Acura was seriously hurt and rushed to an emergency vet but also died.

The SPD Blotter update quotes Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole as saying, “The collision that took the lives of two people this morning is devastating to the families of the deceased and the officers involved. My thoughts and prayers are with them all. SPD is conducting a thorough investigation around the circumstances that led to this event.”

SPD’s pursuit policy is online here.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Kathleen sent this photo overnight showing a roadside memorial:

ADDED 3:47 PM FRIDAY: The Medical Examiner has identified the 16-year-old who was killed as Kenneth Dion Williams, Jr.

Another business burglary overnight … this time at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor). Co-proprietor Laura Schneider shares the photo above from their surveillance camera, and a partial list of what the burglar stole:

This guy has been here before and knew exactly what he was doing so he may be identifiable by a reader. He’s small – a little over 5’ tall. He climbed around to the balcony and broke in the back.

Stolen:

Booster packs for Magic including OGW, BFZ, Origins, DTK, FRF, and KTK. Also YuGiOh! packs of Clash of Rebellions, Dimensions of Chaos, Breaker of Shadows and Dragons of Legend.

All of our FNM and Buy a Box promo cards, all of our red, green, black and white singles. He left the blue and the lands. A box of about 400 full art lands. Various other singles we are working to name, but here are a few:

A judge foil Dark Confidant
2 full art game day promo Languish
the WotC holiday promo Goblin Sleighride
foil Blightsteel Collasus
2 expedition Eye of Ugin
8 Eye of Ugin
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 GP Goblin Guides

various other cards we are working to identify

If you recognize the burglar and/or have any other information, please contact police. The incident number is 16000119105.

It’s the type of theft that thieves hope you won’t notice – taking one or both of your license plates. They might even leave a replacement behind. We heard from a plate-theft victim on Wednesday night:

We had the rear license plate of one of our cars stolen sometime (Tuesday) night. We have reported it to the police. L.P. is AZL3335. We are on 48th between Andover and Dakota. … The sad part is we had just, literally, put the plates on the car last night!

We had some interesting info on this crime category in this late-2014 Crime Watch report.

Two bicycles in this Crime Watch report:

STOLEN: That’s Tony‘s bicycle, stolen Sunday night from “inside my apartment building” at California/Mills [map] – Tony is a relatively recent arrival to the area, so the theft is an unpleasant “welcome.” A police report is filed. If you’ve seen it, please contact SPD, and let us know too.

FOUND: In case you hadn’t seen this posted in the WSB Forums, a black mountain bike turned up at 37th and Trenton [map]. Almost always, that means “stolen and dumped.” We already checked – not Tony’s bike. This one is Specialized brand, for starters.

11:50 AM: Late last night, we published this Crime Watch report featuring a look at the West Seattle auto thefts shown on the SPD crime-reports map for the preceding week. This morning, another one to add, reported by Dianna:

My fiance’s white 1991 Acura Integra, 2-door hatchback, was stolen sometime either Friday evening after 8 pm or Saturday on Hill Street (near the intersection of Hill St. & Ferry Ave.), right across from the Admiral Congregational Church. His license plate is 641XDA. His car was parked right at the triangle park, where the temporary fire station used to be.

If you see, or have seen it, please call 911 – and then consider commenting below.

2:21 PM: Dianna just sent word that her fiance’s car was found nearby, with “items stolen from the car (red tool box with random craftsman wrenches and tools).”

West Seattle Crime Watch starts tonight with a reader report:

HIT-RUN: Wendy reports, “Our car was hit last night sometime between 10 pm and 7 am, the car was parked across from Ercolini Park. The driver took out our side mirror. Sharing this in case someone saw something. A police report was filed.” It happened on 48th SW, west of the park.

CAR THEFTS: Another of our periodic category checks from the SPD crime-report map – vehicle thefts reported in the past ~week:

The live map is not embeddable, but if you go there and sort for vehicle theft, you’ll find the map above, with these reports from north to south:

Tuesday night, 2600 block 39th SW
Wednesday night, 3200 block Avalon Way
Friday night, 3600 block SW Brandon
Wednesday night, 5900 block 37th SW
Last Friday night (reported Saturday 3/26), 6300 block 42nd SW
Sunday afternoon, 3200 block SW Morgan
Sunday night, 7300 block 29th SW
Last Saturday night (reported Sunday), 2400 block SW Holden
Monday night, 8400 block 6th SW
Friday night, 8800 block 8th SW

No specifics (car description, etc.) are included in what’s mapped; while SPD still tweets vehicle thefts at @getyourcarback, they still don’t include any location or incident-number information (we’ve asked). That’s why we appreciate reader reports so we can publish complete info (editor@westseattleblog.com or text 206-293-6302) – we did get and publish this one for the Friday night theft at Westcrest. If you see what you think might be a stolen vehicle, call 911.

(WSB photo – Jacob Kokko, defense lawyer, prosecutor in court)

1:10 PM: As first reported here last week, serial arsonist Jacob Kokko has pleaded guilty to three charges – one, reduced as part of a plea bargain – and is being sentenced today. We’re in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell and will chronicle the hearing live as it happens.

Kokko has been in jail since his arrest almost five months ago. The recommended sentence is for the time he has served – which is almost as long as the maximum possible penalty, given that he has no criminal record.

His lawyer told the judge, “He’s a good kid, you’re not going to see him again … He was crying for help, and he’s going to get the help that he needs.” His lawyer says Kokko will be responsible for getting that help.

He spoke briefly at the judge’s invitation and said this was a “turning point” in his life and that he is aware that this will affect the rest of his life. (We have his full statement on video and will add it when back at headquarters.) He said he would be going back to college, where he has two years’ credit and was majoring in psychology.

Judge Ramsdell is going along with the recommended sentencing so far, a suspended year – provided he stays out of trouble – in jail, plus as-yet-undetermined restitution, 50 hours of community service, and credit for jail time served otherwise (147 days total), meaning he will be going free shortly.

While details of the crimes were not discussed here in court, documents indicated Kokko, 22, had acknowledged setting four fires – outside the Senior Center and Hamm Building in The Junction on Halloween night, outside a house on his block in High Point earlier, and the 35th/Morgan bus-stop fire caught on the surveillance video that led to his arrest – but denied involvement in the others that were suspected to be part of the same spree.

1:26 PM: No one else has spoken at the hearing other than Kokko, the lawyers, and judge – no victims, no family members – and it’s now over (after many mostly silent moments of paperwork-signing), with the judge saying “Good luck to you, sir” and a deputy re-handcuffing Kokko to return to jail (processing for release usually takes at least a few hours).

Three reports in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup:

CHURCH BURGLARY: Thanks for the tips. Another non-residential Junction break-in – what was on the Tweets by Beat log as a “commercial burglary” reported Tuesday morning in the 4100 block of 42nd SW was a break-in at Holy Rosary Church, according to police report details we were finally able to obtain today. The report says someone got in through a window and stole items including cash and credit cards, but left behind “evidence” that police have collected and are following up on.

TIRE SLASHING: John reports from North Delridge:

I just want to let you know that several cars including one of my own had their tires cut last night. All the cars were parked on 28th Ave SW across the street from The Dragonfly Pavilion Park Between Yancy and Nevada. I have heard this is a growing problem in West Seattle.

PROWLER ON VIDEO: From the Shorewood/Arbor Heights area:

I wanted to send you a video I caught (Tuesday) at my house of a prowler. We had numerous packages stolen last week and set up this camera.

Nothing was stolen (so far as) we can tell.

The area the man is seen walking into, and emerging from, leads to and from the house’s side yard and backyard. A police report is filed – #2016-108242 – if you have any information.

Thanks for the tips and reports – 206-293-6302 text/voice if urgent, editor@westseattleblog.com if not – as long as you have already called 911/SPD!

Four notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:

SEEN THIS STOLEN CAR? Susumu e-mailed Tuesday to say his silver 2-door 1997 Honda Civic stolen from the apartment parking lot at 6901 Delridge late March 19 or early March 20, plate AYL1636, is still missing. Call 911 if you see it.

SHOPLIFTING CASE #1: Two shoplifting suspects who police say had fled the RiteAid store south of The Junction wound up crashing at 41st and Brandon Tuesday evening.

At least one person was in custody – we had to break away from the scene to go to the 15th/Henderson crash so that’s all we know so far.

SHOPLIFTING CASE #2: Mike from Sound Advice (the Verizon store in The Junction) reports two iPhones were shoplifted on Tuesday while the store was full of customers. The two shoplifters were caught on HD video that is already in police hands, he says.

HIT-RUN: Shelly sent word of this last night:

Everyone keep a lookout for a red/maroon sedan with substantial front end damage. Saturday at about 6 am, it bumped into my neighbors cars, then smashed into my car and took off. They hit my car so hard it jumped the curb and caused substantial damage. The police have pieces of their car as well as descriptions of the people/car, but any leads would be super helpful. This happened on 30th between Myrtle and Othello.

Thanks for the tips and reports – 206-293-6302 text/voice if urgent, editor@westseattleblog.com if not – as long as you have already called 911/SPD!