ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:52 PM: Two more West Seattle Crime Watch reports this afternoon. First: Stolen cars are sometimes abandoned nearby, sometimes driven many miles, so this could be anywhere. From Kimberly:

I woke up New Year’s morning to find my beloved 1996 Nissan 240SX (lic# AFC7216) stolen from the street along Erskine Way, just west of California Ave, south of the Alaska Junction. The loss of the car is bad enough but it also contained all of my ski gear.

My car is pictured (above), parked outside of Uptown Espresso at Edmunds and California. Mine is the car in front; both cars pictured are Nissan 240SXs (or similar model) and I would like to speak to the owner of the car parked behind mine. That car is a souped-up version which showed up in the neighborhood a week or two ago but which has not been around since. If you see either car please contact me by phone at 2O6-379-6OI4 (voice or txt). The skis are Salomon Siam 10s in a 149cm length, with Salomon Z10 Ti bindings, the boots are translucent orange Tecnica Diablo Race and the poles are a blue Swix Mach Carbon. … There were also other items such as helmet, goggles and gloves.

CAR PROWLS: Meaghan reports, “Up in Pigeon point on 21st Ave Sw, two of our neighbors had their windows smashed on their cars this morning. I’m not sure if anything was stolen.” We also had a comment earlier today from PSPS on the day’s first story, reporting what looked like the aftermath of car prowls on 40th SW north of The Junction; we couldn’t find anything obvious when we went to look, but if you were a victim, please let us know so we can include in Crime Watch coverage, editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.

ADDED 5:57 PM: From Dawn in Highland Park:

Several neighbors report license plate theft on my block. Sometime in the past several nights, someone stole the license plate off my RV parked in my backyard (not fenced to alley access). Some neighbors said they were replacing plates with different plates. Mine was not. 12th & Henderson.

Two more West Seattle Crime Watch package-theft reports just in, and both include visuals of the thieves:

GENESEE HILL THIEF: The photo and report are from Angela:

Around noon today, we drove around to retrieve a package from our neighbor’s house – they were out of town and had asked us to keep an eye out because they’d been informed the package was to arrive while they were gone. When we drove around to grab the package, we witnessed a tall white male, walking down the street with a similar package, and once we confirmed the package was no longer on their front porch, we drove up next to the individual and asked him where he was going with the package. He turned right back around and said he’d put it back. We got out of the car, took the package from him and he continued to walk toward SW Genesee – then headed west up Genesee Hill. We pulled around and confronted him, told him to leave the area, and took a picture of him. It’s likely that he’s still roaming the streets – he said he felt stupid and apologized, and would not attempt to do this again. We searched the area about 15 minutes later and couldn’t find him.

Description
White Male
Roughly 6′ 2″ tall
Wearing a paperboy-style hat – gray
Black flannel-material jacket
(Average) build
Blue water bottle in hand
Either blue or green eyes, not brown
Scruffy in look – probably early- to mid-30’s in age

If you know who this is, the police report to reference is 15-450056.

LINCOLN PARK THIEF: Near Lincoln Park, a Tuesday theft was caught on video shared by the victim:

That video starts with a blue car heading right to left; forward the video to 1:28, where you’ll see someone walking into the video from the left, going down stairs, running back up with packages, and hopping into that same car, which takes off. The package’s owner explains:

On Tuesday, December 29th, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, this video shows at around 2:25 pm a Blue CRV slowly drove past our house, looked at recently delivered packages and then dropped off a thief (out of view) who stole the packages from our porch and then jumped back in the Blue CRV. Be on the look out for this guy and the car around West Seattle! A police report has been filed and any information you may have, or if you see the car and/or the man in the video, please contact Officer Jenkins, referencing incident 15-449867.

Thanks to the West Seattleite who just shared this story. They can be very convincing, or intimidating – as learned by the person whose story we published last May – but some may not be aware of this:

I thought that the residents of West Seattle might like to know that there are phone scammers (identity thieves) a’ trolling.

Around 3:30 this afternoon I received a call from someone who claimed that he was a lieutenant with the Seattle police department. He alleged that there was a warrant for my arrest, because (are you ready?) I had failed to show up for jury duty on 15 December after having been mailed a summons on December 2, 2015.

This miscreant tried to get me to give him my credit card number to pay the $800 “fine” which he informed me would be refunded to me when I appeared in court tomorrow at 3:00 PM.

Additionally, he informed me that if I failed to pay today, I would be arrested on the warrant when I appeared AND I would have to spend the New Year’s holiday in jail!

I said that I’d be sure to bring my toothbrush when I appeared tomorrow.

I was, by this time, screaming and profane. “Lt. Fred Burns” then informed me that I was failing to follow a direct order by an officer and that I could be arrested for that and because I was being so uncooperative he was going to send a squad car and the deputies would be executing the warrant immediately.

I said, “Please go for it! I’m going to go get dressed properly for my impending incarceration!” I then hung up on him!

The King County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning back in September, too.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

RECOGNIZE THOSE BENCHES? If you do – you might be able to solve a case of illegal dumping that happened around 10:30 pm Saturday night in Westwood, on 24th SW near Thistle. Dumping is a problem in more than a few spots around West Seattle, but this time a surveillance camera caught it happening:

The camera’s owner says, “I’ve reported a lot of dumping and graffiti in the neighborhood but first time we recorded dumping live. … It’s about the 4th time dumping has occurred in that exact spot on our lot in the last 9 years.” If you have any information that might help track down the dumpers – the video’s been provided to police, too – contact them and refer to case #15-447815.

Also from the WSB inbox:

CAR PROWL: From Jeremiah in Gatewood, at 39th SW and SW Orchard:

Our Honda Element which we leave virtually empty and unlocked was gone through last night. The glove box was left open and papers were everywhere. Nothing of value is ever left in the car. It looks like several other cars on the block were hit.

STOLEN ITEMS RECOVERED: One night earlier, Collin‘s cargo trailer was broken into in the 5400 block of 48th SW, and tools were stolen. Hours later, they got some of them back, and he says this is how it happened: His wife Amber mentioned the theft on Facebook, and got a message that tools resembling theirs were spotted on OfferUp – someone in Burien was trying to sell them. Collin and Amber went to a Burien Police station and in the meantime managed to arrange to meet the sellers to see if they could identify their tools before officers moved in – Collin says they wanted to meet up in a public place but the sellers invited them to their house instead. With police following, they headed over. Almost instantly, he was shown his own pressure washer – which even had his surname written on the bottom. He relayed a message to his wife outside to have police move in, and they did. He’s not sure whether they made arrests or are compiling evidence for a wider investigation, “but all in all we recovered more than probably 99.9% of the people ever burglarized.”

Four Five reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN CAR: Kirk‘s car has been stolen, again:

My 1994 Honda Civic Hatchback was stolen from my condo parking lot on California Ave. SW (just south of The Junction), sometime between 10:30 p.m. Dec. 25 and 8:00 a.m. Dec. 26. It is a greenish color. This is the third time that car has been stolen in West Seattle over a course of about 15 years.

Its plate is ADY3889. As advised via @getyourcarback – where SPD tweets all vehicle-theft reports (though not with locations, unfortunately, which is why reader reports are vital so we hear about and can publish West Seattle thefts) – call 911 if you see it.

RECOGNIZE THESE BURGLARS? Maria has these screen grabs from surveillance video of burglars who broke into her “private fenced carport” on 26th SW in Westwood, including one Grinch-ily clad in a Santa hat:

Maria says they stole “clothes, shoes, camping gear, pots and pans.” If you have any info on their identities, the SPD case number is 15-443118.

BREAK-IN ATTEMPT: Liz near 31st/Elmgrove says someone was “rather violently” rattling/pulling at the doorknob of the “converted garage” at their house around 11:30 last night. Turning on a light apparently scared them away.

PACKAGE THEFT: From Tricia:

Neighbors in the 3800 block of Charlestown, please be aware that a package was stolen from my front porch. It was a food shipment from Blue Apron. Strange thing to steal because it is only ingredients for meal preparation, but evidently the thieves take anything they see on a porch. I’ve reported the package stolen, but want my neighbors to be aware.

P.S. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a Block Watch – here’s how to start one. And once you do, get involved with the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network, which resumes monthly meetings in January.

ADDED 5:03 PM – LICENSE PLATE THEFT: Greg sent this very early Christmas morning (late Christmas Eve), and we missed it until Diane‘s comment below:

I just filed a police report as my back plate with tab was apparently stolen while parked in my alley spot behind 42nd, 2600 block near Safeway/Hiawatha. It likely happened over the past 24-48 hours.

Plate theft is more common than you might think – as pointed out here a year ago – so know your number and keep an eye on it.

Just a reminder to not leave anything in your vehicle because car prowlers don’t take the holiday off – and if you have visitors, remind them too. We have one West Seattle Crime Watch reader report, from Steve in the 2700 block of 37th SW:

My 2003 Toyota Camry was car-prowled sometime between 10 pm last night and 5:30 am this morning. When I went out to the car at 5:40 the glove box was open and stuff strewn around, but they didn’t take anything! They left my registration and insurance, my cell phone charger, my business parking pass. Either they didn’t go into the trunk or decided to not steal (a relatively heavy box containing a present for a relative). I can only guess that they got spooked and left quickly.

We’re hoping for a quiet holiday for all. If news does break, though, we remain on call – text or voice, 206-293-6302.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports, starting with a followup on the Friday robbery/attack first reported here on Tuesday:

ROBBERY/ATTACK SUSPECT CHARGED: 19-year-old Diego Allejundro Gonzalez is now charged with first-degree robbery, accused of attacking a 67-year-old Highland Park woman last Friday and stealing her glasses. Along with filing the charge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office asked that Gonzalez’s bail be doubled, to $150,000, and the jail register indicates that it has been. The charging documents make the same allegations we published here last night from the police report and probable-cause paperwork – that Gonzalez first tried to break into a house, then attacked the woman as she walked home from visiting her husband at a care facility, punching her in the face twice and running off with her glasses.

The case summary confirms that he is on probation from his plea bargain earlier this year related to a vehicle theft (bargained down to car prowl) and DUI case, saying he was “placed on 24 months probation and was ordered to not possess alcohol to obtain a substance-abuse evaluation and follow all treatment recommendations, and to commit no further law violations. By his egregious behavior in this case, the defendant has shown he is not willing or able to comply with such court orders.” Prosecutors also say he had one juvenile conviction, at age 17, for harassment. The robbery charge incorporates the physical-violence component of the current case.

Meantime, the donation drive that the victim’s friends launched to help her pay for repairing the dental damage done in the attack passed its goal within hours, and was closed. We’re hoping for a followup soon on how she’s doing. We will also track this case through the system.

*************

Also in Crime Watch, we’re including this reader report with some time sensitivity:

STOLEN BY CAR PROWLER(S): From Angelene:

My car was broken into last night on the 4500 block of 42nd Avenue SW. It has been reported to the police. Very unique items were stolen, and I am hoping you can post them in an effort to locate them if selling is attempted:

2 Canon 5D Mark 2 bodies
1 Tamron 24-70 lens
1 50 mm 1.4 lens
1 large leather camera bag

These are pretty obscure professional kitchen knives and unless you read Japanese, might be hard to identify. However, they look like really nice kitchen knives and there aren’t usually a lot of them floating around outside of a few niche shops.

Black canvass and leather kitchen knife bag by Boldric containing
1 Singatirin Honyaki 240mm Chefs knife (crappy yellow laquered wood case”
1 Moritaka Aogami 210mm Chefs knife (“no hand grab” sticker on wood case)
1 Watanabe Kaibou Deba 210 butcher knife
1 Richmond Honesuki 165mm butcher knife
1 Yoshikane SKD 95mm paring knife
1 Sakai Yusuke 180mm petty knife
1 Blue Thermopen probe thermometer
1 Small .1x600g digital scale with Thomas Hammer Coffee sticker on top

Angelene said they will of course be watching various websites in case these turn up, but wanted to get the word out locally too.

Two reports of West Seattle mail theft – first, from Lori:

Just walked out [Monday afternoon] to get our mail (on Webster near Solstice Park) and our mailbox was stuffed with opened cards and mail from 2 other addresses. Not sure how it got into our box – perhaps it was on the ground and a passerby thought it was ours. We’ve called the post office and will also be contacting the 2 addresses. Just hope that nothing of value was in the cards.

We were also forwarded a report of someone breaking into three locked mailboxes along SW Thistle in Upper Fauntleroy. Here’s the US Postal Inspection Service‘s advice on preventing and reporting mail theft.

Two reader reports to share this morning:

THEY EVEN TOOK THE PILLOWCASES: From Jim in Arbor Heights:

Heads up for those in the Arbor Heights/Marine View vicinity. Our home was burglarized (Wednesday). It happened while we were at work. Busted the window pane on the front door to gain access…the door was wide open when we arrived home with our cat standing in the door way. They got watches, jewelry, some heirlooms, cash, some jackets. A couple of pillowcases are missing….I guess a criminal’s version of a reusable bag. It could have been far worse. Police report filed.

We followed up with Jim to ask about any particular items that people might watch out for if they’re browsing online listings, etc.:

They took a number of very identifiable items: a Breitling Blackbird watch with a black leather strap. They also took some mid 1800s daguerreotype photos in original leather cases. They look like little embossed leather books that open up with picture inside. These were family images. Not sure why they took those except for the fact that the pictures are printed on metal plate that looks like silver.

CAR BREAK-IN: From Randall:

Overnight (Tuesday night-Wednesday morning), 31st & Trenton: Backpack full of kids’ clothes & snacks taken. Nothing of value other than sentimental. Thanks for the broken window, though!

P.S. If you’re interested in overall stats, SPD shares them in various ways, but we just noticed that they updated the Seastat page for the first time in almost two months, and you can view the slide deck there for an easy one-glance look at key categories – for other precincts as well as ours (Southwest, which includes West Seattle and South Park).

(UPDATED 10:39 AM with package-theft alert in Gatewood)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:22 AM: Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning. First, watch for Tony‘s stolen car:

I woke up this morning and went I to leave for work my car was gone. I reported my stolen car with SPD and my insurance. (3200 block of) California Ave (car was parked behind building in alley parking spot). 1998 Honda Civic 4 door sedan/Burgundy.Car has a laborers sticker in the back and a local 440 union sticker in rear window.

Here’s a photo of the plate in its distinctive holder:

One difference from the photo – the tabs have since been renewed, so they would read 10/2016. If you see the car, call 911.

Also from the WSB inbox this morning, Lindsey reports a weekend car prowl:

Just wanted to let you know over the weekend our car was prowled on 32nd Ave SW (near Genesee). We forgot to lock it and came out the next morning and found our center console rummaged through. I believe they only took an old iPod. I am about to report it on the police site next. But just a heads up for our neighbors.

And a followup on Jane‘s garage burglary on Genesee Hill, in which tools worth $1,800 were stolen, reported here December 4th. A neighbor’s surveillance camera yielded this image:

That’s as clear (and large) as it gets, she says, but if you think you recognize it, please contact her directly and/or share the tip with police by referring to case #15-420895, not in a comment; thanks.

ADDED 10:39 AM: Sarah in Gatewood just sent this, so we’re adding ASAP:

Just saw two males taking Amazon packages off a doorstep on Othello (3600 block). The driver was white – 30ish round face, the guy taking packages was maybe Asian/Mexican in a red and black oversize hoodie – he looked about 5’8 and skinny. It was an older white SUV, maybe a Ford – with a window that was broken out, but taped up on the driver’s side, and one of the driver-side doors had a big black circle. License plate ATS68–. Cops are being notified too.

In West Seattle Crime Watch: Two car-prowl reports. First, from the victim of one south of Morgan Junction – maybe you’ve seen one or more of the stolen items?

I want to report a brazen daytime car prowl in broad daylight. I’m a professional landscaper; this is my livelihood. I was working with my crew in the 6900 block of Frontenac [map] on Friday morning (Dec 11) between 9 am and 10 am, loading my truck with yard waste. When I had my back turned someone grabbed my bag from the front seat. The items of interest to the thief (iPhone and credit cards) are not as important to me as my: multicolored woven basket purse, canvas handbag with a ferris wheel on the flap, Key Bank checkbook and register, black spiral bound calendar, yellow legal pad, gray raincoat. If any neighbors see these items discarded, please add a comment. Incidentally, the thieves began charging on my credit card approximately 30 minutes after the theft: $750 at The Rack, lunch at McDonald’s, a couple of gas station purchases. Unbelievable.

This also is reported to have happened Friday:

Car prowled (Friday) night at SW Barton & 22nd Av SW [map], in the driveway. Nothing was in the car so nothing was stolen, but the glove box was open and the driver’s side door was ajar.

Crime report to share so your neighbors all around West Seattle know? Once you’ve reported it to police – send us the info too – editor@westseattleblog.com. If it’s breaking news, text or call 206-293-6302, any time day or night.

24-year-old Si A. Phu is now charged with first-degree murder in the deadly shooting of his 14-year-old niece Christy Phu, a freshman at Chief Sealth International High School, where friends and family gathered to honor her with a vigil Wednesday night. We’ve just obtained the court documents, which also include a charge of second-degree unlawful firearm possession – as a convicted felon, he wasn’t legally allowed to have a gun. The charging papers say the felony was a domestic-violence “cyberstalking” case from Snohomish County earlier this year, alleging that case and this one “illustrate a pattern of erratic, dangerous, and threatening behavior by the defendant when he does not get his way.”

The charging documents expand on what was outlined in the probable-cause paperwork earlier this week, alleging Si Phu shot and killed Christy because she refused to give him a pair of shoes. Investigators now say she reportedly did give him a pair of shoes, but they were not the ones he wanted. The dispute over the shoes is reported to have lasted over three hours of text messaging and in-person confrontation just before the deadly shooting, and included threats to kill Christy and her cousin, with whom she shared the Columbia City bedroom where she was shot. After the shooting, Si Phu is reported to have fled the house, where he had gone to watch football with family members; two days later, police spotted him in the Skyway area and arrested him. He claimed, they say, that the clash began with Christy trying to “rob” him. He said he then decided to “rob” her and “it all went bad.” He is reported to have told police that he feels “guilty” because “she didn’t deserve it” and he “only meant to hit her.”

(WSB photo: KCSO officers outside house where murder suspect was arrested last Thursday)

Charges are now filed against 39-year-old Aaron Parypa, arrested by SWAT-geared King County Sheriff’s Officers last week at his Junction-area home in connection with a shooting death near Sea-Tac Airport. Parypa is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault, for the death of Andrae Medina-Wong and the attempted shooting of a second man in what detectives say started as an attempted marijuana sale. Parypa remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, requested by prosecutors because while he has no criminal history, they allege he “shot at both victims from a moving car in broad daylight during rush-hour traffic … (firing) at least seven times with a high-powered assault rifle.” The shooting made regional news on October 29th because of its proximity to the airport; Medina-Wong was found dead by a car in an intersection just north of Sea-Tac. Another man found hiding in the woods nearby turned out to have been with him. According to court documents, that man told police he and Medina-Wong had used Craigslist to try to buy marijuana, and had obtained – possibly stolen – some, in a glass mason jar, from a prospective seller they arranged to meet in the shopping-center parking lot on the northeast corner of 1st and 160th in Burien.

A vehicle believed to belong to that person subsequently pursued them, the survivor told investigators, and caught up with them at the intersection near Sea-Tac, where he saw a gun barrel pointing at them from the other vehicle. He got out of the car, carrying the mason jar of marijuana, and started running, at which time he heard gunshots. Medina-Wong was later found to have been hit by .223-caliber bullets in the head and heart. The other man was not hit.

The documents tell a detailed story of how detectives identified Parypa as the suspect, including phone and Internet records:

Read More

Seattle Police say they have arrested Si Phu, the man accused of shooting and killing a 14-year-old Chief Sealth International High School student in Columbia City on Sunday. Relatives of the victim say Phu is her uncle. According to police, he was found in South Seattle, and will be booked into King County Jail for investigation of homicide. Meantime, the candlelight vigil mentioned in the letter sent home to families is set for 5 pm tomorrow outside the school, according to Sealth staff.

ADDED: The King County Medical Examiner has identified the victim as Christy Phu.