The 23-year-old man arrested after an employee of the Westwood Village McDonald’s was stabbed early Sunday is now charged.

We’ve obtained the documents detailing the second-degree-assault charge filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office this afternoon against Daniel Jacob Stevens. The charging papers say he went into the restaurant and – after ordering and receiving two McGriddles – “inexplicably” started shouting insults at the victim. While being escorted out just before 4:30 am Sunday, according to prosecutors and police, Stevens shoved the victim, who punched him. During the clash, he then is reported to have “punched the victim, pulled out a knife, and pounced on top of the victim,” subsequently “punch(ing) him six times in the face and head, and then head-butt(ing) him twice” before trying to stab him in the side, “with the victim suffering a small puncture wound.”

The police report says a customer was able to disarm Stevens, who left the area but was found by King County Sheriff’s Deputies in White Center about 40 minutes later; police say he claimed he used his knife in self-defense. Court documents say Stevens, an Arbor Heights resident, has no felony criminal history, though the King County Jail register says he spent two days there earlier this month in connection with a reckless-driving case; he remains jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail while awaiting arraignment in two weeks.

Another scam warning from a West Seattle resident. Cheryl says, “I got scammed today,” and continues:

I was told that I had a warrant for my arrest for failing to appear to two summons to be on Jury Duty.

After a horrific afternoon, and paying money to these crooks through a PayPal cash account, I then met a neighbor downtown who was able to think better than I and said that she was sure that I had been scammed.

One of the points that they made is that I was to meet with one of the Superior Court Judges who would release the warrant and not make me pay money as, actually, they don’t ask folks over 75 to serve. So, at this point, I began to think about this situation, and I went on the King County Superior Court Judges site and lo & behold, there was a section, ‘Senior Fraud.’ It was Alert #1. I totally fell for this scam; it was at the point where “Officer Randall McKenzie” told me that he could not guarantee that a deputy would not come to take me to jail over the weekend. THAT got me and I rushed off to get the money through the PayPal cash card.

There were several hints that I was not dealing with “real” officers, but the threat of jail made me lose focus. Although I had gotten a name and badge number, it was all bogus.

So I am encouraging you to copy and send this note out to your Elderly friends and relatives — wherever they live – because this sort of fraud is ubiquitous. There is also a Seattle City Light scam going around, folks phoning Elders, telling them that their SCL bill has not be paid and that they need to pay it right now.

That one targets businesses too, as mentioned here earlier this week (and SCL has its own page about scams).

In today’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup:

RETURN OF THE ‘CITY LIGHT’ SCAM: Overnight, we published Barb‘s report of “the grandparent scam” targeting a relative. Now, we have word the “City Light scam” is out there again. Dave Montoure at West 5 in The Junction e-mailed to say, “They’re at it again. Just called West 5 and said they were sending out a truck to cut power because of unpaid bills. … If your readers would like to call and say hello, they left the number 866-978-6981.” We’ve reported on this scam before – and City Light even has its own scam-alert page now.

WESTWOOD ARREST EXPLAINED: SPD Blotter has published the saga of an arrest that got some attention early Wednesday evening. At the time, a few people texted us about police activity at Roxhill Park; we went over, circled the park, saw nothing, figured it was one of those short-lived calls. Turns out it had started over at the Westwood Village McDonald’s; officers spotted a stolen car, boxed it in, then wound up chasing – on foot – the occupant, who shed his shirt and shoes along the way. As SPD’s Jonah Spangenthal-Lee tells the story, they caught him and recovered not only the car but also the gun which, as a convicted felon, the suspect shouldn’t have had.

CAR PROWLS: Today’s reports start with this from Misha:

We live near Ercolini Park. We had a club on our car, but they jimmied the passenger door and rifled through the glove compartment. Nothing appears to have been taken — we still have our CDs and car seats–and we did file a police report online.

From Susan, in the same area:

Someone went through our car last night. Stole some prescription sunglasses and went through all the junk in the glove box.

And in Sunrise Heights, a car-prowl attempt is part of what an apartment resident near 35th/Holden warned neighbors about in this note subsequently shared with us too:

I witnessed an older model Red Chevy Blazer with two occupants (male driver and female passenger) circling around the Chevron and also witnessed the male driver trying to break into a car parked on the north side of the Chevron.

After a failed attempt by the male driver to gain access to the car, the Blazer backed up and drove very slowly NB through the alley ( headlights off ) I suspect casing the area, this alley has many garages and fences that face the alley along with access to homes’ backyards.

They proceeded through the alley, stopping approx. 100 feet from Webster at which time … it appeared that the driver got out and was looking around. I called 911 and gave the best possible description of said vehicle and was told an area check would be conducted and then came back inside my apt.

Keep an eye out for this vehicle if you see it and one VERY distinctive note about this vehicle…..It has a VERY LOUD engine ( low rumble/idle ).

P.S. SPD’s latest every-two-weeks SeaStat trends briefing is now online. No Southwest Precinct breakouts this time, but if you’re interested in what else is going on around the city, have a look.

This isn’t a new type of scam but every so often it hits someone who falls for it. Barb says her mom knew it didn’t sound right and she just e-mailed us to share her story, to make sure you and your elders are aware of it:

Some guy who claimed to be a grandson just called my mom claiming he was in a car wreck, got a broken nose, had stitches in his leg, and was arrested on DUI charges in Vegas. He told her not to tell anyone, but he needed money to get out of jail.

My mom asked why he was in Las Vegas; he said he had been at a wedding. Thank God, my mom said this doesn’t sound like you, and asked, what is your mother’s name? The guy said his nose was broken in 2 places and that’s why he sounded different. The guy wanted her to call his lawyer (whose name is supposedly Harvey Gardner) and have $9800 to be sent to bail him out.

She said she didn’t have that kind of money. He told her to go to the bank and get it. He told her to “call the lawyer” in Las Vegas so he could get out of jail and gave her the phone number (514-015-5782) and maybe she could pay by credit card. When she asked again what his mother’s name was, he said, “I love you, grandma,” and said he had to get off the phone.

My mom called me, very upset, and wanted to know what she should do. Luckily I was able to reach my nephew (who the guy pretended to be). He was in Spokane, not Las Vegas, and he was not in any car accident. I’m grateful and proud my mom questioned the guy. I’m fairly sure they used information from Facebook targeting an elderly woman, hoping for an easy mark.

I called the Seattle Police but they said that since she didn’t give them any money, there was actually no crime.

This was a very scary call to receive. I want to spread word to stop these scammers. I just hope to prevent people from sending these types of people any money. I’m glad I had talked to my mom about various scams people use to get money and (had told her to) never give out any credit card information to anyone who calls her.

This scam is so common that even the FBI’s website has a warning about it, saying reports date back up to seven years; one version goes back even further, according to Snopes.com. (And here’s a story from the East Coast about a scammer who got caught.)

Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STREET ROBBERY: A man was robbed this morning in The Triangle around 4:15 am. We’ve been trying all day to get some details, after seeing the robbery designation on Tweets By Beat, and finally just got information from police who are here at the Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting we’re covering. According to Lt. Ron Smith, two people described only as a black male and white female approached the victim in the 4600 block of 36th SW, asked for a ride to Renton, and then grabbed him, took his wallet and 60 dollars, tossed the wallet on the ground and took off. The report also says they considered stealing his car but it was manual transmission, so they apparently gave up on that idea. Police searched the area, with a K-9, but didn’t find the robbers.

CAR PROWL: A car-prowl victim in West Seattle early this morning is hoping somebody might spot what was stolen from her car:

Someone broke my passenger side window and stole an over-sized brown suede tote bag (I believe it was from Eddie Bauer). They took nothing of financial value, except my well-worn tote bag.

Nothing in that bag would have been of value to anyone else, she said, but it contained client files that were important for her business – if you’ve seen the bag, please let police know.

(UPDATED SUNDAY NIGHT with confirmation car was stolen)

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:

BEE GARDEN VANDALISM: When volunteers arrived for today’s work party at the West Seattle Bee Garden, they discovered that mosaic sign made by students at West Seattle Elementary had been vandalized overnight. Christine sent the photo and says someone threw a brick into the sign; it’s been reported to police, and, “We hope someone saw something or heard something.” They also are hoping someone will offer to help repair it. We’ll be following up on this; if you can help with repairs, westseattlebeegarden@gmail.com

STOLEN CAR? A resident who e-mailed recently about ongoing problems in the (updated) 8600 block of 25th SW has a new report today – a suspected stolen car left nearby this morning, after two stolen cars were recovered there recently.

“Police were called and agree it’s probably stolen but not reported yet. … Plate AQC4102, 4-door light blue older model Honda with a red disabled plaque hanging from mirror.” Also, the resident reports, a battery was stolen out of a neighbor’s van. (Sunday night update – we found SPD tweet from an hour after we published this, confirming this was a stolen car. Also added photo sent Sunday by resident who spotted it.)

BURGLARY ATTEMPT: From an Arbor Heights resident:

My home (located on 35th SW, near 100th) got broken into on Wed, 4/22. I came home from work to find the glass of the patio sliding door shuttered and the security alarm going off. I called 911 and the police officers came and searched the premises. Looked like nothing had been stolen. I am pretty certain that the sound of the alarm scared off the would be intruder and they fled without taking anything.

Getting the home security system installed turned out to be the best investment I have made to the house!

Not having a door overnight and then dealing with the subsequent repair work the next day to install a brand new set of sliding doors (it turned out, the doors were not standard size so lots of adjustments had to be made around the opening) in pouring rain was pretty annoying but my house was okay and so was I.

(MOST RECENT UPDATE 3:54 PM – scroll down)

2:35 PM: Another attack on a local student – this time in the Admiral area. From SPD Blotter:

Police are searching West Seattle for a man who groped a middle school student Thursday as she was on her way to school.

School officials called police around 11 AM after a student reported that a man had followed her off a bus near California Avenue and SW Stevens Street and grabbed her from behind.

The suspect is described as a black male, in his mid 20’s, with short dreadlocks, wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans. He reportedly boarded a bus in the West Seattle Junction neighborhood after the incident. Seattle Police are working with King County Metro Police and school officials to identify the man and ensure the safety of students.

If you witnessed this incident or have any information about the suspect, please call 911.

This happened two days after an attack on a student at Westwood Village – here’s the report on that.

ADDED 2:51 PM: We’ve just obtained the letter sent home by the principal of Madison Middle School:

Dear Madison Middle School Families,

We want to share with you information right away regarding an incident that was reported this morning involving one of our scholars on her way to school.

At approximately 10:20am a female scholar was followed from the Metro bus stop at McDonalds and California west on Stevens by a man who approached her from behind and grabbed her.  He was described as an African man in his early 20’s or 30’s, thin build, with short curly hair. Our scholar turned and yelled at him, and he ran back toward PCC on California. She proceeded to school and immediately reported the incident to school staff. Madison administration notified the family and the Seattle Police Department, who are actively investigating.

The safety of our scholars is our top priority. We are continuing to coordinate with the SW Precinct Captain to discuss the safety and their increased policing efforts. We will continue to collaborate with the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Public Schools Safety and Security to help monitor the surrounding area.

You can help your children stay safe by talking to them about personal safety. Tips to discuss are:

 Walking in pairs or groups and being aware of their surroundings at all times.

 Leaving for school at times where there are high levels of pedestrian traffic.

 Immediately reporting anything suspicious to trusted adults (school staff and family members).

 Keep earbuds off and expensive phones or other items out of sight.

More tips and information can be found on the Seattle Police Department website:
seattle.gov/police/prevention/child/default.htm.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert Gary, Principal
Madison Middle School

3:55 PM UPDATE: Just talked to SPD spokesperson Det. Drew Fowler. No arrest so far. He says police are aware that the descriptions in this incident and the Tuesday Westwood Village incident are similar, and the same detective is handling both cases – so again, if you have any information, please call 911.

(WSB photo)
We took that photo this morning in the 10200 block of Myers Way – just south of the city limits – after a texted tip (206-293-6302 any time) from someone who reported seeing a major presence of Washington State Patrol and FBI agents there. When we asked the FBI about it, they told us information would be forthcoming shortly on a multi-agency, multi-location operation – and here it is:

Federal, state and local law enforcement partners made 18 arrests and searched more than a dozen locations in connection with a two-year investigation into a violent drug trafficking organization, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. The organization distributed cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine across a wide swath of the greater Seattle metro area. The defendants (were) scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 2:00 today.

“These defendants preyed on our community by supplying drugs in neighborhoods across Seattle, and demonstrated a willingness to use violence where it served their purposes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Their criminal activities included hiding weapons and using violence in homeless encampments located along Interstate-5.”

According to the indictment and court records, beginning in February 2013 law enforcement authorities used a variety of tools including telephone wire taps and confidential sources to infiltrate and interdict this drug organization. The investigation determined that the organization distributed approximately 15-20 kilos of cocaine, 10-15 kilos of heroin and 5 kilos of methamphetamine per month.

Read More

This time we’ll start with the reminder:

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL MEETS TONIGHT … 7 pm, precinct (Webster/Delridge). Bring your questions and concerns for local police, who will share updates on crime trends. Plus – special guest, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. All welcome.

Now, the newest reader reports we’ve received about local incidents:

STOLEN CAR: White two-door 1998 Honda Civic DX, license plate ASU-1986, stolen from the 4700 block of 36th SW. Distinctive features include “a “Drager” Breathalyzer with a camera on the dash, the front end (hood, front bumper, and passenger side fender) had been repainted and doesn’t exactly match the rest of the car,” and no muffler.

PURSE STOLEN FROM CAR: Marj is hoping the prowlers who broke into her car trunk in the south-side parking lot at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) late Monday morning might have discarded her purse – “light colored black leather with a short leather strap and a striped over the body strap. Inside was a black shiny snake wallet, green check register, black & white cat beaded glass case and small brown and green address book. Purse says made in Italy inside.” A police report was filed.

FOUND PURSE: This isn’t Marj’s purse but – whether it was stolen or lost, it turned up, empty, on a bench at Lincoln Park:

DLBJ sent the photo, saying it was “two benches south of Colman Pool.”

STOLEN LAWN MOWER: Tom reports from the 7500 block of 15th SW:

We had a lawn mower stolen from the back of a pickup truck and 150 ft of electrical cord stolen from the sidewalk on Saturday (4/18) around 2:30 pm. A neighbor had seen an unknown white male with a tattoo on his hand driving a black pickup truck looking for yard work at the time of the thefts. Police report has been filed.

BELATED BULLET-HOLE REPORT: We heard over the weekend from Barbara, who saw the report about Admiral cars with bullet holes and wondered if anyone else heard gunfire/had damage from two weekends earlier:

Our car was parked on the street on Alki Ave SW in the 1500 block (not directly in front of our condo building, but close) from the afternoon of Wed. 4/1 through Sunday 4/5 while we were out of town, in our other car. Sunday 4/5 we came home and saw the bullet hole in the driver’s side door.

Police told her they had no other gunfire reports in the area that weekend; if you have any information and/or it happened to you too but you didn’t report it, the case # is 111-279.

THANKS … for sharing Crime Watch reader reports, so your neighbors in the wider WS community can be alerted too. If something is happening NOW, please text or call, 24/7, at 206-293-6302.

In West Seattle Crime Watch as the weekend wraps up:

‘VENT’ FROM A REPEAT CAR-PROWL VICTIM: Jeff in Arbor Heights sent this, saying he “needed to vent”:

I live in Arbor Heights, at 37th PL SW and SW 102nd ST. [map] My truck was broken into last night around midnight. My lock was punched, my door was dented, and all compartments in the vehicle were tossed. Luckily, I had no valuables in the vehicle except a car seat which was not touched. This is the second time my truck has been broken into. Now both doors are dented. I work hard for everything I have, and every couple months, someone damages the fruits of my labor, and my confidence in society.

My gut reaction is that I would like to catch someone in the act and then you know what. I’m sure everyone who has experienced theft or property damage feels some extreme emotions. I’m glad I didn’t catch the people who did this, I’m sure their lives are filled with some sort of turmoil and pain that I can’t imagine.

I would like to thank the Seattle Police, who responded to our house and treated my wife with respect and assured her they were doing everything that could be done. I wish I could sit down with the people who steal and damage our property, and get them on a path to success. Their lives are sad.

STOLEN CAR FOUND: A Highland Park resident texted us last night to ask if this white Saturn station wagon, which had been in their neighborhood at least three days, was on record as stolen:

We looked at SPD’s @getyourcarback Twitter account, where most if not all cars reported as stolen are tweeted by SPD’s 911 center (but without location information, which means we do NOT know which were stolen in West Seattle unless we’ve heard directly from a vehicle’s owner). In this case, we did find an exact match (from four days earlier), plate and make/model/color, so the finder called 911, police were sent, and the car was picked up overnight.

ANOTHER STOLEN CAR: Here’s one you won’t find on SPD’s Twitter feed, because it was taken outside their jurisdiction, but Sue asked if we’d mention it, since cars stolen south of the city-county line can wind up here, and vice versa: “It was stolen near the cross streets of 108th St SW and 8th. [map] It is a white Honda Accord, 93. Plate number ADE 1742.” If you see it somewhere, be sure to tell 911 it’s a King County Sheriff’s Office case.

STOLEN BIKE: Akemi‘s bicycle was taken in The Junction:

Bike stolen off porch, West Junction neighborhood: Mint-green Schwinn 21 speed. left side handle has (stem) mirror adapter. Scratches on front post from basket attachment which may still be on handle bars. Mini-tire pump on frame. Combo lock cable around post of light brown saddle-seat.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL ON TUESDAY: One more note – WSCPC has announced its agenda for Tuesday night’s monthly meeting (7 pm, Southwest Precinct). City Attorney Pete Holmes will be the guest: “He will speak to the organization and duties of his office as well as other current issues; ie, marijuana rules and regs.” And SPD will present crime trends and policing updates. The precinct’s at Webster/Delridge, and all are welcome.