West Seattle, Washington
10 Tuesday
Reported by PP:
Father-in-law’s Prius got stolen yesterday here in West Seattle. Next to Westwood Village (2500 SW Trenton). Stay on the lookout for a gray-colored car with the plate listing in the pic:
Car is a 2017 Prius V. Case # 24-212549.
Call 911 and refer to that case number if you find it.
One more belated crime report: Police have released a summary confirming gunfire on Alki early Monday morning. They say 911 calls came in at 3:43 am “to report gunshots near 60 Ave SW/Alki Ave SW.” SPD says officers found 14 shell casings and one “live round,” all 9mm. The summary notes, “A witness stated that prior to the shooting she heard a possible disturbance in the alley and a male voice say ‘hold on’ a couple of times. The witness stated that she then heard multiple gunshots. An unknown vehicle quickly drove from the scene.” No one was reported injured, either in the area or at local hospitals.
Every weekday, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office releases a list of names and causes of death from recent investigations. On Tuesday afternoon, that list included a new ruling that a death in June is now considered a case of homicide, by “blunt-force head injury” suffered in the 4500 block of California SW [map]. That case wasn’t on our radar previously, so we immediately inquired with Seattle Police, and received this response today:
On June 13th at 2:01 a.m., patrol officers responded to a physical assault that occurred near the 4500 block of California Avenue Southwest. Officers arrived along with the Seattle Fire Department. The victim was conscious and bleeding and being treated by SFD and later transported to Harborview Medical Center. Officers were unable to question him about the incident due to his injured state. The suspect fled the area and was not located. No arrests have been made at this time. On June 16th, the victim, 53, was pronounced deceased. This is an open and active Homicide investigation.
The KCMEO identified the victim as William G. Tappe. We also went back into audio archives to see how the incident was initially dispatched on June 13; Seattle Fire sent a low-level, one-engine “aid response” described as “male assaulted, minor injuries”; the SPD dispatch was described as for a victim who was “punched and kicked” by someone who then “got on a bus and left.” No description was provided. If you have any information about this incident, the case number is 24-160382.
Several readers asked about a big law-enforcement response at Roxbury Safeway early this evening. On Seattle Police radio, we heard SPD officers sent to back up King County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were “fighting with a suspect,” but the response was called off fairly quickly, as the suspect was reported to have been taken into custody. We just got information from KCSO on what led to this – spokesperson Det. Michael Ramirez says it was dispatched just after 5 pm as a “possible robbery in progress.” Arriving deputies wound up in “a brief struggle” with the suspect, he says, before they were able to make an arrest. Det. Ramirez adds that no injuries were reported and the suspect was taken to King County Jail to be booked for investigation of robbery.
ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Bail was set today at $10,000 for the suspect, who is 33. He does not appear to have a felony record, though the docket lists many misdemeanor cases in various jurisdictions.
Sent by Susan:
My 2006 silver Chevy Trailblazer was stolen last night in (the 4400 block of) SW Juneau St., West Seattle. License BWW8642, silver with back bumper sticker about dogs making our lives better. Police report 24-211543. Picture of one similar.
Call 911 if you find it.
Two reader reports:
STOLEN BLACK SILVERADO: James‘s just-purchased-this-week black 2000 Chevy Silverado was parked in the 4400 block of 51st SW when someone stole it between midnight and 7 am Sunday. It had temporary plates, A7524144, good through 9/7. Police report # is 24-209555. Call 911 if you see it.
ABANDONED SUITCASE: Sent by Pat:
Wondering if this is from a car prowl. If it’s yours, it’s on the west side of Walnut, just north of Stevens. Blue Ricardo suitcase & some kind of jig.
7:51 PM: Police are responding to a report of a shooting in Highland Park/Riverview. One person is reported to have arrived at the 16th/Holden fire station with a gunshot wound, though the shooting apparently happened elsewhere, possibly near 16th/Holly.
The person or persons who fired at the victim are believed to be in a black Jeep.
7:54 PM: The description of the shooter(s’) vehicle has changed again – possibly a dark green Kia Soul. … The possible shooting location is also now being described as 13th/Myrtle, “where the victim was parked” when shot.
7:59 PM: Officers tell dispatch they’ve found casings on 13th just north of Myrtle, near Riverview Playfield. … The vehicle description has changed for the third time – officers are saying that neighborhood security video shows a copper-colored Kia Sportage.
8:27 PM: Police are wrapping up their investigation at 13th/Myrtle (where our photo above is from) but have also just reported casings at 16th/Myrtle, so now they are closing 16th to investigate there. Meantime, we’re trying to clarify the status of the victim who showed up at the fire station.
10:29 PM: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells us, “Crews treated a 39-year-old male for minor injuries. He declined transportation to a hospital.”
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: SPD clarifies that the man’s injury turned out to be from broken glass, not a bullet. No other updates on the case.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: A detailed SPD summary provided since we talked with them this afternoon attributes the wound to “shrapnel” and includes a variety of additional details:
At 1944 hrs, SW Patrol responded to a report of a shooting that had occurred near 16 Ave SW/SW Holly St. While en route, responding Officers located a secondary victim vehicle at 16 Ave SW/ SW Holden St. This victim had been shot at while in a vehicle and suffered a non-life-threatening injury to his hip from shrapnel. SFD evaluated and cleared at the scene. This victim stated that the scene for this shooting was at 13 Ave SW/SW Myrtle St. The original victim vehicle was located at 16 Ave SW/SW Holly St. This first victim vehicle had been driving northbound on 16 Ave SW when suspects in a vehicle overtook them in the bike lane firing as they passed. The vehicle was struck by multiple rounds, but the occupants were unharmed. One of the suspects at some point dropped a firearm at 16 Ave SW/SW Myrtle St. The firearm was damaged and spilled numerous unspent rounds in the intersection. The firearm was retrieved by the suspect, and they fled northbound on 16 Ave SW. Officers processed scenes at 16/Myrtle (40 9mm unfired rounds, 1 9mm FCC, 1 .45 FCC), 16/Holly (Victim Vehicle), 16/Holden (Victim Vehicle) and 13/Myrtle (11 9mm FCC, 2 .45 FCC).
Reader report, received today from a staffer at Hazelwood Preschool, which rents space at Fauntleroy Church, next to Fauntleroy Park, and is operating a summer camp program too:
We have to use a small part of a Fauntleroy Park trail to get to our playground. Yesterday – Friday, July 26th, around 2 PM – two of our camp counselors were leading a group of 4-7 year olds up the trail and entered our playground. While the children were getting inside, a man walking his Husky off-leash was coming down the trail toward our group. His dog, though not aggressive, ran toward the children and jumped up on the gate as it was closing, which opened it more and he tried to come inside. One of our summer camp counselors immediately intervened, placing himself between the dog and the children, and called for the owner to get his dog on a leash. Unfortunately, the man became very upset and aggressive, yelled and grabbed our staff member, and pushed him violently against the slide, causing him to hit his head and fall to the ground. The man then quickly left the premises. While none of the children were physically harmed, many of them witnessed the incident and were understandably scared.
The man then walked to the parking lot of Fauntleroy Church, where our security cameras took this picture below.
Unfortunately, his car doesn’t have plates so the police have not yet been able to locate him.
We need help identifying this man. The man was wearing a blue shirt and shorts. White, possibly in his 40s. Tan with short hair. The police gave us an incident #, 24-207530, and if anyone has any information, they want them to call 911.
Received tonight from Mark:
My dark green Specialized electric Mountain Bike was stolen out of the PCC garage 7:40 pm Friday 26th. 2 men in a Hummer H2 SUT short-bed pickup.
Mark’s awaiting the police-report #; we’ll add it when available.
The man arrested for allegedly briefly stealing a fire engine in West Seattle early Wednesday is now charged. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 22-year-old Emanuel D. Wentworth of South Park with motor-vehicle theft and second-degree driving with a suspended/revoked license. The narrative with the charging documents says he only drove the engine (South Park-based Engine 26) about 300 feet from where it had been parked during a medical call at Arrowhead Gardens; as he left the cab, firefighters and a bystander yelled at him to stop, but he kept walking. Police subsequently found him walking nearby, at 1st/Cloverdale. The charging documents say that after being advised of his rights, Wentworth explained that he took the fire engine because he wanted to “see how it feels.” A firefighter explained to police that Wentworth might have been able to drive it farther if they hadn’t set the parking brake.
As we reported in our previous story, the King County Jail docket shows that this is Wentworth’s ninth booking in nine months. Only two of those cases have been referred by police to prosecutors – both auto thefts – and KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney tells WSB they charged Wentworth in both those cases, which are still making their way through the system. He adds, “In every other investigation, King County prosecutors have gone to court and asked for the defendant to be held, and been successful in those arguments. But none of those five felony investigations have been referred by police to King County prosecutors. … The cases may still be under police investigation. The diminished staffing of Seattle Police might also be a factor here. Either way, we know SPD officers and detectives have hard jobs and prosecutors will review any case if it’s sent to our office.” The cases in which he has not been charged included three burglaries, a robbery, and a stolen vehicle, one case in southeastern West Seattle and the others in South Park, downtown, and North Seattle. His most recent jail stay, for a failure-to-appear warrant, ended July 1st, when he was released to an alternative check-in program – with which he never checked in,, In the new case in which he has just been charged, bail is set at $50,000, and he remains in custody, pending arraignment in two weeks.
(Cropped photo – the red-paint tagging extends the full length and to the bottom edge)
If you’ve been to the West Seattle Junction parking lot behind the KeyBank block in the past few weeks, you might have noticed the extensive tagging vandalism on the mural along the south side of the lot, “The Old Mud Hole.” Thanks to Doug for the photos – including this one showing the plaque with the mural’s history:
This is at least the second time in five years that vandals have damaged this mural – here’s one of our 2019 reports – and this time, restoration poses a dilemma. Chris Mackay of the West Seattle Junction Association tells WSB, “Our graffiti team attempted to clean the mural but it’s not possible without destroying it.” So for starters, she’s trying to reach its artist, Mike Svob (who is in British Columbia). This mural is one of 11, mostly in The Junction, created and installed more than 30 years ago as part of a civic enhancement/beautification project. Some were restored through an endowment from the late Adah Rhodes Cruzen, widow of Earl Cruzen, who had spearheaded that original project. WSJA’s Mackay tells us there is some money available to restore this mural – depending on what the cost turns out to be.
From Jennifer:
My husband’s 2000 Jeep Wrangler was stolen sometime last night from the 9200 block of 35th Ave SW. It’s dark green with a black hard top, and a worn spare tire on the back. Seems hard to believe it would be stolen since it’s a manual, but there must be some jerks who still know how to drive a stick. Police report being filed – will update when available, but if you see it please let me know. Plate # ABJ5683.
Another garage burglary resulting in an e-bike theft. This one was reported by Julie:
This was stolen out of my garage on Alki on Sunday night. RadTrike electric tricycle, gray. (Stock photo) It was brand new. They used bolt cutters to cut the lock off. They don’t have the key to turn on the battery. It’s a long shot but I’d love to get it back. 24-935601 police report.
A 22-year-old man is in the King County Jail for the ninth time in nine months after his arrest early today following a short-lived fire-engine theft in West Seattle. According to information we’ve obtained from SFD and SPD, an SFD engine was on a medical call at the Arrowhead Gardens senior-living complex, dispatched just after 3 am, when “a witness called regarding a man that reportedly rode a scooter up to a Fire Engine, entered it, and drove away with lights and sirens activated.” He didn’t get far, police say: “After starting the vehicle, (the thief) failed to deactivate the parking brake and was only able to drive around the corner.” Police arrested the suspect a short time later. SFD adds, “The engine was quickly returned to the crew, and the patient received the care they needed.” (The SFD incident log shows it would have been South Park-based Engine 26.) The suspect was booked into jail for investigation of vehicle theft. The jail log shows he has eight previous bookings dating back to last October – most ranging from two to five days at a time, except for the most recent, from June 20th to July 1st, related to two stolen-vehicle cases in which he was charged last year; we haven’t dug through the case-specific documents yet but both of those cases appear to be still making their way through the system, with hearings in early August. Court files do not appear to show any felony convictions on his record.
From Josh:
The Dakota building along California Ave (4116 California Ave SW) had a break-in this weekend. They took our garage door off the tracks and broke three of our doors. There were four suspects and their license plate was captured. They broke into a car, an electrical room and stole items.
According to a summary that Josh forwarded, compiled by building management, this likely started around 4:45 am Sunday:
Camera in lobby shows Suspect #1 enter the lobby via the elevator at 0454. He walks to the door from the lobby to the garage, sets down his backpack and takes out a 24-30 nch bar. Uses the bar to wrench open the door handle. The door did not unlock. He picks up an Amazon package from a counter in the lobby and exits via the front doors at about 0456.
Camera in alley shows Suspect #1 walking SB in the alley from north of the building at 0500. At 0501 he uses something, possibly same tool, to pry the garage gate off its track far enough to squeeze through. He prowls around the garage for several minutes … During this time he probably used his bar to wrench open the door to the electrical room. The contents of the Amazon package were opened and left on top of a cart in a bicycle storage area. A bicycle from that area was moved to a parking space about 20 feet away.
One burglar then was shown checking car doors and opening a resident’s car trunk before going through some items stored in another parking space, subsequently carrying two totes into the garbage room and rummaging through them.
Suspect #1 left via the garbage room double doors at 0515 and walked SB toward SW Genesee St. Suspect #1 Description: Black or Hispanic Male; 20’s to 30’s; average build. Wearing gray pants and a gray hoodie with “All Hustle No Handouts” on the front. Carried a blue or black backpack.
Josh says managers are still working on providing the video but did circulate this image of that burglar:
Video also shows a car associated with the three other suspects, “a silver or gray compact, possibly a Hyundai,” license CLE2—. They are described as:.
Suspect #2; White or Hispanic Male; 30’s; average build. Wearing gray pants and dark gray hoodie and black baseball hat; white sneakers. Does not appear to be the original suspect (#1).
Suspect #3; Unknown race male or female; heavy set; orange puffy coat over a white shirt, blue pants.
Suspect #4; White male; Very long ponytail; heavy set, but not nearly as much as #3; wearing mask; dressed in greenish jumpsuit with patches visible.
They’re still assessing what was stolen. If you have any information, SPD case number is 24-201737.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Moments before Mayor Harrell announced at noontime today that the city is working on getting 20 spaces at the regional SCORE misdemeanor jail, the City Council’s Public Safety Committee had heard about – among other things – the inability to book many misdemeanor suspects into the King County Jail. This, despite an 18-year contract with the county costing $22 million this year alone, which led to Council President Sara Nelson exclaiming, “I want my money back!”
That was toward the end of an information-packed committee meeting with an agenda also including Interim Police Chief Sue Rahr‘s report on her first two months on the job, plus the confirmation of Amy Smith as permanent Chief of CARE (the department that includes the city’s 911 center as well as a team of crisis responders). Here’s the video:
The meeting lasted two and a half hours, starting with public comment and Chief Smith’s confirmation (which committee members voted 4-0 to recommend to the full Council, which might vote as soon as next Tuesday), until an hour and 20 minutes in. That’s when Chief Rahr began her update (see the slide deck here).
Rahr said she’s been focused on four areas – staffing, technology, accountability, and the department’s “criminal justice partners.” The first, she said, is still “a crisis” – hiring remains “behind where we’d hoped to be”:
She presented an overview of a recent overnight shift citywide to show how those numbers translate operationally (note that the Southwest Precinct, West Seattle and South Park, had six officers that shift, four below what it should have):
BUSINESS BURGLARY: Pecos Pit (35th/Fauntleroy; WSB sponsor) was broken into overnight. We went over to find out more after hearing about the burglary. They say someone got in through a window and broke into the safe.
Some cash was taken, and as a result, Pecos Pit is going cashless TFN. But they are open for business otherwise.
ART THEFT: Thanks to Kelly for the report on this: At least two artists report having artwork stolen from their booths at last weekend’s Alki Art Fair during the hours when the three-day festival was closed. One is Ula Nero, who is asking people to look for these two paintings:
In all the years I’ve done art shows all over Washington this has never happened to me or any other artists. Tents were cut and graffiti left as the reminder how awful people could be.
We’re checking on that case number (update: it’s 24-935480); meantime, 24-935511 is the case number for Richard Jahn, who says four of his paintings were stolen, including these two:
I also had 4 original paintings stolen from the Alki Art (Fair). I am devastated about it. Please pass on to everyone to be on the lookout for these paintings. Please call Seattle Police if you have any clues.
10:39 AM: Police and SFD are arriving at Lincoln Park for a “scenes of violence” response. A 27-year-old man is reported to be injured, with a gunshot wound to the hip. Updates to come.
10:53 AM: Our crew has arrived to find out more and reports the police activity is concentrated toward the south end of the main parking lot. They’re focusing on a car parked there.
11 AM: The victim is on the way to Harborview. Police have a person in handcuffs and we’re trying to verify if anyone else is being sought.
11:08 AM: Police tell us at the scene this may be a case of self-defense. Preliminary information indicates that a bystander happened onto a man assaulting a woman, told him to stop, and then was assaulted, and that’s when the bystander, who was armed, fired a shot. The bystander is the person they’re questioning; they’re not looking for anyone else. The assault suspect is the man who was shot – according to a radio transmission, he will be arrested for investigation of domestic-violence assault.
12:50 PM: We just went back to the park; the investigation scene has completely cleared. Meantime, we’re following up on the status of multiple parties to this, including the female assault victim.
1:11 PM: SFD tells us the man who was shot was in critical condition when transported to Harborview. The woman he was reported to have been assaulting is in her mid-30s and reported in stable condition when taken to a hospital by AMR ambulance.
3:01 PM: SPD spokesperson Officer Eric Muñoz says the man who is reported to have shot the assault suspect was still being questioned at last report and “was cooperating with officers.” He also discloses that the man is the son of a Seattle Police lieutenant but says the lieutenant was not involved in the incident.
Two reader reports on abandoned items; if either might be yours, please email us and we’ll connect you with the finders:
TOOLBOX: Cynthia sent the photo and report:
This was left behind our condo building and it doesn’t belong to any of us. It has some scuffs on the top so it doesn’t seem to be brand new. But it also still has stickers on it from some kind of retailer. There was only one item left inside but we figured someone might want the toolbox back.
BICYCLE: A reader who wante to be anonymous sent this photo and report:
Bicycle abandoned near Fairmount Ave SW and Harbor Ave. It has been there since last weekend, so clearly it is abandoned. At the back side of Duwamish Head Greenspace behind the pump station.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Police are investigating early-morning gunfire near 11th/Roxbury. They say reports of suspected gunfire were received around 5:17 am, and responding officers found a man whose vehicle had bullet damage. He was not hurt. He said the gunfire came from someone in another vehicle (we don’t have any descriptive information); in addition to the vehicle damage, casings were found on the sidewalk on the south side of Roxbury near 11th.
ADDED TUESDAY: Here’s the final SPD summary of this incident:
At 0517 hours, Officers responded to the reports of shots heard. Another caller reported that they had been shot at and their vehicle had sustained damage. Officers contacted the victim, who was uninjured, who stated that they were parked at a dead-end street. The victim was inside their vehicle facing north in front of a RV that belonged to their friend. The victim heard someone from the south, behind them, shout something and then heard 2 to 3 loud bangs. The victim then realized a bullet had hit the rear window of their vehicle and went through the windshield as well, just missing the victim. A 9mm shell casing was found on the sidewalk of the arterial. There was no available description of a suspect or vehicle at the time of the report.
The report and photo are from Jacob:
Our Tern GSD-S00 Electric Cargo Bike was stolen from our garage (Wednesday) evening.
It had an orange child seat equipped when it was stolen. So it looks more like this now,
Our garage is between 30th and 31st and Othello and Myrtle. It was stolen between 6:15 pm and 10:00 pm (probably closer to 10:00 pm). Neighbors’ cameras saw a red minivan, dark-tinted rear windows, case our house twice.
Reward will bo offered for information leading to its recovery. I can be contacted at 571-296-7109.
The police report # is 24-197860.
FRIDAY UPDATE: Jacob commented below that they got the bike back.
At the City Council‘s weekly meeting today, councilmembers voted 8-1 (Tammy Morales was the lone “no”) to approve the bill intended to crack down on stunt driving categorized under the description “street racing” (read it here). The vote followed public comment that featured Alki community leaders, starting about 4:40 into the video.
What councilmembers approved included amendments by District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka to add penalties, including higher fines for second (or beyond) violations. You can read the whole bill here; here’s the council announcement’s summary of what it will do, assuming Mayor Bruce Harrell signs it:
*The new ordinance amends the city code on illegal racing by creating a new traffic infraction penalizing the registered owner of a vehicle involved in racing and by adopting the state law changes.
*Adoption of the state law now gives the City Attorney’s Office the statutory authority to now prosecute illegal racing as misdemeanor and gross misdemeanors crimes.
*Vehicle owners and participants are subject to a $500 non-criminal traffic infraction. Adopted amendments by Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1) increase the fine to $800 for a second infraction, and $1,500 for third and subsequent infractions.
*Any person knowingly attending an unlawful race event with the intent to observe, support, or encourage the event may face a civil infraction base fine of $100 if they fail to leave the event if instructed to do so by officers.
If you’re wondering exactly what the bill covers, here’s part of the language:
… “unlawful race event” means an event on a street, alley, way open to the public, or off-street facility wherein persons willfully: (1) compare or contest relative speeds by operation of one or more motor vehicles, or (2) demonstrate, exhibit, or compare speed, maneuverability, or the power of one or more motor vehicles, in a straight or curved direction, in a circular direction, around corners, or in circles in an activity commonly referred to as “drifting,” or by breaking traction.
(corrected attribution) Councilmember Tanya Woo, co-sponsor of the bill, said the place for that kind of driving is at race tracks and other venues where drivers can safely pursue “their passion.” But as Pumphrey pointed out in his comments, legislation alone doesn’t accomplish anything – he spoke to the last council a year ago before they passed the “racing zone” bill authorizing cameras (which have yet to be installed) – enforcement will be key. Since this was an “emergency” bill, if and when the mayor signs it, the law changes immediately.
The report and photo are from Jessica:
My scooter was stolen from Beach Dr SW today around 2 pm. It’s a blue 2022 Piaggio Liberty. My license plate is 4K4655. Police report # 24-196295.
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