West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘Odd’ theft; burglary; suspicion; bike
Several West Seattle Crime Watch notes from the past day or so. First, Brian noted an unusual car-part theft:
Someone stole the Honda logo off the rear of my wife’s 2005 Civic. She noticed it missing Tuesday. She said that ones from nearby cars were missing too. We live in the 8600 block of 25th, 1 block north of Westwood Village. I don’t know if this was a prank or if those logos have some kind of value. Not a huge occurrence but kind of odd.
Ahead, a burglary, some protection tips, a suspicious-behavior report, and a possibly stolen bikeRead More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Casing/package-prowling alert
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Rene, who says it happened near the Fauntleroy ferry dock:
After dark 6:20 tonight while outside my house with my dog I noted a middle-aged Caucasian woman prowling around my neighbor’s house with headlamp, and trying out their doors. I called across to her, and she said she was trying to deliver a package. I asked to whom, and she quoted a different house number, and quickly took off on foot south on 48th. There was no delivery van in sight, nor was this person wearing a uniform. I walked over to the house and found a package labeled with another address, and clearly tampered with. Called neighbors (away at the time), met with their family on site, contacted police, etc.
Be careful when you leave your home to put on lamp timers, switch up your routine, and have your Good Samaritan friends and neighbors stop by and/or keep an eye on the place. In this holiday season, please be wary of “false delivery” prowlers!
West Seattle Crime Watch: Keep watch for vandals
The screengrab at right from the city’s police-call map tells the tale: The spray-paint can is the city map’s icon for property-damage reports; the map is not real-time, so the icons represent mostly incidents reported last night or this morning. Though details on those reports aren’t available, so we don’t know details of the “property damage,” the icon locations correspond with what we’ve heard anecdotally through a variety of channels – a spate of vandalism incidents against cars. First word we had was this morning, when a WSB’er who asked to be anonymous reported, “This morning coming back from coffee at 6 am i noticed a truck with its street side window broken out. The truck was on SW Hill St between 42 and 44th streets. And a few minutes ago I found half a blue rubber glove hanging on a trailer lock handle and a fresh thumb print in the dirt on the trailer door lock. This happened near Hill St and Sunset.” We got two other reports as well – read on:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car stolen from bridge park-n-ride
Out of the WSB inbox, from Gary:
My dark green 4-door 1996 Honda Accord was stolen yesterday (Fri 12/2) between 8 AM and 5:15 PM from the Metro park and ride underneath the WS bridge. I parked in the lot closest to Avalon. WA license #ABW 9695. Bumper sticker on rear says “All Mixed Up rocks.” Has been reported to Seattle police.
Video: Maximum sentence in Fairmount Springs attack
1:30 PM: We are in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Heller, who is to sentence Monty Richardson in the Fairmount Springs attack case from last July. Judge Heller has just entered; defendant Monty Richardson, who entered a type of guilty plea while not acknowledging guilt, is now at the bench. The victim is here, as is her daughter and three family friends. On behalf of Richardson is his wife, their daughter, a former landlord of theirs, and the church he attends. Richardson is being sentenced for burglary and assault, to which he pleaded guilty on November 17th. Here’s our most recent report, after we discovered that plea bargain in court records.
The attack “fairly shocks the conscience,” says senior deputy prosecuting attorney Erin Becker, saying Richardson went into the victim’s home – across the street from his – and “inflicted extreme injuries … 26 fractures” including two spinal fractures. She was “left unconscious and alone when the attack ended. … Frankly, it’s very hard to have to explain to victims that this is what the Legislature proscribes for a crime .. a standard range of 26 to 34 months.” She mentions that some letters written in Richardson’s support allude to comments here that suggested somebody else did it.
1:36 PM: The victim is now speaking.
(Our as-it-happened coverage continues ahead, concluding with the sentencing decision just after 2 pm – video added of the judge explaining his decision):Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car; 3 more reports
Be on the lookout for the car at left – stolen, according to the first of three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports we have tonight. Z says it’s a 1991 Nissan Sentra, red, 2-door, black trunk and spoiler, gray interior, license plate # 051UEJ, stolen near 41st and Admiral Way sometime over the holiday weekend while Z was out of town. If you spot it, please call 911.
Ahead – burglary and car-prowl reports, plus a bonus link!Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglaries rise – where and when
In addition to the burglaries and break-in attempt featured in our West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports earlier today, we had an inquiry out to police about two other possible incidents heard on the scanner. In response to it all, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen confirms there’s a “notable increase” in home burglaries tracing back to last week – a surprise during a holiday week, he says – and shares these details on trends:
The neighborhoods that are being affected the most are:
· East of Delridge from Spokane St to about SW Holden St, West of the Duwamish.
· South of SW Morgan to the City boundary Line, West of 35th SW.
Days and Time:
· Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
· 7 am to 6 pm
Current trends include 2-3 subjects in a large car (old-retired taxis have been used) in order to put large objects in the trunk or back seat area. The suspects are knocking on the front door, waiting for an answer. If no answer, they are forcing entry via a non-visible door/window.
Our West Seattle folks are doing a great job by calling 911 when they see suspicious circumstances in their neighborhoods. I would also like to remind our citizens to closely work with their neighbors, watching out for each other particularly during times when their homes are vacant during the day.
I don’t want to take the fun/joy out of the Holidays, but criminals will target homes for the gifts lying under the tree. Also, while shopping, please be aware of your personal surroundings as you walk to your car with gifts…It is not unusual for subjects to approach shoppers and forcibly take their packages as well as break into parked vehicles at shopping centers.
There’s more holiday crime-deterrence advice in the latest newsletter from SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, published here a week ago.
1 more West Seattle Crime Watch note: Late-am break-in
In addition to this morning’s 3-report West Seattle Crime Watch roundup, we just got this, from Chloe, victimized by burglar/s near 35th/Roxbury this morning:
It happened about 9:30-11:30 today. My house was rummaged through, PlayStation, games for it, some DVDs, a lap top and possibly a camera. Roommate came home to it in this state. No one was hurt and sadly no one saw anything. An officer just left after taking fingerprints. This is the second tine this has happened this year.
Thanks to everyone who shares their reports, to help keep the greater neighborhood informed. The police are always the first, most important call, but their reports are not made public for quite some time, so in cases like this, our best source of info is you. (The WSB Crime Watch page has the most recent links, plus various crime/police-related resources.)
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car prowler to watch out for
Just out of the WSB inbox, from a tipster who didn’t want their name used:
I spotted a car prowler about 9:45 pm tonight on 45th Ave SW near Alaska. He was trying to open every car via the car door handle. Male wearing a white/beige ball cap. Wearing black hoodie or sweater. I immediately called the police and they sent someone out to look for the suspect. Just wanted to let you know so people can be sure to lock their cars, especially on streets that have no street lights.
Also important … as police advise over and over again: Don’t leave anything in your car that might even remotely tempt a thief, not even something that hints there might be items of value (example: if you have GPS, don’t just bring it in for the night, take down the suction cups too).
Update: 2 cars set on fire in 2 hours in West Seattle
2:05 AM: That’s the aftermath of the second of two car fires in two hours in eastern West Seattle tonight. There’s no official information on the two fires, not even whether they’re potentially related, but we do know that police and fire investigators were sent to both scenes. Our photo is from 28th/Brandon, an undeveloped street north of eastern High Point, where the burning car was found after midnight. About two hours earlier, another car fire was investigated at 18th and Myrtle, a mile and a half away (as this map shows). We hope to find out later this morning if arson is suspected in either or both.
9:37 AM UPDATE: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says their investigator determined both fires to be arson: “There are no witnesses and no suspects. It is under investigation whether the two car fires are related or not.”
2:48 PM UPDATE: More information just in from SFD’s Moore: The 18th/Myrtle fire involved a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and did $6,500 in damage. The 28th/Brandon fire (as shown in our photo above) involved a 2005 BMW, with damage estimated at $16,000. Both fires are currently under investigation by SPD.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Plea deal in domestic-violence arson
(6/28/2011 photo courtesy Kathryn)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One of our periodic peeks into various court files to check on ongoing cases has just yielded news: There’s been a plea bargain in last June’s arson/domestic violence case in Gatewood. It happened three weeks ago, but we just spotted it now, and it does not appear anyone else has reported this yet. The fire happened on June 28th; the only person hurt was the defendant and home co-owner, 40-year-old John C. Siegel, whose injuries were later described as self-inflicted. He was found sitting outside the home as it burned.
The case drew extra citywide attention because Siegel had just gotten out of jail a month earlier after a plea bargain in a domestic-violence case that also yielded a charge of threatening a judge (as reported by Seattle Weekly). He is a lawyer and has been representing himself in this case, as he did in that one; the list of files in the four-month-old arson case is longer than many lists from cases that have been going on for years, and full of documents he wrote by hand while in jail (where he’s been since the fire). Here’s what we found out about Siegel’s plea bargain:Read More
West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, report #1: Latest trends
First set of quick notes from last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: Southwest Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis briefed the group, as usual, on crime-trend highlights:
*Residential burglaries, up 2 percent
*Non-residential burglaries, down 6 percent
*Auto thefts, up 10 percent
*Car prowls “way down” thanks to some recent arrests that “led to others”
Overall, Lt. Davis’s assessment: “We’re getting our bad guys, but there are still a lot more out there.” He stressed that “if you see something, say something” – call 911 if what you see is happening now; don’t worry about possibly “bothering” them with a non-emergency, as the operator’s job is to figure out the best way to route your call. Report #2, coming up – highlights from Metro Transit Police Chief Lisa Mulligan‘s presentation on what her team is all about. (Side note: WSCPC won’t meet in December, so its next meeting is January 17th.)
Double dose of The WSBeat: What else police have been handling
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – two rounds of The WSBeat, compiled over the past few weeks:
*Early Tuesday of last week, a 41-year-old man was walking on 16th SW near SW Elmgrove when he was confronted by a man being pushed in a wheelchair, who yelled out some “territorial” type of threats. Suddenly, the man in the wheelchair jumped up, punched the victim in the face and knocked him backward to the ground. The victim had to be taken to Harborview for treatment of multiple golf ball-sized contusions and lacerations to his head. The attacker — described as an Asian/Pacific Islander male, aged 22-29, with an athletic build and black hair in a ponytail — remains at large.
14 more summaries ahead:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Graffiti attack; stolen tools
Two more West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight: First one is just out of the WSB inbox, from someone who doesn’t want to be identified:
We wanted to alert everybody that our house in Sunrise Heights was tagged with graffiti by vandals today between 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
My wife and I would like to thank the Seattle Police for their excellent response and our wonderful neighbors for their moral support! We’d like the vandals to know that our block watch has been alerted and is being extra vigilant.
Second one came to us originally as a tip from someone who knows the victim. WSB contributor Keri DeTore talked with the victim and filed this report:
West Seattle resident and self-employed contractor Hollis Beebe is asking you to be on the lookout for a number of tools that were stolen from his garage on November 1st. This theft literally adds insult to injury: Beebe is still recovering from falling off a roof on September 25th, which left him with a broken right hand, wrist, elbow, and pelvis. Though he’s walking again, doctors anticipate another six months of recuperation for his arm.
The tools were taken from a detached garage around midnight, and Beebe told WSB that police believe this theft is part of a string of recent robberies in the North Admiral area. He adds that the tools stolen were all professional-grade and some were rare.
Tools to be on the lookout for include:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch update: Stolen puppy returned
E-mail just in from the Toledo family says they’ve recovered the puppy reported stolen during a burglary at a Delridge home belonging to a relative of King County Council candidate Diana Toledo, “dropped off at a local shelter this morning” by a couple who saw a TV news report about the theft. Their note thanks all the local media outlets who ran stories about the missing dog (here’s ours from last weekend).
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