Out of the WSB inboxes this afternoon:

CAR BREAK-INS: William sent the photo, noting two car break-ins on Belvidere Avenue in southeast Admiral.

ABANDONED CAR? Bill sent that photo, reporting, “Looks abandoned and ransacked. On the sidewalk/Duwamish Bike Trail north side of Highland east of the intersection with W Marginal.” He’s reported it but wanted to post here too in case this car’s owner is looking for it.

DAMAGED CAR: From a texter:

It looks like there may have been a gray car hit outside of the Rite Aid on California and it’s up on the sidewalk. Just saw it a few minutes ago when I drove by. Not sure if it was an active incident or a parked car was hit and just hadn’t been cleared, but there was debris around it. I didn’t see any police or response vehicles there when I drove by.

We checked the SFD and SPD logs; nothing in that area in the past couple days.

STOLEN MAIL FOUND: This just came in from “a neighbor on Alaska”:

We had a package stolen this week which was recovered by a very kind neighbor who found it in a ditch and delivered it to us. When I went to take out the trash I noticed a bag inside. I pulled it out and inside there was stolen mail, trash, and evidence of other stolen packages. Most of the mail was from Edmonds but I wanted to alert anyone who may be missing items like a book, small zipper bag, and bandana. These may have been stolen from a car. I have called the police and will be turning in the items to them and the mail to the post office.

(Reader photo, Monday)

Back on Monday, that large police response drew attention in the 4700 block of 46th SW. Emergency radio indicated that, after officers chased him on foot, a man was taken into custody on suspicion of violating an anti-harassment order. We’ve been researching the case since then – it’s going through Seattle Municipal Court, and that system has a lag for document availability. But now we’ve confirmed that the suspect, 31-year-old Casey Carlstedt, is charged, and the file includes the police report detailing what officers say happened that morning:

Officers responded to a reported order violation at the Safeway supermarket located at 4754 42 Av SW. A staff member called 911 because a known suspect (Carlstedt) was in the store, and she believed that an order was in place that prevented him from being there.

(He) is a known prolific offender in the William Sector area – specifically in the Admiral and Alaska Junction areas. Carlstedt is familiar to most patrol officers in the precinct as well as many business owners and staff. (He) is also on the (City Attorney’s Office) High Utilizer list.

As (an officer) arrived in the area, she saw A/Carlstedt near the intersection of 42 Av SW / SW Alaska St. (She) stopped her patrol car and told Carlstedt to “STOP.” Carlstedt fled on foot and led officers on a foot chase over several blocks and across multiple busy roadways. Carlstedt fled through residential yards to escape (the officer). He ignored repeated commands to “STOP” and was told more than once that he was under arrest. Carlstedt yelled that he was not violating an NCO while fleeing from police. … Carlstedt was eventually detained on the 4700 block of 46 Av SW.

Checking the system, officers say, they found an anti-harassment order prohibiting Carlstedt from being within one mile of a particular person’s home, and they say he “was seen well within 1 Mile of that address.” He was arrested and booked into jail. The City Attorney’s Office has since charged him with violation of a court order and obstructing a public officer (gross misdemeanors), and he has pleaded not guilty. A document from Wednesday indicates that Municipal Court Judge Willie Gregory set bail at $7,500, though on the jail docket, it’s listed as twice that, possibly because he is listed as having another order-violation case pending. (We’re looking into that.)

BACKSTORY: Our previous mentions of Carlstedt include a 2021 case in which he was accused of using “bear mace” on a man who confronted him during an alleged car-prowl attempt, a 2020 case that was a lot like the current one, and multiple 2017 cases.

Sent by Kathy:

My 1995 pink Chevy S-10 pickup truck with a matching pink canopy was stolen (today) between 12:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. on 8/29. It was parked on SW Myrtle St in West Seattle, right outside of The Kenney. WA plate #B18447T. I’ve filed a police report (# 24-244276) and the police checked to see if it had been impounded (it wasn’t).

The Kenney had video footage and around 3:40 a.m. it looks like a small, dark colored (possibly black), older pickup truck pulled into their delivery area. The truck has a vertical, light colored stripe on the back driver’s side quarter panel. Two men got out of the truck and stole some things from The Kenney. Possibly a tire and it looks like they had a bike in the back of their truck along with a large gas can. The employee reviewing the video at The Kenney believes that when they pulled out, my truck was behind them and they turned south heading down Fauntleroy. It appears that these are the men who stole my truck.

The black and white picture of their truck isn’t very clear, but you can see the stripe on the back. It’s smaller than my truck and does not appear to have an extended cab.

I’m sentimental about my truck. I purchased it brand new in 1995 and it only has 109k miles on it. Please be on the lookout. I’d like to have my truck back in one piece. Any info as to where my truck is would be greatly appreciated.

Call 911 if you find it.

Sent by Colin:

My girlfriend’s light blue 1996 Honda Accord with bee and flower magnets was stolen from SW Portland St and Highland Park Way SW between the hours of 8 pm 8/27 and 7 am 8/28. WA plate is BSF 3634. She’s filed a police report, #24-242931. If the magnets have been removed, you can still see their shapes due to the sun bleaching of the paint.

Call 911 if you find it.

(Reader photo from Monday, sent by Marie)

Two days ago, that flipped-car crash on California south of Brandon injured the driver. He was taken to a hospital, the scene eventually cleared, and we thought that was the end of it. But a commenter revealed last night that there’s “more to this story” – that the car was stolen. Neighbors say it was taken early Sunday, from a neighborhood near Fairmount Ravine, with another apparently stolen car left in its place. So we followed up with police, who said that after medical treatment, the 31-year-old man had been booked into jail for investigation of stolen-vehicle possession, stolen-gun possession, and unlawful gun possession. We don’t know anything about the gun, but we found out that the suspect could not lawfully possess one because he’s a convicted felon. Documents from his most recent conviction, in 2019, cited an “extensive criminal history”; that case involved a West Seattle burglary, and he eventually was sentenced to six years in prison – with credit for eight months served before sentencing. He got out of prison last December; records show this was his first jail booking since then. “Was,” we say, because after two days, he was released about an hour and a half ago. Among the various authorities we contacted today was the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which did not file charges by today’s deadline, so the law required his release. KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney told us late today that they didn’t charge him because they couldn’t:

The information that was sent to us from police investigators was not legally sufficient to file charges, so the prosecutor handling the case wrote a detailed note to the investigating detective explaining what is needed for a legally sufficient case under state law. This is not a judgement on Seattle Police – we appreciate their continued work – it’s addressing what prosecutors can and cannot do under the law with the available evidence. It’s certainly possible that the additional elements are sent to us by the investigating Seattle Police detective for a charging decision.

In the meantime, the suspect is out of custody, for now. And the stolen, flipped car sits in an impound lot – its owner sent this photo:

They found some items that aren’t theirs inside and say they ;vehad trouble reaching police to deal with that. Meantime, personal items of theirs turned up inside the car – a blue Chevy Blazer – dumped nearby after theirs was taken.

Sent tonight by Beth:

My daughter had her bike stolen outside PCC this evening. (She was there buying ingredients to make me a birthday cake for tomorrow ❤️.)

It’s a white Bianchi Boardwalk with a Topeka rack on the back (for panniers), with straight handlebars with black grips. It also had a bike helmet hanging on it.

The [temporary] police incident report is T00009476. We would truly appreciate people keeping an eye out for it.

ORIGINAL TUESDAY REPORT: Wildwood Market in Fauntleroy was hit by a burglary early this morning – and in the process, its gas meter was damaged. That led to an SFD callout just before 7 am. Firefighters shut the gas off fairly quickly. Store staff told us the burglars stole items including the safe. We’re still working to get other details from police and store ownership, but Wildwood was open for business as usual when we went by at mid-morning.

UPDATE, 1:10 PM WEDNESDAY: We obtained the police narrative today, and it explains how the gas meter got damaged:

(The business owner) stated that she received a message from a delivery driver to the business that the window was broken on the front of the business at 0615 hrs.

(She) stated that since she had arrived at the business she could smell the odor of natural gas. I had SFD respond to the scene. Engine 37 arrived and determined that the gas meter on the outside of the building was leaking natural gas because it had been damaged.

(We) checked the interior of the building and it was clear of any suspects. (The owner) went through the building with me and stated that the suspects took some change from the cash register and the safe and a filing cabinet from the office. Neither of those items contained any money.

We also found the back door open. It is likely that the suspect(s) went out the backdoor and threw the filing cabinet and the safe over the deck railing and it landed on the gas meter, causing the leak.

3:57 AM: Details are few, but police are investigating how two men with apparent assault injuries wound up abandoned in the street-end parking lot south of Salty’s on Alki. Seattle Fire medics are treating the men, believed to be in their 30s, one described as “going in and out of consciousness.” Police also have found a car in the lot that they told dispatch has a “spent casing in the back seat,” a “live round,” and what appears to be “fresh bullet damage,” but they don’t know whether the gunfire happened there or elsewhere. The men were found about half an hour ago. We’ll following up with SPD and SFD later this morning.

10:54 AM: SFD says the men, 22 and 26, were both taken to the hospital in stable condition.

4:09 PM: SPD has provided us with this summary of what their investigation has determined so far:

The victims were pulling out of the Salty’s lot located at the 1900 BLK of Harbor Ave SW and there was a vehicle collision. The suspects exited the vehicle and made threats to assault the victims. The suspects assaulted the victims, and they suffered head, arm, and waist injuries. The victims both possibly have concussions. The suspects were (gone) upon officers’ arrival.

If you have any information, the incident # is 24-239692.

The report and photo were sent by Danielle:

My 2000 green Jeep Cherokee was stolen between 7 pm 8/22 and 10 am 8/23. It was last parked on SW Sylvan Heights Dr near SW 27th Ave in West Seattle. WA plates CDJ 8680. We’ve filed a police report (# 24-237939) and checked the city impound but have no leads so far. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find anyone in the neighborhood that had camera footage of the area. There was a Cornell sticker in the back window and a stuffed Garfield in the back drivers side window, but a more permanent identifying feature is that on the drivers side the “o” had fallen off so it said “Cher kee”. She has great sentimental value to us so any potential leads would be greatly appreciated!

Call 911 if you find it.

MONDAY NIGHT UPDATE: A reader found it.

Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN SCOOTER: Reported by Ryan:

My wife’s scooter was stolen overnight from the 6500 block of 34th Ave SW, near the corner of 34th & Morgan. It’s a 2021 Lance Havana Classic 50, license plate 7G0223. I’m hoping to get the word out so we might recover it. Footage from my neighbor’s camera attached:

No police report # yet but call 911 if you find the scooter.

PICKUP BREAK-IN: Reported by Danielle:

Sometime during the night on 8/22 into the early morning of 8/23, our truck was broken into on 46th Ave SW between Findlay and Juneau. The prowlers just took a gym bag that was in the back seat. Yes, it was a mistake to leave the bag in the back seat but it was a very long day. We are hoping the prowler will ultimately dump the gym bag once they realize there is nothing of value in the gym bag to them but we would most certainly love the gym bag back. If the gym bag is spotted, please let us know. There is some gym clothes, jump rope, white NoBull trainer shoes, and other miscellaneous gym training gear in the bag. The gym bag is a black New Haven backpack.

A police report will also be filed today.

Pending that, if you happen to find any of those items dumped, let us know and we’ll connect you.

Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

STOLEN VANAGON: Sent by Jesse:

Unfortunately my 1984 VW Vanagon Westfalia was stolen today from SW Seattle Street sometime after 5 PM. If you could have readers keep an eye out for it, I would really appreciate it. It has a Washington Collector Plate with a license #BUB7527. The only other notable is that the roof rack is currently not on the vehicle. Police report number 24-236176.

Call 911 if you find it.

Back on Monday, we reported on SPD’s spotlight on two arrests that happened in separate West Seattle incidents in the early morning hours of August 7th, and promised to follow up on the suspects’ status. We found out that one suspect has been charged and one has not, yet:

GUN CHARGE: 32-year-old Robert C. Brown Jr. of Highland Park is charged with one count of unlawful gun possession. He is the suspect arrested after what police say was an attempted burglary in South Delridge after a gunfire incident in White Center. Charging documents say Brown was linked to the gunfire because ammunition found in a gun in his possession when he was arrested matched spent casings at the gunfire scene. Police say he is a convicted felon so he could not legally possess a gun; this gun was not reported stolen but, police say, had previously belonged to a “homicide victim in Federal Way.” His bail was set at $100,000 the day after his arrest; he was released after posting bond and is due back in court tomorrow for arraignment.

NOT CHARGED YET: In the other August 7 arrest, that of a man accused of breaking into Gatewood mailboxes, no charges are filed yet against the 28-year-old suspect, who lives in Kent. The case hadn’t been referred to prosecutors by the rush-filing deadline on August 9, so he was released from jail. This doesn’t mean he’ll never be charged – sometimes charges are filed weeks or even months after arrests.

The report and photos are from Liz, near 41st and Raymond:

At 3:15 yesterday (8/20) afternoon two thieves came by in a blue and white truck and stole our e-bike. There was a motorcycle chain on the bike that they cut through, and while they worked, they wore a bright vest to appear like a utility worker.

The offenders wore a mask and their license plate is not clear enough to read. The bike is a RadRunner by Rad Power Bikes, dark green with a produce basket mounted on the back.

No police report # yet.

Sent by Lexy:

My red 2011 Hyundai Sonata was stolen sometime between Saturday night and this morning in Highland Park. It has a large dent on the driver’s side door. California plates – 6NRR428 – case # 24-233302.

Call 911 if you find it.

Sent by Hillary:

A locked 2011 sky-blue Hyundai Sonata, license plate AF8321, was stolen at 7:47 PM tonight in the 6900 block of 37th Ave SW. Four young men were involved, all wore masks, but from what was visible, they appeared Caucasian, age 16-20.

While one, dressed in all black with a hoodie and mask rushed toward the car to gain entry, the other three rolled up in a Kia (2019, white – has been reported stolen) and intimidate the onlooking neighbors. The Hyundai was quickly entered, hotwired, and the entire group fled.

Please send any info to SPD under case number 24-230571.

SUNDAY UPDATE: Commenter Brian notes below that this car was found outside West Seattle, used in a crash-and-grab business burglary.

9:39 PM: Police are investigating gunfire in High Point and trying to determine whether anyone is injured – an SFD ‘scenes of violence’ response has been sent to the 6300 block of 30th SW just in case. One person who says their car has bullet damage is reported to be waiting at the Southwest Precinct to speak with police. All this comes after multiple 911 calls reporting what sounded like gunfire, and police are working to sort it out. Updates to come.

9:43 PM: Still no victim found, but police report finding at least one shell casing “on the sidewalk.”

10:14 PM: Officers have reiterated that they found the evidence of gunfire in the 6300 block of 30th SW.

ADDED THURSDAY: Police have posted a summary of this incident including more specifics:

At 2128 hours, SW Patrol responded to numerous calls of shots heard in the High Point neighborhood. Initial calls indicated that a victim may have been on the ground not moving. Witnesses reported an unknown make vehicle fleeing the scene westbound in the alley and a separate subject running southbound on 29 Ave SW. An uninvolved victim drove to the Southwest Precinct and reported their vehicle had been struck by gunfire at 29 Ave SW and High Point Dr SW. There were no injuries to this caller. Officers located a single scene in the 6300 block 30 Ave SW where a total of 11 FCC’s were on the sidewalk. Two FN 5.7×28 and nine .40 FCC’s were recovered from this location.

Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

MULTIGENERATIONAL SHOPLIFTING: The report is from Jennifer at My Three Little Birds:

Hoping this might help other small businesses. I borrowed these photos from Doll Parts Collective. This large group of 3 families came into our store (THREE LITTLE BIRDS) as well as Doll Parts down the road. The kids trashed the store causing complete chaos while the women distracted the staff with questions and requests.

In the meantime the 7 or so kids left one by one stealing many items from our store. Definitely an organized crime. They had clearly done this before. Sharing everywhere. I know the police won’t do much, but maybe getting the photos out will prevent this from affecting another small business. We are so stunned, violated and disheartened today. … They stole a really expensive stroller system, toys, and clothing. They work quickly and seemed to know in advance what they were taking. At Doll Parts they also went through the employee’s purse and wallet. The police officer helping today says they tell small businesses to never allow large groups in the store all at once because of this.

We’ll add the police-report # when we get it.

MINI-MART BREAK-IN: We requested this report from police the day it happened, Tuesday, and just got it today. They responded to the 41st/Admiral mini-mart around 2:16 am after a report that a store manager or owner checked their camera following a call from their alarm company and saw “front door smashed and cigarettes all over.” They subsequently confirmed that someone had broken in by smashing the front glass with a large rock; the burglar(s) took “several items of merchandise.” Video of the burglary was provided to police later but the report summary provided to us did not include a description.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

BAG THEFT: This happened in the past hour, reported by text:

Just had a tote bag snagged, 26th and Genesee, beige canvas Sounders bag. Had our laptop and other restaurant papers in it. I know the laptop is probably gone but if anyone sends in a found on the side of the road we love the rest of the paperwork back. It was in the parking strip grass while loading the car.

No police report number yet. If you find the bag, let us know and we’ll connect you with the victim.

BURGLARY ATTEMPT: This happened early Sunday:

That’s one of three people who tried to break into a house in the 6500 block of Beach Drive SW, according to Autumn. She says the break-in happened just after 12:30 am. They parked nearby, “came up the driveway, scoped the house. The woman then knocked on the door and was captured by the Ring camera. After no one answered the door she and the men broke the glass door on the lower-level entrance. The house alarm sounded loudly and they all three ran down the driveway to the car and drove away.” This video shows them running back to the vehicle:

Here’s a closer look at the car:

If you have any information, the incident number is 24-224442.