Though as noted earlier, charges are not yet filed, a question that’s frequently discussed in comment threads (and elsewhere) is: What was the motive for the Nov. 30 theft of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole (past coverage here, newest to oldest)? We have obtained a court document which may shine a little light – it’s the “probable cause” document filed in connection with this week’s arrest – read on:Read More

Last week, we got word from Alex Pietsch at the City of Renton that their city was the rightful home of the totem pole found in Oregon with the stolen West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park pole (here’s our 12/15 report; photo above was provided by police after the poles were recovered 12/10 – the Renton totem’s on the left). Today, the Renton Reporter has published an update about plans for its restoration. (The plan for ours is still in the works; the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s restoration-fund info is here.) We also have one update on our Tuesday report that the suspected thief was arrested again – he was released from jail last night after seven hours. Still watching for the filing of charges.

(1 of 2 police cars that were still in the neighborhood when we arrived)
Here’s why police converged on Palm Avenue in North Admiral earlier this morning: They had a search warrant for the home of the suspect in the Nov. 30 theft of West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park‘s 18-foot totem pole (inset Rotary photo). The search was wrapping up when we arrived, and we didn’t see anything being brought out while we were there, but Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen tells us officers have arrested the 69-year-old man again – this time in connection with the theft of the totem pole found on a trailer in Oregon along with the West Seattle totem (as we reported last week, that second pole turned out to have been stolen from outside the Renton Fred Meyer store). As with the first arrest, he was not at his home when police arrived, but was taken into custody elsewhere in West Seattle, and has been booked into King County Jail. We are not identifying the suspect until he is officially charged; we are checking frequently with King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe, who just told us the case has yet to be referred (with ongoing investigations, that’s not unusual). We’ll update the latest developments if/when more information is available. Meantime, if you’re catching up on the backstory, here are links to some of our previous coverage:

Original story on then-suspected theft (published Dec. 3)
Theft suspect arrested (Dec. 9)
Stolen pole found in Oregon with (then-) mystery pole (Dec. 10)
Stolen poles brought back from Oregon (Dec. 14)
Second pole identified as having been stolen from Renton (Dec. 15)
Stolen West Seattle pole won’t be re-installed immediately (Dec. 17)

1:17 PM UPDATE: Lt. Paulsen says additional search warrants have been served in connection with the case – two in Black Diamond. No word yet if anything was found.

Another new development this morning in the saga of the stolen West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole. The other pole found along with it in Oregon last week, with information provided by the West Seattle man arrested in the case, is no longer a mystery: We’ve learned it was stolen from Renton.

In this case, as with West Seattle, some non-official sleuthing was involved. According to information shared by Alex Pietsch from the City of Renton, it started when Renton Municipal Arts Commission member Fred Lund brought up concern about the condition of a totem pole on the property of Fred Meyer at Rainier and Sunset, which had been there since 1975. After a subsequent discussion about some possibilities, Lund visited Fred Meyer – and noticed the pole was gone. At first, as a variety of parties started checking into what had happened to it, the possibility of theft didn’t even occur to anyone – they thought perhaps the Duwamish Tribe had it for restoration, since they had talked to a tribal artist about the possibility. Then last week they heard a radio version of the story about the recovered West Seattle totem pole, and the fact a mystery totem pole was found with it. They looked at the photos (same ones we ran here), and comparing them to archived clippings from the pole’s dedication, made the match. They contacted authorities and yesterday, Seattle Police met with store management to confirm. Now the city of Renton will be talking with Fred Meyer and the Duwamish about the pole’s restoration and return. We are working on more details and will add to this story as we get them – we may also have a separate story later today as we continue working on other aspects of the West Seattle pole’s story.

That’s the stolen-then-recovered West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, which we photographed a short time ago at the Parks Department facility – we agreed not to identify the location – where it’s now being kept, after a trip “home” from Oregon over the weekend. (Thanks to the tipster who gave us the heads up it had been picked up and driven back to Seattle.) Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter says it “will stay at our facility until Parks has formulated a plan for inspection, needed repairs if any, and re-installation of the totem. There may be a need to wait until the turf recovers before we allow another heavy truck at the site.” She also says a local firm that often helps with the city’s art collection has offered to help with the reinstallation, and Parks is mulling the offer; meantime, the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which donated the pole and the park to the city in 1976, has a fund going too (you can donate here). As for the mystery pole found along with this one, after the theft suspect told police where to look following his arrest last Wednesday, Potter says it’s being turned over to the SPD evidence unit. (No new information yet today from police/prosecutors regarding the case/potential charges; if you’re just catching up with this story, all the background links are in the first part of this update.) 4:50 PM NOTE: Just verified, the case is not yet in the hands of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so no charges yet.

TOTEM POLE NOTE: For everyone awaiting updates in the saga of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, stolen two weeks ago tonight, here’s where it stands as we start the new week: As of the close of business Friday, charges against the suspect, arrested last Wednesday, had not yet been filed. The totem pole — found in Oregon Thursday — also had not yet been returned to Seattle; we spoke with Josh Sutton from the Rotary Club of West Seattle over the weekend – they had no new updates on its status. We’ll be checking in with Parks, police and prosecutors again today. The Rotary, meantime, is taking donations for the Totem Pole Restoration Fund, so it can be ceremoniously reinstalled – go here to help. 10:56 AM UPDATE: Just received, and confirmed, a tip that the totem pole actually is back in Seattle, in Parks Department “custody.” Will publish a separate item with more details soon.

(back to original 4:21 am report) STOLEN CAR: Via Facebook, Kim wants you to be on the lookout for the pickup stolen from her home Saturday night – 1995 Nissan Extended Cab, teal green, with canopy, license B61774A. (We don’t have info yet on what neighborhood – awaiting reply to the followup question. 10:57 AM UPDATE – Seaview, near 44th/Findlay.)

Meantime, the latest in an ongoing case of serial vandalism:

GRAFFITI SCRUBBED: A WSB’er who wants to remain anonymous photographed six incidences of the notorious “homophobic graffiti” vandalism along Admiral on Sunday afternoon before cleaning it up and reported it to police, with the photos. (We’ve blurred it out in the one above, which was black lettering on a retaining wall; the other five places it was marked/painted included road signs and signpoles and a bus-schedule sign.) Our tipster often “patrols” that area for vandalism; last week was the first time we’d heard of the happening beyond the area where the vandal’s struck repeatedly before. As previously reported here, police continue looking for the man who was arrested and charged earlier this year, though the charges were dropped when he was deemed incompetent to stand trial. And they want to hear from you about any graffiti vandalism you spot (206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number if it’s not in progress), not just this type (and if you plan to clean it up/paint it out, be sure to photograph it first).

The Rotary Club of West Seattle is selling Skagit County-grown blueberries today till 3 pm in the south parking lot of Admiral Safeway, raising money for the Rotary Kids Holiday Shopping Spree – but without their signature canopy, shown at left in a photo from our coverage of their strawberry sale last month. Just got a note from Sue Lindblom of Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor):

Someone took the canopy that we have been using for our berry sales. We are in the parking lot behind Admiral Safeway and it went missing last night. (If you’ve seen it …) Call Sue at 300-3668.

And of course, you can alert police too (206/625-5011 is the non-emergency number).

That’s King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, special guest at this afternoon’s meeting of the Rotary Club of West Seattle at Salty’s on Alki. He shared what he described as a “remarkable” story — one that might cheer you up a bit, if the off-and-on deluge of Crime Watch reports tends to leave you worried. Satterberg said the crackdown on car theft has brought dramatic results – and he says that’s particularly important because car theft is seen as a springboard to other crimes; someone steals a car to go commit burglaries, or worse. Read on to hear about the numbers he listed, what else he told the Rotarians, and after that, a few notes about what they’re up to:Read More