West Seattle, Washington
09 Saturday
Out of the inbox, from Rey:
I park my car in a lot below Bartell in the Admiral District. (Friday) a patrol car came into the lot with their lights flashing. I was actually fixing a rear window of my car and someone reported that someone (me) was breaking into the car. The officer told me they were having problems with thief in this lot. Ironically (the previous Saturday) I went to take my car out and left my truck in its place. When I came back my truck was broken into and my stereo and many of my tools were missing. I thought I would let you know to get out the warning.
We’ve reported a couple incidents in this lot in previous West Seattle Crime Watch reports in recent months.
We’ve never been big fans of the concept of Whatever Awareness Month … it tends to be overused, for one thing (check out this list). But on occasion, a Whatever Month can be a good occasion to call attention to info that can do some good. In that spirit, we’re joining a coalition of West Seattle community leaders and volunteers — brought together by Cindi Barker from Morgan Community Association (one of our first West Seattle Community Recognition Awards recipients, by the way; get your nomination in now) — in a unique neighborhood campaign to help you participate more easily and efficiently (maybe even having fun along the way) in our state’s Disaster Preparedness Month (happening as we speak). Over the next several weeks, stretching into May, we will share simple things you can do — not necessarily the cliche’ ones you always hear about — to make sure your family is safe and ready, Just In Case. For starters: Make plans to be at the SNAP (Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare) event at the West Seattle Library branch (Admiral), 6:30 pm April 10. It’s really all about neighborhoods, and part of the West Seattle effort we’ll be tracking for you involves designating and announcing official neighborhood gathering places around West Seattle that would serve as post-disaster info-hubs so you’d know where to go — a schedule is being firmed up for drop-in mini-events at each of these spots. (By the way, Cindi’s still looking for a few more neighborhood coordinators to help with this in areas south of Fauntleroy – please e-mail her, cbarker [at] qwest.net, if you might be able to pitch in.) More info to come!
First, an update on the 37th SW burglaries reported here last night, from Block Watch Captain Karen:
The timeframe for the burglary in the 5000 block of 37th [last night] was sometime in the late afternoon/early evening, before 7:30 PM. One neighbor (who wishes to remain anonymous) told me today that, in hindsight, he may have seen the vehicle & one of the burglars around 5 PM. He has provided a report to the police.
The second burglary was in the north end of the 5200 block of 37th. The owners e-mailed to say that the burglars kicked in their French doors in the back of the house for entry. They ransacked the house, turned over the bed, went into pantry, closets, dressers, etc. They took items that were easy to take. The burglars put their dog in a bedroom & closed the door. One of the owners reports seeing a gray/silver color car with 4 teenage boys in it around noon, driving slowly & suspiciously on 37th. The burglary at their house took place in the afternoon between 1 & 4:30.
Also, a theft report to pass along, from BJ:
Just noticed that our street sign corner of Alaska and 50th is gone today. I caught some teenagers in the act a couple of years ago but didn’t catch them this time. It took 2 years to get a new sign the first time it was stolen.
BJ has since checked with the city, and is hopeful a replacement will arrive sooner this time, as her neighborhood is slated for those bigger street signs that have already been installed in many West Seattle neighborhoods (by the way, the old signs are still for sale).
These two notes appear to add up to three burglaries – we will check with the Southwest Precinct first thing in the morning. In the meantime, wanted to get out the word. First, just in from Karen, who’s a Block Watch Captain in her area:
I wanted to let you know that there was a burglary in our Blockwatch area, the 5000 block of 37th SW, this evening. I believe that it occurred between 6 & 8 PM. We have also heard that there was a second break-in just one block south in the 5200 block of 37th.
The owners of the house in the 5000 block reported that their door was kicked in and the house was completely ransacked. A lot was taken, including jewelry and electronics. Also, two of their indoor cats were let out/escaped but have fortunately now been found.
This one came in a short time earlier from KP (and we were about to post it when Karen’s note came in):
I live on 37th Avenue SW and SW Brandon. I just talked with a neighbor on the 5200 block of 37th Ave SW who was burglarized today. She stated the whole house was tossed and they stole a TV, jewelry and a laptop. She said a house on the 5400 block had been broken into yesterday.
This area is southwest of The Mount, northeast of Fairmount Playfield. Here’s a map.
We videotaped that close call in mid-January while reporting on the situation at 34th/Morgan, where kids from the growing High Point area cross Morgan to head south on 34th toward West Seattle Elementary. Neighborhood and pedestrian-safety activists have been fighting a long time to get improvements at that corner, where there’s no marked crosswalk and no “school zone” lights. Denise Sharify from Neighborhood House testified this morning to the city council’s Special Committee on Pedestrian Safety, asking for help. Councilmember Nick Licata, who surveyed High Point pedestrian-safety challenges with Sharify and others last November (WSB coverage here), asked SDOT’s Wayne Wentz what’s being done — Wentz said that’s not supposed to be a school crossing; the city would prefer that kids go to 35th and cross at the signal (which would be backtracking for most). Well, Licata noted, things change, and intersections should be re-evaluated. Wentz promptly replied, “My staff will go to the location by the end of the day.” We’ll drop by a few times to see if we bump into them; if we don’t see them, we’ll check with the city tomorrow to see if the promise was kept.
There you see neighborhood activists Nancy Folsom from North Delridge and Miranda Taylor from High Point, gearing up outside Skylark about an hour ago for a southbound bike ride during the Delridge commute. Their goal was small and simple, yet big in its own way – be a presence on the road to remind vehicle drivers that city streets aren’t high-speed expressways. They’re thinking this could grow into a bigger group activity; we’ll let you know about their future plans once we hear how this one went.
That video shows West Seattle mom Antje Staudt and her kids crossing busy 16th SW at Myrtle (map), on their way to Sanislo Elementary a couple blocks west. The intersection used to have a guard – one who not only protected kids crossing the street, but made news here January 10th for helping a young crime victim. Now, that guard is fighting serious illness, and parents and pedestrian advocates say they have been told the city doesn’t plan to replace her this year. It’s the latest in the crossing-guard crisis we first told you about in this January report – and safety advocates want to make sure it’s addressed when the City Council’s Pedestrian Safety Committee hears from citizens next Tuesday – though they recommend other courses of action too:Read More
First, a photo – this one from Mac, who asked this Seattle Police traffic officer for permission to take his picture – he obliged, then wished Mac a “good day” before zooming off to write a ticket. Not too much else happening in police-land according to our most recent review of reports at the Southwest Precinct:Read More
Two Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports to share — as discussed elsewhere, primarily in the interest of all of us watching out for each other. First from Erik in Westwood:
My neighbor’s house just got vandalized. Their fence was tagged by graffiti vandals at 8:15 tonight at the corner of 16th and Trenton in plain view right across from a street lamp. I scared the vandals away (before I got their license plate! D’oh!) but called 911 and the police took a report and were circling the block. I think other neighbors should be aware of this, and I think it’s worth sharing the “tip” that I should have gotten the license number before scaring them away. Keep an eye out for a red Mazda or Toyota with three vandals out looking for property to destroy and property values to drop.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING: This one from Shannon may be related:
There was a lot of tagging going on behind our townhouses on 18th Ave SW near Barton. We didn’t see it happen and, surprisingly, our dogs didn’t bark but we saw flashing lights when the police officer arrived. The vandals tagged our fences and a van parked in the lot of the apartments across the alley with the “M13” gang sign. The neighbor who reported it said they were driving a white car. His daughter saw them and he ran outside. When he did run outside, they drove away quickly before he could get their plates.
Just wanted everyone to be on the lookout. The officer says this is a known gang sign but, for some reason he didn’t make very clear, he believed it was a fake… not that he had any evidence that it was a fake he just said he had a “feeling” it was a fake. Needless to say, that didn’t make any of us feel any better.
(back to the original Sunday night post) And from Dunsany:
Last night, someone broke the lock off my gas cap and siphoned my tank. We’re in Highland Park near 12th and Holden. Savages, I only had maybe 5 gallons in the tank. I hope it was worth it.
Remember, police stress that if you see someone or something suspicious NOW, call 911. If you want to report something that happened some time ago, the non-emergency number is 625-5011.
Just last night, we got a very thoughtful note from a WSB’er concerned that the prolific crime reports of late were leaving people feeling as if West Seattle is a hotbed of evil. 
Our philosophy is that we believe it’s important to give you the facts – sometimes the facts are that crime is up, sometimes that it’s down, but we believe that “knowledge is power” in tough times as well as good times. Seattle Police online stats only go back through December 2007, so we can’t give you the big picture for this month, or last month, or even January. But know that everything runs in cycles and the best way to keep those cycles down is to stay alert, as we’ve discussed lately. All that said — GOOD NEWS – we just reviewed Southwest Precinct reports from Tuesday through late last night, and there’s barely a burglary in the bunch. Could mean the recent arrests got the major culprits off the street — could be a coincidence — but whatever the case, we wanted to let you know. Here’s what else we found, including an arrest that solved some house/car window shootings:Read More
Going to get this all out in one long 3-part report: First, details on an incident last night that several people e-mailed us about today. Second, news from tonight’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting. Third, the police reports we reviewed at the Southwest Precinct yesterday afternoon but never got around to posting before all sorts of other news (missing girl found, etc.) started breaking. All ahead:Read More
The Southwest Precinct team always has a major show of force at the West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meetings — with crime updates, crimefighting tips, and more — plus the WSCSP leaders have plenty of updates on community concerns. We’ll have a report, of course, but that’s no substitute for being there yourself and asking questions about what you and your neighbors specifically want to know – it’s a casual meeting and there’s always plenty of chances to have your say. 7 pm tonight, Southwest Precinct meeting room (map) — with special guests tonight from the Parking Enforcement division!
Also from Upper Fauntleroy – thanks to Steve for the note:
There was also a burglary reported in the 8800 block of 38th SW, occurred around 9AM Thursday 3/13. Apparently a glass door was broken to gain entry.
A year ago a local locksmith told me it was highly unusual for burglars to break glass to gain entry, seems like that is changing.
We are just back from today’s half-day-only testimony in the Satterlee House case (that writeup to come) and will be checking with the Southwest Precinct shortly for more on what’s going on – stand by for updates.
Just out of the inbox, from Joe:
8400 block of 41st Ave.: A black male in a red slicker hopped a fence and pried the screen off a back/side window by our neighbor’s deck facing 42nd Ave. about 10:30am this morning. He was about to break the window with the large rock in his hand when the owner banged on the window and he ran off. Their car was gone at the time and the house may have looked unoccupied. A neighbor saw him vault the front gate and sprint north toward Thistle. Both called police but he was long gone by the time they arrived (semi-quickly… they had to come from Alki).
The Police got two excellent descriptions. In this neck of the woods neighbors are VERY alert and many are home during the day, so this midday boldness (in a bright red slicker, no less) is pretty scary.
Possibly connected: Yesterday, we were canvassed by a young “magazine sales” guy who may have been a friend of the would-be robber who showed up today. I was home at the time and answered the door. He did not present himself well and I asked if he had a Seattle City License as required for door-to-door sales and he did not. I advised him to get lost and he did. All legitimate door-to-door canvassers will have that license and be willing to show it. If they don’t have it call the police… they are likely scouting the neighborhood.
I didn’t. Next time I will.
About the same time this e-mail came in, in fact, we got a message from the Southwest Precinct that they’re asking people to be extra alert about brazen daytime break-ins and attempts like this – we expect some more info from them tomorrow. (Coincidentally, we got this message while at the High Point Neighborhood Association meeting, which we left as they were segueing into a Block Watch organizing gathering. If you don’t have a Block Watch, get one — call crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow at the precinct; his contact info is here.)
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Nancy:
This morning between 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. a home in my neighborhood on 56th Avenue SW near Hanford Avenue was broken into. They entered via the bathroom window using a lawn chair to reach it. The owner thinks the window may have been unlocked. The burglar did rummage through nearly every drawer in the house, but only took cash from a purse. The police were able to get finger prints off of her bathroom window. We also had a burglary on Frater Avenue at 57th Avenue SW last week.
The burglar is still at large and seems to be canvassing our neighborhood. Please double check to make sure your windows are locked when you leave the house. Also, if possible, remove/move anything that can easily be used at a “ladder.”
Here’s a map of the area Nancy mentioned.
Now the rest of the latest report highlights from the Southwest Precinct (which also included the vignette we posted earlier): We start with a suspected teenage drug dealer, spotted on local school grounds by a watchful school employee. He called police to say he saw what looked like 3 boys engaged in drug transactions right by West Seattle Elementary in High Point – atop the stairs connecting the campus with the nearby community center. With the detailed descriptions he provided, police stopped two suspects at 30th and Othello. While patting them down, an officer detected an odd crackling sound near one boy’s ankle; “that’s just cough drops,” the boy insisted — till the officer pulled out a cellophane cough-drop bag containing marijuana “packaged for sale.” The boy, 15, also had $120 in cash kept separately from a few dollars walking-around money (the police report notes it is typical dealer behavior both to separate cash that way and to keep the merchandise in an unusual spot like, your shoes/socks). He was arrested. Next: The case of the thirsty burglar(s), among other incidents:Read More
As you can tell from the photo, a lovely afternoon to visit Westcrest Park in southeastern West Seattle (home to the only WS off-leash area; here’s a map) — the occasion, a chance for Parks Department and Police Department to review citizen concerns about public-safety issues. Officer Brian Ballew from the Southwest Precinct Community Police Team was there, as were three Parks employees — Carol Baker, Steve Langley, and Cheryl Fraser. They say that Westcrest safety concerns are definitely high on their radar, thanks to ciizen concerns, particularly “inappropriate behavior” at the “comfort station” as well as the poisoning concern involved in the “Mo” case, though there have been no similar reports since that one. They also urge community members to continue to keep close watch, even to organize citizen walkthroughs if they’re so inclined (if you’re interested in talking more with them about that, their e-mail addresses are linked to their names above). Also a key group to get involved with if you are a Westcrest user, since these folks already are closely involved with taking care of the park, is the Westcrest Off-Leash Area group; find its Yahoo! e-mail group here, and park steward Steve McElhenney is reachable through the group, which we wrote about last year.
We hadn’t heard of all the risks mentioned in this city news release out today in advance of Poison Prevention Week – you might want to doublecheck, if you share your home with one or more pets.
From the reports at the Southwest Precinct: Remember the car-window shooting on 61st SW reported by Mark two days ago? A day later — yesterday around 3:30 pm — a passerby spotted “two juveniles” on the roof of a house in the same area, 3000 block of 61st SW, with suspected pellet/airsoft handguns. One of them was believed to be a 15-year-old boy who lives in that same house, but nobody was home when police arrived minutes later; no arrest yet but it’s a high-priority case. Now, the rest of the stories, including a drunken teen on the run, and stolen donations at a local school:Read More
A reminder from your friendly neighborhood Fire Department: When you set your clocks ahead Saturday night (Sunday morning), change your smoke-detector batteries too; and if you need a detector, you might be able to get one free.
E-mailed by Mark, who then promptly headed off to get the glass replaced:
At around 1:30 this afternoon, I was driving down the 3000 block of 61st Ave. near Alki when my car’s front passenger-side window exploded. Apparently it had been struck by a really fast rock, or else shot with a pellet gun or something similar. I phoned in a police report on the spot, and they responded quickly by showing up and taking down details. Didn’t see the %$#*$@ who did it, although after I pulled over and went to the impact spot to see what I could find, I caught a glimpse of at least two people running behind the houses there, with a male voice shoutingsomething as they ran. The two police officers who responded mentioned that four youths have been caught in connection with the recent similar incidents in the Admiral neighborhood, and although the punks have some little bit of time in juvenile detention coming up, they are currently not being held anywhere. Whether or not this incident is connected to them is anyone’s guess, but the officers did say they were going to check out the nearby streets to see if they could find out anything more.
So that’s that. The good news is that neither my wife nor anyone else was in the passenger seat, otherwise they would have been sprayed with glass.
From the Southwest Precinct Public Safety Newsletter just sent out by SWP Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow – don’t miss the last paragraph:
The T9 Traffic Squad focuses on aggressive drivers. They drive the Dodge Charger Police cars. The T9 Squad, along with other members of the Traffic Section, issued the following school zone citations between September 01, 2007 through February 11, 2008:
* Arbor Heights – total – 94
65 Speed, 1 Pass School Bus, 28 other –
* Highland Park – total – -540
363 Speed, 4 Pass School Bus, 1 R/W Ped, 172 other
* Holy Family – total – 245
189 Speed, 1 Pass School Bus, 55 other
* Sanislo – total – 56
47 Speed, 9 other –
* Total – 935
Last week the T9 Squad started working the school zone at Gatewood Elementary in 7000 block of Fauntleroy. Yesterday Officer Cavin stopped a driver traveling 45 mph while using the center turn lane to pass 6 other cars in the 20 mph school zone. The driver said he was late getting to the Ferry Terminal. He was cited for Reckless Driving.
At least we hope that’s the right neighborhood description for this new home at 10012 47th SW. It drew a crowd today as part of a media-and-industry-invited event touting it as the first West Coast home certified as “Fortified … for safer living” by the Institute for Business and Home Safety (an insurance industry-supported group), a certification that means it’s “disaster-resistant.” Among other aspects of the house (listed for sale for $1,695,000, by the way) that make it disaster-resistant — strong enough to withstand 130-mph winds and big earthquakes — is the fact it’s framed with insulated concrete forms rather than wood. We’ll be adding some video and more info to this report in the next hour or so, but in case you were in that area and wondered what all the fuss was about (one neighbor stopped us to ask, in fact), here’s the baseline. ADDED 12:51 PM: Since we promised in the comments – here’s the first clip, the view (main-floor deck):
Next: less visual but more central to the disaster-resistant concept, the concrete forms:Read More
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