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FOLLOWUP: 9200 16th SW listed for sale as part of court settlement, 3 years after drug raid
November 9, 2018 2:44 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(WSB photo, July 2015)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Another new real-estate listing of note has a unique backstory.

The auto-shop site at 9200 16th SW is up for sale as the result of a court settlement that traces back to the SWAT-involved drug raid we covered there in 2015.

It’s not mentioned in the listing, which heralds this as “Westwood Development Site” and says:

ZONED LR3 RC: 12,918 sq. foot lot, suitable for up to 14 townhomes at 1,350 sq. feet each or 19,000 sq. foot apartment Building (Buyer to verify). Excellent value at less than $65,000 per door. Development is rampant in this area. Excellent investment opportunity. Vacant at closing.

We recognized the address, as we’ve been checking in from time to time on the long-running court case’s files. Those files now contain a settlement agreement, filed in October. The settlement ends what had been a forfeiture case brought by the city in 2015.

The original filing’s documents tell the story of an unlicensed marijuana-sales operation at the site, known as “The Wolfpack,” including a detective’s report from 11 days of surveillance in 2015. On those days – scattered through the period of March to July – the detective wrote of counting 2,873 vehicles arriving to make purchases from the operation, plus 1,621 arrivals on foot, while the auto business handled a total of 7 cars for repairs. The documents also detail subsequent undercover buys which allegedly were made without requests for documentation such as proof of age.

The settlement agreement stipulates that the property will be listed for $900,000 and any offer below that would have to be approved by the city. The city will get 70 percent of the sale proceeds; owner Paul Noble, 51, will get 30 percent minus any and all fees and commissions. The city also gets to keep about half the $59,000 in cash that was seized.

In the extensive case files spanning three-plus years, a judge ordered the city to show this past February why the case should not be dismissed “for failure to prosecute” after both sides reportedly failed to fulfill a requirement to update the court on trial readiness. Lawyers for Noble subsequently responded that they expected felony drug charges to be filed against him shortly, and indeed they were; files show he then pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in July. Another city case seeking the forfeiture of his residence was dismissed.

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UPDATE: About the police response near 45th/Hanford
November 7, 2018 7:20 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

7:20 PM: We’ve received a few questions about a police presence near 45th/Hanford. According to SPD Lt. Tammy Floyd, who happened to be speaking at the Southwest District Council meeting that your editor is covering right now, it involves a person in crisis who has barricaded themselves inside their home. There was some concern about a possible gas leak but police say there’s been no evidence of that so far. (Photo added: SFD was standing by in case.)

7:53 PM: Our crew has checked the area. The situation’s not resolved yet; 45th is closed between Hanford and Hinds.

8 PM: The situation has been resolved, our crew reports.

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West Seattle scene: Thank-you barbecue at the Southwest Precinct
October 30, 2018 8:31 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

TUESDAY NIGHT: During the summertime Delridge Day festival, Southwest Precinct police are at the grill cooking for community members. Today, somebody came to the precinct to grill up lunch for the officers – and he didn’t have to go far. Brendan Moran is in the loss-prevention division at The Home Depot and explained that the company periodically shows up at police stations near their stores to provide lunch in appreciation of their help. Brendan noted that you can’t get much nearer to a Home Depot store than this precinct happens to be! He was there for a few hours starting at 11 am to catch officers coming and going at first-to-second-watch shift change.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: Lt. Steve Strand sent the following photo along with “huge thanks” to the Home Depot crew:

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FOLLOWUP: What police found after the Admiral Safeway gas-station holdup
October 29, 2018 2:54 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

On Friday night, we reported on a robbery at the Admiral Safeway gas station and the police search that ensued. Today, we followed up with SPD and obtained the incident report. No arrest so far. But the report says police found evidence suggesting the robber might have had a getaway vehicle waiting. The incident narrative in the report is basically what we reported on Friday night – a man (same description as published that night) came in, demanded cash from the till, implied he had a gun, and left after the robbery. The report says the clerk didn’t actually see a gun but that the robber “reached toward the right side of his waistband and pulled up his sweatshirt” and kept his hand there while taking the cash. The K-9 officer who joined in the search found a “heat signature” nearby using what the report describes as a FLIR camera. According to the report, that “signature” indicated “a vehicle was parked for a long period of time while running” on the west side of 42nd SW next to the Safeway supermarket parking lot. Some sort of evidence – redacted in the report – was found there too. Surveillance video, meantime, showed the robber approaching from the north – crossing Admiral Way – and disappearing afterward into the alley between 41st and 42nd, east of the gas station. If you have any info, the SPD incident number is 2018-401639.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Robbery reported at Admiral Safeway gas station
October 26, 2018 9:59 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

9:59 PM: Police are searching the Admiral District after a robbery was reported a short time ago at the Admiral Safeway gas station. Per police radio, the robber is described as white, male, about 50 years old, medium height/build, wearing a brown/camouflage ski mask, brown jacket, blue jeans. He is reported to have shown a gun in his waistband and is possibly headed southbound through the alley from there. If you have any information, call 911.

10:14 PM: Still searching. K-9 team too.

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UPDATE: Why the Guardian One helicopter was over eastern West Seattle
October 26, 2018 8:24 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Helicopter | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

8:24 PM: In case you’re wondering about the Guardian One law-enforcement helicopter over eastern West Seattle – they’re helping police with a call about a person who is allegedly violating a court order near 24th/Thistle, according to the dispatch.

8:28 PM: Police say the situation is under control; G-1 is leaving.

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Auto-theft spike, what happens to stolen cars, and more @ West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network
October 26, 2018 10:48 am
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

The only monthly meeting with coffee and home-baked treats (pumpkin crumble this time) is now on hiatus until the new year. Here’s what happened when the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network met Tuesday night at the Southwest Precinct:

CRIME UPDATE: Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis said auto theft remains a big issue. We noticed that earlier in the day, looking at the slides from the most recent downtown SeaStat intradepartmental briefing (MVT = motor-vehicle theft):

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Don’t need that unused/expired medication? Saturday’s your day to get rid of it
October 25, 2018 9:54 am
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Health | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Quick reminder now that the weekend is in view: Saturday is the twice-yearly Drug Take-Back Day, and you’re invited once again to take unneeded/expired medication to the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster) to get rid of it, 10 am-2 pm. Keeping it around could be a danger to someone in your household and/or a target for burglars. Last time around, SPD says, dropoffs at its precincts including this one totaled half a ton!

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UPDATE: Driver jailed after allegedly hitting at least 4 other vehicles near Ercolini Park
October 23, 2018 10:42 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

10:42 PM: If you’re west of The Junction and wondering about the police response in the Ercolini Park area – radio communication indicates police are investigating a driver who is suspected of hitting at least four other vehicles, including an SPD car. The civilian vehicles that were hit are reported to be along 48th SW near Oregon. No injuries reported.

11:38 PM: Photo added. The pickup in the photo was subsequently being towed. We’ll follow up with SPD in the morning.

10:49 AM: Per online records, the 60-year-old driver was booked into King County Jail for investigation of DUI.

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FOLLOWUP: Street robbery followed bus confrontation, police say
October 19, 2018 8:51 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Gatewood | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

As promised, we procured the police report about the Thursday street robbery that led to a search through south Morgan Junction and three arrests in west Gatewood.

(WSB photo, Thursday)

The report says it all started on board a bus headed northbound on Fauntleroy Way. The victim – 18 or 19, not a juvenile as first reported – said he got on board at the ferry dock. He said he was confronted on the bus and asked where to buy “weed.” The victim said he didn’t know but that the people who asked him continued staring at him. He felt uncomfortable so he got off the bus at Fauntleroy and Myrtle. They followed him. He crossed the street and they kept following him. Two of them demanded he give them his stuff and swung at him with closed fists. He tried to get away from them by going into nearby retirement center The Kenney but its doors were locked. So he ran north and wound up in the yard of a nearby house. Witnesses told police they saw the victim being beaten and kicked in the yard. The victim said they tried to steal his backpack and eventually got away with his iPhone and Gucci belt. The robbers/attackers then ran eastbound and by then police had been called. Three suspects were spotted at the Morgan Junction McDonald’s. When police arrived there, the three took off running eastbound. Patrol and K9 officers tracked them into the west Gatewood neighborhood where three juveniles were arrested near 41st SW/Heights Place SW [map]. The report says all three were booked into the juvenile-detention center. The victim, meantime, got his phone and belt back; police say he was curled up on the ground in “great pain” when they found him and that SFD medics recommended that he go to a hospital but he declined. We’ll follow up next week to see whether charges will be filed.

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Simple ways to make your home safer, plus Q&A with police, @ West Seattle Crime Prevention Council:
October 17, 2018 11:34 pm
|    Comments Off on Simple ways to make your home safer, plus Q&A with police, @ West Seattle Crime Prevention Council:
 |   Crime | Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Home safety was the spotlight topic at the final West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting of the year, Tuesday night at the Southwest Precinct, so we’re starting with what the ~15 people in attendance heard from Jennifer Danner, the precinct’s crime-prevention coordinator:

She began by going around the room and asking people what they wanted to know about. Most had questions about video and cameras. Danner reminded everyone that she can do home-security assessments. She started with some myth debunking – “when a door is kicked in, it’s not the door that breaks, usually it’s the frame.” Changing the length of the screws with which your door is fastened is an easy, cheap way to help secure it, Danner said. When it comes to locks, exterior doors should have deadbolts – there too, the length is important; an inch-and-a-half throw is even better than the more-standard inch.

Window security – “You always want to add one more thing to your window,” since most windows can be broken into from the outside.

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UPDATE: Toddler found alone in Highland Park
October 17, 2018 11:58 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

11:58 AM: Tweeted by Seattle Police: “Officers located an unaccompanied 2-year-old boy near 8th Ave SW and SW Henderson a short time ago and are looking to reunite him with his parents. If you’re missing a child, please contact the SW Precinct at 206-733-9800 or 911.” Working to find out more.

12:47 PM: We went to the precinct to ask at the front desk. The child was spotted around 9:30 am by someone who called 911. Parents/guardians apparently not found yet, as he is now in CPS custody.

2:46 PM: No further info on circumstances but we did just get word there’s been a reunion.

4:10 PM: And a clarification – Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Steve Strand tells us that while the child’s mother was found, the child remains with CPS for now “for safety reasons.”

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Got opinions on crime, safety, policing? 2018 Seattle Public Safety Survey now open
October 15, 2018 7:52 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Every year, Seattle University oversees the citywide Public Safety Survey about crime, safety, and policing, with findings that are then reported to SPD – and you. If you’d like to take this year’s survey, it’s now open – go here to start (and note the variety of language options). Want to know more first? Here’s the announcement published when results of last year’s survey were released.

P.S. If you want to talk about crime/safety in a more immediate manner – remember that tomorrow (Tuesday, October 16th) brings the last West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting of the year, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).

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FOLLOWUP: Saturday night’s South Delridge incidents
October 15, 2018 11:43 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Saturday night, in the span of less than two hours and 4 blocks, police investigated two incidents that sent people to the hospital. What exactly had transpired wasn’t clear in the early going, so we requested and obtained both SPD report narratives this morning:

8800 BLOCK OF DELRIDGE: Here’s our Saturday coverage. The police report says the initial call to 911 was from someone saying she’d been called by her sister, who said her boyfriend had been stabbed and the suspects were “still there.” Police went to the apartment and found no one there – but they did find blood and broken glass. Outside the building, they found the girlfriend’s mother.

While they were talking to her, they found out that medics had been called to treat an injured man a short distance south, at Delridge/Henderson. He turned out to be the man who the girlfriend had said stabbed the victim, according to her mother. The man at Delridge/Henderson claimed his wounds were from trying to defend himself. In the meantime, the K9 team investigating near the original scene finally found the victim, who flagged them down. He was described as intoxicated and uncooperative, and made various claims about how he became injured. Then police found the girlfriend, who told police she used to date the alleged attacker, who is a longtime friend of her current boyfriend, and that the two men started arguing about the relationship. It turned violent, she said, with the former boyfriend breaking a bottle over the head of the current boyfriend, then stabbing him with a piece of broken glass, and trying to strangle her. The 35-year-old ex-boyfriend was eventually arrested and is in the King County Jail for investigation of assault.

9200 BLOCK OF 17TH SW: Here’s our Saturday coverage. According to the police report, a man knocked on the apartment door of a woman he knows in this building and said he had been shot. Police found him lying on her couch with a bullet wound to the left hamstring. The report said he was uncooperative, refusing to answer questions about the circumstances or location of the shooting. The acquaintance said she hadn’t seen anything but did hear a gunshot that seemed to have happened in the building’s parking lot; another person later told police he had been outside at the time and saw a group of five or six people who scattered after what sounded like a shot; a “light-colored mid-sized SUV” left the area shortly afterward. Police did not find any shooting evidence in the area. The report notes the Gang Unit is investigating.

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UPDATE: Shooting investigation on 17th SW, 1 to hospital
October 13, 2018 10:39 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

10:39 PM: Another “scenes of violence” response in South Delridge: This time, per dispatch, someone showed up in the 9200 block of 17th SW [map] and said they had been shot in the leg. Updates to come.

10:43 PM: Police arriving at the scene – reported to be in an apartment-building parking lot – are getting reports that a vehicle might have been associated with the shooting, possibly a light-colored SUV.

10:57 PM: The 30-year-old victim is reported to have a gunshot wound to his left leg and is being taken to Harborview by SFD medic unit. No further description of circumstances or suspect(s).

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UPDATE: Police response in South Delridge
October 13, 2018 8:59 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police | WS breaking news

(WSB photos)

8:59 PM: SPD and SFD have a “scenes of violence” callout in the 8800 block of Delridge. Updates to come.

9:05 PM: This was initially described as a possible stabbing and police have since reported finding ‘the mother of the victim’ but no word on the victim’s status. The SFD response has closed.

9:16 PM: Per scanner, another call a couple blocks on Delridge is being linked to this one.

9:25 PM: We have finally made it to the scene. Some police at Delridge/Trenton, more – plus an ambulance – at the business corner of Delridge/Henderson. One person found there will be taken to the hospital, police tell us, but they’re not certain yet if it’s the person injured a couple blocks north (where radio exchanges earlier mentioned blood found in an apartment). No one in custody and we’re now seeing a K-9 team arriving.

10:23 PM: Per radio exchange, police have yet to finish sorting this out. They’re talking to others who had some role in whatever happened, and an SFD unit is headed back to the original Delridge/Trenton scene.

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UPDATE: Assault suspect arrested after police search in Arbor Heights
October 11, 2018 10:19 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

10:19 AM: If you’re wondering why police are currently searching in Arbor Heights: The search, including a K9 team, is in a wide area centered on 41st/100th but also stretching to the south and east. They’re looking for a woman suspected of assault in what’s described as a case of domestic violence. Partial description: 36-year-old white woman with dark hair, wearing a red shirt. If you have any information, call 911.

10:56 AM: No further updates; we’ll be checking later with police to see if they ever found the suspect, whose workplace was reportedly going to be checked too.

11:09 AM: SPD Det. Mark Jamieson tells WSB that the suspect was taken into custody and is being taken to King County Jail to be booked for investigation of assault.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Police investigating Delridge/Juneau gunfire
October 6, 2018 9:20 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(WSB photos)

9:20 PM: Thanks for the tips. Big police response right now at Delridge/Juneau as police investigate gunfire. No injuries; officers have more than a dozen evidence markers in the street (Juneau east of Delridge) and some damage is reported at Longfellow Creek Apartments on the other side of the intersection.

9:54 PM: Photos added. Police were too busy for further comment; no info so far on suspect description(s).

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UPDATE: Police investigating Admiral incident that sent 1 to hospital
October 2, 2018 2:57 pm
|      48 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

2:57 PM: Several people have asked about an incident that brought police and fire to California/Admiral this morning. We talked with police a short time ago and they stress that the investigation is continuing but here’s what they have so far: Det. Mark Jamieson says 911 started getting calls around 11:20 am about a “possible robbery or assault” situation near the Wells Fargo branch at 2358 California SW. A man was using the ATM when “three young people approached him – they had words, and at some point they started to assault him.” That’s when the man picked up a rock and hit one of them in self-defense. He also pulled out a handgun as they scattered – no shots were fired but that too was in self-defense, so far as police have found. Officers were arriving by then and detained the man while sorting out what had happened. They also found two of the suspects, including the one who was injured, and he was taken to the hospital to be checked out. Det. Jamieson says they believe they know the third one’s identity. The full report should be available by tomorrow and we’ll be following up.

4:25 PM: We’ve heard from the victim’s wife. She said he was pushed to the ground during the attack and was going to a doctor to be checked out.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: As mentioned in comments, we have obtained the full incident report, with names redacted by SPD. You can see it here (PDF).

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Talk with local police Wednesday at next Coffee with a Cop
October 1, 2018 12:47 pm
|    Comments Off on Talk with local police Wednesday at next Coffee with a Cop
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police | Westwood

(WSB photo from 2017 Coffee with a Cop)

If you have a concern/question for local police but haven’t been able to get to the regular evening meetings – we just got word that they’ll be at Westwood Village Starbucks (the standalone shop on the east side of the center) this Wednesday (October 3), 1-2:30 pm, for National Coffee with a Cop Day.

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UPDATE: Family says Jackie Dupras is the person found dead near South Alki stairway
September 29, 2018 5:38 pm
|      58 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

ORIGINAL REPORT, 5:38 PM: After tips (thank you), we went to the 3600 block of 60th SW, in South Alki, where police were on the scene after a person was found dead. So far, it does not appear to be a homicide investigation; after the officer on scene said he couldn’t comment to media, we contacted SPD media relations, and they have no word of a homicide investigation there (or anywhere else). Neighbors told us the body was found by a landscaper who had been working in the sloped back yard of a house while its residents were away this afternoon, near the SW Spokane stairway between 60th and 61st [map]. A vehicle from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (at right in our top photo) arrived while we were there; it will be up to them to identify the person and determine the cause of death.

8:05 PM: We have just learned from family and friends of Jackie Dupras, the 74-year-old West Seattle community activist missing for two weeks, that they have been told she is the person they found. Jackie’s husband Ed Dupras said the Medical Examiner came to their house this evening to tell him. As we have reported, Ms. Dupras had been diagnosed with dementia. Her husband says authorities believe she may have become disoriented after wandering into that area and unable to find her way out. Family and friends had been searching and posting/sharing flyers since news of her disappearance started circulating week before last.

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VIDEO: Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best cites crime-reducing goals in budget pitch
September 28, 2018 2:36 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police | West Seattle politics

(SPD presentation starts 1:16 in)

In her Thursday afternoon appearance during the City Council’s first-round budget review, Police Chief Carmen Best revealed three goals for crime reduction in the year ahead: Cutting auto theft, residential burglary, and commercial robbery. She said that residential burglary had hit the Southwest and South Precinct areas particularly hard, so she wants to bring it down five percent in those areas, while reducing vehicle theft by five percent citywide, and reducing commercial robbery by two percent.

As noted when the citywide budget plan was rolled out by the mayor on Monday, the chief hopes to add 10 officers next year – beyond replacing those who leaving – and 30 in 2020. Councilmembers spent a significant amount of time grilling Best on staffing levels, saying they are hearing from constituents over and over again that the city doesn’t have enough police. The force currently numbers 1,457, she had said, “more deployable officers than it has ever had,” while acknowledging “we need more officers.” Recruiting, she said, is currently a big challenge.

Another number of note: The proposed SPD budget for next year is $363 million, a 10 percent increase, with most of the increase attributed to technology investments that have to be made next year.

SPD was the last department to present its budget overview in 2 days of presentations to the council. Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s latest weekly update outlined where the process goes from here, including a public hearing at City Hall next Thursday (October 4th).

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Police search after Delridge robbery
September 27, 2018 8:24 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | Helicopter | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

8:24 PM: If you’re hearing Guardian One, the helicopter crew has tweeted that they are helping Seattle Police search for “a robbery suspect that fled in a vehicle on Delridge Way SW from the Home Depot.” More when we get it.

9:04 PM: We checked the area and couldn’t find anyone still searching, so we stopped at the precinct to see what we could find out. The robbery was a case of shoplifting turned violent. No one in custody.

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