West Seattle, Washington
02 Thursday
For the second time this week, the principals of Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School have sent families a letter about an incident involving students walking near the campuses. Thanks to Denny principal Jeff Clark and several Sealth parents for forwarding it minutes ago:
Dear Denny/Sealth families:
It has been an exciting start to school, and with our scholars’ growing independence – particularly when they are out in the community – there may be situations that challenge their personal safety.
We want to take this opportunity to let you know that we are working with scholars to ensure they maximize their personal safety and their comfort with reporting potentially unsafe behavior. We also want to highlight an incident where students saw an inappropriate and disturbing behavior, and correctly reported it to school staff.
Today, two 11th-grade scholars were returning to Chief Sealth from Westwood Village. They were near the intersection of Cloverdale and 26th Avenue SW when they noticed an adult male exposing himself. The students immediately reported the situation to staff. Administration took immediate action and the Seattle Police Department were notified. We are very proud of how our students responded to this situation and want to encourage all our scholars to report appropriately.
At school, we continue to differentiate “reporting” from “tattle-telling.” Reporting is a responsibility when someone is hurt, in danger or in an unsafe situation. We are providing a link to some additional information that might be helpful during these discussions: http://www.seattle.gov/police/community-policing/youth-safety-tips
Please be assured that the safety and security of our students is a top priority at both Sealth International School and Denny International School. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The letter was signed by Clark and by Sealth principal Aida Fraser-Hammer.
26th SW is the path along which the city still plans walkway improvements, while 25th SW – where students reported being approached inappropriately back on Monday – is the area where they’ve been canceled pending a future development.
(WSB photo from September 19th)
2:11 PM: Just announced by Seattle Police, a second arrest in connection with last month’s deadly shooting of Edixon Velasquez outside his home on 31st SW in Westwood:
A 19-year-old male was arrested this afternoon in Auburn by the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force. The suspect will be booked into the King County Jail after he has been interviewed by detectives. This remains an active and on-going investigation.
The first suspect arrested, Velasquez’s 21-year-old ex-girlfriend Anna Kasparova, remains jailed in lieu of $1,000,000 bail, charged with first-degree murder and scheduled for arraignment later this week. More to come…
3:06 PM: The task force is associated with the US Marshal’s Office, whose regional spokesperson tells us that investigators learned that the suspect “was associated with” a resident of an Auburn mobile-home park, and found him with others in the mobile home, then arrested him “without incident.” Still working to find out more.
Thanks to the parents who just shared this:
Dear Denny and Chief Sealth Scholars and Families,
We want to share information with you regarding an incident that was reported this morning involving two of our 10th-grade scholars on their way to school. At 8 a.m. this morning, two 10th-graders, one boy and one girl, were walking to school on 25th Ave SW between Westwood Village and SW Thistle St., when they were approached by an adult stranger on foot. The man got close to the girl and made inappropriate suggestive comments to her. The man was wearing a black sweatshirt with his hood on. The two scholars did everything right — they attempted to ignore him, started walking more quickly to get away from him and went straight into the school to report it. Chief Sealth staff called the police, who responded quickly to take a statement. The police will be in the area, along with extra school staff, during dismissal and arrival times as they follow-up on this incident.
As a precaution, we are reminding our scholars about walking safety tips. We would appreciate your help by having a similar conversation at home. The walking safety advice includes:
• Pay close attention to your surroundings, avoid “automatic pilot.”
• Walk with a purpose; project an assertive, business-like image.
• Use common sense; plan your route to avoid uninhabited parks, parking lots, garages and alleyways.
• Stick to well-lit areas.
• Develop a plan before you see trouble. Crossing a street or entering a store may get you out of a potentially bad situation.
• If a car follows you or beckons you while you are walking, do not approach it. Instead, turn and quickly walk the opposite direction.
• Consider wearing clothing and shoes that you can move freely and quickly in, especially when walking or waiting for the bus.
• Carry minimal items; overloading yourself can make you appear vulnerable.
• Always plan your route and stay alert to your surroundings. Avoid shortcuts. Walk confidently. Scan your surroundings and make eye contact with people.
• Avoid walking alone at night. As much as possible, walk or travel with a friend, even during the daytime.
• Immediately report anything suspicious to trusted adults (school staff and family members).As always, thank you for your help and partnership!
Sincerely,
Jeff Clark, Principal, Denny International High School
Aida Fraser-Hammer, Principal, Chief Sealth International High School
That’s the same area where SDOT cut plans for pathway improvements, saying a developer will likely have to make them within “several years.” That will be discussed at tomorrow night’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition meeting, 6:15 pm Tuesday at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW).
PS: While processing this for publication, we also received a copy directly from the principals.
Friends of the Southwest Branch Library are your hosts during the Community Art Showcase‘s opening reception, continuing at the library until about 4 pm. Among the artists there, Steve and Lori Douglas:
Other art on display includes this guitar by Amanda Musclerat:
And Vera Sterling‘s “Best of Seattle”:
You have time to see the art show if you can’t get there by 4 – it’s on display at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW) for most of the rest of this month.
Catching up on some of the new businesses that are on the way … we start with two Westwood Village notes tonight. The space next to Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor), from which NK Nails moved to take the former Jamba Juice space on the east side of the center, will become a haircut shop called SportClips, according to notices posted on the door. It’s a chain geared toward men – in particular, men who like watching sports on TV, which SportClips promises will be “everywhere” in its shops. The notice on the door says they’re hoping “to open around end of October, beginning of November.” … And on the south side of the center, along Barton, another nationwide company is setting up shop – the long-vacant space that back in 2013 had a Panda Express penciled in is now becoming a branch of ATI Physical Therapy.
Westwood-area community advocates are ramping up their campaign to get the city to restore what it cut out of the Chief Sealth Walkways Improvement Project earlier this year. And they need your help.
As reported here in August, the city cut the community-proposed, grant-funded project in half because a development plan along 25th SW is expected and the developer would be expected to pay for similar improvements. The city acknowledged, though, that the improvements could be “several years” away, but in the meantime, they say, they’re only going to build the 26th SW path.
Community members say the idea of a developer maybe eventually building the 25th SW path is too uncertain and too far off, and want SDOT to recommit to the full project. They are concerned about safety of those who use the undeveloped path – not just nearby students – and the area’s status as a long-running eyesore (as noted on the Find It Fix It Walk last year).
The walkway-project status is on the agenda for next Tuesday’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition meeting, and Marianne McCord – who shared the photos – says they are hoping for a show of support (6:15 pm October 3rd, Southwest Library, 9010 35th SW). If you can’t be there, e-mail NSFChiefSealthWalkway@seattle.gov – or, even if you can.
Now that it’s Thursday afternoon, it’s time to look ahead at some of the weekend highlights, in case you haven’t already seen them in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar. We start with the Lantern Festival and Competition in the Galleria at Chief Sealth International High School (2600 SW Thistle), featuring a chance to win prizes for handmade lanterns, and performances including a lion dance. The Van Lang Vietnamese Cultural and Language School is presenting the free event and hoping you’ll be there, 4:30-8:30 pm – all ages welcome! (Check our West Seattle Saturday lineup that morning for schedule specifics; it’ll wrap up with a lantern handout and night walk with lanterns starting at 8 pm).
12:42 PM: Seattle Parks reports that Southwest Pool – which would usually be in the middle of a lap-swimming session right now – is temporarily closed. There’s a problem with the HVAC system, and crews are on scene working to fix it. They hope to reopen later today; we’ll update when we get word of that.
3:40 PM: As of just before 3, the pool is open again.
2:42 PM: Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: 21-year-old Anna V. Kasparova is charged with first-degree murder in Tuesday night’s West Seattle shooting death of her 25-year-old former boyfriend Edixon Velasquez, and prosecutors are asking that her bail be doubled to $1 million. We’re reading the charging documents now and will be adding details as we go. More…
2:57 PM: The details in the charging documents are largely the same as those in the probable-cause documents that we reported after Kasparova’s bail hearing Thursday afternoon, saying that she had messaged Mr. Velasquez saying she wanted to meet with him at his house but did not want to come inside, and that after he went out, ostensibly to help her park her car, a man walked up to it, pulled him out, and after that man ran away and Kasparova drove her car away, Mr. Velasquez was on the ground with two gunshot wounds. The account of what was shown on a neighbor’s surveillance video, however, has a few additional details:
This video shows a black sedan drive by Velasquez’s residence two times (driving off camera each time) and returning a third time. At this time, the black sedan, without trouble, pulls into a parking spot just across the street from the victim’s residence. It remains there for approximately 45 seconds, when it inexplicably moves out of that parking spot and back into the street. The black sedan then attempts to parallel park in front of Velasquez’s residence. This new parking spot is quite large (at least two car lengths long) yet the black sedan stops partially in the street. Approximately a minute later, Velasquez comes out of his residence and walks up to the driver’s side of the black sedan. A female gets out of the driver’s seat, and Velasquez gets into the driver’s seat and appears to help park the vehicle. The female curiously walks across the street and some yards away, appearing to take cover behind a parked vehicle. Simultaneously, a male in a hooded jacket or sweatshirt and blue jeans comes into camera view and walks right up to the driver’s door of the black sedan. The male appears to open the driver’s door and pull Velasquez out of the car. There appears to be barely a struggle, as Velasquez falls to the ground (and remains there until police arrive). The hooded male runs away on foot while the female appears to calmly walk back over towards Velasquez. The timing is such that the female and the hooded male actually cross paths, neither appearing to be startled or concerned by the other. The female walks right up to Velasquez’s body, making no attempt to help him or check on his well-being. Instead, she immediately gets back into the black sedan and drives away.
The charging document offers no further information about the possible identity of the other suspect, nor about a motive. But prosecutors summarize the information above in their document as, “the defendant appears to have set the victim up for this murder, luring him out of his home with a ruse.” They argue for the increased bail by saying, “The State believes that the violent and premeditated ambush in this case, coupled with the defendant’s utter lack of remorse, is strong evidence that the defendant poses a significant danger to the community.” She is scheduled to be arraigned – the hearing at which an initial plea is entered – on October 5th.
7:38 PM: The King County Jail roster listing for Kasparova indicates that the judge did indeed grant the request to double her bail, which is now listed there as $1,000,000. In addition, there’s an indication that police do know the identity of someone else being sought in the case – a name is listed as “accomplice” on the “superform” sent with the charging documents, but there are no details about that person, no information on what role they are believed to have played, nor are they listed on the jail roster, which we’re continuing to watch. Also, a commenter on an earlier story mentioned that this GoFundMe page is raising money for memorial expenses.
1:53 PM: Just in from SPD – a 21-year-old woman has been arrested and jailed in connection with last night’s murder in the 8100 block of 31st SW, and a second suspect is being sought – no name or description yet. They’re still seeking tips at 206-233-5000 – the case is by no means closed. The victim was shot to death in the street outside his home just before 7 pm last night; he has not yet been publicly identified. Police say today’s arrest was made in Burien, and that they do not believe the deadly shooting was random.
2:31 PM: The suspect is likely to appear in court tomorrow, at which time probable-cause documents will likely reveal more about the case. Meantime, we’ve checked her record, and, at least in this state, it has no felonies. She was arrested two and a half years ago on suspicion of 4th-degree domestic-violence assault but, documents say, the city of Burien – where she was reported to be living – declined to file charges.
(WSB photos)
7:01 PM: Emergency responders are arriving in the 8100 block of 31st SW [map], where someone is reported to have been shot, according to scanner traffic. Police are reported to be looking for a suspect. More to come.
7:14 PM: According to radio transmissions, a black Jetta might have taken someone away from the scene, headed south from 31st. The victim, a man around 25-30 years old, with at least two gunshot wounds, was said to be undergoing CPR.
7:27 PM: SFD confirms that the victim has been declared dead at the scene. That would make this the fourth homicide investigation of the year in West Seattle, less than two weeks after the third.
7:55 PM: Homicide Unit detectives have arrived, our crew reports, as has citywide media. Police say they are looking for one suspect, but no description has been made public.
9:15 PM: We are back at the scene, where Det. Mark Jamieson has just briefed media. No arrest, no description – the killer is believed to have fled on foot and then gotten into the aforementioned car. The victim was found in the street, and evidence – shell casing(s), we learned earlier – indicates he was shot there, but there’s no info about whether he lived in the area. Police are expected to be on scene at least a few more hours. 31st is blocked at Thistle on the south.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: One suspect is in jail, another is being sought, police tell us. We’ve started a new story here.
(WSB photos)
For the first time since the publication of her newest book “Mozart’s Starling,” West Seattle author Lyanda Lynn Haupt talked with a hometown crowd tonight. She was this month’s featured writer in the Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented Words, Writers, and West Seattle author series, which usually happens at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village on the first Friday of each month, but was pushed back a week this time because of the Labor Day holiday.
Haupt is known for writing about wildlife – particularly the winged variety, as you know if you read her book “Crow Planet” – and this book features the often-disparaged yet fascinating starling. Just stopping in for a few minutes, we learned a few fun facts including that baby starlings need to be fed every 20 minutes and prefer temperatures around 85 degrees – which is what it gets to in a nest full of little ones. If you missed her tonight, watch for video on the SWSHS website soon, and/or check out her upcoming appearances elsewhere in the region.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The fall neighborhood-meeting season kicked off with the September session of what’s now the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition.
Kim Barnes and Jenny Rose Ryan are interim co-chairs of WWRHAH; Barnes led Tuesday night’s meeting at Southwest Library.
At the heart of this meeting was a “focus group”-style conversation about crime/safety issues in the area, to be sure its micro-community policing plan is up to date:
No daily highlight list today because of the stabbing coverage, but crime and safety are at the center of one major event tonight we want to be sure you know about: The Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition meets at 6:15 pm at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW). Major agenda item: If you live/work in any of the WWRHAH neighborhoods, your feedback is needed in a fact-finding session about the local micropolicing plan – Southwest Precinct research assistant Puao Savusa will be there to hear from you (see the questions here). Also expected, SW Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith with an update on area crime stats. WWRHAH also is scheduled to hear from City Council candidate (at-large position 9) Pat Murakami. And open-discussion items include the future RapidRide H Line as well as the recently announced cut to the Chief Sealth Walkway Improvements Project (our original report is here, and followup here), plus other area pedestrian safety/accessibility issues. See the full WWRHAH agenda here. (And see other listings for today/tonight on the frequently updated WSB West Seattle Event Calendar.)
6:34 PM: Thanks for the texts and calls. The Guardian One helicopter’s search in the Westwood area is over and the crew has explained via Twitter: “Located a missing developmentally delayed juvenile for @SeattlePD near 2800 SW Thistle.”
6:43 PM: We have since confirmed this with police on the ground, near Southwest Community Center. They said the call originally came in as a possible runaway; the juvenile and their mom have since been reunited.
(New ‘preliminary design’ for walkways project, showing just the 26th SW walkway)
Tuesday’s SDOT announcement essentially halving a Neighborhood Street Fund project previously approved for the Westwood area raised some questions. We took them to SDOT.
To recap – the community-proposed, SDOT-approved Chief Sealth Walkway Improvements Project was to create two walkways along 26th and 25th. SDOT’s announcement said the department is dropping the 25th walkway because a development application is expected in the future and the developer would be expected to pay for something similar – though, the city acknowledged, it might be “several years.”
So our first question to SDOT was, with nothing showing publicly in city files, how did the city find out about this development plan and how much of a sure thing is it? This question, and our others, were answered by SDOT spokesperson Norm Mah:
During the summer and fall of 2016 while NSF applications were being developed through conceptual design (before final projects were selected), the design team reviewed active permits for future development around this site and found nothing, leading the team to propose the solution for a pathway on 25th Ave SW. However, the SDOT design team was contacted in the spring of 2017 by an architectural firm who shared preliminary plans for the adjacent parcel on the east side of 25th Ave SW. SDOT’s Street Use division then confirmed that the planned NSF project on 25th Ave SW would be required by code when this development moves forward.
In the interim, SDOT considered low-cost alternatives to improve this pathway for residents of this neighborhood, but any changes SDOT makes to this pathway now could result in the developer not being required to construct permanent improvements in the future. As stated in our outreach letter, we believe that the high likelihood of this development occurring meant that investing public funds at this location right now would not be the best use of public tax dollars.
One reader asked if there was precedent for this.
SDOT projects, including NSF projects, are frequently dropped or adjusted in response to future development. Fortunately, this entire project was not dropped and residents in this neighborhood and Chief Sealth students will still benefit from an improved pathway on 26th Ave SW.
With limited funds for improvements, we need to use public funds carefully to build projects that otherwise would not be constructed. These overlaps are typically found earlier in the project design phase because an active permit is filed.
Speaking of money, we also asked what would be done with the money that now will not be spent on this project. Mah says they don’t know yet:
At this point in the design process it is too early to know how much extra funds are available from the amount we budgeted for this project. We will know more in October and can provide the community with an update at that time.
So, we’ll be checking back. Meantime, the 26th SW walkway is planned for construction next year. (Here’s the original project proposal, as summarized by SDOT for the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council review process.)
P.S. The newly renamed Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition plans to talk about the project during its first fall meeting, next Tuesday (September 5th), 6:15 pm, at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW). The full meeting agenda is in our calendar listing.
The photo and report – more of a request, really – are from Hillary:
My wheelchair-bound mother and I have had to keep our sidewalk at 24th Avenue SW and SW Holden closed until we can get a retaining wall replaced. Our retaining wall failed due to rain and contractor error in February. The city insists we keep the sidewalk closed and pay to do so. We have had to put up sidewalk-closed signs at our own expense. They have been repeatedly stolen and vandalized. It has happened again this week. Both signs, which cost us $152, were stolen. We get the wall replaced in September. We have spent several thousand dollars to keep the sidewalk closed already. We can’t keep replacing signs. Could you please appeal to the community on our behalf? We just want our signs back. No questions asked.
Several texters asked about the police response across from the northwest corner of Roxhill Park, at 29th/Barton. We went over to check it out, and here is what we have found out from SPD: Two men were working on the vehicle in the photo; a passerby called 911 to say they thought they had seen one in possession of a gun. Police converged on the area but found no evidence of a gun. They did discover that one of the men appeared to be seriously under the influence and in need of medical attention as a result, so thats why Seattle Fire was called in.
(WSB photo)
3:59 PM: Police are investigating a bizarre crash right now – a Seattle Parks pickup truck into the side of the restroom building at Roxhill Park, with one person hurt before he could get out of the way. Police tell us they’re trying to find out whether the driver had fallen asleep in the truck or hit the accelerator without realizing it was in “drive,” but whatever the case, the truck hit a man who suffered an arm injury, and then hit the building’s brick wall before stopping. Along with that man, the Parks driver is being evaluated, as is a child, our photographer reports. The building damage does not appear major, but we’ll check with Parks tomorrow.
SUNDAY NIGHT: A commenter says her husband and 2-year-old child are the ones injured at Roxhill Park and that both are seriously hurt, with her child being transferred to Harborview with a skull fracture.
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: SPD tells us the report isn’t available in its system yet; meantime, here’s the statement Parks sent us when we asked several questions about the incident, the driver’s status, and the building’s condition:
On Sunday, August 20, at approximately 3:20 pm, a Seattle Parks and Recreation vehicle, driven by an SPR staff member, unintentionally collided with the Roxhill Park restroom. In process, two citizens were injured.
The Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Police Department responded to scene, and a 2-year old child and a 47-year old man were transported to the hospital in stable condition.
Currently, the Seattle Parks and Recreation safety staff are conducting an investigation.
At this time, we believe that the injured child has been transferred to Harborview and that the injured adult is still in recovery as well. We are wishing a speedy recovery to those injured in this incident.
The men’s-restroom side of the building, where this happened, was closed off when we went by to look earlier today.
(WSB file photo: ‘Wall of buses’ along Roxhill Park, across from Westwood Village)
Another “years in the making” project is about to get going. Even before the south side of SW Barton across from Westwood Village became a major transit hub, there was talk of more lighting – it’s mentioned in this WSB story from 2009. Four years later, the lack of lighting was still an issue when the then-new Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council led various government reps on a walking tour including the transit hub. In early 2015, Metro promised the lighting, and sidewalk improvements, would happen that year. Then the time-frame estimate shifted to mid-2016.
Now here we are in the second half of 2017 … and the work is apparently finally about to begin. Metro’s Paul Roybal responded to an inquiry from former WWRHAH leader Amanda Kay by saying, “Currently the construction work is scheduled to begin on August 28th, but subject to slight modifications (contractor is finishing up other work for Metro elsewhere, so the start date may be a few days later).” We subsequently checked with Metro spokesperson Scott Gutierrez about the planned scope of the work; he says it’s “to repair the sidewalk along the south side of SW Barton … and to add 4 pedestrian-scaled light fixtures to improve visibility and safety from the layover [area] to the existing RapidRide bus stop.”
One night after the Southwest Design Review Board looked at 8854 Delridge Way SW (WSB coverage here), its next meeting is set, and it involves another project in the same area: 2222 SW Barton, just southeast of Westwood Village. Last September, the board OK’d the Early Design Guidance version of the proposal (WSB coverage here), during which they were told the site might hold up to 80 apartments. For phase 2 of Design Review, the plan now is described as “a four-story apartment building containing 27 small efficiency dwelling units and 39 apartment units in an environmentally critical area.” The review is penciled onto the schedule for 6:30 pm Thursday, September 7th, at the Sisson Building/Senior Center (4217 SW Oregon). The design packet isn’t online yet, but should be by the end of the month.
(Saturday photo by Mark Filteau)
You saw their grand-prize-winning performance in Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade … you might have seen their practice and photo shoot at Seacrest five days earlier … and now, the All-City Band has one more West Seattle performance, at this year’s Band Jam on Friday night. ACB director Marcus Pimpleton shares the full lineup in this invitation to you:
The Seattle All-City Band will once again be hosting the annual Band Jam event at the Southwest Athletic Complex in West Seattle.
This year’s event will take place this coming Friday, July 28th, from 7:00-9:00 pm and feature musical performances by the Junior All-City Band, the Gents Drumline, the John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band, the Rainbow City Band, the Sumner High School Spartan Marching Band, and the Seattle Schools All-City Band.
Stadium concessions will be available beginning at 6:00 pm and pre-show entertainment by the Ten Man Brass Band will begin at 6:30. This family-friendly event celebrating young people and music is free to the public.
The lineup varies each year; here’s our coverage from last year. SWAC is at 2801 SW Thistle, across from Chief Sealth International High School.
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
BURGLARS TAKE BIKE AND MORE: Rebecca reports her home in the 8800 block of Delridge Way SW [map] was burglarized late last night, with the burglar(s) stealing a bicycle, video-game consoles, and laptops. Since abandoned/likely stolen bicycles turn up often, we asked her to describe the one the burglar(s) took: A black women’s Sportster Comfort 10, serial number starting with 513. If you have any information or might have found any of the stolen items, the police report number is 2017-238353.
ILLEGAL DUMPING: A commercial dumpster temporarily in place for a roofing job on SW Thistle proved attractive to someone looking for a place to unload a couch, JW reports. His cameras caught it around 12:30 am today:
That clip shows the truck pulling up with the couch – this one shows what followed. He’s reported it. (SMC 21.36.440, in case you were wondering.)
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