West Seattle, Washington
28 Monday
Thanks to Chuck Edgin for the photo taken as police, including SWAT officers, wrapped up an arrest operation at 35th SW/SW Holly about an hour ago. Officers advised dispatchers afterward that it was a “warrant arrest” and that if anyone in the area reported hearing an explosion (as did Chuck), it was related to their operation. We haven’t yet been able to find out what the suspect was being sought for.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
PACKAGE THIEVES AT WORK RIGHT NOW: Just in from Marc near 35th/Cloverdale – thieves struck about half an hour ago: “Woman and two accomplices that appear male in a grey sedan with no front plate. Video:
Car and accomplices
Woman’s face
NEAR LINCOLN PARK: Nicole says car prowler(s) went through her husband’s car between midnight and 6 am near 46th SW and SW Austin:
They grabbed lots of stuff, but dumped much on the way from their walk from our house to the bus stop near the 76 gas station at the north end of Lincoln Park. Two things not recovered–two sets of golf clubs, one adult set of Cobras in a black bag with a Seahawks sock on the driver and one kid set in a red Wilson bag:
Since they seemed to be on foot, would love it if anyone seems them dumped somewhere or for sale online or at consignment. Also: a DVD wallet of kids’ movies and wireless headphones for the car DVD player.
I had my car broken in to on 30th Ave SW last night (August 19th-August 20th). Someone smashed in my front passenger side window, looted through my glovebox, and stole a phone charger. Thankfully I don’t keep anything of value in my car, but it also looks like other cars on the street were broken into last night.
No incident #’s yet for any of these cases but we’ll add them when we get them.
After we received a few questions about an incident early Saturday in The Junction; we followed up with Seattle Police today, and here’s what they told us: Just before 2 am Saturday, a caller reported “a possible domestic-violence disturbance in the alley behind his apartment building in the 4500 block of 44th Avenue SW,” with what looked to be a man and woman involved. Police continue:
The male pulled out a small handgun and appeared to be showing it off. He eventually handed it off to the female, who then discharged one round toward an unoccupied building across the alley. The shot occurred as officers were arriving in the area. Both subjects then entered the apartment building. Officers took up containment and a contact team was assembled. The apartment building was cleared floor by floor. Both parties were located on the rooftop patio and taken into custody without incident. The handgun was recovered from the male. The building did sustain bullet damage, and one spent round/casing were recovered. The male had a concealed pistol permit and was interviewed and released from SW precinct. The female was booked into King County Jail. There were no injuries.
A check of jail and court records shows the 32-year-old woman was released a short time ago after two days in jail.
From a reader on Puget Ridge:
Our white 1999 F250 was stolen from our driveway sometime between 9:45pm and 9:15am this morning. License plate is C73348J.
Call 911 if you see it.
Missing a Gary Fisher Tarpon bicycle? L found one, abandoned, “at Lincoln Park near Fauntleroy and Othello. Likely stolen.” Contact us if it might be yours and we’ll connect you.
A 32-year-old man is in jail today after a resident caught him trying to climb into his patio near California/Charlestown late last night. We requested and obtained the report, which says police got the call around 11:23 pm. Police arrived to find the victim following the suspect, with a baseball bat, southbound on California. Officers detained both until they sorted out what had happened. The victim explained that his dog alerted him to noise on the back patio; he said he walked out to find the suspect halfway over the fence. First he grabbed “a pellet gun resembling a rifle” and pointed it at the suspect, who he said dared him to shoot and then threatened to burn the house down. The suspect kept yelling and took off. When stopped, he claimed to police that he had had “a rough day,” had been in the alley collecting trash, and was just trying to get back to California SW to head toward Morgan Junction. Once the suspect was under arrest, the report says, investigating officers noted that the victim’s patio does not connect to California SW. The suspect was booked into the King County Jail on suspicion of criminal trespassing. Records show this is his third arrest in less than two months; the other two were for allegedly harassing/threatening people outside their homes in Morgan Junction, and the second report says he is a known troublemaker in that area.
ORIGINAL THURSDAY REPORT: In the spirit of Block Watch, you might call this Bark Watch. Seattle Police Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner sent this announcement that they are launching a new program called Paws on Patrol:
You can help prevent crime while you are walking your dog!
Paws on Patrol encourages dog walkers to serve as extra eyes and ears for the Seattle Police Department.
This program trains pet owners to prevent crime, as well as recognize and report suspicious activity.
Get a free SPD Paws on Patrol dog tag when you join (while supplies last)!
The SW Precinct will be hosting the Paws on Patrol launch event on Saturday, September 21st at 10 am.
So if you are interested – save the date!
ADDED FRIDAY: A clarification from CPC Danner: “I have received a lot of inquiries about Paws on Patrol (yay!). Thank you everyone for your interest! Just wanted to clarify- at this time there is no link to join, please plan to attend the launch event on Saturday, September 21st, to join! I will send out more details as we get closer to the event!” This will be the first precinct to test the program, by the way. And yes, you AND your dog will be welcome at the September 21st meeting.
(WSB photo)
2:38 PM: Thanks for the tip about that big Seattle Police response near High Point Community Center. We subsequently went over to find out what’s happening. Police say the white car is stolen and they’ve taken one person into custody. That person’s being checked for possible injuries because the car was involved in a collision (our crew says it has extensive rear-end damage). A K9 team is on the way to help search for evidence after, according to a radio exchange, “a magazine” was reportedly found in the car.
2:45 PM: Seattle Parks just tweeted that HPCC is in lockdown because of this.
3:42 PM: Parks says the lockdown is over.
ADDED WEDNESDAY: A few more details, and a photo of the magazine, from SPD:
A parking enforcement officer was on patrol at 35 Avenue (SW) and SW Morgan Street at 2 PM when they spotted an occupied stolen vehicle parked nearby.
As patrol officers flooded the area, the vehicle’s occupant piloted the white Jetta out of the area, nearly striking a firetruck and running a stop sign in the process. The driver continued to speed away until he lost control and rolled the vehicle down a hill.
Police took the man into custody and following a search of the car recovered a handgun magazine. A K-9 was brought in to search for a firearm but none was located.
Officers booked the man into King County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle and firearms violation because he is a convicted felon and prevented from having a handgun magazine.
10:11 AM: That’s Clayton‘s 2005 Honda Rebel motorcycle, stolen last night from the 9600 block of 17th SW. He emailed us in hopes you can “keep a lookout” for it. If you see it, call 911. P.S. Plate = 4F4235.
ADDED TUESDAY NIGHT: Clayton says his motorcycle was spotted in the 10300 block of 24th Ave SW.
ADDED FRIDAY: As Clayton noted in a comment, he has his bike back!
ORIGINAL REPORT, 2:48 AM SUNDAY: An SDOT crew is being summoned for a cleanup on westbound Admiral Way near 37th SW for debris from a crash. Radio communication indicated a driver went into a yard and then left the scene on foot; police reportedly caught up with a suspect nearby, at 39th and Admiral.
UPDATE, MONDAY NIGHT: According to online records, the 20-year-old driver is under investigation for DUI and criminal hit-run.
Two stolen cars reported by readers: A Kia Spectra (added: tan color), plate AOZ1767, taken near Westwood Village on Friday afternoon, and a white Audi Q5 taken overnight from 47th/College (added: plate AXZ3291). If you see either, call 911.
From Shay near 60th/Stevens:
Wanted to report that we’ve had two things stolen from our apartment garages (fully locked unless you have a key or garage door opener to enter/someone leaves the garage open…). First happened at some point Monday night (noticed Tuesday morning) and they stole a $500 amplifier. (Wednesday) afternoon, we noticed that my husband’s $4,000 mountain bike (which was mounted and locked/chained up) was stolen, which we think happened at some point (Tuesday) night. Our assumption is that the people who stole the amplifier came back with a chain cutter/saw and stole the bike.
We’ve reported the above for the police, but wanted others to be aware that theft seems to be on the rise. Make sure your garage doors shut when you leave & be on high alert.
Thanks for the texted tip about multiple locker-room thefts at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) on Tuesday. One of the victims reports:
At least half a dozen lockers (Men’s) were broken into between 10:45-11:15 am at the West Seattle YMCA. Only wallets were stolen. Cell phones and other valuables were not taken. This was discovered rather quickly and most of us were able to cancel or put a hold on our cards. Cards were attempted to (be used) at QFC and Safeway near Alaska Junction as well as the Walgreens and gas station near 35th & Morgan.
The thefts were all included in one police report, which we requested and obtained this afternoon. It says the police have obtained security video showing five “males” (no further description) arriving outside the Y in a “white 4-door sedan.” They went into the Y at 10:56 am. Two started talking to desk staff; the other three walked toward the locker room. Less than 15 minutes later, all five left. There were at least six victims; police obtained some broken-lock fragments as evidence. Some of the victims were already getting “fraudulent activity” alerts from their banks/credit-card companies, so police followed a trail including, as mentioned above, the 35th/Morgan gas station and Walgreens. The suspects tried to buy $500 gift cards at the latter, the police report says, but were unsuccessful. We also asked Y executive director Shalimar Gonzales about the thefts; she says they’re working with police and “in the meantime have increased staff visibility in those spaces and added signage. We’re encouraging everyone to keep valuables at home or use our lockers in the cardio center.”
That’s a screenshot of one of the thieves who stole three surveillance cameras from West Seattle Christian Church in The Junction between 3 am and 6 am on July 25th. WSCC’s Worth Wheeler tells WSB, “From what we can tell there were 2 to 3 individuals involved and they went to quite a lot of effort to removed the cameras, even using a long bamboo pole, standing on our a-frame signs, and bringing one of those extendable gripping devices with a grabbing claw at the end.” Here are video clips showing some of their activity including the camera thefts:
Police have been notified; we don’t have a case # yet.\
Julia hopes you can help find her stolen car:
My ’97 Subaru Legacy wagon (black with large dent in back left bumper, plate #AHG5464) was stolen from in front of our house (8600 block of 16th Ave SW) overnight. This is the second time this car has been stolen from this exact location. I had the “Club” on the steering wheel and the car was locked. I have reported this info to SPD.
If you see it, call 911.
Thanks to the texter who sent the photo and tip: For at least the third time in less than two months, someone has broken windows at the West Seattle Junction KeyBank. (Our previous reports are here and here.) We don’t know if police have apprehended anyone – we’ll have to check on that later this morning – but radio communication indicated arrangements were being made to get the windows boarded up.
That’s security video from the backyard of Matt‘s home near Fauntleroy/Thistle, across from Lincoln Park. He hasn’t been able to check yet for any other damage but is sharing this so others will be on the lookout. The intruder’s been reported to police; we don’t have the report number yet but will add when we do, in case you have a tip to report.
One week ago, we reported on a burglary at the Senior Center of West Seattle. While police continue to investigate, the nonprofit center has to deal with the costly aftermath – stolen items, damage repair. So the philanthropy group Impact West Seattle is coordinating a community fundraising drive to help. Rachel Lazar explains, “They have been such a supportive partner of Impact West Seattle, hosting our quarterly giving meetings. And we have learned so much about the incredible programs they offer as they are truly a gem in our community.” You can donate by going here!
One reader report today, with security video. I’s from Michael: “On Friday morning, 0500 hrs, July 26th, my helmet and gloves were stolen from my motorcycle. It was taken from our covered carport in our condo building (in the 4100 block of) Chilberg Ave. SW.” (We’ll add the police-report # when we get it.)
12:09 AM: Multiple 911 calls about gunfire sent police to 9th SW/SW Henderson, just west of Westcrest Park, and officers have reported via radio that they’ve found shell casings south of the intersection. No injuries reported so far, and also no description of suspect(s).
12:29 AM: Unrelated so far as we know, but here’s another call that’s drawn a police response of note: A resident in the Aura Apartments (35th SW just south of Avalon) reported someone broke into their apartment and ran out, westbound, with a laptop. Police are searching the area, with a K0 unit dispatched too.
The photo and report are from David:
Stolen between 11 pm and 11 am from the corner of Willow and 39th in Gatewood. 1992 Toyota Pickup regular cab with white canopy. License C30416C.
If you see it, call 911.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:20 AM: Police have closed northbound 16th SW at Brandon while investigating what was initially described via radio communication as a robbery or carjacking attempt. The would-be robbers are reported to have fired into the air as they fled; police found at least one shell casing in the street. A K-9 team is helping search right now. No further details but we’ll follow up.
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: We obtained the police report; this was classified as an armed robbery. The three victims told police they had been parked on 16th SW when the robbers walked up to the passenger side of the car and said, “This is a robbery, give us all your s–t! Get out of the car!”P Police say the victims thought that the two robbers – who appeared to be juveniles – were joking until one pulled out a handgun and pointed it at them. The robbers then grabbed a victim’s backpack. The unarmed robber jumped into the car at one point. Eventually after a struggle over the backpack, the two robbers ran away. The one with the gun fired a shot in the air first; nobody was hit. Police searched but didn’t find them.
(Screen capture from security video)
Early today we made a periodic check of the files in court cases we’ve been following. One discovery of note: An arrest warrant for Gabriel C. Putnam, sought and granted just yesterday. Putnam is the 39-year-old man arrested and charged after this video-recorded Beach Drive burglary attempt last month. Police found him on another Beach Drive property further south, and also found a knife that appeared to be the one shown in the video. As we reported two weeks ago, he was released from jail into the CCAP program, which requires daily check-ins. Court documents say he stopped making those check-ins last week, so an arrest warrant was issued. If he is found and arrested, the warrant sets bail at $25,000.
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