Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight:

STUDENT ROBBED: Thanks to the parent who forwarded the letter sent tonight to Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School families, about a crime that happened Thursday and was reported Friday:

We would like to let you know about an incident that occurred in the Sealth/Denny neighborhood that was brought to our attention yesterday. It occurred on Thursday afternoon at approximately 2:00 PM when a Sealth student was on his way home and was approached in a threatening manner by two youth from another school. They robbed him of his cell phone and made him take off his shoes but did not take them. The student and his parent reported the incident to the school yesterday morning and the police were called. They took the report and will follow up with an investigation.

No other details – the rest of the note to families consists of safety tips. We’ll be following up with police.

JEEP CHEROKEE STOLEN: From Kala:

My Jeep was stolen in West Seattle last night around 11 pm near South Seattle College. I am out of country for two more days, I have friends and family looking out and contacted the police but need all the help I can get! It is a white ’92 Jeep Cherokee, I have attached a recent photo.

I have various things in the Jeep, clothing, camping items, etc., but not too worried about those. All paperwork is in the Jeep (not smart on my side). Hopefully can find in one piece.

(Update: Plate BBA7439 … Monday update: Found in Burien.)

PACKAGE TAKEN: Security video from the 6700 block of Beach Drive:

The sender says they have verified that this was not a retrieved misdelivery. If you recognize the person in the video, the police report # is 18-218524.

THURSDAY NIGHT: That screen grab is from security video that Seattle Fish Company in The Junction (4435 California SW) told police shows someone stealing $6,000 worth of newly delivered fish early today. The report texted to us said the fish was taken right after Ocean Beauty dropped it off around 7:30 am. If you have any information, the theft report filed with police is 2018-216072.

FRIDAY MORNING: The fish has been recovered; here’s our followup.

(June 2nd WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)

Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis offered an update on the June 2nd Alki Avenue murder toward the end of tonight’s precinct meeting about beach noise enforcement (separate report to come). “This was an altercation between two individuals and their conflict resolution … slipped to the point where it got physical,” and a deadly stabbing resulted. “It could have happened anywhere,” he stressed, adding that SPD emphasis teams were in the beach area and got there quickly, though not quickly enough for an arrest. Detectives continue working the case. The victim, 22-year-old Jonathan C. Pecina, was remembered at a memorial service in Everett last Friday.

In West Seattle Crime Watch:

SOUTH ADMIRAL GARAGE THEFT: A reader alarmed by the Ring version of this SPD auto-tweet for an “occupied burglary” last night in the 3200 block of California asked us about it. We checked with SPD today. Det. Mark Jamieson says that the system shows, “Officers responded to a report of a theft from inside a secured parking garage … The theft allegedly happened 5 days ago (possibly a car prowl?) Officers could not locate the reporting party despite several calls back. If victim calls back we’ll respond to take a report.”

GATEWOOD BURGLARY: Via e-mail this morning:

We live a block from (The Kenney) just off of Fauntleroy Way; at some time between 2 AM and 5:30 AM on Thursday (June 7) a thief entered our home through a first floor open window. I’m embarrassed to say it but I know when it must have happened because I was asleep on the couch at the time and must have been in plain sight of the intruder (and I’m the one naive enough to think I could leave that window open.) I suppose in one sense it might be lucky I slept through the whole thing , only discovering what had happened when I awoke and saw the window screen pried off and a number of things stolen.

HANSEN VIEW REPORTS: From the neighborhood near Providence Mount St. Vincent, Block Watch captain Karen Berge (who you also know as co-founder of the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network) has an update:

Our Hansen View Block Watch area experienced another vehicle theft recently, as well as two detached garage break-ins. The two garage break-ins took place this weekend in the 5000 block of 36th off the alley shared with those on 35th. … another neighbor found “loot” stashed in the alley behind their home… it all eventually came together, and the loot turned out to be a combination of items from both locations. Key point here are that the perp(s) cut through a lock on one of the garages, not padlocks or cables attached to the locks. Also, the car theft a week or so earlier took less than 30 seconds to steal, although it was locked…and the car that was stolen had been stolen in late April, then recovered (’99 Legacy Outback).

Received via text from a resident in the 3700 block of Belvidere [map]:

Last night at 1:20 am while I was asleep on our downstairs couch, lights on, TV blaring. I was awakened by someone starting to enter from our sliding back door. As I jump up to see if it’s an animal, I’m startled to find a 5’10-6ft white male trying to enter our home. I stand across from him paralyzed, realizing there is nothing keeping him from entering. I’m 8 months pregnant and fully aware that I cannot move quickly; my husband and 2 year old daughter are asleep upstairs. I start to scream for my husband, the man continues to stand at the door, poised to come in as I continue to scream. Finally, my husband wakes up and upon hearing my husband’s voice he begins to leave. Police arrive at 2:20, explain they had cleared the area, but found no one. The brazen way this man entered and occupied home, and probably would’ve still proceeded if he could validate I was home alone. Which makes this particularly threatening.

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

ADMIRAL STABBING CASE UPDATE: Today brought another hearing for Kierra Ward, in jail in lieu of $400,000 bail since last October, when she was arrested and charged with attacking a woman out for a walk with her baby in Admiral. Ward’s trial has again been delayed, this time because, court documents say, a mental evaluation has been requested, as her defense lawyer plans to contend that she was insane at the time of the attack. The order resulting from today’s hearing also says she will be evaluated for competency to stand trial. The results should be available before her next scheduled hearing July 13th.

Also in Crime Watch, one reader report from the inbox:

CAR BREAK-IN: Jackie e-mailed to report, “I just wanted to make my fellow neighbors aware that my car was broken into last evening in the Fauntleroy/Arbor Heights neighborhood. I lived in Capitol Hill for years and never had an incident, but apparently, West Seattle is different. The break-in occurred between the evening of 6/7 to the morning of 6/8. Please make sure to be vigilant and not have any personal belongings in your car.”

We confirmed this afternoon with the DEA that a West Seattle raid early today was part of a regional “drug-trafficking ring takedown” by multiple agencies. A reader asked us about police near 20th and Holden in the 6 am hour; when we heard about the regional operation, we asked whether that location was part of it, and learned it was. We don’t know yet how many arrests – the reader reported seeing “several people in handcuffs” – but here’s the full news release about the regional operation:

In the fourth major drug trafficking ring takedown in as many months, federal, state and local law enforcement officers fanned out across King, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit and Thurston Counties to execute search warrants and arrest more than 35 members of a drug trafficking organization, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. Today’s arrests are the fourth takedown in a series of cases aimed at reducing drug and gang violence in Seattle, South King and North Pierce Counties. Those taken into custody today (appeared this afternoon) in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

“Over the last four months, more than 80 drug dealing conspirators moving meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl have been taken off our streets where they preyed on destructive addictions and used gun crime to further their trade,” said U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes. “For more than a year, local police worked with federal partners to build these cases, with the goal of addressing the shifting crime problems in South Sound communities.”

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed U.S. Attorneys to deploy their resources to identify and address ‘hot spots’ of violent crime. Working with local law enforcement across the South Sound, federal law enforcement identified Seattle, the Rainier and Kent Valleys, and North Pierce County as an area of concern for drug and gun crime. Today’s takedown comes on the heels of three other law enforcement efforts involving wire-taps and surveillance to dismantle sophisticated drug trafficking rings linked to violence in those areas. The first takedown involved five defendants trafficking crack cocaine in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood; the second, in March resulted in twenty arrests of heroin and meth traffickers operating primarily in South King County and the Tacoma area; and in May, a third takedown dismantled two criminal groups trafficking methamphetamine in south King County.

“DEA is in a race to save lives,” said Keith Weis, the Special Agent in Charge for the Pacific Northwest. “These strategic operations have stopped some of the most violent criminal groups operating throughout the Puget Sound Region from pushing dangerous drugs onto our communities most vulnerable members facing life or death struggles against addiction.”

“The FBI is committed to holding violent gang members accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay S. Tabb Jr., of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office. “The level of violence committed by these individuals has been detrimental to the South Sound community for years. Today’s arrests mark a major step toward addressing this problem.”

According to records filed in the case, conspirators trafficked cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, illegal marijuana and fentanyl. Associates of some of the traffickers arrested today were shot and some killed in various shooting incidents in both Seattle and south King County. On the wiretap law enforcement heard conspirators talk about various shootings after they occurred, including the September 4, 2017 shooting outside a Renton hookah lounge. Among other things, conspirators discussed getting firearms after being shot at by rival gangs.

Taken together, these four operations resulted in the seizure of 75 guns, more than 95 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 32 pounds of heroin, more than 7 pounds of cocaine (both crack and powder) as well as ecstasy and fentanyl. More than $327,000 in cash and 22 vehicles also were seized.

In addition, today alone law enforcement seized 12 pounds of heroin, more than 2 kilos of cocaine, a pound of methamphetamine, 124 pounds of marijuana, 41 firearms and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

“Today, hundreds of law enforcement professionals came together to make our neighborhoods safer, taking criminals and drugs off the street and possibly saving lives,” said Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best. “As a former Narcotics commander, I recognize the tireless work that goes into these investigations. Together with our federal and local partners, we have orchestrated one of the largest investigations in recent memory. A special thanks to the FBI, DEA and the US Attorney’s Office. This level of collaboration is unprecedented.”

“The U.S. Marshals have always believed in the power of collaboration, and the effectiveness of combining the resources and expertise of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners for the common good. Today, that tradition of collaboration continues and we are proud to be a part of it”, said Acting U.S. Marshal Jacob Green.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The defendants in these cases face a variety of drug and gun charges. The penalties range from five years in prison to a maximum of life in prison depending on the pertinent charge.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. This investigation was led by the Seattle Police Department Gang and Narcotics Units, FBI Seattle Safe Streets Task Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Other agencies providing investigative assistance include ATF, USMS, and the U.S Bureau of Prisons.

Today’s searches and arrests involved agents and officers from: DEA, FBI, ATF, HSI, USMS, SPD, Auburn Police Department, Bellevue Police Department, Bothell Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Des Moines Police Department, Everett Police Department, Fife Police Department, Kent Police Department, King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), Kirkland Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Marysville Police Department, Monroe Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, Mukilteo Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Renton Police Department, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Snohomish County Drug and Gang Task Force, Tacoma Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, Tukwila Police Department, U.S Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol, and the Yakima Police Department, and the following regional SWAT teams, SPD SWAT, Valley SWAT, North Sound Metro SWAT, Region 1 SWAT, Pierce County Metro SWAT, King County Sheriff’s Office TAC-30, Washington State Patrol SWAT, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, and Bellevue SWAT.

In addition, the operations were conducted with the support of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) and SWAT teams from the FBI’s Salt Lake City, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Denver field offices. DEA’s Special Response Team’s (SRT) from Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, and San Diego assisted in today’s operations. This investigation was supported by Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and the Special Operations Division (SOD).

The DEA also told us warrants were served at three White Center locations – in the 9700 block of 9th Place SW, 10600 block of 4th Avenue SW, and 1400 block of SW 116th.

From Tim at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), a request to look for “random items” taken in a car prowl last night, including one of sentimental value:

A partial list includes a collapsible plastic crate (black and grey) that had a few qt cans of paint, some books on running, a zippered clear bag that had a bunch of little things inside, including some replacement plug ends for extension cords, some maps, CDs, small little tools, and other misc. stuff, and a small 12v tire inflator. They took everything out of our center console, which ironically included a tiny book of the Constitution.

Also in the console was a few CDs, one of which was from our friends memorial. It was all of her favorite songs and had “Andrea” written on it. The Andrea CD is the only thing we really want back, the rest is all replaceable.

I assume that the thieves will dump most of this stuff somewhere since they can’t sell it for drugs, so we ask people to look out for a pile of these things. Keep whatever you find, but please let us know if you find the Andrea CD, we would really appreciate it.

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

HIT-RUN VICTIM HOPES YOU CAN HELP: From Laetitia:

I was a victim of a hit and run (Friday) on 35th and Willow, at 5:10 pm.

I was outside of my car, and was locking the door when a white Jeep hit me on the back, and knocked me down. Witnesses saw the driver stop, then leave the scene. Police was called and i was transported to the hospital. I now have 3 broken vertebraes, and a painful recovery ahead. Can you get the word out? Maybe someone can help find this person so he can be held responsible for what he did.

SUBARU STOLEN ON VIDEO: From Nadine:

Our 2015 white Subaru Forester was stolen this morning at 6:15 am from in front of our house on 36th Ave SW between Hinds and Manning. The doors were locked – thieves were caught on neighbors web cam … These guys look like pros – we reported to SPD immediately.

You can see the video here – watch the upper right. If you see the car – plate #AWC6229 – call 911.

BURGLARY: MR reports, “Household break-in at 35th Ave SW and Holly sometime after 8:05 am 5/31. Most likely in the afternoon. It was reported to police approximately 8:30 pm 5/31. Jewelry, credit cards stolen and passport. If you saw anything please call police with the information.”

P.S. Burglary- and auto-theft-prevention advice is in this month’s newsletter from Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner – read it here.

E-mailed by George:

I just wanted to pass along that my car was prowled at the top of SW Myrtle St, somewhere between 1AM and 4AM and the only reason I found out so early was that the SPD officer called me at 4:45 to ask if I was missing an ID.

Sure enough, I just installed a Console Vault yesterday afternoon and had not put everything back in. It was all conviniently in a reusable TJs bag on my front seat. They took that along with some headrest DVD players and my skateboard and grease gun from the back of my truck. All of that is irrelevant since it was all recovered minus some extra keys for all the locks.

The SPD officer said they were pulled over for license plate expiration and given tickets for that but could not be detained. So they departed the scene and were not able to be found subsequently. It was not until he started to process the vehicle he was impounding that he discovered the items. It was 2 males in a green mid-’90s Jeep Grand Cherokee, with a University of Margaritaville sticker in the back windshield originally seen just before 4 AM at 15th and Barton Ave SW.

The report is 18-194460 for the traffic infraction and he said there will be another one once he is finished processing all of my belongings.

We asked George if there were any further details about the impound: “The reason for impound as reported by the SPD officer was that the license plate had tags that expired 2014 and anything over 45 days expired can be impounded.”

11:43 PM TUESDAY: That bike is part of what was taken from a South Delridge yard on Saturday night. The victim reports anonymously:

Saturday night two trucks pulled up to our townhouse on the corner of 18th and Barton while we were gone. A white truck with red door (Nissan or Mazda mid-’90s) and then a red Ford truck (probably F150, early 2000s) arrived around 10:30 and left a little after midnight.

There appeared to be 3-4 males in the white truck wearing dark clothes with flashlights. A woman wearing shorts drove the red truck. They prowled around mostly on 18th Street. They entered a secured courtyard and just after midnight left with at least a cream-colored custom built road bike and two Craftsman tool boxes, one large red rolling and a smaller black stackable one.

Bike Description
58cm road bike frame, steel, “breezer” logo on rear dropouts, tig welded (custom)
Steel fork with brazed crown
Child seat bar (aluminum) attached to steer tube
“Function” emblem on head tube
Cream color with subtle pink stains on downtube in powdercoat
Dent on top tube wrapped in dark gray vinyl
Dent on seat tube wrapped in dark gray vinyl
Seat stays wrapped in dark gray vinyl
1 chainstay wrapped in black electrical tape
Shimano 600 parts group
2 x 8 speeds

There are a few more distinguishing features, but that ought to be enough for you to recognize it if you see/find it. If you have any information on the theft, the SPD incident # is 18-192497.

ADDED WEDNESDAY, 4:05 PM: Good job, commenters! E-mailed by the victim: “The police found the truck and owner today around noon. We were able to recover a lot of what was taken, including the bicycle and the tool boxes. There’s damage and things are missing but it feels good to recover something. Please send our gratitude to all the readers for looking out for each other!”