West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
Received via text: “Our house was broken into today in West Seattle on 12th and Holden. They took laptops, a Nintendo switch, multiple Kindles, and iPods and an iPad while I slept. They stole our red 2006 four-door Toyota Camry.” We’ll add the police-report # when we get it.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
DRIVER ARRESTED: We briefly mentioned a crash that shut down a block of Delridge late Wednesday/early Thursday. SPD sent out Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives and we’ve finally found out why. Police tell us a driver hit an 18-year-old woman who was crossing Delridge at/near 21st. The 35-year-old man who hit her was arrested on suspicion of “impairment” and is in the King County Jail for investigation of vehicular assault. SFD tells us the victim was in “stable condition” when taken to the hospital.
STOLEN BED: This may have been an honest mistake but somebody stole Tina’s bed frame from outside her home in west Admiral (near 47th/Admiral) and it was NOT left outside as a freebie. How it wound up outside is a long story but Tina’s husband made the frame 20 years ago and it has sentimental value. She’s looking for a photo so we can add, but in the meantime, if you happened to pick it up or know of somebody who is excited they found a free bed frame … please return it.
SHOPKEEPER’S WARNING: Alair proprietor Shandon Graybeal wants to warn other store owners about a group of teenagers who harassed her late in the day Thursday and tampered with her security camera – which was, ironically enough, recorded on video:
She says two of the teenagers cornered her so she couldn’t move while another looked in the back room and cased the register, in addition to tampering with the camera. She says they were scared off when a customer emerged from an out-of-sight corner of the store. A police report has been filed – # 19-195886.
A miniature steam-powered train locomotive from a Whatcom County amusement park, stolen in West Seattle, hasn’t been found yet. After readers pointed out TV reports about it, we tracked down the surveillance video and police report and contacted the locomotive’s owner at Miniature World Family Fun Center in Birch Bay:
(Photo via Miniature World Facebook page)
The half-ton locomotive was in a Morgan Junction garage, brought here because its boiler needed repairs, to be provided by a local expert. Then came the break-in early Saturday, recorded by security cameras, this one in the garage:
And this view from the alley outside:
The second stolen item is a generator; the cart was left behind. If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 2019-189418.
It’s gardening season. And … gardening-related-theft season. Two reader reports:
STOLEN SOIL: Sue e-mailed to report, “Someone stole 2 large, Costco bags of soil from the alley behind us. They were right next to our garage. If you have them, please bring them back. If someone shows up near you with them, please let me know.” This was in the west Admiral area. Blue bags with the Costco logo.
PILFERED PLANT (AND MORE): John sent these clips recorded last week in the 7700 block of Delridge Way SW. First – a pot of flowers:
Then, something bigger:
Got something for Crime Watch? Email westseattleblog@gmail.com. Breaking news: text or call 206-293-6302
(WSB photos)
6:54 PM: Here’s what brought all those police to the vacant-and-slated-for-redevelopment apartment site in the 2200 block of SW Barton, just southeast of Westwood Village. Police tell us at the scene that a stolen car was ditched outside the building and suspects were seen going into the building, so, with a bullhorn and K-9 team, they’ve been trying to get the suspects to come out.
7:04 PM: Our crew has since left but we’re hearing by radio that police have gone in and aren’t finding anyone, so far.
7:13 PM: Avoid Delridge near Oregon for a while – a police response involving a Metro bus has much of the road blocked. We are still working to find out what started this.
7:25 PM: Our crew couldn’t get close to police at the scene so went to the precinct to ask. There, police told us there was a report someone had a gun on the bus. No gun found so far.
Two reader reports of dumped-and-likely-stolen two-wheelers:
MOTORCYCLE: The photo and report are from the anonymous finder:
Recognize this motorcycle? Honda CRF-230F – This motorcycle was dumped in the Puget Ridge neighborhood around May 2nd. Presumably a stolen motorcycle since an attempt was made to camouflage it in the woods. Seems to be in good shape. Love to get it back to its owner.
It’s been reported to police. If it’s yours, we’ll connect you with the finder.
BICYCLE: This has been visible in the Lowman Beach vicinity for at least two days:
Contact us and we can connect you regarding that one too.
(WSB photo, 24th/Kenyon gunfire aftermath last Friday)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Last Friday’s 24th/Kenyon gunfire was a major community concern discussed at the May meeting of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which regularly provides a chance to tell local police leadership what’s on your mind.
We also asked what had transpired since news at last month’s WSCPC meeting that the precinct planned to deploy the SPD observation tower in this area.
Present from the precinct – where the WSCPC met last night, as usual – were commander Capt. Pierre Davis and city attorney’s office liaison Joe Everett. A featured guest from Seattle Fire spoke later in the meeting.
First:
The photo is from Leshawn, who says, “I found this backpack last night at 44th and Walker on the sidewalk, it has clothing, shoes and cords in it, would love to reunite with the owner. Appears more likely to have been stolen/dumped than lost/forgotten, but either way, if it is yours, contact us and we will connect you.
One more stolen vehicle to watch for – from Jonathan:
My car was stolen from my driveway (9800 block of 32nd Ave SW) Monday night. Hoping to put the word out in case anyone sees it.
2006 Nissan Xterra, Silver, a couple of dents in the doors, cracked windshield. License plate AGY2166.
Call 911 if you see it.
A West Seattle Crime Watch report tonight from Jacques:
Our white 1998 Isuzu Oasis van was stolen in the last 24 hours from the parking strip on the side of our house. The car is in very good shape for its age and had a black Yakima ski rack on top.
WA plate 687XKC. If you see it, call 911.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
THEFT SUSPECT SOUGHT: From Jason at Bellevue Rare Coins in The Junction:
This suspect ran with high value item (over $4,000) from the West Seattle location of Bellevue Rare Coins at 5:22 pm today (Saturday, 5/18). There is a $500 reward for any information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
The SPD incident # is 2019-179175.
CONDO BUILDING BREAK-INS: The video was sent by Barbara:
The break-in is one of two that happened at her condo building at California/Juneau May 9th and 11th; suspect photos are at this link. If you have any info, the SPD incident # is 2019-166843.
MORE CONDO BUILDING BREAK-INS: This alert was circulated by Mark Jaroslaw of Alki Blockwatch:
It has come to our attention that three Alki BlockWatch condos – two along Harbor Ave and a third along Alki Ave – had their front-entry KnoxBox broken into between the end of April and the beginning of May. In two of the cases, the small locked box that holds master keys or fobs for fire and police personnel, was literally pried or broken off the exterior wall between midnight and 4 a.m.
In the third case, the thief penetrated the box and stole the master key.
It was further reported that within days of the break-ins, thieves at two locations returned to the scene of the crime with the master key. But by that time, the condos had already replaced the box and re-keyed the building. Apparently deterred, one thief attempted to break into the condo by prying off the faceplate of the front-entry intercom.
In one of the three break-ins, two thieves wearing gloves – a woman in her 20s with long blonde hair, and her boyfriend – somehow managed to get into the building, steal some lobby mail, and broke into a car downstairs. In the second occurrence, the thief broke into downstairs storage lockers and main storage room.
One of the condo surveillance cameras videotaped the thief in the act of breaking into the KnoxBox,
and police they know his identity. Apparently this is his MO.There are more than 4,000 KnoxBoxes on condos and commercial buildings throughout Seattle. The
recent West Seattle break-ins aren’t the first time these crimes have been reported. In the summer of
2016, KIRO-TV reported that thieves struck KnoxBoxes throughout city, and it occurred again – on a
smaller scale – two years ago this month.
P.S. If you have concerns/questions for police, the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting is Tuesday (May 21st), 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).
A little over a month ago, a King County Superior Court jury found 43-year-old Chayce Hanson guilty of five felonies including rape and witness tampering. Today, Hanson was sentenced to 25 years in prison – 304 months, including a 24-month “enhancement” for committing assault with sexual motivation. The victim, also a West Seattle resident, was an acquaintance; the jury found Hanson guilty of vehicular assault for getting into a crash that left her seriously hurt, and then raping her while she was in such bad shape she couldn’t even yell for help. He was convicted of witness tampering for later trying to get her to sign a document saying he had not raped her. The 25-year sentence is at the upper range of what the prosecution recommended for Hanson, who has served time in prison before, for killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter in Renton in 2000; that case gained added notoriety because a state Supreme Court ruling known as the “Andress decision” overturned murder convictions including his. He then pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He has been in jail more than two years already this time, arrested in April 2017, and that will be credited toward his sentence.
8:30 PM: Seattle Fire has a “scenes of violence” headed to the Southwest Athletic Complex vicinity for a report of an injured teenager. More details to come.
8:34 PM: While police have confirmed there was gunfire, apparently the teenager was unhurt. … Officers have mentioned another possibly related gunfire scene elsewhere.
8:44 PM: Police at the stadium tell us a person in the stands watching the track meet that’s just ended/ending was grazed by a “stray bullet” – possibly related to the other gunfire scene, which is reported to be somewhere on Holden (we’re headed that way next).
8:49 PM: We’re just arriving at the other gunfire scene and as a commenter says, that’s actually 24th/Kenyon. No injuries reported.
8:54 PM: Photos added. Those markers show where police found casings at the 24th/Kenyon scene.
9:13 PM: Nearby residents tell us that they heard vehicles take off after the gunfire. They also mentioned a report of a street robbery nearby this afternoon; we’re checking on that.
(WSB photo, March: Sean Lowry’s motorcycle post-crash)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“This man left my son for dead, face down on the road.”
Merle Zahniser‘s son is 44-year-old Sean Lowry, who was riding his motorcycle on Admiral Way two months ago when “this man” hit him and drove away.
Sean wasn’t expected to survive. He did. Merle has more to say about that. But the main reason she contacted WSB is this plea:
“We really need the witnesses who saw the driver to step up and work with the detective.”
The driver, she says, is not a mystery; the vehicle was found. The witnesses are not a mystery – at least, some of them.
What is a mystery is why they are not fully cooperating with police.
As she talked with us by phone this morning, she was in Sean’s room at a nursing/rehab facility, where she and his girlfriend have been with him almost around the clock.
“Sean is doing amazingly well, considering what he has been through.” He was in a coma for six days; she says doctors at Harborview Medical Center thought he had only a “one percent chance” of emerging from it. “Fortunately he has a strong desire to come back … he is improving every day.”
He cannot – yet – walk, but he just achieved a milestone, Merle says – he was able to transfer himself from bed to wheelchair. Also, “his cognition is better” – he is writing in a journal, including simple things to help that cognition – as simple as what happened, why he is in a rehab facility. They are hoping and praying that improvement continues, both mental and physical; next milestone would be the ability to bear weight on his left side, which in a few weeks would allow him to go back to Harborview for an intensive rehab program. “He’s had to relearn everything.”
And yet, that’s a miracle, his mom says. “His neurosurgeon is so happy his assessment was wrong” – that Sean survived.
But while his will can help him accomplish a lot, and while his loved ones can offer seemingly boundless support, there’s one thing they can’t do.
The witnesses need to work with police. Merle points to WSB commenters following our coverage of the crash, which included at least one person who said they had seen the hit-run driver.
“(People) were talking about the driver not doing the right thing. They’re doing the same by not stepping up.”
If witness(es) see this and want to talk to Merle, we can connect you. Or maybe you lost the detective’s contact information? (Det. Feuerstein, 206-684-8934; case #19-098823)
Meanwhile, Merle and Sean’s girlfriend Mel remain at Sean’s bedside. “I hope that he will come back,” fully, Merle says. And don’t even ask about the bills – since he is still in care, there’s no final tally yet; the GoFundMe remains open.
One more time, Merle repeats her plea, through tears: Witnesses, please “step up” and help police so the driver who left Sean for dead can be fully prosecuted.
Burglary and auto theft reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
BURGLARY: Adam sent that photo of his garage being burglarized Wednesday afternoon in the 8400 block of 22nd SW. No one was home at the time. Police were called. “Officers responded fairly quickly, but the men pictured were gone.” He is not sure yet what if anything they took.
AUTO THEFT: Posted this morning in the WSB Community Forums – a 2000 emerald green Honda Accord SE was stolen overnight Tuesday into Wednesday in Gatewood. Plate AQV4868. Call 911 if you see it.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Dan hopes you can help find that truck, stolen today in North Admiral:
2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Quad Cab
Silver
Plate # B28671L
Damage to passenger side, back quarter panel
If you see it, call 911.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: As Dan mentioned in comments, his truck was found in Edmunds. He told us via email: “I got a call from the Edmonds police around 2:15 am this morning to say that they’d found my truck! Nancy and I drove up and got it at a hotel on 99 where they’d, by chance on a routine drive=through observed a guy get out of it and go into the hotel. They ran the plate, found out it was stolen, watched the video footage of the suspect paying for a room and promptly arrested him in that room. The truck is dirty and stinky from cigarette and meth smoke, but will be detailed today.”
6:59 PM: We’re getting questions about a big police response near 35th/Avalon. The initial report to which they responded was that a man was seen with a ‘sawed-off shotgun’ but they are still trying to track down the source of that report to verify it. Avoid the area in the meantime.
7:11 PM: No verification on that, ultimately, so police have moved on.
Some of them headed to 57th/Alki after an officer pulled over a vehicle that was reported to dispatch as having plates from a potentially stolen vehicle. They’re investigating. That kind of call – with a possible felony involved – requires backup, so that’s what the big response was about.
(October 2017 photo by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)
A year and a half ago, that was the scene in Admiral before police arrested Kierra M. Ward, 27, after she attacked a woman who was walking along the street with her baby. Today, the case against Ward was resolved with a ruling that she was not guilty by reason of insanity, and she has been committed to Western State Hospital. Ward had been charged with two counts of assault – first degree for attacking the mother (who was seriously hurt; her baby was unharmed) and second degree for threatening a man who came to the victim’s rescue. Last July, Ward was found not competent to stand trial and sent to Western State Hospital for attempted restoration of competency; in December, we reported, she was found competent, and her lawyer indicated the insanity defense would be pursued. With today’s ruling, according to court documents, Ward acknowledges committing the crimes but is acquitted because, the court finds, she “was insane at the time of the commission of the act(s) charged.” The order finds that “detention in a state mental hospital” is called for because she is a danger to herself and others. What the documents don’t say is how long that commitment might last or what the criteria would be for its end, so we’ll be following up.
(WSB photo)
If you drove by American Legion Post 160 in The Triangle this evening and noticed SPD and yellow tape – here’s what brought them there: A case of flag-burning. We found out from a texted tip (thank you); the tipster said the Ladder 11 crew from Station 32 across the street had not only extinguished the fire, they had quickly donated a flag to replace the one that had been burned, and sent this photo:
When we arrived, police were getting ready to leave; we talked to the Station 32 crew, and to Post 160 commander Keith Hughes. He told us the flag was ignited by a man who’s been helping out around the Post for a while in exchange for permission to sleep on the porch. He does a variety of odd jobs and has been very helpful, Hughes said. But today, he took down the flag that flies outside Post 160 – then put it up again, brought it down again, and then for unknown reasons, set it on fire. That brought SFD – you’ll see the “illegal burn” call on the Real-Time 911 log – and police. The suspect, meantime, took off and had not been found when we talked with officers at the scene. What remains of the burned flag is in this bag:
Hughes tells us they’ll keep it until their next scheduled flag-disposal ceremony.
26-year-old Keelan T. Malone, charged in a sexual assault and burglary near 13th/Roxbury almost a year ago, has been ordered to be sent back to Western State Hospital for attempted restoration of competency. We last updated his case in December, when he was found competent to stand trial after treatment at WSH, but since then, a new evaluation changed that assessment and led to the new order. Malone is due back in court in July. He is charged with burglary with sexual motivation and indecent liberties for one in a series of break-ins that terrified the neighborhood last year.
Police are in Lincoln Park investigating gunfire – reports that were called in to 911, and gunfire officers heard themselves while headed to check out those reports. Per radio dispatch, they’re looking for teenage suspects and at least one weapon, with multiple guns reported to have been fired. No report of injuries. A K9 team has been summoned to join the search. (added) An officer reported to dispatch that he found 9mm casings in a trash can at the park. (added) Now officers report finding an unspecified different type of casings. They also report having detained one person while seeking six more, described only as four males, two females.
Two thefts in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
STOLEN BICYCLE: Kathleen hopes you will watch for this stolen bicycle:
She left the garage open for a little while around noon today in North Delridge – and a thief quickly made off with the bike, a white Univega. We are waiting to hear back on the police-report #, so in the meantime, let us know if you see it and we will connect you.
STOLEN VEHICLE TENT: Nick reports from Seaview, “I had a Cascade Vehicle Tent (CVT) Mt Shasta tent stolen off my truck last night. My truck was parked in front of my house. If anyone sees one for sale, please let me know.” SPD incident # is 19-157402.
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