West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
Two thefts in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN CAR: From Michele:
My blue 2008 Ford Escape was stolen in the wee hours of the morning 8/26 from on the street in front of my home in West Seattle (Westwood area) and I would really like it back! License AGW4639, with a bumper sticker “I’m proud of my Eagle Scouts” on the back window and license plate frame “University of Washington Alumni.” They have a half tank of gas so hopefully will not go too far!
Call 911 if you see it.
STOLEN MOPED: From Joshua:
On Thursday 8/23, my 1980 Honda Express 50 moped was stolen. It was parked on the west side of Harbor Ave SW in front of Moonbeam Coffee shop, directly across the street from the Seacrest ferry dock. The moped was stolen between approximately 6:15am and 2:00pm. The moped is light blue with a brown and white seat cover, though the seat cover is removable and the original seat underneath is black and white. It has a Washington state collectors vehicle license plate, number 441X. This case is being investigated by the Seattle police department as a felony and the report number is #18-316024. If anyone finds the moped or witnessed the theft, please contact the Seattle police department using the emergency 911 line and reference the police report number.
This moped was a gift from my now deceased grandfather and has a lot of sentimental value for our family. We appreciate your help in finding our missing vehicle.
Two reader reports:
STOLEN CAR: Kirsten e-mailed us this report after posting in the WSB Forums.
My car was stolen Thursday night/early Friday morning from right in front of our home on SW Nevada St.—the 2800 block. I have the police report (18-315901) and just want to get more eyes out there, as we know the perp had been shopping in the neighborhood from West Seattle down into White Center and Beverly Park/ Evansville on my now-cancelled cards. Home Depot, 76, Autozone, another Home Depot, Shell, O’Reilly’s…
So if you could please put the word out on a 2013 Black BMW X6 — license plate AYK8377 — and ask that people call 911 to report it if seen, I’d be so grateful. It’s just a car, but it was taken from right in front of our home along with a few personal effects in the car, and it feels incredibly violating. PLEASE. (And thank you.)
CAR BREAK-IN: From Ariana:
Just wanted to let everyone know that our car was broken into around 5 am, although our alarm went off and scared off the car prowler. We did have items in back that most likely encouraged them to break in. We live on 21st Ave SW (in) 98106 and this is the second time this year that our cars have been broken into – both times we had ‘valuable’-looking items in the back.
The photo and report are from Mel:
Horrible thing to report but we found last night that our cat had been shot TWICE by a BB gun somewhere near our house on 40th Ave SW and SW Brandon this week. See attached photo.
Our kitty is a very friendly cat with a gentle nature and is loved by our family including two small daughters.
Why anyone would do this astounds us. Please warn residents in our area to be vigilant with their pets and check them for puncture wounds. The vet says the shots could have happened over a period of time, so this could have been two separate incidents. We called the police so they are aware and filed a report with animal control.
From Annette:
My bags were opportunistically taken from my locked car parked at Westwood today, between 11:30 am to 2 pm, in between Starbucks and Marshall’s. I need to find the spiral bound handwritten notebook that was in my orange ‘Knowmo’ computer bag. It has a year’s worth of notes about the project I’m working on. The thieves will probably dump it, so do please keep your eyes peeled.
1) Orange ‘Knowmo’ laptop bag with Acer Chromebook and other sundry items: eye glasses, pens and most importantly my spiral bound notebook. This is the most important piece to recover. The chromebook has a large green sticker on the front with a funny picture of a dog in the center and the words ‘U R Following @moochalada’ in a circle around the image. There is a C&P coffee shop sticker on the back, as well as a black sticker reading ‘Breakfast,’ with a small rectangular sticker on top of that saying ‘Terres Sens’.
2) a large African style, red and blue woven basket with leather handles. Inside this was another handbag, a cream colored ‘Fossil’ bag with 3 zipper pockets with orange piping and a long canvas shoulder strap. This contains all my receipts for August – also a vital thing to recover.
3) The dog’s bag. A yellow and gray insulated lunch bag with dog food and 3 dog bowls inside.
We know it was opportunistic theft, why would anyone steal the dog’s dinner?? The only thing of value that they scored is the chromebook, so I anticipate they will likely just dump the rest. Please Please Please help me find the notebook! It’s A5 size, spiral bound, from Staples, with a beige cover with an abstract pattern in a very slightly darker shade. That notebook is my project’s lifeline. Thanks for looking.
We’ll add the police report # when we get it.
From Katie:
A 2006 Ford Fusion (silver w/ black hood – license plate 455-ZWM) was stolen this morning on Alki.
If you see it, call 911.
Three notes tonight:
STOLEN VEHICLE: Jyl’s 1993 white Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen in the 9800 block of 24th SW. Plates AYU8906. Call 911 if you’ve seen it.
DUMPED BAG: Stephanie found this dumped in her alley over the weekend, near 35th/Dawson:
Recognize it? Let us know and we’ll connect you.
ABOUT THAT POLICE RESPONSE: Got a few questions about a police response late today near 35th/107th in Arbor Heights. It was a “person in crisis” situation, related to a family dispute, resolved without injury.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this evening:
CAR VANDALIZED: Ian reports that while he went for a half-hour walk at Jack Block Park with his two-month-old son last night, somebody broke the rear window on his locked car and tripped the alarm:
Nothing was missing, Ian says, “because there was no valuables inside, just an Infant Car Seat Base. This is so disappointing, and I had to drive home with open windows and tons of small broken glass in the car with my little son.”
HIT-RUN: Christie says the driver of this car hit hers and took off shortly thereafter:
My car was hit in front of my house on SW Hudson Street Saturday afternoon. The car was a dark ( possibly black) Chevy sedan with a dealer plate in the rear window which included Sept or September. It did not have license plates. I watched the accident occur and the car backed up and stopped. The driver’s window was open so I spoke with the 25ish African American woman who was driving. I asked her to put the car in park and speak with me. First she looked confused, then said 3 – 4 times that she did not hit my car before she drove away. The dark car is pictured here. It has red paint on the passenger side front bumper. Please comment if you have information or contact Seattle Police, incident number 18-308040.
DUMPED BICYCLES: Barbara sent these photos of two bicycles that “turned up in our rockery near 45th and Edmunds”:
She says they do not belong to any of her neighbors, and she adds: “They’re old and one-speeds, but have been repainted, one matte black, and one metallic purple with white flower decals. Nice leather hand grips and seats.”
One reader report in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, from Eli:
My car got broken into last night in our condo garage on Beach Drive. 2 pairs of (prescription) sunglasses (one white, one black), pink iPod with cable, a case with about 30 CD‘s (burnt) were stolen.
Police report was filed – incident # 2018-306609.
(WSB reader photo, texted during August 10th standoff)
One week ago today, much of Harbor Avenue was closed to traffic while police tried to get a burglary suspect to surrender. He finally was taken into custody after about nine hours. Because he was taken to Harborview for evaluation before he was taken to jail, we weren’t able to track his status for a while – but today we’ve found out from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that the man arrested that day, 31-year-old Dino George, is in jail and charged with two felonies.
Documents in the case, including the police report, confirm that George was involved with two prior calls to police in the hours before this incident, including one we had mentioned, a short-lived “scenes of violence” response to the nearby Harbor Avenue 7-11. The police report says George told someone there that he had been stabbed, but when emergency responders arrived, he was gone; they eventually found him nearby but he had no injuries. In the other call, the report says, “He had stated that he had a DOC [state] warrant, but would only turn himself in to a DOC officer. He was extremely hostile toward officers. We were not able to locate any outstanding warrants in the system and after speaking with DOC, they were not able to respond. He was able to care for himself. The male declined any assistance from officers, appeared extremely paranoid, and left the area.”
Then came the call that led to the standoff. The report says someone called to say a man was screaming about breaking windows and a vehicle horn was honking nonstop. Police returned, found George again, heard him again say he would turn himself in to the DOC, on an alleged warrant police couldn’t find, and he then walked away. Continuing to look around the area, police found a vehicle with a broken window, so they went looking for George again, and found him having just hopped the fence and broken a window to get into a warehouse building in the 2600 block of Harbor SW. From there, the report continues:
Once inside the building he ultimately barricaded himself in an office on the second floor and began damaging the entire office, throwing item from the windows and continually breaking items inside the office.
We were ultimately able to enter the locked gate to the parking lot by cutting the lock off. We then entered the building through the same broken window where the suspect had entered as officers at the front of the building attempted to have the suspect exit the on his own. He continually refused. DOC officer ultimately responded and located the outstanding warrant, but the suspect still refused to come out, continually stacking items in front of the door and throwing items out of the window. During our entire contact suspect was armed with a tire iron.
After several hours of negotiation with no success, we were finally able to locate a phone number for the business supervisor and an employee who responded to the scene. The suspect was still locked inside the office and all attempts to have him exit in his own failed. … While hanging out of the window, the suspect threw his tire iron at a patrol car, denting the driver side door. … Seattle SWAT ultimately responded to the scene and began trying to speak with the suspect. He continually refused their requests/commands to exit the building. They made entry into the office area and held on the room negotiating with him for several more hours.
The probable-cause document picks it up from there, saying that damage done to both the building and the tenants’ furniture and other items inside the office totaled more than $16,000. The car with the smashed window sustained about $1,000 damage. But the trouble didn’t end once George was taken into custody; the document also says that at Harborview, George spat “a large amount of saliva” into an officer’s face. That resulted in a felony charge of third-degree assault; he also is charged with second-degree burglary. The King County Jail Register says he’s being held without bail, apparently due to the aforementioned warrant, related to a 2015 domestic-violence assault case in Kent in which George was reported to have hit his 78-year-old grandfather in the face with brass knuckles. The jail-register log shows he’s spent a cumulative total of 11 weeks in jail related to four bookings in the past four months on warrants in that case, and was most recently released on August 2nd.
Thanks for all the texts about the Guardian One helicopter over North Delridge. We hadn’t heard about any corresponding ground activity so started heading that way – and they promptly left. But on Twitter they’ve responded to our mention by saying they were helping find a stolen vehicle that was emitting a LoJack signal. They say SPD is recovering it now.
From Keri:
(Wednesday) someone walked into our driveway and stole our “moped.”
This was a project that my husband and my son have worked on together for the past two years. The value is simply theirs- a father / son project that means something to them; time working on a project. To make this moped work takes some tinkering and may not have much value to anyone else. I suspect it may be quickly dumped. If anyone spots it or it turns up, please contact me at joplin3@mac.com, it would mean a lot to us to get it back. It is an old school red Trek Mountain bike that got me through college, “modified “into a moped / scooter.
It’s been reported to police – early tracking number T18010209.
Police released photos Wednesday night of four people they describe as “associated with” one of this year’s four remaining unsolved West Seattle murders – the July 20th stabbing death of 34-year-old Mike Abay. From SPD:
Detectives are attempting to identify two men and two women associated with the July 20th fatal stabbing that occurred at 16th Avenue SW and SW Cambridge Street. All four were captured on surveillance cameras in the area of the stabbing.
If you recognize any of the individuals, or have additional information, please call the tip line at 206- 233-5000.
Police did not elaborate on why or how they believe these people are “associated” with the July 20th stabbing. That night, police said, someone called SPD to report a man down in the street, and when they arrived, Mr. Abay was already dead.
(WSB photo, last Thursday night)
3:37 PM: Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: 16-year-old Loyan A. Ahmed has been charged as an adult in the shooting death last Thursday night of 37-year-old Taylor Fehlen. He is charged with second-degree murder and unlawful gun possession. We don’t have the charging documents yet but we have the probable-cause document, from which the following is taken, with all but suspect and victim names redacted. It also reveals what preceded the murder:
On August 09, 2018 at approximately 2309 hours, Seattle Police Officers responded to a shooting at 35 Ave SW and SW Morgan Street. Officers arrived and located a victim down on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds. Witnesses told them that after shooting the victim multiple times the armed male suspect ran northeast across 35 Ave SW. The victim was lying on the sidewalk near the northwest comer of the intersection.
Seattle Fire Medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center where he died from his injuries. The victim was identified as 37-year-old Taylor C. Fehlen. Homicide detectives were called to the scene.
Metro Coach #7003 was parked beside where the victim fell. Officers located several shell casings and the Coach appeared to have been struck by gunfire. Officers learned that the victim and the suspect had both been passengers on board the Metro Coach.
Witnesses consistently described the shooter as a young Black male, wearing a dark colored hoodie and long pants. Officers scoured the area immediately but did not find the suspect. An SPD Police Dog (PD) verified witness testimony that the suspect ran to the NE, across 35th Ave SW, through a parking lot of a Walgreens drug store. During the determined PD search, a semi-automatic firearm was discovered in some shrubs on the east side of that store. The gun was out-of-battery as if it had recently been used. A single bullet was “stove-piped” in the firing chamber.
The caliber and brand of ammunition in the gun were the same as those found at the shooting scene. The PD also alerted to on fenced yards east of the alley but the suspect was not located. Detectives determined that the Metro Coach was equipped with security cameras that recorded the incident.
A review of that footage showed the suspect boarded the Coach at 16 Ave SW and SW Roxbury. When he boarded the coach, he paid for his fare by “tapping” his ORCA card. During their investigation, detectives leamed the card had been issued to Loyan A. Ahmed … The victim, and several other passengers were already on board. Ahmed sat directly behind the driver. To the ire of the passengers, Ahmed repeatedly pulled the stop cord on the coach. The driver stopped the coach each time but Ahmed didn’t disembark. The driver and passengers, including the victim, expressed their anger at Ahmed. Ahmed and the victim quarreled … After this occurred the Ahmed appeared to ready himself by deliberately dawning his hood, synching the drawstring to conceal his face and by tucking in his pant legs. As the coach neared the intersection of 35 Ave SW and SW Morgan Street the victim raised from his seat and pulled the stop cord. Ahmed got up and moved to the back door where he manipulated something under his hoodie in his waistband. When the door opened, Ahmed got off, walked a short distance and waited for the victim. Ahmed yelled for the victim to get off the bus. The victim exited the front door and started walking toward Ahmed. Ahmed drew a handgun from his waist, shot the victim multiple times and ran off.
Still images depicting the suspect were disseminated to local media.
Detectives obtained a recent school photo of Ahmed and he matched the suspect depicted in the Metro video. Further, they determined that Ahmed lived with his mother … The residence is blocks from the crime scene and in direct line with the suspect’s direction of travel from the scene.
Detectives were preparing to arrest Ahmed for the murder when his mother unexpectedly called 9ll. She reported that her juvenile soon wanted to talk to police about being a murder suspect. (A detective) called Ahmed’s mother … She informed me that she had seen images of her son on the West Seattle Blog and identified him as being the murder suspect. SPD SWAT responded to their residence where Ahmed was taken into custody without incident.
The suspect’s arraignment – initial hearing for entering a plea – is set for August 29th.
ADDED 3:56 PM: We now also have the charging documents, with the additional details that prosecutors requested $1 million bail and that the suspect has “no known criminal history.”
Amanda at Pharmaca in The Junction is hoping someone can help identify the shoplifters in that video:
These women have been in our shop and others in the Alaska Junction multiple times stealing. Not only do they hit us, they then turn around and scam other people by selling the items online. … They are normally just two African American women I would say mid twenties, always dressed nice but always with big bags. The one is about 5’4″ and this time had blue braids. The other girl who normally comes with her is about 5’4″-5’6″. They are mostly non-confrontational but when approached become rude and intimidating.
So it’s the two girls who have come before, and this last time they had a pregnant friend with them … The car they left in was an approx 2003 silver Toyota Corolla with (a license plate starting with BIG).
You can call us at 206-932-4225. If you can recognize these women, or know the car, please reach out to me. I also have Officer Daily on the case, who can be reached at 206-733-9800.
3:31 PM: Police have now confirmed that they’ve arrested a 16-year-old suspect in last Thursday night’s deadly shooting of a 37-year-old man after the two got off a bus on the west side of the 35th and Morgan intersection. He was arrested in High Point – where detectives have been on scene along Lanham north of Graham for a while, though when we asked for comment about an hour ago, after taking the photo above, we were told they had nothing to release yet. SPD’s announcement adds, “Detectives are interviewing the teen and plan to book him into the King County Youth Service Center for investigation of murder. Thank you to everyone who called in with information about this case.” The arrest comes one day after police released Metro surveillance video of a person they described as the murder suspect. This is the fifth murder case of the year in West Seattle and the first with an arrest.
7:52 PM: The victim has been identified as Taylor C. Fehlen; a commenter shared this link to his obituary, which says a memorial gathering is planned tomorrow.
First – as reported here Saturday morning – police released still images of a person they say is the suspect they’re seeking in Thursday night’s High Point bus-stop murder. This morning, they have released video from Metro bus security cameras. Police said Friday that they believe the 37-year-old victim (who has not yet been publicly identified) and his killer were involved in a “disturbance” on board before exiting the bus on the west side of the 35th and Morgan intersection, where the shooting happened. Here’s the description of the suspect: “16-21 years old, 5’7” to 5’9”, has a thin build, and was last seen wearing a dark gray hoody & jeans.” If you have any info on his identity, the SPD tipline is 206-233-5000, or call 911.
Two thefts in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN BOAT: From Christina & Tom:
Late last night someone stole our small crab vessel belonging to the Alki Crab Club from the 2200 block of Alki Ave SW. A small trolling motor and two life vests along with paddles were taken as well. The boat was a Sears 12 foot aluminum boat named “the Sea Beach” painted blue and white with green lettering. Reward for its return to the Alki Crab Club. Thanks! Our neighbor also reports that his paddle board was stolen from his yard last week as well.
STOLEN SCOOTER: Joseph reports this happened Friday night:
1985 Honda Elite 80 scooter taken from the parking strip across from Holy Rosary office. It had been parked in front of Holy Rosary since Tuesday until my mechanic could come out to replace the wheel. He moved it across the street to the parking strip, took the wheel off, and when he went to get a part, it was taken. Steering was locked and the rear wheel was gone.
It’s an old white scooter, missing one of the side mirrors, has collector’s plates. If you see anything, please let me know ASAP – lots more sentimental value than anything else.
Seattle Police have released security-camera photos of what they describe as the suspect in Thursday night’s deadly shooting at 35th/Morgan.
The description: “He is 16-21 years old, 5’7” to 5’9”, has a thin build and was last seen wearing a dark gray hoody & jeans.” If you recognize him, call the SPD tip line at 206-233-5000, or 911. Police say the victim, 37, was shot and killed shortly after getting off a bus on which they say he and his killer had been involved in some kind of “disturbance.”
(Photo tweeted by @jpaulsea)
NOON: Since the 6 am hour, we’ve been covering a standoff that’s led police to close off much of Harbor Avenue SW, between the bridge and California Way. A man broke into one of the vacant buildings at the old Sea-Way site around 3 am. He has refused to surrender. For a while he was inside; you cannot clearly see him in the reader photo above, but for some time he has been outside one building’s window, on an awning/ledge section. The SWAT team and negotiators have been on site for hours trying to talk him into giving up; he’s reported to be wielding a foot-long piece of broken glass as well as a screwdriver. Harbor remains closed at the bridge and at California Way. Some bicyclists have reported that the path was closed as well as the road. Our photographer, who went to the scene for a while early this morning, is back there now so we’ll have updates from him as well as via scanner.
(WSB photo)
12:23 PM: Our crew reports this is coming to an end. The man apparently tried to bolt, and was taken into custody.
12:28 PM: Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis tells us at the scene that they’ll get Harbor Avenue reopened as fast as they can – hopefully within 15 minutes or so.
12:49 PM: Per scanner, reopening now. We will update with more photos and followup info a bit later.
2:20 PM: Two more photos added above, including the man as he came down from the ledge. It wasn’t clear from radio communication at the time whether he was being taken to Harborview for evaluation or directly to jail; SPD media relations says the former.
6:38 AM: Thanks for the text. We just went back to Harbor Avenue to check out a different police-incident report. This is near but unrelated to the earlier call. A man broke into a nearby building and so far is refusing to come out.
7:24 AM: Additional emergency responders are being sent to the scene, per scanner, including SWAT, as well as SFD medics. If you can’t tell from our photo, it’s the former Sea-Way Marine site in the 2400 block of Harbor SW.
7:42 AM: Traffic is being blocked off on Harbor in both directions – north/westbound at Spokane, south/eastbound at California, per the scanner – until this is resolved.
9:26 AM: Not resolved yet. Thanks to the texter who sent the photo above. The suspect has been reported to have wielded various items threateningly, including broken glass and a screwdriver. Police continue trying to talk him into surrendering.
9:56 AM: As discussed in comments, the traffic closure is ALL traffic – bike/pedestrian path as well as both directions of the road.
11:26 AM: No change. Police are still trying to talk the man into surrendering. Since this has dragged on so long, we’re launching a second report shortly.
12:00 PM: We’ve launched afternoon coverage here.
(First & last photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
11:23 PM: Thanks for the tips. There’s a “scenes of violence” response at 35th and Morgan. Some texters report having heard gunfire. More details soon.
11:29 PM: Per scanner, a victim is being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
11:40 PM: Also per scanner, the victim is a 20-year-old with two gunshot wounds. A gun has been found nearby. Our crew has just arrived and we are adding a photo from the west side of the intersection.
(This photo and next by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)
11:55 PM: No arrest reported so far. Since a bus/bus stop is involved, county officers are there along with SPD. Also, our crew says the intersection of 35th/Morgan is closed off.
1:42 AM: Police at the scene refused to comment and pointed us to media relations, but they aren’t commenting yet. So our crew finally left. Homicide detectives were among the police at the scene, though we’ll note that doesn’t necessarily indicate anything about the victim’s fate – they respond to some non-fatal incidents too.
Meantime, we just heard via the scanner that most of the intersection (except for the scene on the northwest side) is reopening.
8:07 AM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Mark Jamieson of the SPD media-relations team. The victim, now described as a 37-year-old man, died at the hospital. No arrest yet. He says they believe the victim and the killer got into an argument on a bus, got off at the westbound Morgan stop (shown in our photos), it escalated, and that’s when the killer shot the victim. No description of the killer. They are asking anyone with information to call the tipline at 206-233-5000.
9:09 AM: This is also now on SPD Blotter. Meantime, we need to also note that it’s the fifth West Seattle homicide of the year – all in the past three months – after the deadly shooting of Micaiah Kotthoff in the east Highland Park area in July, the stabbing deaths of Michael Abay in South Delridge in July and Jonathan Pecina near Luna/Anchor Park in June, and the shooting death of Lorenzo Marr in May at West Seattle Stadium. No arrests reported in any of these cases so far.
Be part of shaping your nearest Microcommunity Policing Plan, while sharing your feedback about neighborhood crime, safety, and policing. You can do that by participating in one of the focus groups that will be conducted by Seattle University – SPD won’t be present, but will get the eventual findings. Here’s what’s coming up this month in West Seattle:
–High Point Community: 8/11, 2-3 pm, at High Point Library [3411 SW Raymond]
–Fauntleroy Community: 8/15, 5:30-6:30 pm, at Southwest Library [9010 35th SW]
–Morgan Junction Community: 8/19, 3-4 pm, at High Point Library
–Commercial Harbor Island Community: 8/20, 6-7 pm, at Delridge Library [5423 Delridge Way SW]
–Pigeon Point Community: 8/25, 11:30-12:30 pm, at Delridge Library
–Commercial Duwamish Community: 8/27, 6-7 pm, at Delridge Library
–Alki Community: 8/29, 6-7 pm, at West Seattle Library [2306 42nd SW]
You can contact the Southwest Precinct‘s Seattle U intern Tiana Lee with questions, and to RSVP, at leet12@seattleu.edu
Earlier today, we showed two “found” bicycles … tonight, a stolen bike:
Scott sent the photo and explains:
I made the foolish mistake of leaving my dear wife’s venerable, 28-year-old Cannondale everythingbike locked on our car’s roof rack last night. It walked away from our parking lot at Youngstown/Cooper sometime after midnight … It’s a 1991ish Cannondale FS700, frame size 16”, with distinctive silver alloy up handlebars, Shimano 8spd thumb shifters, a sturdy black rack on the back, and blue/black paint with white Cannondale lettering. Brass colored bell, cork grips, and it likely will have a mismatched front wheel as the old one was left in our car.
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