West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
From Alex:
We did our usual jaunt to Starbucks on California & Fauntleroy this morning. 7:40 ish, parked in the parking lot as usual – side lot – closer to Subway. Full daylight. not there 15 min. Smash & grab in that pretty public lot, in a spot very close to the street (California). Took my daughter’s stuff – a bag not on the seat, in the wheel well. An older iPad – but the bag itself was special. We just got it on ‘girls’ day’ at the Museum of Flight – a WWII P52 warhawk bag – the girl loves WWII planes. It was a really sad morning – a sad morning for West Seattle. I don’t think I would be this much taken aback if this had happened overnight on the street :(
We’re checking for the police report #, so you can refer to it in case you happen to spot Alex’s daughter’s bag tossed aside somewhere.
1:11 PM: Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes so far today:
CONFIRMED GUNFIRE: A texter asked this morning about an incident very early this morning on Avalon in which they heard what sounded like shots and then saw police show up and put out markers. According to the SPD Twitter log, gunfire was confirmed at 35th/Avalon, no one hurt. We’re working to get any further details.
PROWLER ON VIDEO: From Matthew:
We caught this prowler on video trying to find a way into our garage yesterday. As you can see he tries the window and then goes around to the door but it was locked. Luckily my wife came home right about then and that’s why he slinks out of there like the rat he is. We called it into police but people should be on the look out for this guy. Wearing what looks like a yellow vest and Seahawks ski cap. We live on Erskine and 45th Ave SW near the Alaska junction.
P.S. Questions/concerns to bring to local police? The next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting is coming up next Tuesday – 7 pm March 20th at the precinct (2300 SW Webster).
(ADDED) REPEAT CAR PROWL: Also received this afternoon, from Dan: “Last night for the second time in the past 3 weeks. our car was prowled at 42nd and Thistle. Car parked in the driveway and was broken into; they took misc items.”
Two items in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
SOUTH DELRIDGE POLICE SEARCH: A man was stabbed in the hand in the 8800 block of Delridge Way SW this past hour and police say they know who they are looking for. The victim originally declined medical assistance, so what was briefly dispatched as an “assault with weapons” response quickly closed, while the search proceeded. No description info.
STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK: Barbara reports, “Our 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Megacab was stolen out of our driveway in upper Fauntleroy probably early this morning. Think we heard it drive away at 5:00 a.m.” Here’s an image of it as shown on Google Maps:
If you see it, call 911. (added Sunday) The owner is “also offering a reward in the amount of $250 for information leading to the recovery of our truck.”
Out of the WSB inbox, from Gary:
A 2004 silver-and-black Chevy Avalanche was stolen from Gatewood on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The truck has personalized Seahawk plates that say “Perkins.” If seen, please dial 911.
UPDATE: The vehicle’s been found.
Just in from the King County Sheriff’s Office. No known incidents in West Seattle, though as explained below, one wasn’t far:
In a span of 4 days a new *SCAM* has surfaced. Male suspect or younger-sounding female claims they have kidnapped the caller’s kids and won’t return them without money.
On 03/08/2018 in the Ravensdale area, a Mom had dropped her two kids off at the school bus in the morning. A short time after the bus left, the mom got a call from a blocked number. The male caller, described as having an accent, stated that he had her daughter and used her real name, although he had her last name slightly wrong. He told the mom that if she didn’t meet him with money in exchange for her daughter’s release he would “kill the child.” In a panic, the mom called the school and confirmed both her daughters were in school and safe.
Four days later, on 03/12/2018 in unincorporated King County near White Center, a father received a phone call from a blocked number. A younger sounding female came on the line pretending to be the daughter of that father. The female stated she was kidnapped and the suspect needed money to release her. The male suspect, again described as having an accent, then got on the phone and demanded money from the father or he “would hurt her.” The suspect then hung up on the father and the number was blocked so he had no way to call back. The father called his daughter’s school and, once again, was assured the child was safe at school with no issues.
Please keep in mind these type of phone calls are *SCAMS* – never provide money to anyone over the phone.
The parents did the right thing in these instances, confirmed with the school their kids were ok and called 911 to report it.
Three items in West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:
STOLEN CR-V: From Taylor:
> Wanted to put the word out my car was stolen sometime between Monday afternoon at 3pm (last seen) to 5:00 am Tuesday morning (today). Car was stolen out of my apartment building’s parking lot, which is open off the street (no garage or gate) on 35th Ave between the blocks of Barton and Trenton. Car is a silver 1999 Honda CR-V. Police report has been filed. License plates AMY0339.
TUESDAY EVENING UPDATE: Taylor tells us the car was found in Burien.
CAR PROWL: TM on 42nd SW in Gatewood reported this morning, “My car was run through some time last night. Parked on the street, must have been unlocked. Looks like just change taken from closed console but hard to tell right now.” If you live in the area and have a car, TM suggests, you might consider checking to see if you got hit too.
BUSINESS SAFETY: Monday afternoon, we mentioned tip-jar thieves reported in The Junction, all too common of a crime. Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner reminds us that one of her roles is to “provide safety/security assessments for businesses- using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, in addition to supplying tips based on recent crime trends and patterns.” (And yes, that includes talking about tip jars.) This is a free service. You can e-mail her at jennifer.danner@seattle.gov or call 206-256-6820.
From the scanner: Tip-jar theft reported this past hour in The Junction. We don’t have descriptions – the callout just mentioned two suspects – but thought it worth mentioning so other businesses with tip jars will keep close watch on theirs. The address mentioned on the dispatch checks to Pagliacci Pizza (4449 California SW).
One reader report and three police reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
READER REPORT – HIT AND RUN: From a North Admiral resident, via e-mail:
I live on the 1900 block of 42nd Ave SW. Last night at about midnight, my neighbors and I heard a loud noise. We all did not notice anything wrong at that time. This morning when I took a look at my truck, I noticed some damage. The noise was from a car that hit my truck as it was parked in front of my house. I did not get a look at the car last night, but it left some parts on the street. From these parts it is apparent that the car was a 5 series BMW built between 2009 and 2017. It will have some damage to its right front bumper, headlight, and fender. My truck was pushed back 3 feet, into the curb and suffered damage to its right front bumper, headlight, and fender.
The Seattle Police were notified and came to asses the situation. They were very nice and will be on the lookout for the damaged 5 series BMW. If you happen to see a 2009-2017 5 series BMW with damage to its right front, please contact the SPD.
We’ve asked for the incident-report number, and will add it when available.
And from the Seattle Police report files, narratives are available for three recent West Seattle burglaries, which we’ve summarized as follows:
9400 BLOCK 11TH SW: Police were called by residents of a house who believe someone broke in while they were away for about four hours last Tuesday morning/afternoon. They didn’t notice anything wrong until that evening, when they realized someone had gone through their bedroom, taking items including jewelry and a case that contained cash and documens.
5600 BLOCK 37TH SW: Last Monday morning, someone renovating a vacant house on this block discovered that it had been broken into overnight. The burglar(s) took tools from multiple rooms. Police lifted fingerprint evidence from the window through which entry had been made.
9400 BLOCK 22ND SW: Also last Monday, a burglary was reported at a business in this block. “Numerous electronic items” were taken, the report says. The person reporting the break-in told police they suspected a former employee who had been fired.
(Police-report narratives are seldom available for more than a fraction of cases, so please let us know directly if you have something to report in Crime Watch so your neighbors around the peninsula know! Once it’s been reported to police, e-mail the info to editor@westseattleblog.com – but if it’s happening now or just happened, such as an active police search, text or call 206-293-6302 – thank you!)
Here’s a stolen car to watch for. Just received from Cella in Gatewood:
My car was stolen from out front of my house at 39th and Rose.
It’s a dark blue 2003 VW diesel Golf. License plate AXF9344 if anyone sees it!!!
My husband’s truck was also broken into. This happened sometime last night.
If you see the car, call 911.
UPDATE: It was found – in West Seattle, according to the scanner traffic we heard; Cella later confirmed they got the car back.
Three items tonight:
ADMIRAL STABBING CASE: Kierra Ward, charged with stabbing a woman out walking with her baby last October, was back in court today. This was scheduled to be her trial-readiness hearing, but it was pushed back another week, because, the resulting document says, a “defense expert is continuing to assess the case.” The hearing was rescheduled for next Friday, March 16th; Ward’s trial is still set to start March 21st, pending the outcome of that hearing. She remains in King County Jail, in lieu of $400,000 bail.
PACKAGES TAKEN: The video is from Chelsea:
She says the two packages were taken from her doorstep near California and Andover around 4:30 pm, two hours after the second delivery, and notes that her front steps aren’t visible from the street. SPD incident #, if you have any information about this, is 2018-085748.
ABANDONED TRUCK: Kristen sent this in, in case someone is looking for this vehicle:
Black Ford Explorer truck at bus stop at Admiral and Olga St. SW. Back window broken, and garbage in vehicle and look alike steering column has been broken. Police said they will send someone out to tag the car this evening but may not investigate right away.
SPD abandoned the @getyourcarback Twitter account months ago, so we have no way to cross-reference possible stolen vehicles.
The state Attorney General’s office announced this afternoon that the owner of West Seattle’s Tacos Guaymas restaurant and others is charged with theft for allegedly not paying $5.6 million in sales tax. 57-year-old Salvador Sahagun of Bothell is accused of doing this by illegally using “sales-suppression software” for cash transactions. We looked up the court documents to get West Seattle specifics, but first, here’s the AG’s news release:
Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed charges against the owner of Tacos Guaymas restaurants for allegedly using “sales suppression software” for cash transactions, pocketing more than $5.6 million in sales tax.
This is the largest “sales suppression software” in Washington state history –– and potentially the largest in the country.
Salvador Sahagun, owner of several Tacos Guaymas restaurants in King and Snohomish counties, is charged in King and Snohomish County Superior Courts with a total of six counts of first-degree theft and three counts of possessing and using sales suppression software, which is illegal in Washington state. In addition to a potential prison sentence, the defendant faces up to $150,000 in penalties and could be liable for up to $5 million in restitution to the state.
“When businesses pocket sales tax, they are stealing from Washington taxpayers,” said Ferguson. “That money should be funding our schools and parks, not deceptive businesses.”
Salvador Sahagun operated six Tacos Guaymas locations in West Seattle, Broadway, Greenlake, Fremont, Lynnwood and Marysville. During an audit, an auditor with the Washington State Department of Revenue found that point-of-sale records from these restaurants did not match with tax returns submitted by Sahagun. Additionally, the auditor found that the majority of sales receipts were missing from Sahagun’s point-of-sale system.
Run on a point-of-sale computer or cash register, sales suppression software surreptitiously deletes or underreports cash transactions. The software then re-balances the company financial records to show a lower sales figure, reducing the business’ sales tax obligation. The retailer pockets the difference between what the patron paid, including the full sales tax, and what the software reports. These unscrupulous retailers often keep “two sets of books.”
Suspecting that Sahagun was using sales suppression software, Department of Revenue employees visited the seven restaurants on several occasions and paid cash for their meals. The auditor then compared the employees’ receipts with the receipts on the point-of-sale system to determine whether the transactions existed and the amounts matched. The auditor found that three of the restaurants were using sales suppression software to delete or underreport cash transactions.
The auditor determined that Sahagun owed thousands of dollars in sales tax at each location, ranging from $43,339 to $2,197,460. In total, the auditor determined that the owner owed $5,615,497 to the state.
The charges contained in the complaint 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.
An arraignment in the case is expected March 21 in both King and Snohomish County Superior Courts.
In 2013, Washington passed a law making it a class C felony for anyone to “sell, purchase, install, transfer, manufacture, create, design, update, repair, use, possess, or otherwise make available” software or hardware that deletes transactions.
In February 2016, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed the first “sales suppression software” case in the country. In that case, the owner of Bellevue restaurant Facing East used sales suppression software to pocket nearly $395,000 in sales tax. The owner pleaded guilty, paying $300,000 in restitution to the state and $600 in penalties and fees.
After receiving the news release, we looked up the documents on file in the King County Superior Court online system.
Sahagun is accused of breaking the law between the start of 2012 and the end of 2016. One count of first-degree theft specifically names the West Seattle restaurant; the second count names the restaurants on Capitol Hill and in Green Lake and Fremont. (We don’t have the Snohomish County filings.) Two counts of use of “sales-suppression software” are filed in KC Superior Court, one specifically naming the West Seattle restaurant, the other naming Fremont.
The probable-cause document explains that “sales-suppression software” runs on cash transactions, not credit. It says the undercover visits by state Department of Revenue employees included five at the West Seattle restaurant between December 16, 2015, and December 29, 2015, and 30 visits to other locations. Of the $5,615,497 that Sahagun allegedly owes to the state as unpaid taxes, the court documents say $178,575 is from West Seattle. The auditor also reported determining that Sahagun “personally runs each of these restaurants,” and each day “gathers the cash and reviews the prior day’s sales.” No one else is named in the court document and there is no allegation that anyone else in the company was complicit. Since the AG’s news release used past tense, we checked city and state records to verify that Sahagun is still the restaurants’ owner.
(UPDATED 11:28 AM with more info from SPD)
3:34 AM: SPD and SFD are investigating that car fire, reported about an hour ago in the Southwest Athletic Complex area. In radio discussion, the car was described as having been found fully engulfed in flames – as shown in the photo tweeted by Pat – with no one inside and no one around.
11:29 AM: SPD confirms that its arson detectives are handling the investigation. The car was a 1996 Toyota Corolla – not reported as stolen, in case you wondered (we did). But given the circumstances, it was impounded after the fire was out.
ADDED TUESDAY: In a West Seattle crime discussion at the Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith mentioned that investigators believe an accelerant was used in this fire.
(UPDATED 11:23 AM with more info from SPD)
3:25 AM: The High Point incident wasn’t the only confirmed gunfire in West Seattle on Wednesday night – about an hour earlier, someone shot at this car at 23rd SW and SW Andover on Pigeon Point. Its owner posted in the WSB Forums and shared the photo by request. “Looks like three rounds went through; two through the window and another through the hatch under the right of the Legacy tag,” he reported. Other cars reportedly were hit too. We’ll also be seeking followup information on this later in the morning.
11:23 AM: The full report isn’t yet available but SPD media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson confirms that three cars were damaged, the Subaru (in the photo) most seriously. “No known suspect description,” he adds. So far there is no indication of any link to the evening’s other gunfire event.
8:57 PM: Thanks for the tips – police are investigating what, according to scanner traffic, is confirmed gunfire in High Point; they have found shell casings. We’re off to find out more.
9:09 PM: Police are on Lanham Place SW, just north of SW Graham, investigating, but not commenting.
10 PM: Police are still there, trying to make contact with someone possibly connected to the incident, and they will be blocking off streets nearby to keep people away until this is resolved.
10:35 PM: Not resolved yet. Meantime, we got a phone call from a neighbor who said she wanted to publicly thank police for their rapid response when she called after hearing the gunfire.
11:08 PM: Officers are still working strategically and deliberately to resolve the standoff.
MIDNIGHT: Standoff continues. We’re monitoring for the duration.
1:08 AM: Standoff continues.
2:13 AM: Five and a half hours now since the original call.
3:01 AM: As best we can tell from monitoring radio, this is wrapping up – an ambulance has been brought in to transport the person police had been working to take into custody. We’ll seek the official report for followup information later this morning.
ADDED 10:53 AM: That followup info just arrived via SPD Blotter:
A 26-year-old man is in custody and several guns have been recovered following an extended call Wednesday night into Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood in West Seattle.
On March 7th, just before 9:00 pm, officers responded to several reports of shots fired in the 6000 block of Lanham Place Southwest. Officers located bullet damage to a parked vehicle in front of an apartment building. Additionally, it appeared that several items had been thrown from a third-floor apartment onto the ground below. As officers were containing the building, someone threw two handguns out of the window. Officers attempted to make contact with the occupants but to little avail. Officers believed the male suspect inside the apartment was in crisis.
After a prolonged standoff, officers obtained a search warrant for the apartment. With the assistance of SWAT, Gang Unit detectives, and K9, officers made entry into the apartment where the 26-year-old suspect was arrested without incident. Inside the apartment, several additional handgun magazines and ammunition was located and collected for evidence. One of the handguns that was tossed out the window was reported as stolen, while the other had been reported as missing.
The suspect, a convicted felon, was booked into the King County Jail for weapons violation. Detectives will handle the follow-up investigation.
We’ll be checking on the suspect’s background and will add more when we have i.
In Crime Watch tonight:
DOUBLE-MURDER SUSPECT CHARGED: We reported Saturday night on the arrest of 26-year-old Merle Buchanan, more than a month after he was identified as the suspect in the January 6th deadly double shooting in downtown White Center.
(White Center Now/WSB photo, January 6th)
Today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Buchanan with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree unlawful firearm possession. Charging documents say the victims, Paul Tapia and Jose Garcia, were co-workers who arrived together at the Taradise Café just after midnight. Buchanan, a White Center resident, is described as a semi-regular who had been there about an hour by then. Surveillance video showed him talking with Tapia outside the bar, by his car, with Garcia nearby, and then showed the shooting around 1 am. The charging documents do not suggest a motive. They do say Buchanan was identified via a trail that started with a retail receipt found at the scene. He remains in jail in lieu of $1.1 million bail, including $100,000 related to a domestic-violence protection order violation charge involving an incident with a former girlfriend hours before the shootings.
Also in Crime Watch, two reader reports:
BIKES STOLEN FROM GARAGE: Leah reports: “Last night, the City Watch apartment underground parking garage was vandalized and several bikes were stolen, including my women’s Specialized and my partner’s Huffy mountain bike. The person cut through the fence, and cut bike locks.” The building is in The Junction, at 4744 41st SW. We’ve asked for the police-report number and will add it when we get it.
STOLEN SILVER TRAVEL TRAILER: Posted in the WSB Forums by MorningStar, a “1950 Silver Streak Clipper 22’ Aluminum travel trailer, attached to a white Ford van” was stolen from 21st SW on Puget Ridge February 25th or 26th. This is an Airstream prototype, MS explains, so should be recognizable, and had plastic over the windows because it was undergoing renovation. Plate TLE1941. Call 911 if you see it.
Something for Crime Watch? E-mail editor@westseattleblog.com – or, if it’s happening now, once you’ve called 911, text/call us at 206-293-6302, any time.
6:10 PM: If you are heading to the east end of the Roxbury corridor, be forewarned that traffic is being diverted off Olson because of a crash investigation. Eastbound is going onto 4th; westbound, onto Myers Way. The crash was more than 2 hours ago and didn’t sound huge at the time, but one person was seriously hurt and the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad was called out.
7:54 PM: SDOT promises a Twitter update when the scene’s clear. We’re monitoring (via scanner too) but if you see that it’s cleared and we haven’t updated yet, please let us know – thank you!
9:11 PM: Still closed.
9:52 PM: Now open again, per SPD via SDOT.
ADDED MONDAY 10:51 AM: We followed up today with SFD and SPD. SFD said a 45-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. And SPD has just posted this:
Detectives from the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) were called out Sunday afternoon to investigate a serious injury vehicular assault hit and run incident in West Seattle.
On Sunday, March 4th, at about 3:30 pm, a Nissan Pathfinder, occupied by a 54-year-old male driver and a 45-year-old female passenger, was traveling westbound in the 9400 block of Olson Place Southwest. At about the same time, a utility van towing a large trailer was traveling eastbound on Olson Place Southwest. The Nissan crossed over the center line and collided with the utility van. The collision caused the Nissan to spin around and face eastbound. The driver of the van was not injured. The driver of the Nissan then drove approximately a quarter of a mile away from the scene of the collision, finally stopping on 1st Avenue South, just west of the Highway 509 on-ramp.
The female passenger in the Nissan was seriously injured and transported to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) via Seattle Fire medics. The male driver of the Nissan was also transported to HMC, and evaluated at the hospital by a Drug-Recognition Expert officer and it was determined that he was impaired. After the driver was treated at HMC, he was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of vehicular assault. The female passenger remains in the hospital. TCIS detectives will continue to handle the follow-up investigation.
8:39 PM: Our routine check of the King County Jail roster tonight shows the current list of inmates includes Merle Buchanan, who’s been wanted for weeks in connection with the double murder in White Center two months ago. The King County Sheriff’s Office announced on January 25th that they were looking for him, almost three weeks after the shooting deaths. He was booked on Friday afternoon, according to the jail register, with bail set at $1.1 million – including $100,000 for a domestic-violence-related warrant. Court records show he is not yet charged in the shooting deaths.
11:18 PM: We asked KCSO’s public-information officer Sgt. Ryan Abbott for more details. He says Buchanan turned himself in to Seattle Police. He is expecting more information on Monday, which is also when we’ll be checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to follow the case through the courts.
1:39 PM FRIDAY: From Kami:
My husband’s car was stolen yesterday morning from right in front of our house on 38th Avenue SW & SW Andover Street in West Seattle. 2007 black Audi A4 Quattro. There is a dent in the front right bumper.
Call 911 if you see it.
MONDAY UPDATE: Kami says it was found in Shoreline.
Updates on two cases that aren’t related but coincidentally both involved suspects arrested outside local 7-11s, with sizable-enough police responses that readers texted us. First, the man arrested Tuesday outside the Highland Park 7-11:
He is 23-year-old Tylor P. Saeteurn, a resident of Pacific, now charged with two counts of attempted residential burglary. One relates to the incident that preceded his arrest, after police were called by a neighbor reporting a burglary attempt at a house in the 1200 block of SW Othello. The other is related to a break-in on Monday in which he and another person are accused of trying to break into a house in the 10100 block of Rainier Avenue South. The residents were home at the time, and one of them chased the would-be burglars, catching the unnamed second suspect, who then allegedly bit the victim’s finger. Charging documents say that house had security video that recorded the burglars and the white Escalade in which Saeteurn was stopped on Tuesday. Prosecutors also say he told police he commits burglary to fuel his drug habit and that he had used meth and heroin both days. Saeteurn currently is awaiting trial on a charge of possessing a stolen vehicle and has a criminal history including two domestic-violence cases. He remains in the King County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail – $50,000 in this case, $10,000 for a warrant because he had skipped a hearing in the stolen-vehicle case.
Second, the case of the man arrested by Bellevue Police (including SWAT officers) last Friday night, outside the California/Charlestown 7-11:
He is 28-year-old Nicholas R. Six, who is listed on court documents as having an address in South Admiral. He is charged with robbery and stolen-property trafficking in connection with a robbery at an apartment in Bellevue on January 14th. The charging documents say that his girlfriend, who is also charged, set up the victim by going to his apartment on the pretense of prostitution, and then texted two accomplices, allegedly including Six. Two men, both masked, one with a gun, then broke in and with the girlfriend robbed the victim of about $3,000 in cash and valuables. The court documents say investigators identified Six through a trail that included social-media messages, cell-phone records, and video involving the pawning of one of the stolen items, a gold necklace, at Bellevue Rare Coins in The Junction, as well as a jailhouse phone call made by the girlfriend after she was arrested on unrelated warrants. Court documents say Sixs criminal history includes DUI, assault, theft, and drugs, and that he “has a substance abuse problem.” He remains jailed in lieu of $225,000 bail.
Want to learn the basics of deterring criminals from targeting your residence or business? The slide deck embedded above (or in PDF here) shows the highlights from Southwest Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner‘s presentation at last night’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting.
As always, the meeting at the precinct was led by WSBWCN founders Karen Berge and Deborah Greer. Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis started with a briefing, saying property crime was front and center as always.
Thanks for the tips about a police search in Morgan Junction. We went down to find out what was going on; police say they’re searching after a report of an attempted burglary at an apartment building on 42nd SW just north of Fauntleroy Way SW. They brought in a K-9 team, but no luck finding a trail. No other details so far.
11:31 AM: Thanks for the tips about police activity outside the Highland Park 7-11. That helped us zero in on the source of some scanner traffic about an arrest – and now we’ve just obtained more information from SPD media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson (officers at the scene declined comment). He says the white Escalade in the photo was suspected in connection with a West Seattle burglary this morning and a non-West Seattle burglary yesterday (in South Precinct jurisdiction); an officer spotted it, called for backup, and a “felony stop” (which usually means guns drawn) was made in the 7-11 parking lot. They arrested a suspect and impounded the vehicle, pending a search warrant. More details are expected to be made public a bit later, police tell us, so look for another update.
ADDED 1:36 PM: SPD Blotter‘s report notes that an “observant neighbor” is to thank:
A neighbor called 911 Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. after she spotted a man attempting to break into a home in the 1200 block of SW Othello Street. The witness continued to update dispatchers as officers were responding to the home and described a white Cadillac Escalade driving away from the home.
The King County Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter was in the area and spotted the SUV leaving the neighborhood. The pilot directed officers to the vehicle in the 1600 block of Southwest Holden Street. Seattle police officers took the 23-year-old into custody and have turned him over to burglary detectives. Detectives believe the suspect may be responsible for an additional burglary in the area this week. Detectives will book the suspect into King County Jail for investigation of burglary.
ADDED 2:58 PM: According to a separate online update from the South Precinct’s commander, the non-West Seattle burglary yesterday was in the 10100 block of Rainier Ave S. The victims, who were home, provided police with a plate number, so that’s how police knew what/who they were looking for.
Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:
PAINTBALLS SHOT AT CARS: We’ve heard from two people so far tonight whose cars were hit by paintballs in West Seattle – one in the Triangle area, one in Westwood. Here’s one of the photos.
Anything fired/thrown/etc. at a moving vehicle (or person walking, riding a bike, etc.) has the potential not only to do damage, but also to startle the driver/rider/walker into swerving or falling, so it’s not a harmless prank, and if it happens/happened to you, report it to police. (Maybe just a coincidence, but as we wrote this, we heard a dispatch about something similar in Pioneer Square.)
7-11 ARREST FOLLOWUP: As promised, we followed up today on the Friday night arrest by Bellevue Police at the California/Charlestown 7-11.
BPD spokesperson Officer Seth Tyler tells WSB that they arrested a 28-year-old man wanted in connection with a robbery case. Their arrest team included SWAT officers because the robbery had involved a knife and the suspect, Tyler said, had a history of eluding. He remains in jail tonight in lieu of $225,000 bail.
SUSPICIOUS SIGHTINGS: Last April, we covered the case of a burglary suspect and stolen car that turned up in a dead-end alley in North Admiral between the 2100 block of California and 44th. Neighbors in that same alley say they have had four suspicious vehicle/people sightings in the past week in their alley and wanted to put the area on alert; they have contacted police. Different vehicles each time.
CRIME PREVENTION: Another reminder, 6:30 pm tomorrow at the Southwest Precinct, the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network will hear about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design from the precincts Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner – all welcome.
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