West Seattle, Washington
23 Saturday
The report and photo were sent tonight by Chelsea:
Our car was stolen today from in front of our house – a blue Highlander, license plate BKT2250. 36th SW in the Hansen View neighborhood.
That’s southwest of The Mount (which is in the 4800 block of 35th SW). Call 911 if you see it.
ADDED: SPD incident # is 24-090308.
Thanks to Brenda for the tip. Seattle Police investigated a burglary at Advance Auto Parts (4505 38th SW) early today. SPD says they investigated a reported alarm around 5 am and found someone had pried open the back door to get inside. They weren’t able to reach the store’s owner/management at the time so they secured the door after confirming the burglar(s) were gone.
Two reader reports:
SCOOTER STOLEN AT SCHOOL: From Jody:
Yesterday while my son was at school (Madison Middle School) his electric scooter was stolen while locked on the school’s bike rack. This happened sometime between 8:50 am and 12:20 pm. I am assuming it will be dumped once the battery dies so thought I would put this out there in case a reader sees it. Or a student arrives home with it. The school did check their surveillance video and they state they show it there one minute and gone the next without ever seeing anyone near it. They state it just ‘vanished.’
The scooter is shown in the photo; we have a followup question out for a little more descriptive information. UPDATE:
It is a Navic T5, it has a grey base, black handle, with yellow rims. It is also foldable but currently has black electrical tape over the folding latch as it kept opening while in motion.
I just confirmed with the school the surveillance video shows it went missing at 10:05 am.
I filed a police report and it shows it is pending. The tracking number is T24006814.
ABANDONED-LIKELY-STOLEN SOUL: From Tim:
We discovered an abandoned vehicle obstructing the roadway in High Point this morning and called Parking Enforcement… where we were told first contact would be 7-10 days, and given Report #24-00080981. They transferred us to the Seattle Police non-emergency line, but after waiting nearly an hour on hold we have to get on with our day.
The Kia Soul, cream/off-white, has a broken passenger window and damaged ignition. It is parked on SW Morgan St alongside (a house in the 6400 block of) 29th Ave SW. The car was left over a foot away from the curb, facing the wrong direction and across from another large vehicle. We are concerned that emergency vehicles will not be able to pass through if needed, as other cars are barely getting through or opting to turn another way.
UPDATE: It’s since been moved.
On Friday, we published a report from Angela at Budget Blinds-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) about someone stealing one of their company vans and the sample books inside, some of which turned up in Seaview. Today, she emailed to say the van was found in Sunrise Heights: “The van and a lot of missing books have been recovered. … It was the WSB post that a police officer read and realized the van he saw down on 34th and Holden was the stolen one.” Thanks to everyone who watched for it (and those who’ve helped find past stolen vehicles, too).
King County Sheriff’s Deputies are reported to be searching with a K-9 after an armed robbery at the 30th/Roxbury 76 station/mini-mart. Two robbers were reported to have left on foot, westbound on Roxbury, after acquiring an additional gun by stealing it from an employee, according to the dispatcher. A “gray sedan” might also be associated with the robbers, as was the case in what was reportedly a similar robbery earlier this evening in South King County. Seattle Police are helping KCSO look for the robbers.
From Robert:
There’s a red Chevy Extended Cab 4×4 2500 LS pickup that appears to have been abandoned at the 4800 block of 46 Ave SW in West Seattle.
Condition of truck is pretty good; driver’s-side window down and tail light assembly has fallen off. Inside cab is in pretty good shape; however, the entire steering column and ignition is trashed. Police have been notified.
Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:
ASSAULT SUSPECT CHARGED: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged the man arrested on Tuesday for allegedly shooting at his girlfriend at the just-cleared 1st/Cloverdale encampment. 42-year-old Pascual Ferrer-Gonzalez is charged with second-degree domestic-violence assault and first-degree unlawful gun possession. Charging documents say he “got upset with the victim and began hitting her. After hitting her he armed himself with a rifle and then fired a round at her.” After police arrested him, prosecutors say, they obtained a search warrant for the RV where they found him, and that’s where they seized the weapons and ammunition mentioned previously. He remains jailed, bail set at $300,000, with his arraignment scheduled for April 9th.
STORE SUSPECT CHARGED: Early Thursday, police were called to the Marshalls store in Westwood Village for a report of a possible burglary. They eventually found a 33-year-old woman hiding under a clothing rack inside the store and arrested her for investigation of burglary, though they found no sign of forced entry. The jail docket indicates she was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and released from jail today; the Municipal Court system isn’t bringing up documents to corroborate that so far, though, so we’re not identifying her.
POSSIBLY STOLEN/DUMPED PACKAGE: If you’re in the 4800 block of 42nd SW and are missing a package, Eric may have found the box, tossed into his yard. Contact us and we can connect you.
From Angela at Budget Blinds-West Seattle (2403 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor):
This morning between 6-7 am one of our Budget Blinds vans was stolen. It was seen around 6:50am between Brandon and 46th Ave SW. A wonderful & helpful neighbor spotted the van and as it drove past her many sample books flew out and onto the street. They were picked up and stored for us to come pick up. We’ve collected 5 so far. Here are a couple photo for reference. If anyone happens to see any more books, or any info on the van, please message me?
License Plate D27632B
2006 Ford Econoline
9:27 PM: Police are searching by ground and air right now for three people suspected in what they’re describing as a “home-invasion robbery” in the 3600 block of California SW [vicinity map]. The descriptions broadcast so far are a white man, 18, 6′, 190 pounds, white Nike Tech sweatshirt (whose identity may be known), armed with a bb gun; a Black male (age not mentioned), 5’8″, slim, all-black clothing, red Jordan shoes, armed with a hammer; and a Hispanic male (age not mentioned), 6 feet tall, white shoes.
9:46 PM: The helicopter moved on as they’d exhausted the possibilities, plus there was a lag of up to half an hour between when the robbery happened and when it was reported. But officers are still searching on the ground, including checking for video cameras in the area.
FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: We asked SPD for whatever summary/narrative they have. So far: “At (9:08 pm), the victims were inside their apartment located at the 3600 block of California Ave SW. Three (people) entered through the front door and began grabbing items inside the apartment. (They) grabbed the victims’ cell phones, long BB gun, and marijuana products. The victims were able to recover their cell phones, and the (robbers) exited the apartment. Patrol, K9 and Guardian 1 responded to the scene. The suspects weren’t located. The SPD Robbery Unit was notified about the incident. This is an open and ongoing investigation.”
STOLEN SUV: From Jennifer:
(Photo altered to obscure face)
Our 2002 white GMC Denali was stolen from in front of our house this morning around 6:15 am. We live on Holly Pl SW and Fauntleroy Way SW. License plate number is AFN5614. Police report: 24-084094.
TRUCK-THEFT VICTIM: Just a few blocks south of there, near The Kenney, one of its workers’ trucks was stolen recently. Rick from The Kenney’s new management company says the victim is crowdfunding for help:
I’m sure you’ve heard about a couple of vehicle thefts that have occurred in the neighborhood around The Kenney. One of the thefts involved a vehicle owned by one of our staff members, Erick. Seattle Police were able to recover his truck but with substantial damages. Erick is working to help support his parents in Eritrea and the repairs are over $4,000. We are supporting his fundraiser on GoFundMe to help cover the costs.
STOLEN LAPTOP: Sent by Beth:
I had my car broken into at the Westwood Target (Wednesday) evening. I made the mistake of leaving my work bag on the floorboards of my front passenger seat while I ran in to grab a pickup order. While I’m sure my belongings are long gone, thought it was worth a mention as I was parked very, very close to the front of the lot/ front of the store so this seemed incredibly ballsy.
I’ve shopped/parked here a million times and never imagined I’d be in this situation so if it can save someone else the headache to be extra careful, at least there is some solace in that.
On the off chance it shows up as dumped somewhere, the most important thing that was stolen was a Microsoft Surface Pro 9. It was in a black carrier inside a pink/beige Anthropologie bag. It’s password protected, so if someone happened to find it I can prove ownership.
TC reports seeing mail theft happen just before 4 pm today:
Two men smashed the window on the mail truck parked on my block and drove away with a tray of mail. The men were white but I couldn’t say how old they are or anything like that. Both wore face masks and hoodies pulled up. I got a picture of their SUV and submitted a police report online, and I talked with the postal worker and helped clean up the glass.
We’re at 47th and Andover. The mail carrier told me that there’s a shortage of mail trucks because so many are out of commission, waiting on window replacements.
11:30 AM: SPD has released information today on the Tuesday investigation that blocked traffic at 1st/Cloverdale, alongside Highway 509, as mentioned by a commenter following our daily traffic roundup. Police say it started as a domestic-violence report just before 6 am. Officers talked to a woman near “an RV trailer close to an encampment” who reported that she was almost hit by a bullet when a man shot at her. They arrested the suspect “after several calls for others to come out of the RV” and booked him into jail, eventually recovering the weapons shown below in a photo from SPD, which describes them as “an AR-15 without a serial number, a bow gun, arrow, and ammunition.”
Police say the suspect is “lawfully prohibited from having any guns.” We are checking on his status; since he was booked yesterday, he would likely be scheduled for a bail/probable-cause hearing today. The victim was not injured.
12:28 PM: The suspect is still in jail, and we discovered in past court documents that he was already wanted in another case in which he is charged, so we are identifying him: 42-year-old Pascual Ferrer-Gonzalez, whose last known address on one document was in Burien. That other case is an auto theft in which he was charged in October 2021 but had yet to go to trial – there’s a long case history online; we downloaded some of the documents. He was found with the stolen car on I-5 in SeaTac in December 2020, and charged in October 2021. (One document notes that was two months after he was convicted in an assault, domestic violence, and burglary case.) He didn’t appear for arraignment in the auto-theft case, so a warrant was issued, and he was arrested two months later. Judge Veronica Galvan granted his release on personal recognizance. Various case delays ensued; he ended up in jail again for four weeks last November and December, until he was granted release again on personal recognizance, this time by Judge Johanna Bender, on condition he show up for a day-reporting program. A little over a week later, court documents show, he didn’t, so another arrest warrant was issued. He didn’t show up for a hearing this past January, either, so a warrant from that hearing was still in effect when he was arrested yesterday.
7:55 PM: We don’t yet have the documents from this afternoon’s hearing, but the jail docket shows Ferrer-Gonzalez’s bail is now set at $305,000 – that’s $5,000 for the unresolved auto-theft case, $300,000 for this new case.
Police, including a K-9 team, are searching for two people who held up the Harbor Avenue 7-11 shortly after midnight. They’re described as two Black men in their early 20s, (revised) one about 6′ and the other around 5’9″, slim to medium build, wearing black hoodies, face masks, and jeans, both armed with handguns, one with a black backpack with “rainbow numbers reading either 100 or 1,000.” They were last seen leaving on foot northbound on Harbor. If you have any information, the incident number 24-082819.
Residents near 47th/Admiral report “a man with his pants down masturbating and yelling at kids walking by” around 7:45 this morning. He was reported to still be hanging around outside nearby residences this past hour; police were dispatched again, but we haven’t yet heard back from them, so we’re reporting this as a general alert, now that it’s afternoon. We don’t have a detailed description but a distant visual shows the man in bulky clothing including a brown puffy jacket. The original SPD incident number is 24-081992.
12:36 PM: First Crime Watch reader report of the day, from Jennifer:
Someone broke into our car that was parked in front of our house close to Stevens and 36th Ave SW, either last night or early this morning. They took my son’s wallet and all his baseball gear, which was in the trunk. There wasn’t much in the wallet, but the baseball gear was important to him. Hopefully, the thieves may not find that useful and disposed of it. It was in a large navy blue duffel bag.
If you think you’ve found it, let us know and we’ll connect you.
1:18 PM: Second Crime Watch report of the day – Megan‘s stolen car:
My car was stolen last night sometime between Sat 8:30 pm and Sun 10:45 am.
I live (in the 3600 block of California SW). It was in a locked and gated garage. It is a 2018 blue Kia Forte, license plate BMH6881. Has a UW sticker on side window. Lahaina Crossfit sticker on rear window. And Green Bay Packers license plate brackets front and back. Police number is 24-080233.
Call 911 if you find it.
We have more information tonight about the home-invasion suspect arrested by SWAT officers near Fauntleroy/Hudson on Wednesday. We’re identifying him because he’s being held on another case in which he’s charged, as well as this one in which charges are still pending. Total bail for 20-year-old Tyler L. Taylor is $700,000. A half-million of that is for the home-invasion robbery in which he’s accused, while most of the rest is for the case in which he’s charged. That case involves domestic-violence assault and unlawful gun possession, stemming from a January incident at his home in North Seattle, in which he allegedly threatened to pistol-whip family members. Though Taylor does not have a felony record, he was not supposed to have the gun under terms of a protection order against him. He was arrested after that incident; the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office wanted his bail set at $350,000, but the (unidentified) first-appearance judge set it at $75,000, and after a week, Taylor got out on bond.
According to probable-cause documents from his hearing today, that was almost two months after the home invasion for which he’s being held now. It happened in North Seattle on December 2nd; four men broke into a house and held a couple at gunpoint for more than an hour while stealing items including a car and forcing them to access their bank accounts online. (The narrative notes that the robbers at one point argued over how debit and credit cards work.) Taylor and other suspects were eventually found through use of the victims’ stolen cards at stores and ATMs from which security video was procured, plus cross-referenced cell phone records. The probable-cause documents also say Taylor used a stolen card to buy a $550 virtual-reality headset from a Best Buy store and linked his own account to the purchase.
None of the court documents in either case give any hints as to what Taylor was doing in West Seattle at the time of his arrest Wednesday, nor how police knew to find him there, but one document does say he threw a handgun over a fence before he was taken into custody. It was recovered, and found to have been illegally modified to automatic. Taylor was one of three suspects arrested yesterday; the other two arrests happened outside West Seattle. Potential charges Taylor faces in this case, according to prosecutors, are first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, ID theft, motor-vehicle theft, and second-degree unlawful firearm possession.
5:06 PM: At midday today, we got a tip about an apparent warrant arrest, with tactical officers, at (corrected) Fauntleroy/Hudson (and the security-camera image above). The operation was wrapping up and everyone was gone by the time we arrived, but officers had told dispatch they had one person in custody. There were also indications that other agencies were involved, so we’ve been following up to try to find out more. SPD just told us, in response to our inquiry, that the West Seattle arrest was one of the suspects mentioned in their newest post:
This morning, at various locations throughout the city, detectives arrested three suspects involved in a series of home invasion robberies.
During one of the robberies, in the Lake City neighborhood, the suspects were armed with handguns and rifles. They allegedly entered the victim’s home while they were sleeping, woke them up, and demanded the victims unlock electronic devices found inside the house.
Over the past several months, Seattle Police Robbery detectives and Mountlake Terrace Police Department detectives have been investigating similar robberies and were able to identify three of the involved suspects.
Today, in a joint arrest operation with Seattle SWAT, North Sound Metro SWAT, all three suspects were placed into custody. During one of the arrests a firearm was recovered.
A 21-year-old male was booked into King County Jail (KCJ) for investigation of robbery. A 20-year-old male was booked for robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm. A 27-year-old was booked into Snohomish County jail for robbery.
We’re now trying to find out which suspect was the one arrested here, and exactly which incident(s) he was wanted for.
6:06 PM: Seattle Police say the man arrested at Fauntleroy/Hudson was the 20-year-old they mentioned. He was just booked into King County Jail, where the docket shows other cases in which he is charged; we’ll be reviewing those documents soon as we can download them.
Maybe you’ll help find Cameron‘s scooter:
I just moved to West Seattle from Belltown about a week ago and am excited to be in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, within a few days of moving, my scooter was stolen.
Make and model: Genuine Hooligan 170cc
Color: black
Year: 2016
License: 2K8049
We’ll add the police report # when we get it. (Added: It’s 24-069706.)
(WSB photo, Friday night)
The man arrested after Friday night’s standoff at an apartment complex at Delridge/Thistle remains in jail today. He is not yet charged in the domestic-violence case for which officers were seeking him, but he is charged in two other cases for which he had arrest warrants, so we’re identifying him. 27-year-old DeMarco D. Gatterson is a resident of Auburn, according to court documents in those cases. He is charged in separate cases with drive-by shooting and assault for an incident on I-5 in Tukwila and with organized retail theft for an incident in Auburn. In the shooting, prosecutors say he pursued a relative “over many miles of South King County highways and streets … firing numerous rounds” at the relative’s car. The court documents say the relative, a cousin of the suspect, had come here to pick up Gatterson and take him to live in Las Vegas for a fresh start. The incident happened in late January and Gatterson was charged in early February. There was already a warrant out for him because he failed to appear at a probation hearing related to a DUI and hit-run case in Kent. He didn’t show up for hearings in this case either, nor for hearings on other charges filed against him in early February, related to a January theft of iPhones worth more than $4,500 from a T-Mobile retail store in Auburn. At one point during the theft, prosecutors wrote, Gatterson showed his own ID to a store clerk, and that’s part of how he was identified and charged. But until Friday night, he hadn’t been found or arrested in any of this; he does have an extensive criminal record, prosecutors say. What led to his arrest Friday night, according to SPD, was actually an assault one night earlier. Their incident summary adds that a gun was found in the search that followed that arrest. Gatterson’s bail is listed on the jail docket as $100,000.
Police are investigating a confirmed gunfire incident on Pigeon Point. It was reported shortly before 9 pm in the 4500 block of 21st SW. Responding officers found shell casings; no injuries reported. Whoever fired the shots was in a vehicle; one texter tells us they “saw a blue SUV speed away.” If you have any information, the SPD incident number is 24-074883.
(WSB photo, January 23)
A month and a half after the deadly shooting of a 15-year-old at Southwest Teen Life Center, the Seattle Parks-operated facility has working security cameras again, as announced by District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka today in his weekly newsletter:
I am very happy to report that the security cameras are now installed and working at West Seattle’s Teen Life Center, the location of the tragic shooting of Chief Sealth International High School student Mobarak Adam in January – Seattle’s first homicide of 2024.
I want to thank Mayor Harrell and our Parks Department for their partnership in helping us deliver this new camera system at the center. We continue to monitor progress on the investigation into this tragic event. As more information becomes available from the SPD, we will share out. Mobarak’s family deserves answers. I will continue to partner closely with the Mayor and SPD to ensure that the City provides Mobarak’s family with the clarity about what happened at the facility that they so desperately need.
As for who monitors the cameras and how, that’s a followup question we’ll be asking. Meantime, three weeks after Parks Deputy Superintendent Christopher Williams said his department would be part of a community meeting regarding safety at school and Parks facilities in the area, a date is set: The Chief Sealth IHS PTSA tells WSB that the meeting, with city, district, public safety, and other reps expected to participate, will be at the school at 6 pm April 16th.
7:49 PM: Police are blocking SW Thistle both ways just east of Delridge because of an incident. We’re still working to find out more about the original callout – but they’re calling in negotiators and setting up a command post. Avoid the area.
8:05 PM: We’ve talked at the scene both with police and with a woman who says her boyfriend is the person police are after – this is described as a domestic-violence situation. The suspect is believed to be barricaded in an apartment in a building on the southeast side of the intersection.
9:12 PM: We’re continuing to monitor this; it’s not resolved yet.
(Traffic-camera framegrab showing closed streets north of response scene)
9:45 PM: Police just told dispatch they’re shutting down Delridge, too, and they’re calling for help directing traffic. Meantime, SWAT has arrived on scene. Radio exchanges indicate the suspect is wanted for two incidents involving guns.
10:10 PM: Police said the suspect told them by phone he would surrender – and they just told dispatch he has, and is now in custody. They’re checking inside the apartment just to be sure it’s now empty (others who were inside were reported earlier to be out), so the response won’t start winding down until after that.
10:34 PM: Thistle is still closed “until SWAT clears out.” … Per dispatch, the suspect has a warrant related to what was described as a “drive-by shooting” incident as well as the domestic-violence incident to which they initially responded.
10:53 PM: Thistle is reopening too.
(WSB photo, early Sunday)
“The facts of this case are terrifying.” That’s how the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office opens the charging-document summary for 29-year-old Ethan McConaghy, charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault, accused of breaking into a home near 48th/Charlestown early Sunday morning and attacking the family who lives there. (Here’s our original report.) Even more than the narrative in the charging document, that assessment is borne out by the family telling their story in their own words – including their children’s bravery. Here’s what they sent:
It was around 6:45 am and my husband and I had just woken up when we were startled by the sound of breaking glass. Thinking that our china cabinet shelves had collapsed, we went downstairs and were confronted by an intruder entering the house via our broken dining room window. We demanded he leave our house but he didn’t respond and instead, came at us. My husband stopped him physically and they began to wrestle. I yelled for our children to call 911.
I proceeded to help my husband by opening the door so he could force the intruder outside. Once out, he was again told to leave. He ignored us and came at my husband again; they wrestled, moving onto the lawn while I called out for help. The man then ducked out of his shirt and jacket, allowing him to elude my husband and run at me while I was standing in the doorway. I defended myself but was ultimately dragged down the front steps to the lawn. The man then ran back into the house; he made it to the foot of the stairs before my husband caught up with him.
I had followed my husband inside and we tried to hold the intruder back, but he was able to struggle up the stairs. He then managed to break free and enter our younger daughter’s room, but he came back out immediately. She was not there because she had locked herself in our bedroom and was on the phone with 911. He then broke down the door to our bedroom and rushed our daughter, knocking the phone out of her hand. At that point, my husband was able to stop him by jumping on top of him. I grabbed our daughter and took her downstairs, yelling to our older daughter to call 911 and that we needed to leave immediately. When we caught up with her, she was on the phone with 911, and we were all able to get out of the house together.
Our children ran for safety while I ran to the neighbor’s house to get help. When I returned to our house with my neighbor, my husband had the man pinned down. I then left to locate our daughters. While I was looking for them, the police arrived, and I directed them to the scene. Our daughters had hidden themselves safely out of sight and were soon found by the police. Eventually, the police brought the man out of our house, and he was taken away in their custody.
We appreciate the help and kindness of our neighbors and the police response. We are proud of our daughters. They reacted quickly and effectively; they got the police to our house, took care of each other, and found safety. My daughters and I are in awe of how my husband handled the situation. Through this ordeal, we are closer as a family. We can only hope that as we heal mentally and physically from this experience, the person who caused this trauma is also getting the help he needs so we all can grow from this terrible experience.
The suspect remains in the King County Jail, held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The charging documents list his “last known address” as several blocks south of the crime scene; the family had never seen him before. His only listed prior conviction is for DUI, 13 years ago; he also has a recent DUI case that is not yet resolved.
| 3 COMMENTS