The 18-year-old suspected in two Thanksgiving-night robberies in The Junction is now charged in one of them. Abdi K. Jama is charged with second-degree robbery, accused of throwing a woman to the ground and making off with her purse, working with two juvenile accomplices. The three also are accused of robbing the Junction 7-11 earlier in the evening, in both cases claiming they had a gun, though none was seen and none was found after their arrests.

According to the police narrative accompanying the charging document, the victim, who is not a West Seattle resident, was dropped off at California/Alaska at 11 pm Thanksgiving night to catch a bus home. She first noticed the three suspects across the street watching her; two crossed the street, including Jama, and the one with him grabbed her purse strap. When she tried to resist, that suspect said, “Just let it happen,” and then, “I don’t want to shoot you.” They both kept tugging at the strap until finally it broke and the victim fell to the ground, at which point they ran off northbound, with the victim in chase until she spotted a police car that had happened by. That officer, patrolling the area, had seen what was happening, sounded his siren, and notified other officers by radio. He lost sight of the suspects by 44th and Oregon, and with other officers searching, he went back to check on the victim. One juvenile suspect was found in a bus shelter near the original robbery scene, with the victim’s purse and items that had been in it. A K-9 team found Jama and the other juvenile suspect in an alley nearby.

Jama, who lives in West Seattle, has no criminal record, and his bail was set at $5,000; he was out on bond within two days. When filing this charge, prosecutors requested a warrant be issued with his bail increased to $50,000. According to the document on file, Judge Catherine Moore declined, and bail remains at $5,000. No online information is available about the juvenile suspects’ status so we don’t know if either or both has been charged.

We start tonight’s Crime Watch roundup with updates on three high-profile defendants (all of whom remain in jail):

ANNA KASPAROVA, ABEL LINARES-MONTEJO: Another set of dates was scheduled today for the co-defendants in the September murder of Edixon Velasquez outside his Westwood home – they are both due back in court for a trial-readiness hearing on January 12th, and depending on how that goes, a trial date of January 23rd. Both are charged with first-degree murder.

KIERRA WARD: The woman charged with first-degree assault after the October knife attack on an Admiral woman walking with her baby was back in court Wednesday. It was a routine hearing, with the only result the decision that she’ll be back in court December 14th for another check on where things stand.

And one reader report tonight:

MAIL THEFT: From Ryan:

I had mail stolen from my front porch at 4 AM this morning on 50th in North Admiral. My camera got some videos of the person walking back and forth (the one of it actually happening is below), but obviously not the perp’s face.

Already filed a police report.

(Initial number T17014275.)

Two tales of package theft – and the first one turns out to be linked to an earlier Crime Watch report.

THIEVES ON VIDEO: From Emily:

We were out of town for Thanksgiving and 5, yes 5, packages arrived ahead of when they were scheduled. We got home Sunday afternoon Nov 26 and it took a day or so to sort out what happened. I then pulled our security camera footage.

At 8:12 am on Sunday, the thieves drove by our house in what appears to be an older model white Lexus sedan. Two men jumped out of the car (there must have been a third, the driver) and climbed up our front steps, over our gate, and took the packages. I don’t think they even noticed the cameras.

Our newspaper still being on the step and packages sitting out early, before most deliveries would occur probably signaled we were not home. Also, our dog (big loud) was with friends.

The positive in all of this was the fact that yesterday, Tuesday, I received an email and phone call from another West Seattle resident (someone near Schmitz park – we live in SW Admiral). He had found the 80 page Photobook created for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in a pile of leaves, recognized its emotional worth, and tracked me down via internet. Miraculously, given the rains, it was only slightly damaged. I picked it up from him yesterday.

Also, another good Samaritan (unknown person) returned one of the boxes (with its contents) to our door – the thieves had ripped open a corner, recognized what it was, didn’t want an Xmas wreath, and discarded it. We don’t know who did it, but THANK YOU.

And after sending that, Emily checked prior Crime Watch reports and discovered the “found star” item from yesterday – so she’s connecting with “Grandma and GiGi.” (By the way, one other item in that Crime Watch roundup is resolved – if you missed the comment, Ketsy‘s Land Cruiser turned up, near Lincoln Park, early today.)

PACKAGE THIEVES FOLLOWING TRUCK? From MW in the 7700 block of 17th SW: “Just a reminder for the neighborhood. UPS truck was getting followed by thieves today. Packages were stolen of our porch within minutes of delivery.”

A reader reports that two of their relatives were taken to the hospital after a robbery and hit-and-run incident at 25th SW and SW Myrtle about an hour ago. The reader says two people in a white Toyota “pulled a gun on one, stole everything, beat him, then fled the scene,” after hitting the other man with a car, and damaging his car too. We’re working to find out more. (Added: No new info, so we will follow up Wednesday. If you have any information, the case number is 17-439646.)

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch – first, from SPD Blotter:

3 ARRESTED IN CONSTRUCTION-SITE BURGLARY: A 911 caller reported seeing two intruders at the construction site at the southwest corner of Fauntleroy and Edmunds around 2 am, putting items into a box and taking it to a waiting car. Here’s what SPD says happened from there:

Officers responded and saw the car traveling along Fauntleroy Way SW. The officers ran the plate of the vehicle and discovered it had been reported stolen from a Renton address. Officers stopped the stolen car and found three people inside. Officers spoke with the witness who said the passengers, a 25-year-old man, and a 36-year-old man, were the same people they had seen in the construction area earlier. Officers placed the two under arrest for burglary and booked them into King County Jail. Officers also arrested the 28-year-old driver for possession of a stolen vehicle and will work with prosecutors as that case moves ahead.

The two burglary suspects remain in jail this evening, according to the online register.

Also – two reader reports:

HOME BURGLARIZED: Just in from Tyler:

I got home from work today and my house has been broken into. This happened between 8:30 am-2:30 p today.

Back window shattered (very small window that would be tough to enter through, the police and I believe it was a kid).

Glass shattered in my kitchen and doors and dressers all opened and rummaged through in every room. Back sliding door left wide open, lucky our indoor cat didn’t leave.

Tablet, laptop, Xbox one, and about 15 newly wrapped Christmas gifts under the tree have all been stolen.

I am on the 8100 block of 17th Ave in Highland Park.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS STOLEN: Erica near 51st/Edmunds reports that “our holiday lights (projection dots on our house) were stolen from our front yard last night between 8 pm and 5 am … We put them up yesterday with our kids; they were so sad this morning to find they had been taken!”

In West Seattle Crime Watch:

WREATH THIEF: David‘s security camera recorded a thief taking the wreath right off his front door early Saturday:

12:07 am at 48th Ave SW and SW Hudson, to be specific.

ANOTHER BICYCLE FOUND: Bill found this one near Lincoln Park:

I found a kid’s bike on Thanksgiving morning on the corner of Fauntleroy and Othello. I stuck it in my garage but then immediately left for Thanksgiving stuff. Now that I’m back home, I took a picture:

Look familiar? Let us know.

MORE PROPANE-TANK THEFTS: In comments following Saturday’s report on a propane-tank theft caught on video, two other readers report they too had tanks taken in the area.

Three reader reports:

MORE TIRE SLASHINGS: A caller this morning reported that at least half a dozen cars had tires slashed overnight in the 4900 block of SW Dawson, southwest of The Junction. (We had one report earlier this week from Admiral.)

PROPANE TANK STOLEN: The video and report are from Julia:

Woke up (Friday) morning to our security camera showing us that someone stole the propane tank out of our BBQ this morning around 2 am. He entered through our front yard and exited out our backyard into the alley on foot. Doesn’t appear he tried to break in. We live on 63rd, between Admiral and Alki Ave.

FOUND BICYCLE: The photo and report are from Steve:

We found this bike thrown in the bushes near 14th SW and SW Trenton Friday.

It is a black Specialized Cirrus Comp. I have the serial number if anyone wants to claim it, we’d need to confirm the number or description with them.

Yours? Let us know. Meantime, Steve’s also trying to turn the bicycle over to police so they can check if there’s already a theft report on record.

Late last night, we reported on a search and arrests following a street robbery in The Junction. Tonight, new details from SPD:

Officers arrested three people after they robbed a woman and a convenience store in West Seattle Thursday evening.

Officer Jesse Cahill was on patrol near California Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street at 11 p.m. when he saw a disturbance near a bus stop. He drove his patrol car closer and saw that three men were struggling with a woman over a purse.

One of the suspects threw the woman to the ground and the group fled as Officer Cahill approached. The officer checked on the 22-year-old victim who sustained scratches on her hands, as additional officers responded to search for the suspects.

Officers found one of the suspects, a 15-year-old male, at a nearby bus stop still holding the victim’s purse. The officers placed the boy into custody and the purse was returned to the victim.

A K-9 officer tracked the other two suspects, an 18-year-old male suspect, and another 15-year-old male, to the 4400 block of 44 Avenue SW, where they were taken into custody.

The officers investigating this robbery noticed that the three suspects’ descriptions matched a robbery from earlier in the evening. The three suspects entered a convenience store in the 4800 block of Erskine Way Southwest at 6:30 p.m. and began removing items from the shelves. The clerk remained behind the counter as one of the suspects implied he had a gun, allowing the trio to escape.

Officers booked the 18-year-old into King County Jail and the two 15-year-olds into the King County Youth Services Center for investigation of robbery.

Three reader reports:

BREAK-IN: From a reader in Fairmount Springs:

We had a break-in last night just before 6 pm at our house on 41st Ave SW / Juneau [map], this guy rang the doorbell soon after we left the house and then kicked in a side door and stole some antique jewelry:

The incident number is 17-432859.

TIRE SLASHED: Alia wonders if anyone else woke up to this: “My tire was slashed during the night last night, cross-streets Walker and California.” [map]

HIT-RUN? Joshua saw this early today: “Probable hit and run at Brandon & 49th [map]. BMW smashed up with debris in the street. Such a nice treat on the holiday morning.” It appears a police report was filed later, 17-433380.

One count of residential burglary was filed today against 20-year-old Jorge Cruz-Benitez, arrested after a burglary in Highland Park on Saturday morning. As reported here on Monday, one of the home’s residents, David, widely shared his story of being awakened by his niece screaming after one of her three young children told her about the intruder. He then confronted the man, ordered him to leave, finally pushed him out of the house, and then led police to him after driving around and finding the suspect near South Seattle College. Court documents say Cruz-Benitez told police after his arrest that he thought he had entered a friend’s house, though he also said he hadn’t been to that friend’s house before; the victims told police that they later noticed things had been taken out of closets in the house, and that their garage had been gone through. The charging documents say Cruz-Benitez has a criminal history including second-degree robbery as a juvenile, and domestic-violence assault earlier this year. He remains in King County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail, and is scheduled for arraignment December 6th.

In West Seattle (and vicinity) Crime Watch:

HIT-AND-RUN DRIVER SOUGHT: In case you missed this in morning traffic coverage, a hit-run driver killed a bicyclist on northbound 1st Avenue South just south of the West Seattle Bridge early today, and SPD’s most recent update has a description of the vehicle:

Detectives are looking for a white or silver colored 4 door compact hatchback, very similar to a Toyota Prius. The vehicle will have obvious right front headlight area damage. Anyone with information on this vehicle is urged to contact SPD’s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad at (206) 684-8923 and ask for Det. Sanders.

SPD says the man who was hit and killed was 61 years old.

Reader reports:

PACKAGE THEFT: Latest one we’ve heard about was reported by Michelle – an Amazon package stolen from her porch near 47th SW and SW Holgate between 3:45 and 5:30 pm on Monday.

WHEELS STOLEN? OR? Shelley sent this photo:

She says the car, a blue Subaru with Alaska plates, has been on 41st SW just south of SW Edmunds since Sunday, “just sitting there on the rims.” She has been a victim of auto theft herself and in case this is a missing car or something else not yet reported, she thought someone out there might like to know.

HOLIDAY SCAM/FRAUD ALERT: Just in from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Burbridge:

Around this time of year, around the Holiday season, we often see an increase in scam and fraud incidents. Crooks use clever schemes to defraud millions of people each year- for money and/or personal information. These crooks often combine new technology with old tricks to get what they are looking for. Subsets of the population are more vulnerable to these types of scams- but everyone can help protect themselves by keeping the following ten practical suggestions in mind, provided by the Federal Trade Commission:

Spot imposters – scammers will often try to disguise themselves as someone you trust (such as a government official, family member or charitable organization). Never send money or give our personal information in response to an unexpected request.

Do online searches – try typing in the company or product name into a search engine with key words like ‘review’, ‘complaint’ or ‘scam’. You can also look up phone numbers to check on their validity.

Do not believe caller ID – technology makes it simple for scammers to fake a caller ID. If you receive a call asking for personal information or money, hang up. If you feel the caller is legitimate- try calling back a number, you know is genuine for that person or company.

Do not pay upfront for a promise – scammers may try to ask you to pay up front for debt relief, loan offers, mortgage assistance or a job (such as handy work or lawn maintenance).

Consider how you pay- most credit cards have significant fraud protection built in, while other payment methods (such as wiring money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram) do not have these protections. Government offices and honest companies will not require you to use a risky payment method, keep this in mind when paying.

Talk to someone – scammers will often want you to make decisions in a hurry and may even threaten you. Before you give money or personal information, slow down, check out the story, do an online search and maybe even talk to an expert or friend about the request.

Hang up on robocalls – if you answer the phone and hear a recorded sales pitch, hang up and report this to the Federal Trade Commission and/or to local police. These calls are illegal and are often fake. Do not follow prompts, just hang up.

Be skeptical about free trials online- some companies will use free trials to sign you up for products and bill you each month until you cancel. Before you agree to a free trial, review the company’s cancelation policy and always check your monthly statements to review charges.

Don’t deposit a check and wire money back- banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but discovering a fraudulent check can take weeks. If a check you deposit turns out to be fake, you are responsible for repaying the bank.

Sign up for free scam alerts from the Federal Trade Commission at (updated link) consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts– get the latest tips and advice about scams directly to your email.
For more information, or to access tips and suggestions in other languages, please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer website – consumer.ftc.gov/topics/money-credit

And one more reminder if you see this close to when we are publishing it – the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets at 7 pm tonight at the precinct – your chance to bring neighborhood crime concerns/questions directly to local police leadership.

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, court updates:

RYAN COX TRIAL DATE CHANGES AGAIN: Three months after repeat offender Ryan Cox was charged with stabbing a man in Gatewood, his trial date has changed again. Court records show that early on, Cox insisted on going to trial on the second-degree-assault charge, and after the first date was postponed, he was scheduled for a trial-readiness hearing today. Instead, his lawyer told the judge they need more time to prepare, and obtained another postponement – over Cox’s objection, according to the document filed after the hearing. The trial-readiness hearing is now planned for December 22nd, with the trial date tentatively set for January 29th.

OTHER CASES WE’RE FOLLOWING: We’ve been asked about other defendants arrested in high-profile cases in the past few months. Right now, these defendants are all in the phase where they’ve appeared for a case-setting hearing, at which their lawyers sought a continuance to a later date: Anna Kasparova, charged with first-degree murder in the September shooting death of Edixon Velasquez, is due back in court November 30th, as is her co-defendant Abel Linares … Jonatan Islas-Martinez, Diego Carballo-Olivares, and Elizabeth Cabrera-Aparicio, all charged with murder in the Westcrest Park stabbing death of Derek Juarez-Lopez, are due back in court January 10th … Kierra Ward, charged with two counts of assault in the Admiral stabbing attack on a mom out walking her baby, is now due back in court November 29th.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes, plus a reminder:

GUN SEARCH: A texter sent that photo and wondered what the King County Sheriff’s Office was doing with multiple units at Don Armeni Boat Ramp much of the day. We checked with Sgt. Cindi West, who says they were searching in the water for a gun – and found one – possibly linked to last Friday night’s White Center shooting death, for which a juvenile suspect has been arrested. (Added: Court documents from the 16-year-old shooting suspect’s hearing today say he told detectives he had thrown the gun into Puget Sound.)

PACKAGE THEFT: From Patrick in High Point:

We had two packages delivered from Amazon at around 11am on Tuesday the 14th, and by the time we arrived home at around 7pm they were gone. An additional package had been dropped off at 4 pm and that was here, so presumably the theft occurred sometime between 11 am and 4 pm. There was a variety of items in the packages, mostly nursery items (crib sheets, wipe dispenser, etc.). The theft occurred at our house on the corner of 34th and Morgan. If anyone has any information or had similar issues yesterday, we’d be interested to hear about it. This is the second time we’ve had a package go missing this year.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: Yes, WSCPC does meet this month! 7 pm next Tuesday (November 21st), be at the Southwest Precinct to hear about crime trends and get answers to your questions about neighborhood crime/safety concerns.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports today:

STOLEN CAR: Mariana reports her silver ’99 Honda CR-V, with Yakama Nation plate 2535, has been stolen from the 7300 block of California SW, where it was last seen at 9 pm Sunday.

She adds, “Unique plates, but my original Washington plates are in car and could have been switched out. I don’t know my WA state plate number. It has studded snow tires, painted feather and beaded bag in window. Police Incident Report # 17-422184.” Call 911 if you see it.

MORE GAS-TANK PUNCTURES: We’ve published previous reports of gas tanks being punctured, apparently to steal gasoline. Now the thief/thieves are hitting schools. Sometime between last Wednesday and Sunday, they hit Hope Lutheran School‘s bus: “One of our teachers went to fill the bus and realized at the gas station that there was a pencil sized stream of gas from the tank. We took it to West Seattle Autoworks and it was the 4th incident they had seen of this type this month.” The Seattle Lutheran High School bus parked next to Hope’s bus (on the north side of The Junction) also had gas stolen, but via siphon, not puncture. (We had multiple gas-tank-puncture reports last month, including this one.)