After Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox refused to appear in court for arraignment this past Monday and Wednesday, King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell signed an order this morning authorizing deputies to use “reasonable force … if necessary” to make him appear. We don’t know whether force was required – morning crash coverage kept us from getting to the downtown courthouse this time – but we do know, from online documents, that Cox did appear. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree assault filed against him, and his next hearing, for case-setting, was scheduled for September 7th. He remains jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail.

6:15 PM: Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:

DUMPED TOOLS: Know anyone who’s had carpet-laying tools stolen? Dan sent the photo:

They were found “on the median strip of SW Alaska St. between 46th and 45th Ave SW.”

RYAN COX CASE UPDATE: For the second time in three days, we went to the King County Courthouse this morning, where Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox was scheduled to be arraigned – to enter a plea to the charge of second-degree assault filed days after the August 8th attack. And again, the morning calendar ended after two and a half hours without his appearance – he again “declined to appear,” according to the document filed at midday saying the hearing is now rescheduled to 8:30 am tomorrow. We asked King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe what happens if this continues. “We always argue that a defendant needs to be present in court for arraignment. Arraignment will eventually be completed. The Court can also issue an order allowing the jail to use reasonable efforts to bring a defendant to court.” (For the record, at least one other defendant on the morning calendar was described in court as declining to appear.)

CAR PROWL – ADDED 6:40 PM: One more reader report, just received from Ayla:

My car just got broken into last night that is parked right in my driveway on 17TH AVE SW! :( It was completely rummaged through — everything in the console and glove compartment pulled out onto the seat. They took my Apple desktop that I just bought from Employee sale. It was covered on the back seat and since it was heavy, I was waiting for my son to come home to carry it inside the house. They also took my makeup bag, sunglasses, and some groceries.

Such a low life and horrible heart! They must have needed it so bad for their drug money!I have to work overtime to purchase this computer! If they could go out and steal, why not use that energy to work for a guaranteed money? Why waste time and make other people’s life miserable! These thieves are heartless! They do not have values, morals, and discipline. I hope they catch these prowlers soon!

The photo and report are from BrianD:

Our house sitter found this bike near the Fauntleroy Ferry dock over the weekend, Silver/gray with red front forks. To claim, give us some sort of identifying feature – what is printed on seat, what is printed on handlebars, or what sort of markings are on the frame. If not claimed in a few days, it will be turned over to SPD.

Yours? Contact us and we’ll connect you.

In West Seattle Crime Watch, three reader reports plus a court-case followup:

BURGLARY: From Wendy:

I live at 54th & Dakota on Genesee Hill. I was away from 10:30 am – noon this morning and returned to find my back door kicked in and my bedroom ransacked. We have a 6-foot fence and both gates were locked, so they must have scaled the fence. Many drawers’ contents strewn about, furniture stacked on the bed to facilitate closet access. So far it appears jewelry and cash were taken. Have not yet been able to do a complete inventory. Our neighbor noticed a red Camaro (guess) with two white stripes parked beside our house during the time – may or may not be related. The police officer investigating said it appeared that we interrupted them, based upon the scene – looked mid-ransack. One missing ring had huge sentimental value. They even tore the wrapping paper on the box containing my gram’s ashes. Gutted.

BICYCLE THEFT: Sonia just moved to Alki last month and has been “welcomed” by bicycle theft. Between August 18th and 21st, she says, “My bike was stolen from the back porch of my house (near Bonair/Alki) where it was locked up. Chain was cut. Cannondale Quik 4 women’s bike — black frame with blue and white accents and accessories as well (headlight, taillight, bell, and rack on the back) Worth about $750+ from REI. Reported to police and filed in their stolen registry. Police said if it turns up at a pawn shop they’ll know from the bike’s serial number.”

(added) PACKAGE THEFT: Marion reports that:

… package thieves hit us this morning between Brandon/Findlay just south of the Junction. Came home to find empty Amazon box on my doorstep – contents missing. Delivery tracking notes indicate package was “delivered” sometime around 9:30 am. Joke’s on them I suppose since box only contained cornhole game bean bags colors navy and gray (16 bags total). Guess it’s a reminder to switch to office or locker delivery if possible…

CASEY CARLSTEDT UPDATE: While we were at King County Superior Court this morning for the hearing that didn’t happen, we did get an update on another West Seattle defendant, Casey Carlstedt.

We last mentioned Carlstedt in April, when he was charged in a bicycle-theft case that had been featured here on WSB and was solved with readers’ help. By that time he had been in jail about a month, and he’s remained there ever since, also charged in misdemeanor cases from harassment to reckless driving, held in lieu of what the jail register lists as $6,000 total bail. Today his case came up for a status check – he wasn’t present, but lawyers told the judge that he is about a week away from a competency evaluation, and what happens next in his case depends on results of that.

(August 8th WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)

We’ve just left the King County Courthouse downtown, where Gatewood stabbing suspect Ryan Cox was scheduled to appear for arraignment this morning. These are usually brief appearances, one in a long list of hearings brought sequentially before one judge, but by the time the 8:30 am arraignment calendar ended at 11 am, there’d been no sign or mention of him, so we checked with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Spokesperson Dan Donohoe tells WSB that Cox “refused to appear,” so the arraignment is rescheduled for the 8:30 am calendar on Wednesday. The hearing is for Cox to enter a plea to the charge of second-degree assault that was filed on August 14th, six days after the August 8th attack at California/Orchard that sent a 40-year-old man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. In the meantime, Cox, who is 39, remains in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail, which was set when he was charged, after he refused twice to appear for a bail hearing .

The readers who spotted these are hoping for reunions or at least mystery-solving:

ABANDONED PICKUP?: Jeff sent the photo and says it “showed up on 46th St between Austin and Kenyon on Wednesday, Aug 16th. After 7 days of no movement it was called in. Hasn’t been tagged yet.” (SUNDAY UPDATE: Jeff says the pickup was gone this morning.)

ABANDONED BICYCLE: Missing a Mongoose-brand bicycle? Kersti says one was left in front of her house near Lincoln Park last night; she’s taken it in for safekeeping. Contact us if you have had one stolen and we’ll connect you.

West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

BICYCLE STOLEN: Joe says this happened at California/Admiral:

My girlfriend’s bike was stolen sometime (Thursday) night or this morning. It’s a Kona Africabike. Black color, single speed, with a front rack and rear rack. Next to the bike shop – had a cable lock, and the bike has a rear wheel lock. So I imagine whoever took the bike must have had wire cutters and a truck. Or just took it on the bus. Just want to keep an eye out for it and warn others to remember. Keep your bikes inside.

BUSINESS BREAK-INS: Three are listed on Tweets by Beat (the Southwest Precinct automated tweets can be reviewed any time on our Crime Watch page) – We’ve learned that the 4700 block of 42nd SW break-in was at Season’s Salon on the ground floor of Mural. A business about a block away reported finding a cash drawer dumped by their recycling bin, and the possibility of a connection was being checked out. Meantime, we don’t know which businesses were hit in the other two break-ins – one was reported in the 4100 block of California SW, the other in the 6500 block of California SW.

COUNTERFEIT CASH: The West Seattle Junction Association is also warning businesses that a retailer got a counterfeit $50 bill on Wednesday.

TAGGING VANDALISM: Big ugly tags overnight on the wall by KeyBank in the heart of The Junction – cleanup is planned, if it hasn’t happened already.

The newest reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN CAR: Deborah hopes you can be on the lookout:

Our 1998 black Honda CRV was stolen last night in front of our home on 48th Ave. SW just off Admiral Way. License AMS 2778 . This has been reported to police but if anyone sees it, please call us … Thank you.

(8/25 UPDATE: The car’s been found; phone number has been removed.)

THEFT OR COLLISION? Libby wondered if a damaged car that appeared Tuesday between 37th and 38th on Juneau was stolen and dumped. (We note that it also could have been damaged in a crash.) She says it’s “an older model – mid to late ’90s – Honda Accord station wagon … dark gray or black with a at least 2 flat tires and front passenger damage around the wheel well. WA License # AYS9288.” She’s reported it to police.

BICYCLE THEFT ON VIDEO: Sent by Nels:

Nels elaborates: “Schwinn, dark green and gold two tone. Tattered seat. Taken (Tuesday) on Thistle in the mid 20’s blocks. This bike also has a bright blue rear brake cable. (The person shown in the video) is wearing a Harley X tee-shirt over white logo on front. Hair cut short on sides over ears; longer on top.” We don’t have the police report # yet but you can reach Nels at 206-643-5040.

Meantime, what might be parts of stolen bicycles have turned up:

BIKE FRAMES DUMPED: Al sent this photo:

He says this stack of bicycle frames turned up a few days ago on the Spokane Street pedestrian bridge “east of Harbor Avenue.” Elsebeth also sent us a note today that we believe refers to the same pile.

Next item was found at Hiawatha, so it might really just have been lost rather than stolen, but in case you haven’t seen it in the WSB Forums‘ Non-Pets Lost and Found section:

FOUND – KIDS’ BACKPACK: The listing is here.

And finally:

HIT BY PACKAGE THIEVES? A recent victim whose case was featured here says she got some revenge and suggests others might try the same thing:

Recently, I had a box of diapers stolen from my front door during the night. I thought through all the options of what to do. The blog was kind enough to post my loss. It’s then that I saw how many other people this happens to on a weekly basis and that really made me mad. It seemed like no matter if you have a camera, description, license plate, it’s useless. So, I decided to send the thieves a message. When I received my replacement box, I took out the contents and then filled the box with trash and resealed it and left it on my doorstep. Two nights later, it had been stolen. This time, I was happy about it. If we all send a similar message, perhaps we will as a community be left alone. It’s worth a shot.

Over the weekend, we published an update from Byron, the dad who wrote an “open letter” after his 8-year-old daughter’s bicycle was stolen – he reported a suspect had been arrested and the bicycle returned. Wanting to track the case through the system to see what happens along the way, we requested and obtained the police-report narrative today, and it tells a complicated story.

For those wondering how Byron found the bicycle, the report says he spotted it on Craigslist, made initial contact with the person who listed it, and went to the Southwest Precinct, where the Saturday day shift was in the morning briefing. Officers came up with a plan. (This isn’t the first time SPD has done this – we’ve seen past reports, like this one in West Seattle last year, and this one elsewhere the year before.) The report described it in part as:

Our approach was to set a predetermined meeting location and when the bicycle was determined to be Lhe one in question and a specific suspecL was found to be in possession of this bicycle we would move in, affecting a stop, at which time we would verify the serial number and combination to the lock on the bicycle as given to us by (the dad). The combination on the bícycle lock was given as (xxxx) and the serial number was given as (xxxx).

They originally agreed on a meeting place near Roxbury Safeway but they eventually found the suspect near 15th and Roxbury, with the bicycle, and took him into custody.

The bicycle was taken to the Southwest Precinct, as was the suspect, who was eventually released, as explained in the report, after a lieutenant who had stayed back at the scene showed up at the precinct with three children. The circumstances of their discovery was not described in the report, but it did say this:

.(They) were identified as (the suspect’s) children. All were … found to be in acceptable health but it should be noted that their clothes were dirty and the children themselves were unbathed to a point of being unsanitary. … (N)oting that the children’s mother had a no-contact order against her from being in contact with the children, it was collectively determined that in the best interest of the children, that (the suspect) be released to tend to the children’s needs. It was expressed by the children that (he) is the only parent that feeds them (and he) stated after he had invoked his right to remain silent that he wanted to change his mind, and stated that his girlfriend, who is the mother of (the children), had given him possession of the bicycle. (He) knew that the bicycle was not hers, but that he was trying to sell the bicycle to feed his children.

His release does *not* mean he isn’t facing charges; he was arrested on suspicion of trafficking in stolen property, which is a felony, and the report says the case has been forwarded to the Major Crimes Unit for investigation. We don’t know the suspect’s name, so we don’t know if he has a record.

From Autumn:

My car was stolen sometime last night. It was parked on the street right in front of our house in the Morgan Junction area. Doors locked and nothing valuable inside. Some blankets, sweatshirts and a cooler in there.

Toyota RAV4 Limited edition. 2006. Blue with light tan interior and sun roof. No identifying markers or stickers. I just bought it 2 months ago. WA license plate BEN7363.

It’s been reported to police; call 911 if you see it.

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:

DUMPED CARRIER: Reader Datamuse wonders if you recognize that Sears X-Cargo carrier, which they found dumped in their Highland Park yard Sunday morning; neighborhood-level inquiries yielded no information so they’re sharing the photo West Seattle-wide here. P.S. Datamuse adds, “If there was anything in it before it was dumped, it’s gone now.” If it might be yours, let us know.

APARTMENT-GARAGE BREAK-IN: From a Junction 47 resident (California/Alaska/42nd):

I heard odd noises in our alleyway around midnight last night. I looked out my window to try and figure out what it was coming from. It was hard to see, because my apartment window can’t see the ground of the alleyway, but I was able to deduce that 2 guys were opening the resident garage door with a jack. I called the police and explained the situation to them as they were trying to open the door. I stayed on the phone with the operator continuing to give information and updates as we waited for an SPD unit to arrive. Unfortunately, the 2 guys were able to get the door open, get inside for some time (while 1 stood outside to watch guard), and drive off in their car before the unit arrived.

I was pretty disappointed with SPD, because they had ample time to catch these guys – at least 30 minutes to respond. I stayed up until a little after 1am to see when the unit would show up, but never saw any police show up in the alleyway.

While disappointed, I don’t blame the SPD. I understand they must allocate their scarce resources carefully, and this call was not life-threatening, so it probably ended up low in their priority – probably even lower, once the crime was over, and the guys were gone. That said, I think the operator could have been more clear about ETA of the unit. If I had realized it would take 30+ minutes for a unit to arrive, I might have yelled out the window to try to scare them away and prevent the break-in.

I went down into the garage this morning to see if there were any cars broken into. I did not see any, but did see a bike rack had been sawed into and a bike was stolen from the bike room. This is the 4th time that our bike room has been broken into (that I am aware of).

SUSPECTED PACKAGE-THEFT ATTEMPT: From Nicole on 46th SW between Juneau and Raymond in Seaview:

(Wednesday) I witnessed a man and a woman entering the yard of our neighbor across the street, in an apparent attempt to take packages from their front porch. This was around 12:20 pm.

They must have seen me/someone because they decided against it and ran to their car.

My husband was able to run out and get their license plate # as they sped away heading S on 46th Ave.

The car was a newer white Honda Accord; the plate number, which started with AA, was provided to police. Nicole adds, “Our next-door neighbor had her packages stolen a few weeks back.”

Two neighbors on the south side of The Junction contacted us today to let us know about this report from their neighborhood e-mail list. We are republishing it with permission:

I just wanted to let you guys know about some stuff that happened last night in front of our house between 9-9:15 pm.

A young Asian girl in her twenties was walking back to her car that was parked in front of the house when a man came out of the alley and approached her. He demanded her papers because he believed that she was a “commie.” After she refused, he violently pushed her to the ground. I saw this happen and ran outside to see if she was ok. At that time he said something and walked off and went down the stairs to 41st. I didn’t have a phone on me and didn’t report it but I told her that she needed to report it. I tried to get as much information out of her as possible but she was shaken up and wanted to get home as soon as possible. She regularly parks in the neighbor(hood) since she works in the Junction.

She later contacted me and gave me this description: ‘He was a middle-aged white male with glasses, long wavy black and white hair, wearing a t-shirt and khaki shorts. He didn’t seem taller than 5’9″. Didn’t seem drunk.’

Another neighbor encountered the man shortly thereafter and wrote:

He came down the stairs to 41st Ave SW and turned south. I was checking my mail right after a TV show ended at 9 pm. He approached me saying that he was just attacked by a group of Asians and that I shouldn’t go up the street (towards Safeway). … He was around 55 years old and my height 5’-9” with glasses. I didn’t notice his clothing. He kept saying that the attackers ‘weren’t like him and I’. I assume he was meaning white. He also mentioned something about the attackers not being citizens. It’s my opinion that he has a mental issue. He continued walking south on 41st Ave SW.

Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN CAR: From Sharon:

Gray Honda Civic 1994

My boyfriend’s car was stolen from our parking spot. If you’ve seen this car around or have any helpful information, please contact (425) 238-7683 or 911. Thank you for your help!

When: Between Sun 8/13 11 PM and Mon 8/14 9 PM
Where: Parked in the alley between 42nd and California, SW Dawson and SW Brandon
Make/Model: 1994 Honda Civic, gray
Plate Number: ACS9183
Incident #: 2017-300892

STOLEN PACKAGE, AND BIKE RACK: Joyce says these happened the same night last week:

We had a package taken from our front door Sometime between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon. It was a large box so it probably seemed like a good pick. However, it contained 2 boxes of Honest Company diapers. If the thieves have a baby then maybe it was a good find. If anyone happens to see these discarded somewhere, please let me know.

Also, our bike rack was stolen from our car. It was a Yakima holdup 2. If you see anything resembling that it would be helpful to know. Thanks so much!

Joyce is in the Fairmount Park area.

(August 8th WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)

39-year-old Ryan Cox has just been charged with second-degree assault, with a deadly weapon, in last Tuesday night’s Gatewood stabbing attack. And Cox’s bail has been set at $150,000.

The 40-year-old victim remains in the hospital, according to a comment from a family friend, recovering from multiple stab wounds. Cox also was taken to Harborview after the attack last Tuesday night, with what police say was a self-inflicted stab wound.

According to charging documents, “the defendant is unemployed, homeless, and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but does not take medication. He has been booked 28 times since 1997 and has had 26 warrants issued for his arrest.” The documents also include a more-detailed police-provided narrative that notes “Cox is a known transient, living in West Seattle, not only to the SPD officers that work in the Southwest Precinct, but to the citizens that live in the area.” That’s dated back to at least 2009, as we detailed in our Wednesday followup.

The narrative says that one witness saw Cox and Heeter arguing on August 2nd, and that they saw Cox pull a knife during that incident, though no one was injured. When Heeter was well enough to speak with police in the hospital last Thursday, the narrative says, he told them that he and his 3-year-old daughter were at a nearby gas station about a week earlier when Cox was there. Cox, he said, was yelling at everyone, including racial slurs. Heeter told police his daughter had become frightened and that Cox looked at them and said he better hold his daughter tight or he might get her. Hester said he told Cox to stop talking about his daughter and left. He told police he saw Cox again a few days later and tried to talk to him about frightening his daughter, but Cox started to yell. The night of the attack, Heeter said, he saw Cox walking near the Westside Unitarian Universalist Church and pulled into its lot, got out of his car, and yelled at Cox. That, he said, is when Cox lunged at him and started slashing.

The charging documents also include Cox’s side of the story, claiming he was being “stalked” by the victim, as well as detailing tirades at the hospital. (added) Here are the documents – please note that they contain the racial and homophobic slurs Cox is alleged to have used after his arrest. They do not include names of witnesses or any other third parties besides police and prosecutors, which is why we are uploading them directly rather than transcribing as we would otherwise do. Cox is scheduled to be arraigned – to enter an initial plea to the charge – on August 28th.

Four reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

BUSINESS ROBBERY: Bree at Alki Mail and Dispatch reports a robbery Friday evening:

I just wanted to warn other small businesses in the area to be vigilant and aware. Last night at 5:15pm we had a snatch and grab robbery in the shop. A man who appeared to be of Middle Eastern decent, about 6′ tall and around 180 lbs and I would guess to be in his 30s, came in and ordered a coffee. When my employee rang him up and the cash drawer opened, he reached over and grabbed the money from the till and ran out the door. Another employee bravely gave chase but was unable to catch him. He ran south along 47th avenue and was then picked up by a black male with dreadlocks in a red car, possibly a Honda, with plate # BCL23–. Police reports were filed and thankfully no one was injured and he only got away with $148 but I would hate for this to happen to anyone else!

GYM THEFT: From Julie:

When LA Fitness says they are not responsible for lost and and stolen items they mean it! Use at your own risk. My purse was stolen from the women’s locker room of the LA Fitness on Alaska between 5:30 and 6:30 pm Thursday Aug 10th. I was not the only one whose purse was stolen. Another woman came to the front desk to report her purse stolen too.

There was actually a staff member in the women’s locker room who was vacuuming during that time. Apparently she didn’t see anything. It would be nice if they had cameras in the workout area. At least they could review the footage to who was coming and going at that time. They are able to see who checked in at the front desk.

In case you’ve found a dumped purse – it’s a chocolate-colored Travelon – ironically, called the “anti-theft classic mini-shoulder bag.”

MAIL THEFT: Derek reported that in the 10 am hour Friday, “We just (in the past hour) got hit by a very brazen mail thief in the 9600 block of 25th Ave SW. 5’6″ to 5’8″ African American female, putting everyone’s mail into several reusable grocery bags,” wearing a “long-sleeved shirt and skull cap,” and, Derek adds, “working with a taller African American male with several grocery bags and a wheeled suitcase.” KCSO and SPD were both searching for the thieves, last seen headed north on 24th SW in the Westwood area.

BICYCLE TAKEN: From Colleen:

A man’s large frame black Trek Allant bicycle was stolen from the secure garage of our condo building in the 5000 block of California SW sometime between 1:30 pm Wednesday and 9 pm Thursday. It was cut from a secure wall mount. Serial number WYU074C6092K. Seattle Police Incident #17-295719. Please be on the lookout for this new bike.