West Seattle, Washington
24 Wednesday
Recognize that man? A neighbor took the photos as he leaped off the fence and out of the yard where he’d been prowling, at Jennifer‘s home:
My husband spotted a prowler in our yard on 38th Ave SW (between Edmunds and Hudson) at approximately 6:20 p.m. today. Pretty brazen considering everyone was home and cooking dinner in a kitchen overlooking the yard! He was stumbling around in our garden and my husband yelled at him. Our neighbor happened to be walking down the alley and got these pictures of him jumping our fence to leave via the alley. He headed east toward The Mount.
Another neighbor who e-mailed us about this says police later found a knife in the area. If you have information about the prowlers identity, the SPD incident number to refer to is 16-166064.
Here’s what’s in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
STOLEN CAR FOUND BEFORE ITS OWNER KNEW IT WAS GONE: From Jesse:
I’m just writing to report that my car was stolen sometime early this morning from in front of my apartment. I live at the Overlook Westridge Apartment complex which has a closed gate and I live pretty deep into the complex so these people were scoping around looking for an easy target which owning a late 90’s Honda Civic I know my car is. The car was found this morning before I knew it was gone at the Starbucks Headquarters. It looks like they also stole some mail and some offerings from the local Vietnamese cultural center because the police found lots of envelopes belonging to them. They also left their tools, food, and drug remnants in the car. There is an open case with regards to this 16-165228. I hope that getting the word out will help bring these low-lifes to justice. My car is a black 1999 Honda Civic Ex with a dent in the passenger door.
FOLLOWUP – STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK FOUND: Alexandria sent an update this morning on the pickup truck whose theft was reported here on X. It was found, she reports in Renton, “still drivable but cleaned out.”
Next, three car-prowl reports, which follow SPD’s circulation of this quick video with prevention advice:
You can also find the advice on this page of the SPD website.
CAR PROWL: Mary Beth reports, “Just want to give my neighbors a heads up, smash and grab broken car window on SW Myrtle St [3000 block] sometime last night. Took the emergency bag.”
HIT AGAIN IN HIGHLAND PARK: From Ryan:
Just an email to get it out there that for the 5th time in barely over a year my wife’s Xterra had the rear window broken out of it and it was ransacked. Took place on the 8600 block of 13th ave SW. Previously my car was broken into twice, and stolen once. It really leaves you feeling totally helpless when it continues to happen over, and over, and over and SPD flat out says they will not investigate, and basically as I was told “filing a report will only generate metrics for us.”
JUNCTION CAR BREAK-IN: Also a reader report – this was spotted early this week:
Saw a brand-new Prius in the Mural Apartments parking garage with the driver-side window busted out. The automatic garage door was closed, but several exit doors connecting the garage with the alley behind the building were propped open, including the door connecting the garage with elevators to the residences. All of the doors connected to the garage along the alleyway are reinforced with a steel plate to prevent forced entry, but in the past few weeks I’ve seen those plates bent back, broken, etc. Seems like someone has been trying to get into the garage for a while.
The building is on 42nd SW across from Jefferson Square.
CAR PROWLED IN SEAVIEW: This happened yesterday and came in via text: “My car was rifled through between 2-6 pm … parked in the alley unlocked between 47th-48th and Graham/Raymond. I was in the backyard during this entire time and did not see/hear anything. Found my car with passenger front door open to the alley with both glove boxes’ contents thrown on the floor. About a dollar’s worth of change was taken.”
(added 4:23 pm) AND ANOTHER CAR PROWL: While this roundup was still atop our site, this came in from Barbara:
I wanted to let neighbors know that my car window was broken sometime during last night May 11th at 9000 13th Ave SW. A empty computer bag was taken.
P.S. Want to bring up neighborhood crime/safety concerns with local police? NEXT TUESDAY is your next chance, at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm Tuesday (May 17th) at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).
Charges also were filed today in another case we’ve been following – the “brazen burglary” case from last Friday, in which a resident came face to face with an intruder in her residence near the Luna Park business district.
The suspect, 41-year-old Thomas L. Nebel, is charged with residential burglary. He has been in jail since Friday, with bail set at $7,500. Charging documents say this is his first criminal charge in King County, but he has a record in Snohomish County and “extensive criminal history in Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska,” with convictions including burglary, assault, battery, and forgery. The mugshot at right is from 1999, the only time Nebel was in Washington Department of Corrections custody, and so the only mugshot that was available for us to request in our state (we’re checking to see if anything’s available from the other states).
Elaborating on the reader report we published from the burglary victim, the probable-cause document included with charging papers says she arrived at her home around 11:30 am Friday after getting word the fire alarm had gone off. SFD found no evidence of a fire and left; that’s when police say the victim found Nebel in a downstairs bedroom. They say he fled the house and ran into the greenbelt, where neighbors saw him; he knocked on one neighbor’s door and asked to use a phone, saying he was being chased, but he didn’t call anyone, and subsequently hid in that neighbor’s house. Police were alerted and found him hiding in bushes by a balcony, with a backpack and bag nearby that didn’t belong to the homeowner. Police say the victim’s house had been entered via a broken window.
Another followup on the North Delridge gunfire incident last weekend: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 29-year-old 
Dale G. Hiller with first-degree unlawful-firearm possession and two drug charges, one for meth possession and one for cocaine possession. Hiller, as reported here, was arrested at Delridge/Genesee late Saturday night; In a followup Monday, we reported that his bail was set at $150,000 on Monday and he was released after posting bond hours later. The charging documents say Hiller lost his gun-possession rights after being convicted of second-degree assault in early 2007, also noting: “He has a lengthy history of gun crimes, drug crimes, and violent crimes.” The documents recap what we reported after getting the probable-cause documents on Monday, that a backpack and shell casings were found near the arrest scene; the former contained a .22 caliber revolver as well as drugs and cash that totaled, with what was found in Hiller’s wallet, almost $3,000. His photo published here is from the Department of Corrections; as we reported in the discussion following Monday’s story, he was sentenced in 2013 to 3 1/2 years for an attempted home-invasion-style burglary in Burien. The charging documents say that his post-prison probation (“community custody”) ended on May 2nd, five days before his North Delridge arrest. He is due in court May 25th for arraignment.
In West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK: Alexandria reports the pickup shown in part above was taken early Saturday morning from the 7300 block of 28th Ave SW. Description: “’87 Toyota gray pickup with topper. The passenger-front parking light smashed in, red heart/love sticker on back of topper, and red tape over the driver-side tail light.” Plate B59337N, per @getyourcarback, which reminds that if you see it, call 911.
NOTES: In case you missed these followups to stories from the past few days:
-We finally know where the “crash and dash” stolen car in Saturday’s crash at 35th/Hudson was stolen from – Capitol Hill. The carjacking victim commented on our story last night; we subsequently obtained the link to Capitol Hill Seattle‘s report on the original incident.
-We added multiple updates to yesterday’s followup on the arrest following Saturday night’s North Delridge gunfire. The most-recent update: The suspect posted bond and got out of jail late last night. The comment thread includes some information we’ve found about his record.
(UPDATED TUESDAY MORNING with suspect getting out of jail – also, see comments for more info)
3:52 PM: Late Saturday night, we reported on a gunfire suspect arrested near Delridge and Genesee. We have more information this afternoon from both SPD Blotter and the police report. First, just published on SPD Blotter by the department’s Jonah Spangenthal-Lee:
A ride-share driver led police to arrest a convicted felon Saturday night and recover a backpack filled with meth, crack cocaine, cash and a handgun.
Officer Nic Plemel was on patrol in the Delridge neighborhood around 11 PM Saturday when he heard the sound of gunfire several blocks away.
Moments later, a ride-share driver called 911 and reported seeing a man dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans and a red baseball cap firing a gun on the street in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest.
Officers arrived and immediately saw a 29-year-old man, dressed just as the 911 caller had described, standing behind a bus stop at Delridge Way SW and SW Genesee Street.
Officer Plemel and Officer Nathan Worthen approached the man, who was standing right next to a backpack on the ground. He refused to answer any questions, but said the backpack wasn’t his.
When police looked inside the backpack, they found $2,700 in cash, 53 grams of suspected methamphetamine and three containers of marijuana. They later discovered 21 grams of suspected crack cocaine in the man’s pocket.
After a witness confirmed the 29-year-old was the same person they had seen firing a gun on the street, officers also discovered the 29-year-old is a previously convicted felon.
Officers booked the man into the King County Jail for drug possession and unlawful possession of firearms and are investigating.
According to the police report, a gun also was found in the backpack. We’re checking on the suspect’s record and status and will update with whatever more we find.
4:12 PM: The suspect’s background includes multiple felony convictions, according to what we’ve found so far in online records, including previous drug and gun cases.
7:33 PM: We’ve obtained the police-report narrative from the probable-cause documents provided at a hearing this afternoon during which the suspect’s bail was set at $150,000. It has some additional information beyond the SPD Blotter summary:
Breaking crime news this weekend – and breaking traffic news – has gotten in the way of our usually-daily roundups of West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports. Until now. We have burglary, car prowl, and theft reports – and a followup from someone who has gotten some of their stolen stuff back.
BURGLARY ATTEMPTS: From Anne in Upper Fauntleroy:
We have just reported 2 break-in attempts at our home at 42nd and Thistle. One was on April 21st between 9 pm and 8 am, where they attempted to break off the lower garage door handle to pry in. The next day we had flood lights installed.
The second attempt was made on May 4th, this time the upper garage side door, door knob pried off but our steel door framing holds the extended deadbolts. Our neighbor thinks it was around 3:30 am, because their dog was trying to wake up everyone in the house. They let the dog outside and the dog took off, so the neighbors got in their car and encountered 2 men in a late-model Toyota Sienna minivan that is red or burgundy. They were wearing reflective vests and said they were doing construction work; one had a very thick Slavic accent. They left and then moved the van a few blocks away.
We have security sensors and cameras inside the house, so if they were successful, we will get a good photo to share. I just thought I would let you know, just in case someone else has experienced anything similar, or has seen this van.
CAR PROWL: From Steve in Gatewood:
Add us to your car prowl list. 41st & Holden, underneath bright streetlight. Nothing was left in car, they took a box of Kleenex and some loose change from the center console. We had a couple of CDs in the glovebox; those were still in car. Clear case of someone prowling for money or getting lucky with a hidden valuable.
The car was locked this morning, they may have used electronic means to get in the vehicle – late-model Nissan. Neither of our other two cars was hit, nor were our neighbors’ cars across the street.
‘IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO STEAL AN IDOL’: An Admiral resident texted this on Saturday:
A sentimental piece of yard art was stolen from the front yard of my gray house next to Pizzeria 22 on College Street. It was an Easter Island-style head carved out of wood, about 2 feet tall. This may not sound like much, but it had very sentimental value and has been with me for decades.
Keep in mind, it is not a good idea to steal an idol. The hand-carved head has orange flecked paint on it. Someone now has it in their yard probably, unaware of the danger. And they should know that it is special and especially dangerous when placed in the wrong yard of someone who has stolen it. You still have time to return it to where you found it before your trouble starts. Look for a wooden carved Easter Island head with orange paint flecks.
STOLEN INSTRUMENTS, RETURNED: Back on April 21st, we published Maggie‘s reader report about musical instruments stolen while she and her partner were traveling through West Seattle. Today, we got a followup from her:
I wanted to send a huge thank you for posting our story/photo on West Seattle Blog. A man purchased two of our instruments and, after seeing the cases still had personal items in them, started looking up info on stolen instruments in West Seattle and found the info on your site. He contacted us and has returned both the guitar and the ukulele. We cannot thank you enough!
11:36 PM: In the past half-hour, we’ve heard by text and by comment from people who heard gunfire in the North Delridge vicinity. Via scanner, we’ve just heard confirmation that police found shell casings, near Delridge and Genesee. No injuries reported; they’re talking with someone at the scene who might have been involved.
11:53 PM: Still from the scanner – the person was reported by a passerby to have been seen “reloading”; he’s being taken into custody.
Two street robberies were reported to police early today, in The Junction and in South Delridge. We don’t have details of the latter but we do have information on the former because one victim’s mother e-mailed us, including what her daughter, 22, had posted to tell friends and relatives online:
“My cousins and I were walking home from West Seattle (Alaska) Junction to my parents’ house three doors down when we were robbed (at) gunpoint by four African American men in all black at 1:15 am on Glenn Way halfway between Oregon St. and Alaska St. They took everything we had on us.”
If you have any information, the SPD incident number is 16-158458.
The second robbery is on the SPD Twitter log as having happened at 16th/Barton, incident number 16-158586.
If you saw police activity in the Luna Park area late this morning, here’s what it was about: A resident of 30th SW came face-to-face with a burglar, and says police subsequently made an arrest. Here’s the report she sent us tonight:
This morning a man broke into my home – with my dog out and about. He used a beer bottle to smash open a window, reach in and unlock it. I’m by Luna Park Cafe.
He completely ransacked my home and must have been here for a while. He was quite brazen.
He set off my fire panic button, which is how I was alerted at work because the fire dept was on their way to my home. He then turned off and stole the system.
He stayed somewhere in the house while my landlord and firemen came in, but they didn’t check out the entire house. Shortly thereafter, I showed up and entered my home to find it destroyed and my dog frantic. I figured no one would be left in the house since the firemen had been there (not knowing they didn’t check the whole house) and ended up confronting a man in my bedroom. Luckily he left without a fight.. and apologized instead while picking up his (MY) things, when I told him to leave.
The SPD arrived quickly with K9 and caught him. Thank goodness for that panic button!
Please keep an eye out for your neighbors!
Two reader reports, the first one with video, the second one with gratitude:
(UPDATED VIDEO – same footage but better quality, provided by the burglary victims on Saturday)
The Admiral resident who shared the clip reports:
I wanted to let you know that we had a “hot prowl” early (Wednesday) morning in our house in the Admiral District. At about 3:30, my wife awoke seeing someone in our hallway. She was half-awake, but when she quickly realized it wasn’t me she shook me awake and started screaming. He took off down the hallway and jumped out of the same window that he apparently entered the house. The screen had been removed and it is the one window that doesn’t completely lock, (we will be fixing that today!). We saw that there was someone headed up the Hinds Street hill, west of our house. We called the police, who came pretty quickly and did a check of the area.
Our security cameras caught footage of the man, an African-American man in his 20’s, about 6’ tall, with tight corn rows, and was wearing grey sweats, sweatshirt, and high tops.
Recognize him? Burglary detectives would be interested.
Our second report is “the theft that wasn’t” – from a reader who did want to express appreciation for the person who did a kind deed:
I had a recent incident that I wanted to share. I had been expecting a package being delivered to my house. When it didn’t show up, even though the tracking info said it was delivered, I immediately assumed that it was stolen by those pesky package thieves. So I frantically called FedEx to see what they could do about it, if anything.
After verifying all of my info they told me that the package was accidentally delivered to someone else’s house and the person who received it contacted FedEx to get the package back to its rightful owner. As soon as I heard those words I felt guilty for assuming the worst and instead was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude for that Good Samaritan. I wish I knew who they were so I could repay them. I am grateful that they did the right thing by returning it to FedEx.This incident is definitely a reminder that good things do happen and good people do exist.
Thank you, Good Samaritan!!
That photo is from Nancy, one of two smashed-in vehicle windows she noticed at Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area late today. We’ve had other reader reports lately, and the SPD crime-report map shows nine car-prowl reports in the general Westcrest vicinity in the past month, though that’s likely an undercount, since some don’t report it and some file online, which takes a while to work through the system. While an SPD “car-prowl prevention” one-sheet mentions calling 911, Nancy says today’s victims tried that and were pointed to the non-emergency line, where they gave up while waiting (as we’ve been reporting, the call center has fewer 911 lines while renovations are under way and calltakers are in temporary quarters).
Don’t leave anything in your car; you might not be as “lucky” as one recent victim, whose backpack and wallet were stolen from her car – also via window-smashing – while she was walking her dogs; the backpack was found tossed aside at 14th and Barton, according to the finder, who contacted us while trying to locate the owner. The victim told the finder that hundreds of dollars were run up on the cards in her wallet before she got them canceled.
Two notes today on the investigations of illegal tree-cutting in north West Seattle’s Duwamish Head Greenbelt:
(March photo by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)
35TH SW ‘CLEAR-CUT’ SITE: No word of charges against anyone yet, but City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared an alert that there will be “activity” the next two days at the site off the 3200 block of 35th SW, where cutting apparently done in January came to light in March. She says, “As part of the City’s investigation into the cutting of City trees near 3200 35th Ave SW, a contractor will remove blackberry bushes from the site on May 4th and 5th. The removal should reveal whether there are additional stumps, and will also help prepare the site for eventual restoration.”
ADDED 10:12 PM: Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter provided a few more details, saying the contractor “… will bring a large machine called a Spyder to the site of the trees cut … A crew from Kemp West will use the machine to clear the dense blackberries from the site. … The City’s investigation of the incident continues.” The work could start as early as 7 am.
(back to original report) SUNSET/SEATTLE SITE: As first reported here last Friday, the city also is investigating illegal tree-cutting on a Parks-owned slope beneath a popular unofficial roadside viewpoint. The investigation came to light because of a letter sent to area residents, asking if they had information on the cutting, believed to have been done in February. We subsequently had asked Parks how many trees they believe were cut; spokesperson Christina Hirsch now tells WSB that they’re expecting the number after a city arborist visits the steeply sloped site this week for an assessment.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch – first, from a reader in Westwood:
Just to put people on alert, the noises around your garbage cans might not just be raccoons…
Flasher (freak sicko) sharing one source of his insecurities late Saturday night near intersection of Cloverdale & 34th Avenue SW.
Between 1 and 2 a.m. on Saturday night (technically Sunday morning, May 1) a half hour of what I thought were raccoons messing around the garbage cans in the pitch dark outside my window, turned out to be a flasher exposing himself, etc. The distinction between raccoons and pervert was ultimately revealed when said Freak climbed on a garbage can and illuminated the . . . proceedings with a flashlight. Police came, Flasher gone, People can be very weird. Per police: keep blinds and curtains closed at night, motion sensor lights are a good idea, call police, & don’t go outside to investigate on your own.
Also on Sunday … an attempted car prowl in North Admiral. This was sent on behalf of the victim by a neighbor:
(Sunday) morning at 7:30 am, she stopped a guy trying to break into her friend’s car on 45th Ave. SW (between Holgate and Massachusetts). The guy was in a silver car with black convertible top (maybe). Heavy built, possibly Samoan, mid to late 20s with a beard. Wearing a hat (not baseball cap). She could not see his license plate…
He was trying to access the trunk of her friend’s Toyota Corolla parked in front of her house.. she yelled at him and he casually sauntered back to his car. Nothing was stolen.
They’re wondering if anyone else saw this suspect.
And from Qiong:
Hi, we parked on 59th & Lander about 3 hours (Sunday, May 1st from 11 am to 2 pm). Our windshield wipers were stolen.
Also from that area of Alki, we’re still working on a followup to Saturday night’s shooting. SPD media relations was not able to get us the report narrative today. Once we have it, we will also be pursuing SW Precinct comment on staffing plan for future weekend nights.
A particularly brazen business burglary tonight: Just as we were heading to Alki to find out more about tonight’s shooting, we heard from Dave McCoy, proprietor of Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, that someone had broken into his shop (42nd SW/SW Oregon). On our way back from Alki, we went by the shop to find out more. Dave told us the burglar(s) broke off the door handle and forced their way in, making off with 11 rods (that’s his photo above, showing where they had been). Though the alarm was set, that wasn’t enough to stop what apparently was akin to a smash-and-grab. The door and lock are already being repaired, as shown in our photo:
This comes just two weeks after thieves hit EWA while it was open on a Saturday afternoon, distracting an employee and stealing three reels. And it comes hours after EWA participated in the Junction Day of Giving, earmarking 10 percent of today’s proceeds for charity.
(WSB photos)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:29 PM: Big response heading to 57th and Alki for a reported shooting – a man is reported to have been shot in the hand. More to come.
9:35 PM: Crews arriving on scene confirm that the injury is not major. A silver vehicle might have been associated with the shooting.
9:53 PM: We’ve arrived in the area. Searching is centered by the Alki Playfield tennis courts/Whale Tail Park (Lander/59th SW). Heard on the scanner while en route, the victim was to go to the hospital via private ambulance, but was described as “uncooperative.”
9:59 PM: Police tell us at the scene that the victim is in his 20s.
They’re still looking for shell casings in the search area we mentioned above. We’re adding photos.
10:54 PM: Nothing additional from SPD so far. About 45 minutes after our first report, they tweeted
“(Officers) responded to shots fired call on Alki, found one man with non life-threatening injury to hand. Investigation ongoing” and that’s the only info they’ve published. See the comments below for multiple reports of what people in the area heard and saw.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The city is investigating another case of illegal tree-cutting in north West Seattle’s Duwamish Head Greenbelt.
Seattle Parks confirmed to WSB that there is an “ongoing investigation” involving tree-cutting on city-owned land near a popular informal roadside viewpoint in North Admiral, at Sunset and Seattle.
Two area residents told us about a letter sent to “neighbors,” seeking information about the tree-cutting, which the city believes happened in February. One neighbor sent us images of both sides of the letter, which Parks spokesperson Christina Hirsch confirmed to WSB is authentic.
This is the photo in the letter:
Above that photo, the letter begins:
We need your cooperation to resolve an illegal use of park property: unauthorized treecutting in Duwamish Head Greenbelt. This tree-cutting violates Seattle Municipal Code 18.12.070 and the responsible person(s) are subject to fines to cover the cost to replace the trees and maintain them until they are established.
The second page includes this “ground-level” view of the site where the illegal tree-cutting happened:
The letter continues:
We need the cooperation of neighbors and concerned park users to be the “ears and eyes on the ground” to ensure the protection of our valuable open space, keep our park areas safe, and maintain a peaceful environment for all the public to enjoy.
If you have any information about who cut the trees, or if you observed any tree-cutting activity anywhere within the park, please phone me directly at 206-615-0932. Verbal information given can remain anonymous by request and is not subject to public disclosure.
Richard Gholaghong
Senior Property Agent, Seattle Parks and Recreation
We called Gholaghong after receiving the letter via text, and he indicated he was heading into a meeting but would reply with more information soon. We subsequently received a note from Hirsch only confirming that the letter was for real, that the investigation was ongoing, and that she was looking into the answer to our question about how many trees were cut.
A visit to Seattle/Sunset did not yield a firsthand view of the reported tree-cutting – the slope down from the street side is extremely steep, and the downslope view is blocked by overgrown including blackberry vines. County files indicate the city bought the 2 1/2-acre site for less than a quarter-million dollars in 1992.
We will continue trying to find out more about this case, which emerged one month after The Seattle Times first reported on a large-scale case of illegal tree-cutting in east Admiral, also in the Duwamish Head Greenbelt. We have continued to follow up on that case, but there is nothing new to report, and no word yet of charges.
Another West Seattle business has been hit by burglars. This time, O’Neill Plumbing (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction. Tim O’Neill tells WSB that they “cut open a fence, punched out locks on trucks, and made off with several tools.” They have surveillance video and are offering a reward. First video shows the burglars’ truck arriving:
Second shows one burglar:
Third clip shows another:
The burglary happened early this morning at O’Neill’s headquarters at 6056 California SW.
That’s our video from Det. Scotty Bach‘s presentation last night at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network – looking at the car prowl/auto theft epidemic from an police perspective.
Det. Bach’s presentation was rather remarkable in that he began, as you’ll see and hear, with some frankness about what happens once a suspect is caught, as well as some insight into what he really does vs. what the public might think he does. “I arrest repeat offenders all the time,” he said – and he offered advice directly from one (end of the clip), while also showing “how things go out on the street,” as well as photos of a few local suspects they’re still trying to find.
He had statistics, trends, and much more. So far this year, for example, in all of King County, he says, auto thefts are up more than 18 percent – 2900+ compared to 2500+ during the same period last year. And in this area, “car prowls are off the hook,” he said. And he repeated what you’ve hopefully heard many times before: DON’T LEAVE ANYTHING IN YOUR CAR. Even if you think it’s “covered up,” thieves know that and will break in. Lock your car – thinking that leaving it unlocked is a deterrent, is a myth, he said.
He also mentioned the rise in license-plate thefts (take a look at yours at least daily!), as noted here in recent reader reports.
Our video, focusing on his slide deck while you hear from him offcamera, is 21 minutes and includes much more – it’s worth a listen.
Also at the WSBWCN meeting:
Southwest Precinct Capt. Pierre Davis started with the crime-trend update, including what he had said at another recent meeting, that south Highland Park, near Roxbury, has been hit especially hard with car prowls lately because the thieves work in teams and shift back and forth across the county line, depending on where they think they’ll find less law enforcement at any given time. He repeated the prevention advice – don’t even leave a jacket or other clothing on a car seat because thieves will assume it’s concealing something. And if you didn’t already know this, in response to questions, Capt. Davis confirmed that Westcrest Park and Lincoln Park remain high-prowl areas.
He also, as he did during the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting earlier this month, spoke to the ongoing gunfire incidents. Any suspected gunfire incident gets a police response, he said; most gunfire incidents have a reason – the people shooting are not just firing at random; sometimes it’s a drug deal that went awry, or some kind of disagreement between acquaintances. Nuisance properties often play into these incidents and the precinct is working with the City Attorney’s Office on known problem spots, he said.
The West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meets on fourth Tuesdays, 6:30 pm, at the precinct. Keep an eye on the WSBWCN website for updates.
SMOKING BURGLAR: A Monday burglary, reported to us via text:
We live in the Admiral area by California & Massachusetts St. Our basement was broken into … between noon & 5 pm. The person(s) entered through a window by breaking it with a rock. It appears nothing was taken but they’d smoked three cigarettes and left the cigarette filters on the floor of the basement. The police have been contacted.
WESTWOOD CAR PROWLS: From A:
This morning my neighbor knocked on my door to let me know that both of our vehicles had been broken into by smashing out the passenger window (in our off street apartment building parking lot.) At least 3 cars were hit at 2500 SW Trenton Street and the police did say there was another location a block away that had a similar problem last night. It happened between midnight and 7:30 AM, but none of us were woken by alarms.
Since receiving A’s e-mail, we also heard from Rich, also at that same complex, who says he was one of “6 or 7” hit overnight.
HIGHLAND PARK CAR PROWL: Jeffery reports:
My SUV was broken into last night between 9 pm – 7 am this morning. Vehicle parked in my driveway and my driveway does have motion lights. Doors were locked but when I was leaving for work this morning I found my all of the doors unlocked and the contents of the storage compartments were laying on the seats and floorboards. No windows were broken nor were the door locks tampered with. I don’t keep anything of value in my car but they did take around $25 in change and a large blue and black CD case with roughly 100 or so CD’s in it. I live in the 9400 block of 13th Ave SW in the Highland Park neighborhood. A police report has been filed.
One last reminder that car prowls and thefts are the spotlight topic at tonight’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, 6:30 pm at the precinct, all welcome.
GRIEF COMPOUNDED BY CRIME: As if dealing with the death of a loved one wasn’t tough enough, a reader’s family is also dealing with a burglary:
Our mom passed away (last week) and her home was broke into sometime (between Saturday night and Sunday night).
I’ve gone there every day since she died. She had a lot of meds in her house, I’m thinking that’s what they were after, which makes us think whoever did this knows our story. Police came, and were wonderful. They think (the burglar[s]) may have been scared off. Nothing was taken.
The reader just wants people in the area to be aware – this happened in the general Schmitz Park vicinity. P.S. Seems also worth noting that next Saturday is the twice-yearly Drug Takeback Day, 10 am-2 pm April 30th. If for any reason you have no-longer-needed medication, drop it off at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster) front desk, no questions asked.
JUNCTION GUNFIRE FOLLOWUP: Though the incident still isn’t in the publicly accessible online system, we finally got SPD confirmation that gunfire evidence WAS found in the investigation of Sunday morning’s incident in The Junction. We just talked to precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith and he said a report in the SPD system shows that officers recovered three 40-caliber casings in the street in the 4500 block of 42nd SW and noted a “possible bullet hole found on a nearby towing sign.” No one was hurt and no other damage was located, according to the internal report; no suspects were found or arrested, but two vehicles described only as silver and “dark” were seen leaving the area right afterward. Why this information wasn’t in the report checked by the officer with whom we spoke at the precinct yesterday afternoon, he didn’t know. (The incident number, 16-141399, does not currently show anywhere in the publicly accessible system.)
REMINDER – NEXT CRIME PREVENTION/SAFETY MEETING … is tomorrow night’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, focusing on car theft and car prowling. 6:30 pm at the precinct – full preview on the WSBWCN website.
In West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:
SUSPECTED GUNFIRE IN THE JUNCTION: We’ve been checking on this after several inquiries about possible gunshots and arguing heard in the 3:30 am vicinity, near Capco Plaza at 42nd/Alaska in The Junction. No one texted or called when it happened, so we didn’t get to check it out in real time (so much is not on the scanner these days – 206-293-6302 is our 24/7 hotline), and the best we’ve been able to do is process of elimination: There were no medic calls on the Seattle Fire log, which means no one was hurt; no gunfire incidents on the SPD Twitter call log or SPD police-report maps. To go the extra mile in checking on it, we went to the Southwest Precinct to see if someone could check the report for us. The desk officer said he already had just checked on the incident at a caller’s request, and he said there’s nothing in the system about gunfire – which would mean no shell casings, no bullet holes – the final call designation was a noise disturbance related to a “party.” If we find out anything more, we’ll add it, but that’s all we have so far.
CAR BREAK-INS: Reader report from Kami:
Looks like WS was hit by more car prowls last night. Our car was broken into between 10-8am last night (in the 4000 block of) 36th Ave SW. Ping Zing 2 golf clubs were stolen in Bengals golf bag. Police said multiple other cars were prowled on the same block in the alley parking spots and garages. Remind neighbors to watch for cars entering the alleys that are not recognized and report anything suspicious.
Reminder – car prowls/thefts are the spotlight topic Tuesday night at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, all welcome, 6:30 pm, precinct meeting room at 2300 SW Webster.
West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports – and a few more notes – tonight:
EARLY-MORNING CAR PROWL: From Katie:
Car broken into on 64th Ave SW, Alki neighborhood, at Hinds. A Hispanic man, 5’10”, found rifling through trunk, ran off when brother came out to his car. Had gotten into passenger cab and stolen a small bag with supplies and personal effects along with my paycheck. About 6 am today.
THIEVES HIT YARD, VEHICLES: Deanna says this happened “sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday”:
They went out into our backyard and stole lawn mower, weed whacker, step ladder, and a few small decorative items. 5000 block of Delridge Way SW. (Also) Our neighbors’ car was broken into parked next to our house, and our neighbors’ truck (a few townhomes down) was also broken into. They’re around 5100 Delridge
BIKE FOUND, BIKE STOLEN: First, Dawnee in Highland Park wonders if this might be your stolen bicycle:
Hers was stolen two days ago, not the first time she’s been hit by theft. Hers is a red, SE Palisade 21-speed women’s bike, taken from 18th/Cloverdale.
ITEMS FOUND ON GATEWOOD ROAD: A reader found these on Thursday:
On leaving my home at the top of Gatewood Road at 12:30 pm … I noticed two bags sitting on top of our rockery. There were multiple empty Trader Joe an Goodwill bags except for one which contained a set of keys (6 total including car keys and car alarm) and maybe house keys? Also eyeglasses and sunglasses in a case with a $5 bill inside; a headband was on the sidewalk also. Also a small Panasonic car radio remote and several items I can’t identify.
Sound familiar? Let us know.
OTHER FOUND ITEMS – MAYBE STOLEN, MAYBE NOT: In case you’ve missed previous mentions, we’ve added a new section to the WSB Forums since our technical changes earlier this year, a “West Seattle Lost/Found” section for everything but pets (who’ve had their own Lost/Found section on WSB for eight years), after frequent requests. While the mentions above seem to likely have been dumped by thieves, it’s not always easy to make that judgment, so if you find something and you’re not sure, that’s where to post. One item added today: An iPad found in Sunrise Heights.
NEXT CRIME/SAFETY MEETING: Another reminder that the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting on Tuesday will feature, in addition to a crime briefing from Southwest Precinct leadership, special guest Detective Scotty Bach, with info about car prowls/thefts. Somebody from your neighborhood should be there, even if you are Block Watch-less. 6:30 pm Tuesday, precinct meeting room on the parking lot off Webster west of Delridge.
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