West Seattle, Washington
18 Thursday
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
STOLEN CAR-TOP TENT AND CROSSBARS: The photo and report are from Karyn:
My Roofnest Sparrow tent and Thule Aero crossbars were stolen off of my car parked on 45th Ave SW at SW Alaska near the Junction, sometime between 10 pm on Tues. 11/28 and 12 pm Weds. 11/29. Please let me know if you see one near you or for sale somewhere – the tent had blue painters tape on some of the latches, a safety strap around the middle, and the rear grey buckle strap has been stitched together. Thank you for keeping an eye out! Please email kamckelvey@gmail.com with any information.
ABANDONED BIKES: Peter sent the photo:
He spotted these bicycles abandoned near the north side of Westwood Village. If you recognize either one, let us know.
8:53 PM: Thanks to the Arbor Heights Elementary families who forwarded this note sent tonight by acting AHES principal Alana Haider regarding an incident that was reported around 2:40 pm :
Shortly after school was dismissed this afternoon, you or your student may have noticed the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Seattle Fire Department on our campus while they responded to a threatening incident.
An unknown adult in a car sprayed a substance that SPD believes may have been pepper spray toward several students and their families while they were walking on the sidewalk. The unknown adult immediately drove west on 105th and was not seen again as we dealt with this situation.
A teacher on duty immediately alerted the school office and called 911. The SPD and paramedic teams appeared about five minutes later. They tended to the individuals who had been sprayed or who were nearby. I am thankful to say that the students and families who were involved in this incident received treatment and are recovering.
There is nothing I take more seriously than the safety of our students, staff, and school community. We will continue to be prepared to respond to urgent situations in our school.
All Arbor Heights staff on duty wear safety vests. Mr. Frink and I will specifically station ourselves on 105th near where the incident occurred tomorrow morning and again at dismissal. Other staff members (in addition to the usual duty assignments) will be vested up and join those on assigned duty.
Please remember that in addition to reporting concerns to Arbor Heights staff, our families may use the SPS Safe Schools Hotline 206-252-0510 to report any threats to SPS schools. This phone number is managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. …
We have a message out to SFD to find out how many people were treated, but might not hear back tonight because they’re dealing with a huge fire elsewhere in the city. According to recorded dispatch audio, the initial callout mentioned at least two victims, a 4-year-old and an adult woman. As for the person who sprayed the substance from their vehicle, there was a partial early description in therecorded audio – a Black man in a black hat in a gray 4-door car. An officer told dispatch that at least one nearby house appeared to have a security camera that might have recorded the incident, but no one was answering the door. If you have any information, contact SPD – their tip line is 206-233-5000, and this is considered an assault – and refer to incident # 23-342749.
ADDED: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells WSB they treated one person, a 10-year-old girl.
Thanks to everybody who tipped us today that the West Seattle Junction Post Office‘s parking-lot mailbox had disappeared. All that’s left in its place – bolts. Took us all day but we now have confirmation from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service that the disappearance is a case of theft: “We do believe the box was stolen overnight. We are working on the investigation of the theft,” Postal Inspector John Wiegand tells WSB – no other details so far. Meantime, USPS regional spokesperson Kim Frum told us it will be replaced, but she doesn’t have a timeline yet. It’s been seven months since this mailbox and its counterpart outside the Westwood Village Post Office were both downsized – to what were described at the time as more-secure mailboxes. This isn’t the first time thieves have taken an entire West Seattle USPS box – consider the saga of the Admiral/Belvidere box that’s been stolen twice.
Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
BURGLARY ATTEMPT: A North Delridge resident whose home was targeted by a would-be burglar emailed us this report:
I have been trying to spread the word because it is pretty frightening and now I can’t sleep.
(Monday) morning, around 12:45 am, someone attempted to enter a downstairs bedroom from the window. The bedroom was occupied and the entry point was inside our fenced yard. The house and yard was lit and it would have been clear there were people inside. The occupant of the bedroom awoke and confronted them and they left. She said it was a heavyset light-skinned man with brown hair and a beard wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He appeared to be in his 40s. He did not appear intoxicated. Police came, but didn’t find anything.
We later noticed the intruder had moved a furniture item to the window to help get in. It would be difficult to guess that this window existed from outside the fence and we suspect the house must have been cased earlier.
Additional lights and cameras are now up, but I’m not sure when we’ll be able to sleep again.
We are located in North Delridge near 26th and Hudson.
CAR BREAK-INS: Two readers reported seeing the aftermath of break-ins along Beach Drive, including Peggy, who emailed to report: “At least 4 cars were broken into along Beach Drive between Constellation Park and La Rustica on Sunday night, and a couple more on Monday night. Folks should be careful not to keep valuables (or anything) in their cars, particularly in plain sight.”
Thanks for the tips. Admiral Safeway is open again after a threat determined to be unfounded. Here’s what SPD spokesperson Det. Judinna Gulpan: “Police responded to a reported bomb threat (there) around 7:00 a.m. Officers arrived and found most occupants of the business had already evacuated. An employee reported a suspect called and stated an incendiary device was placed inside the business and would be detonated if the suspect was not provided what was requested. Police completed a search of the business and did not locate a device. Business has reopened and there were no reported injuries.”
5:09 PM: Jill is hoping at least some of what burglar(s) stole from her garage might turn up:
Our garage got broken into Saturday night and they stole two Rad Power Bikes and tools. That we can get over, but we just discovered that they also stole all of our sentimental Christmas ornaments. I’m just sick about this.
Given that these aren’t of street value, I’m hoping they were dumped somewhere in West Sea. We think there are two Rubbermaid totes of ornaments (can’t recall the tote colors, maybe red, maybe clear?).
Our garage is located on the west side of 44th between Dakota and Genesee and our neighbor saw a White Escalade drive through the alley around 4 or 5 am. That’s unconfirmed as being a car of interest but the only thing we have.
If you find any tossed-aside totes of ornaments (or dumped bikes/tools, for that matter), let us know and we’ll connect you.
7:08 PM: Jill got the ornaments back! Bikes and tools, still out there.
A teenager walking in south Admiral late this afternoon managed to get away from this drive-up confrontation described by his parent:
My teenage son was a victim of an attempted robbery (4:15/4:20 pm) in the intersection of SW Hinds Street and 42nd Ave SW. He was walking home and had just turned east on SW Hinds Street from California Ave SW, when a driver in a black Prius stopped in the intersection and rolled down their window. The driver asked him to walk up to their car. My son started to walk toward home and the driver then asked him if he was a “gang banger.” When my son didn’t respond, the driver then said “stop playing around, I’ll get out of the car and beat your a–.” My son started to walk away and the driver then asked him “what type of phone do you have.” Again my son did not respond. At this time a white car approached the intersection and my son tried to get them to roll down their window to ask for a ride/help. The driver of the car did not respond and at this point another car (red Mazda) approaches the intersection so our son walks up to that car. At the same time he was walking to the red car, the black Prius drives around the traffic circle and hits the white car from the side. The back passengers of the red Mazda opened their door, which allowed my son to get in and they drove away and were able to drop him off at our house a few blocks away.
After my son got into the red car, the black Prius backs up and then pulls forward to hit the white car again and then pulls out and continues driving south on 42nd Ave SW.
The driver of the black Prius was a black male, late teens/early 20s, wearing a gray hoodie and black ski mask (he was not wearing the ski mask at first but pulled it up over his face after he was done talking to my son). The front passenger was a black female, with black “puffy hair/afro like” hair, late teens/early 20s, wearing a black puffer jacket or hoodie? The back seat passenger was a mid-teens black male wearing a blue hoodie.
Police have been contacted by us, the driver of the red Mazda, and the white car. We have spoken to the police and have an incident # 23-340914. They believe these are the same people who have done attempted robberies/robberies in the neighborhood for the past few months. They say that they have guns on them.
We want to thank the driver and passengers in the red Mazda for getting our son home safely.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
EMERALD WATER ANGLERS HIT AGAIN: The fly-fishing-focused shop at 4502 42nd SW in The Junction (WSB sponsor) is dealing with the aftermath of another crime. This time, says proprietor Dave McCoy, thieves dressed all in black swooped in, grabbed expensive jackets, and ran out. For now EWA is changing their open-door policy. The store is open (until 5 pm today), but you might have to knock.
DUMPED-LIKELY-STOLEN MOTORCYCLE: Sent by Jillian:
Looks like a stolen Kawasaki motorcycle was stripped early yesterday morning and left at the Duwamish trailhead at 14th Ave SW and SW Holly. Still there this morning.
CAR PROWLERS: Seen by Todd in the 1100 block of Alki late last night after his barking dog alerted him – “I looked out into the darkness and saw a short-ish woman with a pit bull checking the doors on several parked cars in front of the condos….across the street was a taller man wearing a full mask watching her…when she came back across the street they seemed to notice that I was watching them and they did a quick walk the other direction then came back to an older black toyota tacoma pickup and took off in the direction of Alki Beach.”
Police are searching the Morgan Junction area for a suspect in a shoplift-turned-armed-robbery – the thief brandished a weapon – at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor). The description so far is a white man in his mid-to-late 20s, 6′, medium build, shaved head, beard, neck tattoo, brown coat, blue jeans, with a gun in his waistband. He left with two cases of beer (Modelo and Corona), officers told dispatch, last seen southbound on foot – they’re not sure if he was headed for California or 42nd.
Right in the heart of an extra-busy season for the West Seattle Food Bank, they’re dealing with an extra expense and hassle. A reader who volunteers at WSFB tipped us that the food bank was down a van because of damage done by a gas thief. We asked the WSFB’s Breanna Bushaw for details:
Someone used a tool to cut a hole in the gas line and siphoned gas out of the van. This happened in our parking garage around 2:30 am on Sunday morning. This was not noticed until the van stopped running (Monday) during our food rescue runs. We know we have incurred towing and repair costs of at least $3,500 plus rental of a replacement until the van is back in action.
We rely on the WSFB vans to transport our food rescue donations from local stores, food drive pickups, mobile food bank deliveries and more. The van is at the auto shop for repairs; we hope to have our second van up and running soon.
We asked Breanna how the community can help – she replied, “Any donations from the community to help with repair costs would be tremendously appreciated – westseattlefoodbank.kindful.com.” Also, as noted yesterday, WSFB will receive all proceeds from tonight’s soft-open (4-9 pm) at GH Pasta & Pizza (7500 35th SW).
Many questions about an SFD and SPD response that tied up Avalon Way for a while about an hour and a half ago. This one was a bit complicated. Here’s what is reported to have happened, according to dispatchers, officers, and firefighters:
First, firefighters were in the area dealing with an alarm at an apartment building. Meantime, initially unrelated, a woman was reported to be threatening people aboard a northbound C Line bus with a “box cutter.” That would be King County Transit Police‘s jurisdiction, but they asked for SPD help, so officers headed that way. In the meantime, the woman got off the bus and was then reported to be climbing on it, “injuring herself.” Firefighters were treating her for those injuries when they reported that she started threatening them with violence, so they asked for reinforcements including police help. As police approached, she bolted. The search ensued from there. They did not find her and couldn’t get a K-9 team to join, so the search ended. They did circulate a photo taken from the bus’s security camera, but we don’t have access to that; the description announced multiple times over the radio is that she was a Black woman in her 30s, in a reddish or purplish jacket and sweat paints. The suspect was the only person injured so far as we’ve heard.
1:28 PM: Thanks for the tips. The police search in the Westwood Village/Roxhill Park this past half-hour followed a report of an armed robbery. We’re still catching up on details – more to come.
1:33 PM: Police at the scene tell us the victim was robbed in the park. The search has wrapped up; they lost the robber’s trail in the Westwood Village parking lot (which could mean he got away in a car). He was described initially as a Black man in his 20s, 6’1″, thin, red jacket, armed with a handgun.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:
STOLEN TACOMA: Carina‘s pickup truck is the second vehicle we’ve heard of this week that was taken just a moment after it was left running:
Stolen 2019 Toyota Tacoma from 51st and Charlestown at 7:20 am today. Car was running to warm up before taking son to day care; thieves must have been hanging out because they took it within one minute. License plate is C09904R. Truck bed has black cover. Car will likely be dumped around West Seattle. Keys were not in car so not sure how long it’ll run without them. Please call or text 206-859-1170 if you see it.
Police incident # is 23-336019.
WARRANT OPERATION ARRESTS TEENAGE SUSPECT: Thanks to the reader who sent this photo from 12th SW just north of Roxbury:
They said SWAT assisted; the operation was wrapping up when we got there to check, and all they would tell us was that it was related to a warrant. We’re still following up and will add anything more we find out.
1:40 PM UPDATE: SPD tells us, “The warrant service in the 9400 block of 12 Ave SW resulted in the arrest of a 16-year-old male juvenile who was the suspect in three armed carjackings and four armed robberies at gas stations. These crimes occurred in the South and Southwest Precinct communities in the city of Seattle.” We hope to find out more about this later.
MAILBOX PROWLER: This report is from Grant:
On Friday 11/17 at 4:00 pm, we chased off a skinny caucasian mail thief in a black hoodie driving a small dark gray or black car with a noisy muffler. The vehicle has a dark stripe on the bumper or rear/roof, and a taped-up / plastic-wrapped driver’s-side rear window. The person in this video damaged the neighbor’s locking mailbox by forcbly pulling it open and breaking the lock – so they know some mailbox locks can be easily defeated. We wanted to share this photo and video so other West Seattle residents could be alert if they see this vehicle in their neighborhood. Video (here). This occurred in the Morgan Junction / Pelly Place area.
Lauren reports her car was stolen from her garage in Gatewood just before 1:30 this afternoon: “It’s a black Subaru Crosstrek. License place is BWV1276; has a “life is good” magnet on the back. The incident # is 23-335354.”
UPDATE: Found – see comments.
Thomas reports, “My car got stolen this morning around 8:30 am. In front of my apartment, the address is 4208 Beach Dr. The stolen vehicle is the 2015 Lexus CT200, white with black top. Please help me find the car.” We’re still awaiting the plate and report #s and will add when we have them.
(Added 5:15 am: Photo of van being towed, sent by @WestSeaWX)
3:58 AM: Rush Hour, the Junction shop hit early Friday by crash-and-grab burglar(s) driving a stolen Silverado, has just been hit again. This time a Kia Sedona (registered in Kent, not yet confirmed stolen) was used – someone saw it lodged in the building, and called it in just after 3:30 am. Police are there now investigating. Dispatch told officers that there was a report of a gray SUV leaving the scene after the van was abandoned. Rush Hour already was planning a move to a new location in two weeks.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: As linked in comments, a crowdfunding campaign has launched to help Rush Hour recover.
Four reader reports via email and text:
EARLY MORNING CAR BREAK-IN: From an anonymous reader:
I would like to report a theft gang that worked our street early this morning
North Admiral, 1800 block of Sunset Ave SW
05:20 AM on 11/18/2023
2 pedestrians (one on sidewalk, one on the street) plus one white van driving slowly behind them
They broke into a car and stole items from the trunk.
HIT-RUN KIA: In case you saw the downed sign today and wondered what happened – here’s what a reader texted late last night:
We just saw and heard a white or silver Kia Soul swerving around; they hit and knocked down a pedestrian crossing sign at 37th SW and SW Brandon St. They were being closely followed by a dark-colored, older pickup truck and we could hear their tires squealing for quite a while down the road.
THREE STOLEN KIAS FOUND IN 1 PLACE: Stolen cars turn up in a wide variety of places. But here’s word of a hot spot: Two stolen Kias reported here this past week were found – with a third – near 17th and Barton. Both John (Kona) and Tina (Sedona) told us theirs were two of the three (and we’ve updated those stories).
ABANDONED-POSSIBLY-STOLEN BICYCLE: Sent by Karen:
Wondering if anyone is missing this bike or recognizes it? It was left behind the guardrail at the Dead End on SW Dawson and 36th Ave SW yesterday morning (11/17) around 11:25. A neighbor noticed a male kid/teenager leave it there, disappear from view briefly, then reappear and head away on a different bike (perhaps one that was stashed or stolen from nearby). I’ve shared the photo with our neighborhood and no one recognizes it.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:
RUSH HOUR CRASH-AND-GRAB: Thanks for the tips and photos. Above is Jolene‘s photo of the stolen Chevrolet Silverado that was used in a crash-and-grab burglary at Rush Hour in The Junction (4448 California SW) just before 5 am. We just went to Rush Hour to find out more from the shop’s owners.
They told us the burglar(s) got away with some clothing, but not a major dollar amount – the damage was far more costly. Police told them the truck had been stolen in West Seattle (per incident audio, that happened in South Delridge, and the pickup’s owner wasn’t even aware yet). No description of the burglar(s) so far. Meantime, the shop owners are not sure yet whether they’ll be able to open today but promised an update. The shop has been in The Junction less than a year.
(3:07 PM UPDATE: Rush Hour IS open now after some repairs and will be until 8 pm tonight. We also asked them about their moving plans; they expect to open a permanent location in the ex-bike/ex-beauty storefront at 4517 California SW on December 2.)
STOLEN KONA: At least two other auto thefts in West Seattle this morning – first from John: “Reported to SPD a stolen white Hyundai Kona (with the anti-theft recall installed), License # BVL 7802. Stolen in North Admiral near the corner of SW College St and 44th Ave SW, between midnight and 4:30 am.” (Added: Police incident # 23-332133.) SATURDAY UPDATE: John says it was one of the three stolen Kias found near 17th and Barton, along with Tina’s, reported here on Tuesday.
STOLEN PICKUP: This just came in as we were writing this roundup – Jeff‘s black Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was stolen around 8 am:
I wanted to report a stolen truck, which was taken from directly in front of our house (North Admiral, due east of Hiawatha). I had started it to defrost the windows and warm it up, went inside to help get the kids out the door for school, and came back outside and it was gone. Keys were in the truck. I filed a police report, Incident #: 23-332193. The license plate is C92172X.
10:35 AM: Thanks for the tips. Shoppers tell us they were told to clear out of Westwood Village Target around 9:40 am, after a shoplifting suspect turned violent. Police arrested the suspect on Delridge Way a short time later. According to dispatch audio, the suspect was reported to have assaulted a store manager inside the fitting-room area. Shoppers at some point were told to evacuate the store (which has since returned to normal operation), and the suspect left the store too. Police searching the area made an arrest a few blocks away, at Delridge and Henderson. Medics were called for the injured employee; we’re following up with SFD.
5:26 PM: We’ve since also checked with SPD and jail/court records. First, SFD says the 36-year-old assault victim was treated for “minor injuries” and did not want to be taken to a hospital. Second, SPD says the 33-year-old suspect was booked for investigation of robbery – they say he still had stolen property in his possession when he attacked the store employee, so that turned the shoplift into a robbery. According to jail/court records, this is his fourth time in the King County Jail this year – the other three were on misdemeanor cases, one day in jail in June, three days in July, two weeks in September/October. He had five felony cases in King County Superior Court between 2008 – when he was 18 – and 2015, including auto theft, drugs, and gun possession. He’ll likely have a bail hearing tomorrow, so we’ll follow up.
FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: We’ve been waiting for prosecutors to send a document so we could do a detailed followup, but in the meantime, the jail roster shows bail was set for the suspect today at $150,000.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:
CAR WASH BURGLARIZED: Thanks for the tip on this. The coin machines at Car Wash Palace (35th/Graham) were stolen early today. According to archived dispatch audio, police were sent there around quarter till 6 am because of an alarm, and discovered the machines missing. Our tipster says that left the car wash closed for business this morning, but we haven’t been able to verify that yet.
SALON CARD READER THEFT/FRAUD: According to SPD report narrative, Tram’s Salon on the north edge of The Junction was hit by a card-reader thief and fraudster Monday afternoon:
At approximately (1:30 pm), the (thief) walked into the establishment and claimed he wanted to prepay for his services. The (victim) handed the suspect a small device used for processing card information for payment. Unknown to the (victim), the (thief) somehow used his card to refund himself $2,500. According to the (victim), he then ran out of the store with the … payment device. There is a possibility the money could have been taken after he stole the machine … later in the day, (the victim) received notification from the establishment’s bank.
The thief was described as a Black man in his mid-20s, 6 feet tall, thin, in a hoodie and mask.
STOLEN VAN: Tina sent the report and photo:
Our 2017 Kia Sedona was stolen from in front of our house last night, near 35th & Holden. It is brown with a U-Haul hitch installed. Washington License plate # BGU7189. Would appreciate if folks could keep an eye out.
SATURDAY UPDATE: Tina emailed to report, “Our minivan was recovered along with two other stolen vehicles. They were parked next to an abandoned apartment building on the 1700 block of SW Barton.”
The report and photo are from Beth:
I’m hoping the WSB community can help identify a hit and run car/driver.
Last night our houseguest’s car was hit around 9 pm by a hit and run driver.
We heard the loud noise but didn’t know what it was until this morning when we looked outside.
They hit the front of the car and the rear view mirror of our guest’s car and left the casing for their own rear view mirror behind.
Please be on the lookout for a vehicle (likely an SUV or minivan) with driver’s-side damage in the front and missing the casing for the driver’s rear-view mirror.
We live in the Genesee neighborhood on a street without a lot of through traffic so I’m hoping the car is seen nearby.
Police report number pending.
Please email if seen: hitandrunwestseattle@gmail.com
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning:
STOLEN CAR: Jennifer sent word of her stolen car: “2017 silver Hyundai Veloster, license BOT1064, stolen off 34 Ave SW across from West Seattle Elementary School. Police report # 23-326342.”
STOLEN PACKAGE: Annie says this happened this morning on Barton between 30th and 31st:
We were sitting at our dining room table directly in front of our front door. A forest green (with gray bottom) 2000 Dodge truck with a lot of large items in the back (looked like a lawn mower and random appliances) pulled up; a white man, shaved head, over 6’2″, in a faded black T-shirt, jogged up, grabbed a package off our porch and ran to the truck.
The driver pulled away as he was getting in.
The photo and report are from Sean in Admiral:
My truck was stolen again. It’s been seen several times in West Seattle. The driver won’t stop so there’s nothing police can do. If someone sees it parked, please call police. It was stolen on Tuesday and reported same day. 1992 Nissan pickup B27758P. Police report number – 23-322544.
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