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.

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!

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.

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!!

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.

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.

In West Seattle Crime Watch:

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.

In West Seattle Crime Watch:

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.

At this week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, police said car prowls remain rampant. And we have more to report here:

INSTRUMENTS STOLEN: Maggie e-mailed that image along with her report that this happened in The Triangle:

My partner and I are musicians who were traveling through Seattle this week, visiting family, and had our car broken into and all our instruments stolen. Among the stolen gear was a rare parlor guitar, handpainted with no maker/label, from the early 1900’s. We are hoping it will surface at a pawn shop or music store somewhere so we can get it back… any help getting the word out would be so appreciated.

OFF-LEASH AREA ALERT: Two readers reported seeing/hearing evidence of multiple car prowls in recent days at the Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area, and the police-report map confirms it.

DETECTIVE AT WSBWCN NEXT WEEK: Also on the topic of car prowls/thefts, Seattle Police Detective Scotty Bach is the guest at next Tuesday’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, sharing expertise on prevention and deterrence. 6:30 pm (April 26th) at the Southwest Precinct, all welcome.

One more reader report:

BIKE FOUND – STOLEN? From Steve, the photo and report:

Early in the morning of April 19th, a bike appeared in the alley behind 63rd Ave SW on the North side of Admiral. It is a Raleigh M20 Aluminum frame Mountain Sport Bike (2005?) with Shimano cranks and shifters.

Steve shared additional details that the owner would know – if this is your stolen bike, let us know and we’ll connect you.