West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Latest reader report of a car stolen in West Seattle: Red ’99 Civic with an Air Force bumper sticker, license A0E7374, stolen “sometime last night outside our home on 34th Ave SW & Morgan (behind Walgreens).” Call 911 if you see it.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:
ANOTHER GOLD MAXIMA STOLEN: From Chris:
Our Gold 1996 Nissan Maxima was stolen 2 days ago from the 35th and Roxbury area. The sunroof started to leak so there is blue painter’s tape around the whole edge of the sunroof.
I had a similar car stolen twice and got it back so we have hope.
Last weekend, Matt‘s car, same year/make/model/color, was stolen; a WSB reader found it. Hope someone finds Chris’s car; call 911 if you see it.
CAR VANDALISM: A West Seattle Community Orchestras musician who was at Chief Sealth International High School for weekly rehearsal this past Tuesday says her car’s window was smashed while they were parked there, but “Nothing was taken, not even a bike helmet and a couple of other random things in the back seat. And we don’t ever leave anything valuable in the car anyway.”
6:41 PM: Thanks to everyone texting us about Guardian One, the law-enforcement helicopter – it’s over Highland Park because of a search for burglary suspects. We don’t know yet exactly where the break-in was, but we’re seeing some police vehicles along the 9000 block of 8th SW near Westcrest Park.
7:23 PM: Police describe the break-in that led to the search as “an armed burglary.” We don’t yet know if anyone was home or not; there were no medical calls in the area, so no indication that anyone was hurt. A K-9 team also was used in the search.
9:23 PM: According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, early reports indicate “two male suspects armed with handguns entered a residence in the 9000 block of 8th SW) around 6 pm. They “encountered residents inside the house and fled on foot shortly thereafter.” Despite an extensive search, no arrests yet; no one was hurt.
ADDED 1:52 PM WEDNESDAY: SPD Blotter has just published details of how police were told this unfolded:
Lots of info in West Seattle Crime Watch today, including three new reader reports and two followups:
CAN YOU FIND THIS STOLEN CAR? WSB readers have spotted three stolen vehicles in recent days. Maybe this will be the fourth. Jena shared the photo and explains, “My boyfriend’s 1991 Honda Accord Coupe was stolen from out front of our house last night sometime after 12:30 am in Arbor Heights.” Call 911 if you see it.
STOLEN, THEN FOUND: The most recent of the aforementioned three stolen cars spotted by readers was Matt‘s gold Nissan Maxima, reported here Sunday, found in Arbor Heights this morning.
RECOGNIZE THIS BICYCLE? It turned up in an alley west of The Junction.
Let us know if you recognize it. (Looks a lot like this one, but that one had been taken in for safekeeping last we heard.)
CAR PROWL: From Sage K:
Just wanted to let you know that sometime between 11:45 pm on Sunday Nov. 2nd and 8 pm Monday Nov. 3rd, my car was broken into while parked in the parking lot for the Longfellow Creek Apts on Delridge where I live (the gate which is supposed to be closed from 6 pm-6 am has been open for about a week as someone broke it, which means parking lot not as controlled). They punched the lock on the driver’s side door.
While I’m lucky that the few things they took: gate opener (which leads me to believe it was a resident or someone that knows one), blu tooth, phone charger, blue mid size Maglite, cloth Trader Joe’s bag (wt heck?) sliver car shade, and a box in the trunk that had some oil, funnels and other car maintenance misc items. Have a relatively low replacement cost and they left most of the things I actually care about. Replacing door locks even with insurance is a pain and costly.
AHEAD – as promised, a followup on the marijuana-investigation raids at two Gatewood homes last Saturday (here’s our original story):
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The incident occurred near the intersection of 40th Ave SW and SW Juneau St, in the Fairmount Springs neighborhood, likely sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Thursday morning I noticed that the cover on our car (a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette) was torn open in the back.
We initially suspected perhaps vandals cut it open, but upon closer examination we discovered that a vehicle had scraped almost the entire back end of the car, tearing the cover open (there is a lot of missing paint). We thought this was odd since the car was backed up to the curb of the triangular island bounded by 40th, Juneau, and Fauntleroy in a back-in angle parking spot right near the intersection. Looking at the scene in more detail in the daylight we figured out what had happened…
Three Four West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
STOLEN CAR TO WATCH FOR: From Matt:
My gold 1996 Nissan Maxima was stolen Halloween night from right in front of my house (in the 5900 block of) 37th Ave SW. I’m shocked anyone would want to take the effort for this car, but they did.
Sometimes stolen vehicles are found nearby, sometimes miles away (as reported here last night and on Thursday); if you see it somewhere, please call 911.
CAR BREAK-IN: From Gary:
(Saturday) morning between 3:00 am and 7:30 my truck was broken into on 48th Ave SW between Charlestown and Spokane street. They did a significant amount of damage to my door latch. Please keep an eye out …
STORE HELD UP: Two men held up a clerk at the Rite-Aid store south of The Junction around 9 pm last Monday. We hadn’t heard about this until we saw the “robbery” icon on the police-reports map a few days later; then it took a few days for the narrative to become available. The clerk told police one man (described in the report only as white) came to the counter, asked for a carton of cigarettes, grabbed it away and said he had a gun so the clerk had “better not try anything.” He fled with another man (described in the report only as black) who had been standing by the nearby lottery-ticket machine, and they got 
away in what the report described as “an older-looking gray 2-door SUV,” no plate info.
(added 5:04 pm) CAR STOLEN, FOUND: Rebecca says her son’s car was stolen from outside her house in the 8800 block of 34th SW last night. Just as they were calling police to report the theft this morning, police called them to say it had been found, not far away, on SW Henderson (right). Now she’s hoping for help in solving the theft, if anyone saw it being taken and/or ditched – contact police.
Watch out for this stolen 2000 Honda lic AQS9334 taken this morning. Mom wants her baby stroller and car seat back. pic.twitter.com/89j95JdQxT
— Burien Police (@BurienPD) October 10, 2014
That car stolen in Burien three weeks ago (per the above tweet) has apparently just been found in West Seattle. Gretchen e-mailed to tell us a “maroon Honda, license plate AQS9334” had just been towed after police came to the alley near Thistle/17th to check out a report of a possibly stolen vehicle. Often, stolen cars are only driven a short distance before they’re dumped; this one was reported stolen at 4th/156th in Burien, five miles away from Thistle/17th.
P.S. Hope you’ll never need to do this, but if you have a vehicle stolen – bicycle, car, truck, whatever – please let us know so we can report it in WS Crime Watch; we had a “reunion” just last Thursday.
EARLY THURSDAY: “We’re a two-person company, so this truck means a lot to us.” So says BWM from Orec, the company whose logo is on a 2006 Isuzu NPR truck stolen last weekend from the 4800 block of Fauntleroy Way SW (map). It’s a lot like the truck you see above at right; it carries the logo you see above at left. BWM thinks it was likely taken during stormy Saturday night/early Sunday; it’s been reported to police, so if you see it somewhere, please call 911.
THURSDAY NIGHT: See comments – a reader spotted the truck, and we just got confirmation that truck and owner were reunited.
10:44 PM: Big police search/containment right now near 16th/Roxbury, and beyond. We don’t have full details but they’re seeking three people in connection with what sounded like a street robbery/assault. The victim is injured. You’re likely to hear/see the Guardian One helicopter join the search. More as we get it.
10:55 PM: Per scanner, police have detained two possible suspects a few blocks south of where the robbery/assault happened.
11:00 PM: And now the third suspect is reported to be in custody.
WEDNESDAY MORNING P.S. We’re following up with SPD in hopes of getting more details, and will add when/if we get them.
Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:
PEEPING INCIDENTS: From the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council list, word of two peeping incidents reported in the early morning hours Monday in the Genesee Hill area. No details, just word of a stranger at a window or door. GSNC says it’s been reported to police, who remind everyone to call 911 for something like this. (Side note: These types of incidents do not usually appear on the SPD police-report map, so unless we hear about them from you or from a non-closed list, we don’t hear about them for Crime Watch and can’t alert a wider group of neighbors – criminals don’t often just limit their activities to a single block or street or sub-neighborhood – editor@westseattleblog.com)
STOLEN CAR: From e-mail: “My car was stolen this morning,Ocean View & 35th. Thought it was a secured garage, had been for many years. BLACK HONDA CIVIC COUPE 2008. Police report filed. I want it back! License # 920XOS.” Call 911 if you see it.
SEAVIEW ALERT: From Deb:
In the last seven days, my Seaview neighborhood has had two residential break-ins and one attempted break-in. I’d like to remind WSB readers to turn lights on, use alarms if you have one, connect with your neighbors and keep a watch out for suspicious activity.
GATEWOOD CAR PROWL: A warning, and also a question:
Our car was ransacked last night (my fault…left it unlocked) but am curious if you or readers have advice when one’s registration has been stolen. They took our registration, insurance card, Discovery Pass, fishing licenses and tokens for the car wash. I can’t imagine what they may do with that stuff but don’t want to be naive. Also curious if anyone else in Gatewood had to deal with car prowlers last night/early this morning (October 28th).
(WSB photo: At left, a sheriff’s car that was on ‘containment’ earlier, on 106th at 26th)
FIRST REPORT, 7 PM: If you’re in Shorewood/east Arbor Heights, you might be noticing a major law enforcement presence: Sheriff’s deputies are getting help from SPD in their search for a suspect in a reported shooting near 10300 block 28th SW (map). No word on shooting circumstances/victim yet.
7:11 PM UPDATE: KCSO says the male victim is expected to survive. A K-9 team is helping search for the person who shot him.
7:38 PM UPDATE: KCSO says the K-9 track wasn’t able to find a suspect. They’re still sorting out the motive, possibly robbery.
9:40 PM UPDATE: We just checked in with KCSO spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates. She won’t have more information until morning but did say that as far as she knows, the shooting, while it happened near Grace Church (as discussed in comments), had no connection to the church.
TUESDAY MORNING, 10 AM: From Sgt. Gates:
There were four males in a parked car smoking marijuana when the suspect approached the car, opened one of the doors, displayed a handgun, and demanded their belongings.
For whatever reason, just a few seconds after the initial demand the victims felt the suspect was spooked by something outside the car. He then fired one shot into the car which hit a 17 year old seated in the driver’s seat. The suspect fled immediately on foot.
One of the males in the car also fled on foot, presumably because he had the marijuana. The other two (ages 19 and 20) remained with their friend and cooperated with responding deputies.
A K9 unit from Renton PD responded and a track was done but it was unsuccessful. Renton PD’s dog assisted as calling for an on duty dog is often quicker than calling out one of our K9 units from home. We also were assisted by Seattle Police.
The unknown suspect is described as a black/white mixed race male in his late 20s, approximately 5′ 10″ and medium build. He had short dreadlocks and tattoos on his neck and hands, last seen wearing a gray hoodie, red T-shirt and jeans. The victim vehicle was impounded for processing by detectives.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports today:
SUNRISE HEIGHTS ROBBERY: Just published on SPD Blotter – three men, one with a gun, broke into a home in the 7500 block of 32nd SW during the windstorm early Sunday “looking for drugs and robb(ing) a 35-year-old woman, threatening to kill her if she did not cooperate.” The SPDB report continues:
The woman told police someone banged on the back door of her home, in the 7500 block of 32nd Avenue Southwest, shortly after midnight. When she walked back to investigate, a man broke the glass and reached in to unlock the door. The victim headed toward the front door, but one of the suspects barged in, pointed a handgun and ordered her to stop. A second man, armed with a knife from the kitchen, pushed her to the floor and held the blade near her throat. The robbers told her not to look at their faces, and asked where her safe was. The victim told them it had been stolen several weeks ago. One man held her down at gunpoint while the others ransacked her house. The woman offered them her purse containing $100. The men took the purse and then saw several police cars arriving in front of the house. They fled through the back door.
The victim ran out the front door to alert officers. She was not injured. A neighbor had called the police a few minutes earlier because the men had apparently walked through the yard of a neighboring home. Detectives believe the suspects were looking for illegal drugs. A K-9 team was brought in to help search for the suspects, but no one was found. If you have any information about this incident, please contact robbery detectives at (206) 684-5535.
Also in Crime Watch:
STOLEN FOX: Pink Gorilla Games in Morgan Junction (6053 California SW) says somebody has made off with the store’s distinctive “Fox McCloud” statue, shown above. They reported the theft on Sunday. Please contact the store and SPD if you’ve seen it.
FENCE FIGHT: Police were called to the 4200 block of SW Donovan in Upper Fauntleroy last Friday to investigate a reported assault, as neighbors’ fight over a fence escalated. The report says one neighbor installed the fence for property separation and privacy more than eight years ago. The other neighbor, “thinking the fence is shared property,” according to the report, recently put up decorations. The fence owner said the decorations were damaging the fence. Three weeks of arguing over the fence ensued, according to the report. The neighbor who installed the fence finally put up “No Trespassing” signs facing the yard of the other neighbor, who subsequently “got a pair of wire cutters and attempted to cut the signs down,” at which time, police say, the sign-installing neighbor ran outside, yelled “Get off my fence,” and struck the other neighbor in the hand, repeatedly, with a Home Depot bucket. The victim declined medical attention. Police advised them to consult a surveyor if they’re not clear about the property line, and advised the fence owner to call police if they suspect trespassing, not to take matters into their own hands.
Just discovered this in the court files:
The man charged in last March’s rape and beating of a 58-year-old woman near 22nd/Roxbury has pleaded guilty. The attack drew regional-media attention as deputies went door to door searching for clues to solve the exceptionally violent attack. 25-year-old Christopher Anthony Brown was found via a DNA match, arrested in Oklahoma in June, charged with rape and assault, and extradited. Investigators said Brown had been visiting this area when he attacked the victim as she waited for a bus – asking her for a cigarette, then offering her money for sex, and when she declined, dragging her into nearby shrubbery, choking her until she was nearly unconscious, beating her, raping her, robbing her, and threatening to kill her and her family if she reported it.
According to documents in the online files, prosecutors will recommend a sentence that would put Brown in prison for 171 months – just over 14 years. Brown pleaded guilty last week to one count each of rape, assault, and robbery. King County Superior Court Judge Julie Spector is scheduled to sentence him on November 14th.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight. First one is a reader report:
Saturday night our elderly neighbor had a prowler down on Beach Drive. The man, described as a white male, was in her backyard around 2 am. Her house guest was awakened by his VERY distinctive ring tone “The Charge of the Valkyries” ! I thought that was distinctive enough that someone may be able to identify the Wagner Prowler. It appears that he was trying to gain access to a neighbor’s yard..but took off when his cell phone went off.
We don’t have the block number. But keep an … ear out.
Next – two from the police-report files: Another smartphone stolen, and an odd cross-peninsula case of “road rage”:
Two “found” reports:
WHOSE SPORTS-CARD BINDERS ARE THESE? Southwest Precinct Det. Brian Ballew shares the photo – he is hoping to find either the owner of those binders (and what’s in them) or at least someone who knows whose they might be. He confirms they’re the same ones mentioned at last week’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting. If you have any info (or if they’re yours!), please contact Det. Ballew directly at 206-233-7836.
Second, a reader report:
BICYCLE FOUND: As with stolen cars, we spotlight found/stolen bicycles when we get word of them. The photo is from Julie, who says someone left a red, men’s Excitor 21-speed road-type bike in her yard. She’s reported it to police but if you know whose it is, speak up so it can be returned sooner rather than later.
Another repeat-offender sentencing to report tonight: After several delays, 43-year-old Bryan Tiedeman has been sentenced in two cases involving stolen cars and drugs. The first time we reported on him, in December of last year, he and an accomplice had been charged in connection with four stolen cars, including the one they crashed on Highland Park Way, leading to their arrest. Tiedeman got out of jail in February, and was arrested again less than three months later in connection with a car stolen from SeaTac and found near his Fauntleroy home. After 17 days in jail in May, he was allowed into a work-release program. Then in June, after missing a hearing related to the 2013 case, he was arrested on warrants in Morgan Junction, at which time a reader sent us this photo:
He’s been in jail since then. In July, he pleaded guilty to charges in both cases, including three counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, taking a motor vehicle without permission, methamphetamine possession, identity theft, unlawful gun possession. On Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle sentenced him on both sets of charges, with a variety of concurrent sentences that boil down to 51 months in prison – four years and three months, plus restitution to be determined later. At the time of his arrest last year, court documents said Tiedeman had been booked into the King County Jail 34 times in 20 years.
Three months after burglarizing three homes in one day, 33-year-old Jason Wyman has pleaded guilty. 
We reported on his spree back in July, when he was charged with breaking into two houses and a guest house within blocks of each other in Gatewood and Upper Fauntleroy; in two of those cases, people were home when he walked in through an open or unlocked door.
According to court documents from his plea hearing last Friday, Wyman is also suspected – but has not and will not be charged in – two other local incidents in July, a burglary at a business in the 7200 block of West Marginal Way SW and a theft at a business in the 7300 block of Delridge Way. Court documents list more than 40 property and drug crimes on his record, dating back to 1996, when he was 15. (The photo above is from 2002, which the state Department of Corrections says was the last time he was in their custody.) In the plea agreement, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office recommends that he get a prison-based Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative (DOSA) sentence of three years, which would include mandatory substance-abuse treatment, followed by three years of community custody (probation). He’s eligible for that, according to court documents, because these are non-violent offenses and he hasn’t had a DOSA sentence in at least 10 years (if ever). He is scheduled for sentencing on October 31st before King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North.
Two reader reports – first, from Amy:
My car was broken into yesterday @ 400-445 pm while my boyfriend and I were with our dogs at the Westcrest dog park. We noticed a suspicious vehicle nearby. Watched them park. But leave briefly after. They were driving a Tahoe dark charcoal gray with 22′ inch rims or bigger with blacked-out windows. Passengers were white males. They broke my back-side passenger window and stole my purse. They got away with some jewelry + prescriptions + makeup + Jean purse.
Second, someone tried to break into Annalisa‘s house on Friday:
We had an attempted break in at our house on 20th and Trenton. They did not get into the house, but they did crack our window and lean the window screen nicely back up against the house … It occurred between 3:45 and 7:15. They tried to break into our baby’s room, which is all the more frightening.
Meantime, your next chance to bring neighborhood crime/safety concerns/questions to Seattle Police is this Tuesday, when the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets for the first time in a few months – 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster). No guest on the agenda, so the entire meeting is a chance to hear from and talk with police.
CAR PROWL: Reported via text: Somebody smashed the window on that car along 36th SW between Raymond and Juneau. They also found evidence of a battery-theft attempt inside.
FOUND BICYCLE #1: Scott writes, “Anyone missing this bike? Showed up in my alley in Sunrise Heights”:
FOUND BICYCLE #2: Thanks to WSB Forums member Metrognome for pointing out this – a post about a bicycle found at Alki Elementary, and destined for city pickup.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
GUNFIRE SUSPECT OUT OF JAIL: 30-year-old Daren Atwood, charged with a firearms offense after last Thursday’s gunfire incident near Fairmount Ravine, is out of jail after one day. We reported Tuesday night that he had been charged and booked; this afternoon, he appeared in Seattle Municipal Court. According to the online docket, the city asked for $50,000 bail; a judge let him out on personal recognizance. His next court appearance is set for November 13th.
ABOUT THE HELICOPTER: Just before 9 pm, a relatively brief burst of helicopter activity brought some questions from north and northeast West Seattle. Via Twitter, the Guardian One crew confirmed it was them, helping Seattle Police with “a disturbance call.” No further details, so if we find out anything in the morning, we’ll add it here.
From the “sometimes followups take a few days” file:
(WSB photo from last Saturday)
Back on Saturday, police had a visible presence near the Fauntleroy ferry dock and Lincoln Park for a few hours. All they would say at the time was that they were “looking for a felony warrant suspect.” Finally we have tracked down the case number and report with details: A fare-enforcement officer at a bus stop by the ferry dock called police around 4 pm Saturday to say he had someone who he thought had a warrant out for his arrest (didn’t say why the enforcer thought that) but couldn’t hold the suspect.
Police arrived and found the man did indeed have a warrant out for a drug charge. They arrested him and handcuffed him; he had an empty syringe in his possession and told them he had used heroin that day. As they were putting him in a patrol car, he asked them to adjust his handcuffs, which were somewhat obstructed, the report says, by rubber bracelets and a watch. While officers were using a handcuff key to adjust the cuffs, the suspect bolted with such force “he broke the handcuff key in half.” They ran after him into the neighborhoods to the east, but lost him as he ran through yards. Containment was set up – the cars you might have seen blocking streets – and a K-9 officer was called; the dog sniffed the backpack left behind at the bus stop and followed a trail into Lincoln Park, but the suspect wasn’t found. Whenever he is found, along with the drug warrant, he is now wanted for escape.
(Added: Guardian One video from the arrest scene)
5:46 PM: We’re getting a few questions about helicopter activity near east West Seattle. KIRO TV says it’s a search by the 1st Avenue South Bridge related to a stolen car, and that three people have been detained. Aerial pictures show a King County Sheriff’s Office vehicle, so we’re trying to contact KCSO for more information.
6:34 PM: KCSO confirms 3 – all the suspects they had sought – are in custody.
Thanks to community advocate Tracy Dart for sharing the word that another local business (not hers) has been targeted by the bogus “City Light” telephone-call scam. We’ve reported on versions of this scam at least four times in the past year, most recently here. Bottom line, whether you’re a business or a residence, if you get a phone call from someone claiming you’re facing imminent disconnection, DON’T FALL FOR IT – if you aren’t sure of your billing status, hang up and call the utility directly yourself to check. (And call the police!)
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