Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes:

IN CASE YOU WONDERED: Thanks to Guy for tipping us to a large police presence today at noontime at the former Life Care Center (47th/Admiral)/future Aegis Living site. The last officer leaving told us they were checking out an alarm – but they found no one, and no signs of break-in. Since it’s a big campus, there was a big initial response.

HOME BREAK-IN: Greg (40th and Hudson; map) says he saw a “smash-and-grab”-type home break-in in his neighborhood this afternoon, and wants people to be on the lookout. He first noticed “2 or 3 guys in a light tan or light goldish colored compact car. They stopped their car in front of my neighbor’s house. One of the guys slowly walked around back of the house. I thought it was odd seeing him walk directly around back, but was wondering if it was a workman assigned to do some kind of work. … Shortly after this I thought I heard a loud sound from the direction of the house, but wasn’t sure if it was some kind of work commencing or what.” Then he noticed at least one other person was still in the car, and its engine was still running. The first person came back to the car “with some object like a box or a stereo receiver of some type,” and they left. He still wasn’t certain something was wrong, since his neighbor usually is home during the day and it might have been a pre-scheduled delivery – but he found out otherwise when police arrived later. He says, “The crooks seemed to have gotten away with a small safe box of some sort.” The only description information he had was that both suspects were male and African-American – the one who got out of the car was about six feet tall, wearing a dark cap.

CAR BREAK-IN: Lisa reported her husband’s car was broken into in the Target parking lot at Westwood Village early last Saturday.

P.S. We were at tonight’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, featuring new precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske – no new crime revelations, but watch for our report tomorrow on the discussion centering on how SPD can better collaborate with citizens on neighborhood safety.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

More challenges with witness-wrangling logistics led to a short Monday in the trial of Lovett “Cid” Chambers, the Gatewood man charged with second-degree murder in the deadly Morgan Junction shooting two years ago.

The trial technically is in its second month, having started weeks of motion hearings in early January, followed by jury selection, but presentations did not begin until last Wednesday, after the jury was seated, so Monday was the second day of witness testimony.

Today’s five witnesses included three Seattle Police officers with various roles in the police operation after Chambers, now 69, shot 35-year-old Travis Hood (photo at right). The shooting itself is not in dispute; jurors are being asked to decide if it was a crime, or, as the defense contends, self-defense.

But the day began with another former member of the staff at Feedback Lounge, where Chambers and Hood (accompanied that night by friend Jamie Vause, expected to testify later this week) had both been drinking – though nowhere near each other – before the shooting up the block.

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As promised, we followed up on the latest arrest of Ryan Cox, the West Seattle repeat offender who has been in and out of the criminal-justice and mental-health systems: The City Attorney’s Office tells WSB he will spend up to four more months in jail as a result of his most recent arrest. It dates back to the assault case in which he pleaded guilty last year. His original sentence ended New Year’s Eve. Three weeks after that, he was arrested for violating probation; though the CAO sought to have him kept in jail longer, a judge released him on personal recognizance after one day. Local business owners say he still wanders the area with disruptive behavior, and brought their concerns to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting again this past Tuesday. Both new Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske and Seattle Municipal Court presiding judge Kimi Kondo, who also hears cases in the city’s Mental Health Court, were there. During the meeting, we discovered via the publicly viewable SMC docket that another probation-violation warrant had been issued for Cox’s arrest, two weeks earlier. The wheels began turning after the meeting; the following day (Wednesday) he was arrested and jailed. Since then, he’s appeared again in court. CAO spokesperson Kimberly Mills tells WSB that while they wanted all remaining jail time to be imposed (about 11 months), Judge Pro Tem Robert Chung instead revoked the suspension of 180 days – six months – and “struck active probation.” With the time he has served so far, that would mean a release date no sooner than mid-June, Mills says. Side note: The short account of Cox’s Thursday hearing says the court was addressed by an SPD officer regarding “community concerns”; Capt. Wilske had promised Tuesday night that he would make sure that information was brought to the court’s attention.

Topping this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – a burglary investigation under way in Sunrise Heights. Martin asked us about a police response near 34th/Othello (map); SPD’s Det. Mark Jamieson says a resident called it in as a suspected break-in, hearing what sounded like breaking glass and then hearing sounds in the basement, where she said no one should have been, though the house has a basement living area. Police took one person into custody, but we don’t know yet if they were officially arrested (remember, that is a further step beyond being taken into custody for questioning – just because you see someone handcuffed doesn’t mean they were arrested) – we’ll be checking back with police.

Also:

CAR BREAK-IN: Krista e-mailed: “I would like to report to West Seattle Blog and your readers about my boyfriend’s car window getting smashed in the Highland Park neighborhood. It was parked on the street, block of 9th Avenue and Trenton Street (map). They didn’t steal anything from the car and it happened late last night or early this morning.”

BIKE-THEFT ATTEMPT: Andrew has a warning for bicycle owners, and it goes with this photo:

A thief attempted to steal my bike while I was at work (Wednesday). Luckily they must have got spooked, because they left my bike in my driveway. I’m in the townhouses by California and Myrtle (map). Please remind people to not leave anything they don’t want stolen outside.
Thanks, got lucky this time!

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The wheels of justice seem to rotate excruciatingly slowly as a case moves toward resolution – via trial, via plea bargain, via something else. A status hearing is rescheduled, then rescheduled again, then rescheduled again.

If and when a case gets to the courtroom, you would imagine, it’s full speed ahead.

Not necessarily.

For one, there is the pace of testimony. Most witnesses are not the dramatic bombshell-droppers of TV, movies, theater. They are brought in to provide a few details that might (or might not) prove later to be key

There’s the matter of logistics.

On Thursday, the first day of witness testimony in the murder trial of Lovett “Cid” Chambers began an hour later than planned.

The first scheduled witness for the prosecution, it seemed, had overslept.

Dominoes then fell, as the second scheduled witness had been told to show up around 10, the third witness around 10:30, so neither had arrived. Calls were made. A cab was even sent to fetch one witness.

The fourth scheduled witness was on videotape – but that couldn’t be moved to the head of the line because of an ongoing discussion over what could be heard on the tape besides the witness – a discussion requiring further review and a decision from Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle before the video could be played for jurors.

Eventually, it all worked out, and the first witness to arrive took the stand at about 10:10.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

No one disputes that longtime Gatewood resident Lovett “Cid” Chambers fired the shots that killed recent West Seattle arrival (Michael) Travis Hood by Morgan Junction Park on January 21, 2012.

The question to be settled is why – and whether he is guilty of murder.

After six weeks of motions and jury selection, the heart of Chambers’ trial began this afternoon in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle. Jury selection concluded before lunch; afterward, prosecution and defense lawyers presented their opening statements.

Their styles and stories contrasted dramatically.

First, the basic backstory as reported here. The incident unfolded – with much initial confusion resulting – at two locations that night.

That’s the red pickup truck in which Hood’s friend Jamie Vause drove him to the Providence Mount St. Vincent retirement/rehab center, believing it was a hospital. That’s where emergency responders first learned someone had been shot – but the shooting itself took place more than a mile southwest:

As reported in WSB as-it-happened coverage that night, we also had received reports of gunshots heard in Morgan Junction, and police quickly converged there to look for evidence. Hours later, in the early morning, SPD confirmed Chambers’ arrest, and family members confirmed Hood’s death. Four days after the shooting, Chambers was charged with first-degree murder (last August, that was reduced to second-degree).

No clear story emerged of what preceded the gunfire. And today in court, two very different versions were told.

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(PHOTO BY KEN LAMBERT/THE SEATTLE TIMES – republished by WSB with permission)
1:41 PM: We are at the King County Courthouse, in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Theresa Doyle, where – after a month and a half of motions and jury selection – opening statements are about to begin in the trial of 69-year-old Lovett Chambers. He is the Gatewood man charged with second-degree murder in the January 2012 shooting death of 35-year-old Travis Hood alongside Morgan Junction Park. By all accounts, Chambers and Hood did not know each other; all they had in common is that both had been in a nearby bar moments before the shooting. We’ve read hundreds and hundreds of pages of court documents in the case in the past two years; they indicate that Chambers will contend self-defense, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder from the defendant’s experiences in prison and with police decades earlier. Under another name, he had a record, but nothing for the past 20-plus years while he lived and worked in West Seattle. About a dozen people are here in the gallery, watching the lawyers prepare. Depending on how it goes, we’ll likely add some updates here during the afternoon, in addition to more detailed coverage after proceedings are done for the day.

3:56 PM UPDATE: Court has recessed for the day, after both sides presented their opening statements, and jurors will hear from the first witness tomorrow morning. We have also added a photo, courtesy of our partners at The Seattle Times, who are also covering the trial; it was taken in the courtroom hallway at midday, showing Chambers at right with a deputy at left. We will publish a separate story later today with details of the proceedings.

That’s one of just dozens of images in a photo gallery showing unclaimed stolen property from a burglary spree – jewelry, phones, wallets, photos, sports cards, prescription drugs, more. We don’t know so far whether any of it is from burglaries in West Seattle. But just in case – we’re sharing this found-property info just in from King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, who is asking that it be distributed far and wide:

Were you the victim of a burglary between January 2012 and July 2013? If you were and you live somewhere between Mill Creek, Washington and Tigard, Oregon, we may have property that was stolen in your burglary.

Detectives from the Sammamish Police Department and the King County Sheriff’s Office are trying to find the owners of stolen property that was recovered last July after the arrest of a couple who admitted to committing dozens of burglaries between Tigard, Oregon and Mill Creek, Washington.

Krystal Sweetman, 27 of Puyallup and Steven Tipton, 27 of Tacoma were arrested last July after an investigation that revealed the couple had committed more than 80 residential burglaries between January 2012 and July 2013. The couple sold many of the stolen items at area coin shops, netting over $346,000 in the 18-month crime spree.

Detectives also discovered that the pair had a storage unit that was packed with property taken from the burglaries. Many of the stolen items from the storage unit have not been claimed and detectives are hoping to reunite victims with their property.

In January, Sweetman pleaded guilty to multiple charges and was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 36 months in community custody. Tipton is expected to plead later this month.

Detectives have photographed the unclaimed property and have provided a [password-protected] link to photos for the public to view. Detectives are asking anyone who was the victim of a burglary between January, 2012 and July, 2013 to look at the photos to see if any of the property belongs to you.

If you have questions please call 804-885-KCSO (5276) – do NOT call other police department numbers. If you see property that you believe belongs to you, follow the instructions on the link. You will be asked to provide the case number of your burglary and will need to provide some proof the item is yours.

If you have trouble accessing the site, please try at another time. We expect the site to be inundated with viewers and access may be limited during the initial release of information.

Here again is the photo-gallery link; the password is SammamishPD – and it IS case-sensitive.

(Sunday morning photo courtesy Jason)
Since information was scant when we checked out the Roxbury/Olson one-car crash early Sunday (original report here), leaving multiple questions unanswered, we just followed up with media liaisons for Seattle Police and Fire. Police do believe the driver fled the scene, through a window; the three people found in the car were in the front-passenger and rear seats. All are described by Seattle Fire as men in their late teens/early 20s; though they were taken to the hospital, none had serious injuries. The report also notes that while police tried to talk with them at the hospital to find out more about the crash and the apparent hit-run driver, none would respond. The ownership of the crashed red Lexus wasn’t clear, either; the report says the person on record as its registered owner had sold it to “a presumed auto dealer” a month ago. It was totaled, and impounded; other damage involved the shrubbery into which the car crashed – the officer writing the report noted, “It appears as if the vehicle was traveling in a northeasterly direction on Olson Place when it drove up over the curb and struck a tree on (a) planting strip. The car continued across the sidewalk, where it struck the shrubbery in (a) front yard.”

P.S. That intersection is West Seattle’s top spot for collisions, according to an SDOT presentation covered here last fall.

Another stolen car to look for – Trevor reports:

My tan-colored Nissan Maxima ’92 was stolen last night from right in front of my house on SW Cloverdale and Delridge [map]. Police says thieves often take older cars like this for a ride and then abandon them. If you happen to see mine, #275USV with chrome rims, please shoot me an e-mail at trevorny (at) gmail.com. Thanks!

Since it seemed anecdotally as if we are receiving more auto-theft reports than usual – knowing that we don’t hear about them all – we checked the Seattle Police Reports map to get a sense of the trends. Here’s a screengrab showing West Seattle auto-theft reports for the past week, February 9th through today:

10 reports in 7 days is about the same a year ago, 43 reports for the Southwest Precinct in February 2013, averaging 1.5 a day. Crime stats are published for last year through November; the lowest month for auto theft in 2013 was July, with 25, fewer than one a day, while the highest was January 2013, with 61, almost two a day.

11:23 PM SUNDAY: Just in from the 1500 block of California SW (map), a texted report about a black Acura stolen by a man driving a white “unmarked” tow truck. The car’s owner is talking to police right now, we’re told. The neighbor reporting it on the victim’s behalf says it headed southbound on California and that the victim says there’s no chance it was towed as a repo attempt. Apparently the alarm was going off as the car was taken away around 10:35 pm. More details when we get them.

12:09 PM SUNDAY: Added a e-mailed photo; no view of the driver but he is described as “a white male, largish build, wearing a red sweatshirt.”

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight: First, a hit-run that Shannon hopes you can help solve:

(Photo added Saturday – click it to see a larger view, rotated so coding is readable)

We were the victims of a hit and run today. Sometime this afternoon between approximately 3:30 pm and 4:20 pm someone sideswiped our silver 2005 Dodge Neon, which was parked facing north on 48th Avenue SW between Juneau and Findlay. There are scratches and body damage starting from the rear driver’s side door continuing up to the front driver’s side tire area, including scratches on the windows and smudges, scratches, and denting on the driver’s door and the driver’s side mirror and casing were smashed. Whoever hit it was going pretty fast and sustained damage to their vehicle as well. I found parts of their smashed passenger side window and casing, along with other car parts as far as 30 feet in front of my car. Enough pieces were found to determine that the person who hit our car was driving a silver Volkswagen – either a 1999-2005 Golf Mk4, 1999-2005 Jetta Mk4, 1998-2001 Passat B5, or a 2001-2005 Passat B5.5. If you know of anyone with a vehicle matching this description that has passenger side damage or is missing a passenger side mirror, or if you saw this happen, please contact me at mitts1212@yahoo.com.

Karen‘s home was burglarized on Thursday:

Our house, located across from Lincoln Park, was broken in through the window of our basement. Camera and about $20 change were taken. House is in a bit of disarray, but doesn’t seem to be missing anything else. They had shoved our dog in a room while rifling through our house.

And one of this week’s stolen cars has been found – Stephanie first reported in this comment Wednesday that her green ’97 two-door Honda Civic had been stolen Monday afternoon from outside her home on Pigeon Point. She didn’t expect to ever see it again. But police found it less than two miles away, she says, at 23rd and Findlay.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL TUESDAY: Come hear from West Seattle’s new precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske, find out about the city’s Mental Health Court, and share neighborhood concerns, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).

He was about to go on trial – but instead, 23-year-old Donald Plute pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from a morning-long rampage six months ago, in which he stole a truck on Alki, then rammed it into two vehicles before ditching it in Gatewood and running from police. The first vehicle he rammed had two men inside, one of whom was the owner of the truck Plute had stolen; after that crash in Upper Alki, Plute was spotted by police in Morgan Junction, where one officer thought he had him pulled over – until Plute put the truck into reverse and crashed it into this SPD car before taking off again:

Today, he pleaded guilty to the four charges filed against him in that August case – robbery, two counts of assault, and a charge of attempting to elude. The plea-agreement documents we just downloaded say prosecutors will recommend concurrent sentences equal to a little over 10 and a half years, minus the five-plus months he’s already served. Plute’s record included seven previous felony convictions between 2005 and 2010, including burglary, theft, possession of stolen cars, and another attempt to elude; the earliest crime on the list was committed when he was 14 years old. Plute is scheduled for sentencing on March 14th.

FIRST REPORT, 11:30 AM: Reported to the police this morning and via West Seattle Crime Watch now – a dark green Acura Integra “that’s lowered and has tinted windows and has a decal that goes across the top of the entire back windshield that says ‘Cascade Honda Crew’.” It was stolen from Fauntleroy Way east of Morgan Junction. If you see it, call 911, as advised in the @getyourcarback tweet (which includes the plate number).

ADDED 3:20 PM: In comments, AE reports another stolen car, a teal 1995 Honda Civic taken in High Point – plate number’s also in an SPD tweet.

Reader report from “Drahcir61“:

Approx 1:20 pm, Tuesday, Feb 11th – intersection of 16th Ave SW & SW Orchard (1/2 mile south of the community college) & 1/4 mile north of SW Holden … west side of 16th Ave SW.

I witnessed 2 men walk past my house on 16th Ave SW across from Orchard … 1 black & 1 hispanic. Probably mid-20s, 5’8″ to 5’10”, slim build, dark clothes. I watched the hispanic man open my neighbor’s mailbox & physically remove all of the mail … he walked away.

The hispanic male is wearing a teal & black checkered hoodie … the teal is very bright, like a chess board … teal & black … his hoodie is covering his face. The other male, black, was wearing dark clothes, nothing special … appeared to be clean cut in appearance.

If you see them “wandering” your streets call 911 … these guys are “working this afternoon.”

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon:

PLAYGROUND VANDALISM: Got a text about something poured on/applied to the Hiawatha (map) playground equipment, rendering it unusable – and Christine sent the photo at left, saying the slides were “un-slideable.” She reported it to the community-center staff just in case they hadn’t heard.

MAIL THEFT/ATTEMPT: From Sheridan: “Found our mailbox lock drilled out this morning in 8600 block of 24th Ave SW (map). People should keep an eye out for prowlers.”

SIDE NOTE: These types of crimes can be reported online – go here.

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight – first, a bicycle stolen late today:

Frank at Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) says that bicycle belongs to one of his customers and was taken from outside his shop at 3916 California SW about 4:30 pm today: “It’s a pretty expensive bike and a big loss for a 14-year-old kid.” If you find it, please contact police.

Meantime, Sarah reported finding this bike last weekend by her home on 106th SW near the Shorewood Grocery:

She was considering turning it in to the King County Sheriff’s Office last we heard. If you recognize it, comment here.

2:16 PM: We’re in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer, who is presiding right now over the sentencing hearing for 21-year-old Sean Jeardoe. We first reported on his case after his arrest in a stolen truck in the West Seattle Thriftway parking lot last summer; he was not charged immediately, but was arrested again in connection with multiple other cases. As reported here in December, he confessed to 22 burglaries, not just in West Seattle, but in other areas of King County, and struck a deal to plead guilty to 14 charges – eight of them residential burglaries, plus three auto-theft-related charges and three gun-theft charges. The recommended sentence is eight and a half years. We’ll update as this goes.

2:20 PM: The prosecutor says some of his victims are in court and six letters have been submitted to the judge as well. (This was originally scheduled for a different judge, but as we noticed while covering another case last week, the sentencing calendars sometimes move around.) There’s now a short delay because the judge has ordered the defendant be unshackled for the proceedings. A second courthouse deputy had to be called; he said that it’s policy for the restraints NOT to be removed for this type of hearing, but she ordered it anyway.

The prosecutor says Jeardoe actually eventually confessed to 31 burglaries. “Coming into this from a negotiation standpoint, the state acknowledges he has no (felony) history. He appears to have a drug addiction….” He mentions that Jeardoe pointed out much of what he did; the judge asks if he helped them get some victims’ property back. Some, yes, the prosecutor says, but “there are still countless pieces of jewelry that have been melted down or gone off into pawn shops …” He now mentions that a residential burglary affects a victim forever, with sense of security, separate from whether the items can be replaced. “Based on the number of crimes and magnitude of this crime spree, the state is NOT recommending the low-end sentence or a prison-based (drug treatment) DOSA sentence.”

Before hearing from victims, the judge says she has something to say: “Mr.Jeardoe by operation of law gets credit for the time he’s already served – six months – so the maximum sentence I have to impose is 8 years … and (he will be) eligible for up to 50 percent ‘good time,’ so his sentence could be as low as 4 years. … So whatever age he’s going to be when released, I have to think about … what will protect the community.” She says she’s “looking seriously” at the drug-treatment-sentence request of the defense, which would be a mid-range sentence, and once he’s out, if he messes up again, he will have to go back for the rest of the full term. Now, she says, she welcomes victims to speak, now that they know what she’s thinking.

2:30 PM: Now a man whose home was broken into and vehicle stolen last August is speaking. “I hope Mr. Jeardoe realizes that not all the damage he’s done can be expressed in dollars and cents.” He speaks of losing items that were of great sentimental value, as well as financial records, house and vehicle keys, information that could make him vulnerable to ID theft. That said, he says he realizes that Jeardoe is a young man and hopefully can turn his life around.

The defense lawyer says Jeardoe’s history of addiction “was based in his childhood.” She calls attention to the fact his crime spree was over a matter of months but says his addiction is a serious problem and if not dealt with, he could wind up back in these straits again. Now Jeardoe’s father is speaking. He thanks victims for coming to court. He says they adopted him as a baby and he was subject to alcohol and drugs “in utero” but says that is no excuse. He has long been getting counseling for substance abuse, Jeardoe’s father says, and also mentions he spent a year in intensive treatment out of state and ‘did very well’ but relapsed upon returning here. He says his son needs to pay for his crimes but also needs some sort of “mandatory drug treatment.”

2:35 PM: Jeardoe speaks, turning to the gallery and saying “I know it’s not enough to say I’m sorry …” as he apologizes. Judge Shaffer says she has seen many burglary victims: “It’s always devastating, always. …There’s this destroyed sense of security – people never really feel they can sleep securely after that.” What he was doing “was devastating,” she admonishes him. Especially stealing some items that “can’t be gotten back.” She mentions that one victim for which this was particularly devastating was a West Seattle man who he used to live across the street from, “and they couldn’t believe he would do this to them” – it roiled the whole neighborhood. “This is a big deal, you’ve done a lot of wrong here.” She tells him “the work of getting clean and sober” is the best way he can apologize. She asks him to prove to his victims he can do that hard work. She says, “I want all the victims to know the court takes what happened very seriously but I want to make sure there are no more victims in Mr. Jeardoe’s history.” She says DOSA is “not an easy way to go” and that if he doesn’t do well he will go right back into prison. And she orders it. So this means, according to what the prosecutor just said, his prison time will total less than half of what prosecutors had sought – 44.7 months. He would then be on probation (community custody) for a roughly equal time once he gets out. The treatment, she explains, will likely start closer to release. (DOSA – drug offender sentencing alternative – is explained here.) There also will be a hearing on restitution – “all the restitution the state can prove within (the next six months, per law)” – for victims.

Three charges are now filed against the man arrested last Friday night after law enforcers in the air and on the ground tracked a stolen SUV to a house near The Junction. 32-year-old Nicholas Broughton is described in court documents as an “11-time convicted felon.” He is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, hit and run, and first-degree criminal trespass. He remains in jail tonight, but Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer set bail at $25,000, prosecutors say, down from the $100,000 set after his arrest. (At right: State Department of Corrections file photo of Broughton, added 2/7/14)

The police report in the documents includes more information on last Friday night’s events:

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Two followups and a reader report in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

SUV-THEFT/BREAK-IN FOLLOWUP: Bail was set at $100,000 today for the 32-year-old man arrested at a house on 47th SW southwest of The Junction late Friday night, suspected of crashing this stolen SUV nearby:

(Friday night WSB photo)
According to probable-cause documents, the red 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe was reported as stolen Friday in Pierce County, less than an hour before it was found in West Seattle. As noted in our as-it-happened coverage, it had LoJack anti-theft technology, which is activated upon report of a theft, and that sounded an alert in a Seattle Police car south of The Junction. With the help of the Guardian One helicopter (as shown in the aerial/infrared video shared here Saturday), the Tahoe was tracked to the 4800 block of 47th SW, behind a home where the suspect used to live. As law enforcement converged, the vehicle started to pull away; police blocked the alley, so the SUV went into reverse and crashed through a fence. The driver then got out and ran, and though police say they confronted him twice and ordered him, at gunpoint, to stop, he kept running, and eventually broke glass to get into the house, whose residents, including a sibling of the suspect, told officers he hadn’t lived there “in months.” The documents say the residents did give police permission to go into the residence, but first, they used a loudspeaker to tell the suspect to come out, and just before midnight, he did. His next court appearance – by which time prosecutors must decide on charges – is set for Wednesday.

ROBBERY FOLLOWUP: We’ve obtained the report on the 16th/Henderson store-robbery reported here Saturday morning. The police report says the store owner identifies the ~18-year-old robber as a regular customer. He and the ~17-year-old girl who was with him had come into the store Saturday afternoon, the report says, bought some chicken and then went back outside, apparently to dine. Then the robber came back in, got ice cream and candy, took it up to the counter, said he didn’t have enough money but offered the store owner a dollar; the owner opened the register and then the robber pulled a gun and pointed it in the owner’s face, took all the cash from the register – about $250 – and the owner’s wallet, and ran out of the store. He wasn’t found but police did get prints. (Descriptions are in our original report.)

Now, the reader report – a neighborhood hit by mail theft, says a reader who doesn’t want to be identified:

Reporting a mailbox break in here in the 5000 block of California Ave. SW near The Junction.

I live in a condo and on Friday morning, we found our bank of locked mailboxes all pried open and all mail stolen. We are wondering if others had similar incidents late Thurs or Early Fri Morning ( Jan 30-31) especially other condos in the neighborhood? We did call the police, but they do not respond unless the value of mail stolen is $500+.

If you spot it as it happens, do call, police say – here, otherwise, is how to report mail theft (and prevention advice too).