West Seattle, Washington
08 Thursday
If you still have something coming via postal or package delivery … take note, we’ve received four more package/mail-theft reports today/tonight alone. See them ahead, along with another theft report (shoplifters bolting a store tonight):
Two items in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:
POLICE SEEK TOY-THEFT SUSPECTS: Just published on SPD Blotter – a theft case police hope you can help them solve:
Police are looking for two men and a woman who stole toys from a Delridge drug store and attacked an employee when he tried to stop them Monday night.
The suspects walked into the store, in the 9400 block of 16th Avenue Southwest, around 7 PM. One man filled a shopping basket with toys and left out without paying. When a store employee confronted him outside and tried to photograph his license plate with a cell phone, a woman grabbed the phone away.
She couldn’t unlock the phone to delete the photograph, so the man who stole the toys warned the employee to delete the image or he’d return for him. The third suspect started up a car and all three fled, throwing the employees cell phone into the street as they left.
If you know where police can find these three suspects, please contact robbery detectives at (206) 684-5535.
The SPD Blotter post has the suspects’ names and photos, which we’ll add here as soon as we can.
(added) Suspects as identified/shown by SPD – in order as shown below, Raul Hernandez, Sandra Garcia, Omar Cruz-Resendiz:
(back to original report) STOLEN CAR: Eric‘s red 1997 Honda Accord was stolen sometime Monday near California/Holly in south Morgan Junction. Inside were two booster seats for his kids. Washington plates AQJ7944 – call 911 if you see it.
FRIDAY NIGHT 8 PM UPDATE: In the robbery story – one suspect is on the King County Jail Register now, Omar Cruz-Resendiz, booked at 2 pm today.
SPD is just out with its newest SeaStat slide deck – an every-two-week briefing given to department leadership, highlighting crime trends and hotspots. Above is the precinct-by-precinct breakdown of car prowls over the four-week period from November 16th to December 13th (last Saturday). The car prowl total for the Southwest Precinct – West Seattle and South Park – number fewer than half the next-lowest precinct. See the full deck here. It also includes a look at SW Precinct numbers for all major-crime categories in the past month; the most-common type is “larceny/theft,” totaling 136 of the total 249 “major crimes” in West Seattle/South Park over the four-week period examined.
ADDED 11:30 PM: Eric asked in comments about a map for comparison. The SPD “police reports” map, when sorted for car prowls and for the same four-week period shown above, doesn’t seem to show quite as many incidents, but you can get an idea of the hot spots – Lincoln Park, for example, where the circled “11” indicates 11 car prowls during those four weeks:
(While the screengrab does not show the entirety of the SW Precinct, it did not show any car prowls north or south of the area shown; there were a few to the east, in South Park.)
Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN CAR IN FAUNTLEE HILLS: From Jeni:
I’d appreciate folks keeping an eye out for my dark blue 2007 Saturn Vue SUV that was stolen last night. The license plate is ARD2720. There are Obama and Gonzaga stickers on the back window. It was stolen from my home near 38th Ave SW & SW Henderson between 7:45 pm (12/15) and 4:00 am this morning (12/16). A report was filed with Seattle Police.
WYATT’S BREAK-IN FOLLOWUP: As promised, we checked back with Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village, after a second break-in in nine days. Sacha sent a photo showing what they had to clean up:
No new info about the case yet – co-proprietor Kirk Keppler talked with a detective extensively this morning. And he talked with Channel 7 TV, who stopped by for an interview this afternoon.
PACKAGE THEFT: Bonnie believes a thief hit her house on Monday morning:
Possible package theft at North Admiral. As I drove away from my home to take my child to school, I noticed a UPS truck in front of my house. I was anticipating a package, so I thought it was for me. When I returned (maybe 7 minutes later) nothing was on my porch. Checked online to see if anything had been delivered, and sure enough at 9:15 my package was left. I’ve reported to SPD.
P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council is taking December off – tonight would have been the monthly meeting, as the third Tuesday – but expecting to be back next month, on January 20th.
2:17 AM: Thanks to the texters who reported major police activity in Morgan Junction very early today. So far we haven’t been able to get full details, but we know police are/were investigating an armed robbery in the 6500 block of California SW, where one SPD car remained by the time we got there, and that it might be linked to a robbery elsewhere in the city. That’s according to radio communications, which described the robber as a black man in his early 20s, 6 feet tall, very thin, red face mask, red shirt, black pants, black handgun, with two female accomplices, and a possible silver getaway car. We’ll add any additional details we are able to get from police later this morning.
9:13 AM: Police confirm the Subway store itself was held up. No further confirmation, though, on whether it was involved to any other robberies, and no arrest(s) reported so far.
For the second time in nine days, Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) at Westwood Village has been burglarized. It happened this evening – exactly when, the proprietors and police were still trying to figure out when we heard about it from a texted tip and went over a little more than an hour ago. Once again, someone broke the front door to get in, same way entry was made during the early-morning break-in on December 7th. We’ll be following up with them and police tomorrow.
Scammers are still at work out there, trying to steal your money by making you think you are at risk of utility cutoff. We’ve reported this before (including earlier this fall) and today Seattle City Light is out with another alert:
As temperatures continue to drop and the importance of keeping your home warm rises, scammers are taking full advantage of the situation by targeting utility customers; threatening to shut off power unless payment is made to a fraudulent bill collector.
Seattle City Light is receiving 25 to 30 reports per week from customers targeted by such scams, often some of Seattle’s most vulnerable residents. Scammers commonly target non-English speaking individuals, elderly, and small business owners.
4 PM: Ian reports an overnight car theft:
Just wanted to spread the word about my stolen vehicle this morning. It was reported to the police, wasn’t impounded. Vehicle is a dark blue, 1991 Honda Accord, License Plate #ABE3499. Last seen at the corner of 14th Ave SW and SW Kenyon Street at about 8:30 PM last night. Was stolen sometime between 8:30 PM last night and 7 AM this morning.
As advised by the SPD @GetYourCarBack Twitter feed, call 911 if you see it.
10 PM UPDATE: Ian confirms what Cynthia mentioned in comments – she found his car! He says, “It was found and is in good shape. It was found about two blocks away from where it was taken, around 13th and Elmgrove. No windows broken. I’m guessing that they must have had a key of some sort. They went through the glove box and the trunk but there was nothing of value in either of those. The audio deck wasn’t taken. It being a 1991 Accord makes it an easy target to a certain extent. I am lucky to have made a habit of leaving nothing of value in my car.”
Arbor Heights has for some reason been a hotbed of mail theft, which ratchets up the radar for reports like this: Andi says, “Just wanted to let you know when my husband and I were driving home tonight in Arbor Heights, we saw a man riding a bike south along 30th around 7 pm rummaging around in some mailboxes that are located streetside. I called 911 and gave a description, which wasn’t much since it was dark. The best we could manage was: White, 30s, 6ft tall, wearing a checkered gray winter coat, gray pants, black stocking cap, and a black backpack. Hope they’re able to track this guy down; we’ve had some mail theft problems recently in this area.”
ORIGINAL REPORT, 11:40 AM: With so much construction and utility work around town these days, the crew working outside Salon 08 on SW Genesee east of 42nd might not have drawn a double take this morning. But the reason for its presence was unusual – a hit-run driver crashed into the gas hookup out front and did a little damage to the bricks in the facade. It happened sometime before 4 am – that’s when the Seattle Fire Department was called out to investigate a possible gas leak; the tipster who sent us word of it said the driver would have been a “silver hatchback” that “fled the scene on 3 wheels.” The salon, however, is open for business as usual.
ADDED 6:30 PM: In comments, Rich says the suspected hit-run car ended up near his Lowman Beach-area home. We’ve also received a photo via text and e-mail showing what’s said to be the car in question:
Rich says police told him they knew whose car it was – we are checking to find out if a suspect was arrested.
2 stolen-car reader reports to share, so you can help be on the lookout:
From Fabiola:
My black 1997 Honda Accord 4 door #ALL3193 was stolen Monday night from the Highland Park neighborhood. The front bumper is slightly broken with the front pushed up and the sides hanging.
From Lauri:
I got my car stolen late (Wednesday) night behind Hotwire Coffee in the parking lot. It is a blue Nissan 2001 Xterra, the usual bumper stickers, Luna Park and Hotwire “Obey the Bean.” Plate 244XSB.
If you’ve seen either one, call 911.
(WSB photo: June 3rd raid at 28th/Yancy)
Six months after police raided an indoor marijuana farm in North Delridge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged its owner with three felonies. This was originally reported in a Seattle Times (WSB partner) story that a WSB reader pointed out to us; we have since obtained the court documents.
After the June 3rd raid at the building alongside Longfellow Creek at 28th/SW Yancy, we spoke by phone with owner Matthew Segal, who told us in that interview that he had been growing 2,500 plants, of which police allowed him to keep 45. At the time, he owned two medical-marijuana dispensaries under the Rain City name, and told us he had been growing at the North Delridge site for three years (records showed he had bought it for a million dollars last March). Police said they also raided two houses, one in the Morgan Junction area.
The charges filed Wednesday against Segal and four others, all described as having no criminal history, allege violations of the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act – three charges against Segal, one each against four people alleged to have been working for him, “paid to maintain the marijuana grows, receiving salaries and a share of profit from the sales.”
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports, starting with another case of a stolen holiday decoration:
#1 – Ann-Marie says her 4-year-old daughter is broken-hearted after someone stole her 5-foot-tall decorative snowman from their front yard in Arbor Heights sometime Wednesday. Here’s what “Monroe” the snowman looks like. “Please bring him back. Our daughter is so upset.”
#2 – Chance‘s car was broken into, back window shattered, sometime during the day Wednesday near the 15th/Roxbury Walgreens. “My SUV has an alarm; didn’t deter them.”
#3 – Meredith reports car break-ins north of Morgan Junction last night:
I just wanted to let you know that last night there were two cars (could be more) in my lot on the corner of Juneau and California were broken into and all of its contents stolen. It’s an apartment complex and has happened twice in the last 6 months. They were able to disconnect my stereo system and break in with the doors locked. Just wanted to give a heads up in case anyone else in the neighborhood has any information or also had their cars broken into.
If your car was broken into but nothing taken, please be sure to report it to police anyway so at least there’ll be accurate stats of what’s happening – you can even do it online.
P.S. Right after we published this, Becky sent an alert about suspicious activity on Beach Drive, so we’ve added it:
We live on Beach Drive, near Cormorant (Cove) Park. My husband was up early Wednesday morning (4:30 am) when he saw a couple of people looking in the windows of parked cars, including a UHaul van parked in the parking lot of the condos out on the pier. The individuals hadn’t done anything criminal but were acting suspiciously. He startled them by saying Good Morning, and they quickly moved on. Again there wasn’t anything to report to the police but we thought the neighborhood should be made aware of this early morning activity and keep an eye out for anything else that is unusual.
As we e-mailed back, police *do* encourage calls about suspicious activity – if they are too busy with major incidents to respond, the dispatcher will say so, but do make a call.
7:26 PM: Thanks to Chris for the tip – police converged on the 76 station/mini-mart at California/Andover a short time ago because of an armed robbery. We don’t have a description or other details, but the search is on, and we’ll add any other information we’re able to get. No word of any injuries.
8:37 PM UPDATE: Just got a little more information from police. Two people robbed the store; their faces were covered, so the only descriptive information so far is that they were believed to be a male and a female, possibly teens to early 20s. The male robber showed a handgun. Police are pursuing active leads.
Though it would be better if the cars hadn’t been stolen at all, we’ll still categorize today’s West Seattle Crime Watch update as good news: The two stolen cars most recently reported here both have been found. Deb‘s husband’s Civic, taken from Westwood last weekend, turned up last night at Hiawatha, “ignition jacked but otherwise OK.” And Stephanie‘s CR-V, stolen from Highland Park, was found at the Auburn Outlet Mall, where she says it had been “parked for four days … the only thing they took was our car seat.” That car also needs ignition repairs. In last week’s SeaStat crime-trends briefing, SPD reported 368 cars stolen citywide over the preceding 30 days, and 275 stolen cars found.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
Stephanie reports a stolen car:
Stolen 1998 Honda CRV. Stolen on Dec. 2nd from the 1100 block of SW Holden Ave. Stolen CRV has the following feature/options: Roof rack, tinted windows, 5 spd manual transmission, rear mounted spare tire. WA State Lic. Plate 370YKH
Amy reports an attempted burglary in Sunrise Heights/Gatewood:
Someone attempted to break into my apartment at 35th Ave SW and SW Webster St today. When I came home my apartment key wouldn’t work and I had to call a locksmith. The locksmith said that someone had attempted to jimmy the locks but couldn’t get past the deadbolt.
The type of theft you might not notice happened to Katie:
I live down on Beach Drive around Mee Kwa Mooks Park and I had my plates stolen and replaced last week. Through strange twists and turns, my plates were recovered by the Tukwila Police Department and the plates that were nicely put on my car were also stolen from a silver 2002 Honda from West Seattle. The really nice SPD officer who (responded) said they have seen more and more of these types of theft. He said when the thieves switch plates it buys them time since most people don’t check their plates very often (sometimes only once a year to change their tabs).
So just a heads up to your readers to check their plates! The Seattle PD has been investigating more and more of these and say if you discover your plates are incorrect to stop driving and immediately call the non-emergency line for help.
Five reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
BURGLAR(S) HIT WESTWOOD VILLAGE: Thanks for the texts about the board-covered doors at Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) and neighboring NK Nails at Westwood Village. We talked to Kirk Keppler from Wyatt’s. He said they were hit just before 4:30 am; security and police were there within minutes, but the burglar(s) had made their getaway. Investigators have prints and video to work with; Wyatt’s is proceeding with its originally scheduled Open House today (continuing until 4 pm), after hours of cleanup. They were even planning to defiantly and festively put a bow on the board over the door. (added – here’s the photo:)
Four reader reports today as well – all but one involving package theft. The first one has a package thief caught on video:
That’s from Todd, who has also provided the video to SPD after the theft at his home in the 3600 block of 35th SW. Todd says it happened last Thursday night. Any idea who that is? Case number to refer to if you are calling in a tip to SPD is #14-404125.
Ahead – three more theft reports, two involving packages:
Deb reports her husband’s black 1996 Honda Civic DX 2-door coupe was stolen sometime between 7 pm Friday and 7 am today on 31st SW in Westwood – license ALL7382. One distinctive feature – the bumper and fenders were recently replaced, so they were “primer black.” If you see the car, call 911.
Three Crime Watch reader reports this afternoon – first, maybe you’ve seen Brian‘s stolen car?
My 1995 Subaru Legacy Wagon was stolen across SW Graham Street from “The Bridge.” Happened sometime between 12/4 – 3 PM and 12/5 – 9 AM. The car has a dented front left corner and a black front bumper. Nothing valuable in the car. I had “The Club” on the steering wheel, but I guess that’s not enough these day. I reported this to the police this AM. Incident number 14-403536.
This car (sans Club) was stolen a few years back. I found it four blocks away a couple of days later. Hoping for the same this time.
If you see Brian’s car, please call 911. Ahead, the story of an apparent package theft, thwarted, and mail theft seen (but not stopped):
The person who e-mailed us this report asked to remain anonymous; it was reported to police, and we see an incident number logged. Though we won’t be able to follow up with them until tomorrow, here’s the reader report, just so you know:
I went up Thistle about 5:45ish and turned right onto 30th; there stood a white guy with his pants pulled down to expose his “nether region,” standing by a newish gray Ram 4×4 with license plate B83…didn’t catch the rest.
My kids screamed, “he’s got his pants down!” so I did a U-Turn when I saw him pull up his pants AFTER I drove by and yank them down again when another car behind me went by. I turned around to get the license # etc. After he did this AGAIN, I turned around again to call 911; then he got in and drove away. I was headed to Target so I was behind him anyway and told them where he drove. He turned right on Trenton.
After a car break-in over the weekend, Aidan is just hoping to get one thing back:
Saturday night (last night) our mini cooper was broken into in the Skylark Cafe/Bar parking lot. … They took my messenger bag and my coat, which had a number of things in it – a Surface tablet, my iPod, cash, etc. I’d just been picked up from the airport for Thanksgiving & went immediately to our friend’s band’s show at Skylark. … I’m messaging you because there was a black journal/sketchbook in the bag that is incredibly important to me. It’s a yearly book and I’ve had one per year since I was sixteen (aka over ten years). I will pay to have it returned. The inside of the book has my name and contact number/email all over it.
My boyfriend and I returned there (Sunday) morning to pick around the area to see if whoever broke into our car threw it to the ground or the dumpsters nearby, or anything like that, but we didn’t see it. The messenger bag was very important to me as well. Neither of these are worth any money to anyone except for me – the bag was made for me by a very good friend – and I’m more than willing to pay for them back!!!
We followed up with Aidan to ask for any further descriptive information:
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Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:
HIT-AND-RUN: Reported tonight by Emily:
I was walking my dog around the block near my house. Because it is twilight, I lit the bright green light that I attach to her leash. I was crossing Admiral at 63rd on the east side of the intersection, walking north. A woman driving a dark brown car (I think it was a Ford Taurus) was driving north on 63rd and turned right on to Admiral. She ran the stop sign, which unfortunately happens a lot at this intersection. When she saw me, she slammed on her brakes but slid into my legs. Thankfully I was not seriously hurt, but I can tell I will have some spectacular bruises tomorrow. What I’m most upset about is that the woman did not stop to see if I (or my dog) needed help.
MYSTERY CREDIT-CARD FRAUD: From Alan:
We just found out that our credit card had fraudulent purchases made on it (Wednesday). We were told that the card was scanned for the purchases, so the person made a copy of our card. One was for over $500 at Rite-Aid. We know the purchases were in Seattle, but we don’t know if they were in West Seattle. We do know that we haven’t charged anything outside of the West Seattle area in the last week. The furthest away were two restaurants in Georgetown and they are places we normally go. We did use our credit card twice yesterday and both places (one small restaurant and one large retailer – not Rite-Aid) were places we have not been before. The large retailer seems unlikely, as the card never left our view and it seems unlikely the checker could have had a copy device in the reader. Sadly, that makes us suspect the small restaurant. It is certainly possible that someone made the copy some time ago and is just now using it.
With shopping season upon us, I would encourage people to watch their accounts. I’m just happy that something about the charges being spotted by our credit card company. No loss to us, except for some trust.
(MONDAY UPDATE: See Alan’s comment – after comparing notes with someone who had something similar happen, he now suspects this happened OUTSIDE West Seattle after all.)
(back to original report) ‘NOT JUST PACKAGES BEING STOLEN‘: From Amanda:
Wanted to warn folks that it’s not just packages being stolen. I had $100 worth of grocery delivery taken from my porch early this morning. I’ve been an Amazon Fresh customer since the beginning (7 years?), and have never had anything stolen before. But when I went to get my deliver off the porch, all but one small bag of food was gone. The thievery must have taken place between 4 and 6 am.
She added in a postscript that Amazon refunded the full value, even though she told them it was a theft.
PACKAGE-THEFT SIDE NOTE: If it’s happened to you lately, please read this comment following our previous Crime Watch roundup.
CAR VANDALISM (OR PROWL?): Reported tonight by Bill:
My wife took our kids to the West Seattle YMCA and parked outside the front door on 36th Ave. SW with our Toyota Highlander. 4:30 PM. Returned at 5:45 PM to find the passenger side rear window smashed out. Nothing apparently missing. Just letting you know in case other reports come in about vandalism in that area.
He reported it online – which you can do with some categories of crime; the start page is here.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports tonight:
PACKAGE THIEVES, AGAIN: From Jan:
We have found several empty delivery boxes on our parking strips in our North Admiral neighborhood. Clearly, someone is following the UPS trucks today. Please remind readers to have packages delivered to an address where someone will be available to receive: business, school, etc.
LINCOLN PARK CAR PROWL: David explains, “I thought I would send this incident your way to get the word out and maybe help warn others that the car-prowl problems at Lincoln Park (and other park areas) are indeed current and ongoing.” Here’s what David reported to police:
While at work as a dog walker, I left my vehicle at 9:55 am on the date of the incident in the Lincoln Park parking lot across from SW Rose St. I returned at 11:00 am. Later, while driving to a class I am taking I realized my backpack was not in the vehicle. I had left the vehicle locked and saw no signs of forced entry. The backpack was on the floor of the passenger seat. I did leave the vehicle unlocked for under 5 minutes on the street (in the 4100 block of) SW Othello St and (the 9600 block of) 46th Ave SW but the longest period I was away for it was at Lincoln Park.
ABANDONED BIKE: In cases like this, the bike likely was stolen. So if this looks familiar …
… Morgan says it was spotted on the roadside near 16th/Dawson in the Puget Ridge area.
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