(Paulo at right, with her lawyer, and prosecutor Amy Freedheim at left)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“You took his life – the life Logan had.”

That’s what the family of 29-year-old Logan Wicker, one of two people critically injured when a drunk driver T-boned his car in South Delridge last June, told that driver, 25-year-old Kalameu Paulo of Seatac, in a tearful King County Superior Court sentencing hearing this afternoon.

Logan, who spent more than three months in the hospital, spoke too: “My life was really good before … it’s been changed (forever) … I hope she can never do this to anybody again.” He begins our 23-minute unedited video of all who spoke at the hearing, including, at the end, the judge:

Though she chose not to speak, the other victim in the crash was in the courtroom too. After hearing about the effects of what he acknowledged was a “shattering … tragedy,” Judge Dean Lum formally sentenced Paulo to the recommended 14-month term, though he wondered aloud, “Is this justice? I don’t know.”

As reported here last month, Paulo struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to two counts of vehicular assault, with prosecutors dropping a third charge of hit-and-run.

But that was the crime, as the deputy prosecuting attorney told Judge Lum, that disturbed Logan’s family the most – “disgust(ed)” them, as Logan’s stepfather put it; the night of the crash, according to the police report, she and her passengers got out of her van after she ran a stop sign and crashed into Logan’s car at 17th and Cambridge.

(WSB photo from June 23, 2013; victims’ car is out of view, blocked by the van)
They were stopped by police as they walked westbound across Delridge Way.

Paulo spent two and a half weeks in jail after being arrested last June and has been in the day-reporting CCAP program since, while undergoing alcohol treatment, her lawyer said. She was taken into custody at the end of the hearing, to start her sentence immediately, and the King County Jail Register confirms she was re-booked as of midafternoon. When she is released from jail, she will be in “community custody” – probation – for more than a year; she also faces a long list of other sanctions and conditions, including restitution payments to be determined later.

Police say stolen cars are often abandoned relatively close to where they were taken – so there’s a chance this car could be somewhere in West Seattle. Mike e-mailed tonight to get the word out about the theft:

Our locked vehicle was taken from near the intersection of 41st Ave SW and SW Hinds at some point between late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. There wasn’t really anything in the car, and the vehicle isn’t worth that much, but we’re hoping folks might keep an eye out for it, since my commute to work is a little complicated without it. A police report has been filed.

Basic details: It’s a white, two-door 1994 Honda Civic. It has a black bra on the front and a missing vertical strip along the driver’s side window.

As police say when they tweet stolen-car reports like this, if you see it, call 911.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports – one, an alert for local businesses about an potentially prolific shoplifter; second, yet another report of a mysterious doorbell ring that in this case preceded a crime – read on:

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Two thefts in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

STOLEN BICYCLE: Watch for Callie‘s black Vilano road bike, stolen from outside 24-Hour Fitness at Westwood Village between 5 and 6 pm tonight. It’s been reported to police, so please let them know if you see it.

STOLEN PURSE: Danielle hopes the thief/thieves who took her purse out of her car might have just cast it aside, with her glasses still inside. Her car was broken into in an alley near her home by Fairmount Park Elementary, now being expanded for fall reopening:

The only item stolen was my purse and I am interested to know if anyone has maybe come across it. There was no cash inside and I canceled the credit/debit cards within 2 hours of the theft. The police officer told me that whoever stole it would probably have ditch the purse once the cards were canceled. The two purchases the thieves made I know of were made at the Shell gas station on Fauntleroy and the Rite Aid on California at 3:29 PM and 3:56 PM respectively. My eyeglasses were inside my purse and I need them to assist me with driving at night so I would be extremely happy if I could get them back.

The purse was an off white/cream color with a long arm strap. It was a fake leather type of texture with one small zipped-up pocket on the outside and a zipped-up wallet compartment on the other side of the purse (on the outside as well). The inside was black with one zip pocket. There were other items inside that I would love to get back that include my driver’s license and a pair of dark brown leather gloves. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I simply cannot believe this happened right outside my house and in the middle of the day! I had only been home for one hour and planned on leaving again soon so I didn’t bother to bring in my purse. I thought it was safe, but never again, I guess……

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS? Bring them to Tuesday night’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting, 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).

On Friday, we noted the release of repeat offender Ryan Cox, barely a day after he was arrested on a warrant related to his most recent assault conviction, following a discussion at last week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting. This morning we have the promised followup information from City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Mills, who has just spoken with the deputy city attorney on the case.

Mills says the warrant was issued because Cox “needs to report to probation to comply with conditions of mental-health and chemical-dependency evaluations and follow-up treatment,” but has now failed to, twice. With the second failure to report, “the city asked the court to strike probation and impose 60 days, since this was the 2nd time he failed to appear.” But instead, the judge denied that and granted the defense request to give Cox another chance to report to probation: “The court said it would allow him one more chance because the case was fairly new.” So if he fails to report today, apparently another arrest warrant would be the next step.

Cox’s jail stay last Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon was his third in less than two months; the previous warrant had him in jail January 10th through 13th, and his guilty plea in the case kept him in jail December 12th through 31st.

SIDE NOTE: The challenges in his ongoing saga include our state’s laws regarding mentally ill offenders and what it takes for them to be involuntarily committed. A proposal to change those laws has been introduced in Olympia, as our partners at The Seattle Times reported this past weekend.

Update for those who’ve been asking: After three weeks of proceedings, the Morgan Junction murder trial hasn’t reached the jury-selection phase yet. Pre-trial motions have continued all month for 69-year-old Lovett Chambers, on trial for second-degree murder in the shooting death of 35-year-old Travis Hood on January 21st, 2012. We’ve been checking in with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office; this morning, WSB’s Katie Meyer went to the courthouse for an in-person update. She learned that jury selection might start this afternoon. Once a jury is in place, they’ll move to opening statements and testimony, expected to take at least a month.

One less stolen car to watch for: Last Tuesday, Bill reported his red ’97 Civic hatchback stolen; this weekend, he reports, he found it while “driving around.” It was stolen in the Admiral area and turned up not too far south (46th/Hanford).

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, a burglary attempt that did a lot of damage, plus a stolen car, and an update on an arrest reported here last night.

BIG DAMAGE BY WOULD-BE BURGLARS: From a Highland Park resident who wants to be anonymous:

I left to go grocery shopping at around 11:05-11:00am (Thursday) and got a call from my alarm company at 11:27 am that my house alarm was going off. In the short time that I was gone, the thieves had removed the window screens from ALL of my back windows to try to open them. When that failed, they broke the back window of my garage and used my lawn furniture to crawl into the garage. Once in my garage, they used my tools to break off and destroy the door knob and lock assembly of the door leading into the house and attempted to smash through the deadbolt which thankfully held long enough for the alarm system to trigger and the resulting siren scared them away. Although nothing (so far that I can tell) was taken. I am left with large costly repairs to 2 doors / 2 locks / 1 window. The neighbors (across the street from me) reported seeing two Hispanic men in their late teens/early 20’s casing their own house around this same time. They must have seen me leave the house in order to have done so much damage is so short of a time. Please remind your readers that these thieves and others are skilled and work quickly and have been prolific in our part of Seattle. Please be very aware of your surrounding area and suspicious people and cars that look out of place. It is worthwhile to do a security review of your house to make it as difficult for the thieves to break in. I will be strengthening my home security after this incident even more.

STOLEN ACCORD: Reported in a comment on another story:

Had my Honda four-door stolen from the back alley off 44th and Spokane. Heard something about 2 AM last night, did not get up, had a bad cold, so I went back to sleep. Whole backseat full of plumbing tools in buckets and power tools to do side job. All my essays and observation journals for school due next week. Kinda devastating. … ’93 gray gold four-door Honda Accord LX, small dimpled dent left front fender, small dimpled dent left rear trunk. See it, please call Seattle Police; report has been filed.

RYAN COX UPDATE: Last night, we reported that repeat offender Ryan Cox was arrested on a warrant, two days after he was the subject of a discussion at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. Online records show the warrant had been issued days before the meeting, second one related to his probation following a guilty plea for an assault case in December. Tonight, Cox is out of jail after a hearing this morning; he was released on personal recognizance, according to the Municipal Court docket. We won’t be able to find out more about the status of his case until Monday, when the deputy city attorney handling the case is back in the office.

WEST SEATTLE BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: Their first meeting of 2014 is next Tuesday (January 28th), 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster). You don’t have to be a Block Watch Captain – or even in a Block Watch – to attend.

One week from tomorrow, the confessed drunk driver who hit and seriously hurt two people in South Delridge last year will be sentenced. We first reported one month ago on the plea bargain for 26-year-old Kalameu Paulo, who was arrested trying to flee the scene of the crash last June. One of her victims, 29-year-old Logan Wicker, who was headed home from work that night when Paulo’s van (left) T-boned his car, has shared information on how to get a message to the judge who will sentence Paulo on January 31st, and says they need to be in by the end of this week:

If you’d like to make your thoughts known to the Judge on the sentencing in this case, please send an e-mail to the King County (senior deputy) Prosecuting Attorney, Amy Freedheim. She will forward all of your comments to the Judge for consideration as she determines the punishment for this woman’s crimes. Amy.Freedheim@kingcounty.gov – In subject line put: Paulo, Kalameu – 1/31 sentencing

Paulo’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal-drunkenness threshold, according to court documents, which also say prosecutors are recommending a 14-month sentence as part of the plea bargain, in which she pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular assault, while a hit-and-run charge was dropped.

Detectives are making progress in West Seattle’s two most recent murder cases, new Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis told the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council tonight (our second report tomorrow will cover the rest of tonight’s meeting). In the Q/A period after his meeting-opening briefing, he was asked about three of the cases. First, in the December 14th blunt force/strangulation murder of 46-year-old Nga T. Nguyen at her High Point home, he said detectives “are working on something – hopefully they can bring something to a close very quickly.” He said that’s all he could say. Asked then about the New Year’s Eve shooting death of 40-year-old Stephen Jeffries Jr., Capt. Davis wasn’t quite that optimistic, but said detectives “know a lot more now” than they did on the chaotic night of the killing at a 16th/Barton party. Those were West Seattle’s only two murders in 2013, and the first ones since that of 51-year-old Greggette Guy more than a year and a half earlier; asked about that case, he said he hadn’t heard anything lately but would check. There are two other unsolved murders in this area – Kaari Higgins, who died three years ago after being found injured in her Fauntlee Hills home, and 24-year-old Jeremy Peck, last seen in a West Seattle bar three years ago, weeks before his body turned up on a Bainbridge Island beach. His death was added to the unsolved-murder list two years later.

If you have information on any Seattle homicide case, the SPD tip line is 206-233-5000 (or you can call 911).

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

STOLEN CAR: From Bill:

I live just north of Admiral Junction and adding my red ’97 Civic hatchback, license 701 HMN, to the long list of stolen Hondas. I have a Club and pretty sure I put it on last night.

If you see Bill’s car, call 911.

MAILBOX, TRASH CAN EXPLOSIONS: Following up on e-mail we received early today, we learned that police are investigating two incidents last week. First, on Thursday in the 8600 block of 17th SW (map), a home mailbox was blown up – the resident said a piece of it was found 30 feet away. Police found what appeared to be part of a firecracker. A neighbor said she saw two teenagers hanging around the mailbox and then taking off running about the time of the explosion. Nobody was hurt. The next day, after 3 pm in the 8100 block of Delridge Way (map), they got a call from someone who reported her trash can had just been “blown up” – she was driving toward her home when she saw smoke pouring from it. A roommate was home but didn’t see it happen. An Arson/Bomb Squad member investigated that case, according to the report. No definite description of suspects in either case; the teens seen running after the Thursday incident were described as male, one white, about six feet tall, white shirt and blue jeans, the other black, with “unidentified clothing”; in the Friday case, police were told a slender 18-to-20-year-old African-American man in a yellow-and-red shirt, “possibly a San Francisco 49ers jersey,” and blue jeans was seen running from the area after the explosion.

EGG VANDALISM: A reader who asked for anonymity reports, “My car was egged on Charlestown Street between 44th and 45th [map] (likely) on 1/19.” Yes, you can report this as vandalism; the reader says the online form is problematic, though, because the vandalism section doesn’t have a dropdown for “car.”

MIDNIGHT PROWLER: A Seaview resident e-mailed:

Thought I would report that I had a weird happening Saturday around midnight. Someone rang my doorbell. When I went to answer the door, no one was around. I called police and they came and checked around the house and the neighborhood. They did find evidence of someone on my porch, but saw no one. Just an alert to let people know to be cautious. Police said someone was probably checking out the house to see if anyone was home, so they could break-in.

P.S. Lots of interesting information at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – still under way as we publish this – watch for at least one report later.

Have you seen Krystal‘s car? It has been stolen for the second time in about a month:

My 1996 2-door silver Honda Civic, license plate # 682 YGW, was stolen from the Admiral Junction at some point last night, 1/19/14. It has a dent on the driver’s-side rear wheel.

It was stolen mid-December from 52nd/Andover. Only one person was arrested and I am afraid the accomplice to the initial crime is responsible for the second theft as I had mail in the vehicle and they were aware of my home address.

In any case, if you see this car, please contact the police. I would greatly appreciate all of the help from my community in tracking down my car. Keep an eye out, West Seattle, and invest in a steering wheel lock! Thank You!

If you see it, call 911.

Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

CAR BREAK-INS: Zale reports neighborhood cars were broken into last night:

They stole our car stereo and our Garmin, which SPD found in another car. Sadly, we had our arms full of stuff when we last got out of the car and forgot to lock the doors and set the alarm. You can bet we won’t do that again any time soon. We live in Sunset Heights on 31st between Othello and Myrtle.

TAGGING VANDALISM: An Arbor Heights resident who asked for name/location anonymity says vandals tagged her fence – “about 15 feet of fence, with letters approximately 4 feet high” – and that police are analyzing it as potential gang graffiti. That’s one reason why it’s important to report this vandalism, however common. Painting it over – a challenge for her, though, since it wasn’t a painted fence in the first place – is important, too, so take a picture as evidence as soon as you can. You can report graffiti/tagging online – here’s the form.

PARK VANDALISM: If you spot vandalism on someone else’s property, or public facilities like parks, you need to get word to them so they can report it. That’s what a neighbor of Hamilton Viewpoint in North Admiral planned to do about this:

She says it’s the second time in two weeks she’s spotted these types of tire marks tearing up the turf – the photo shows the older marks too, and she noticed “dirt clumps in the road in the same area where it appears the vehicle drove off the curb. This is really annoying. The park is for everyone’s enjoyment. This has turned the park into a mud pit and likely destroyed much of the grass.” If you see or hear something like that while it’s happening, call 911, but otherwise, report it to Parks – contact info’s here.

STOLEN SIGN: For this month’s West Seattle Art Walk, eight small local businesses teamed up for an event at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), which put up an A-board sign in The Junction to promote it. Sometime between 10 am and noon that morning, it was stolen; Christine from Office Junction says the KeyBank security guard told them a man picked it up, put it into an orange vehicle, and drove away. She says they’ve had other A-boards stolen, too. If you’ve seen any, please let them (or police) know.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: Tomorrow’s the first WSCPC meeting in two months. Bring your neighborhood concerns, on any crime/safety topic, including the one that’ll be discussed by the featured guest, Ann Graves from Seattle Animal Shelter, as explained on the WSCPC website. Be at the Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster, 7 pm Tuesday.

10:46 AM: In Seattle Municipal Court this morning, Michael S. Stanley pleaded guilty. He’s the convicted rapist arrested in a West Seattle alley not long after fleeing Canada, where he was being sought after illegally cutting off a monitoring device. Stanley, a U.S. citizen, has been in jail here since his arrest October 22nd, held in lieu of $100,000 bail. According to the Municipal Court web docket, he pleaded guilty to both charges filed against him last fall – harassment and resisting arrest. Hat tip to reporter Jennifer Sullivan from The Seattle Times [WSB partner] for first word of Stanley’s pleas; we’re checking on sentencing (the docket mentions only suspended sentences and credit for time served, but the city court docket does not link to full documentation) and will update this story. To date, Stanley has never been charged in connection with the allegation that he sexually assaulted a teenager the same morning he was arrested here.

10:59 AM UPDATE: City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Mills says the credit-for-time-served calculation is still under way and promises more information later, but for starters “he’s not getting out today.”

2:16 PM UPDATE: Mills has sent a news release that, in addition to other information, indicates Stanley will remain in jail at least two more months:

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Three Crime Watch reader reports tonight:

MAILBOX PROWLERS: Once again, WSB Forums member MyPatience1978 in Highland Park has caught mailbox prowlers on camera. These two came by just before midnight last night. As discussed there – if your postal mail still arrives and goes via an unlocked box on the street, you might reconsider. And if you recognize these two, speak up.

(added) GARAGE BREAK-IN: Michael reports, “We had our garage broken into last night and had miscellaneous items stolen from the garage and one of our cars that they broke into. They were able to get into one of the cars and destroyed the interior in their attempt to probably steal the car. We are in North Admiral on 45th and SW Seattle. Must have happened overnight.”

(back to original report) STOLEN CAR: Andrea in White Center is asking people all around the area to be on the lookout for her car – “stolen last night from (10700 block) 14th Ave SW. 1993 Black Honda Civic. License starts with ACE. Please call 206-307-8439.” And 911.

MYSTERY CAR: This turned up on 41st between Fauntleroy and Graham, and a neighbor wondered if it’s a stolen car someone’s looking for:

Description:

Black Cadillac Northstar DTS
License 534-YUA
4-door sedan
Broken front passenger window (covered in plastic)
3 flat tires
Appeared Sunday between 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm

We didn’t find it in @getyourcarback but that could mean many things – from “not stolen” to stolen more than a few days ago, stolen outside the city, plate switched, owner doesn’t know it’s gone yet … It’s been reported to police, so contact them if you know whose it is.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: Next meeting is January 21st, one week from tomorrow, and Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis will be there with an update on local trends as well as to listen to neighborhood concerns, in addition to special guest Ann Graves from Seattle Animal Shelter to talk about a variety of issues, as detailed in the WSCPC preview. The meeting’s at 7 pm Tuesday, Jan. 21st, in the precinct meeting room (Delridge/Webster).

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight – we start with two reader reports. First, from Nerissa:

Around 12:15, my house was broken into. We are on the corner of 47th and Andover. [map] My roommate was downstairs watching the game and the people or person must have only been in for a minute or two. They came in through the back door which *was* a half-glass French door with what looks like a crowbar. They took laptops, iPods, iPod chargers, and some jewelry. They may have left out the front door and were quiet and quick. We didn’t notice until I got home since my roommate assumed it was me walking around upstairs.

We checked the SPD map; the burglary rate is back down, eight mapped in the past week in West Seattle.

From Joleen in Westwood:

My bicycle was stolen within the past week. It’s a white women’s bike, 18-speed I think. It was locked to the beam in my carport. The bike lock was cut, likely with bolt cutters. My back gate was left open as well…

If you’re wondering what brought police to West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) this afternoon:

(Photo added 8:57 pm, courtesy Brian Allen)
After a reader tip, we went to check, and learned on scene that it was another case of liquor shoplifting, which has plagued so many stores since privatization. One suspect was taken into custody.

Finally – we got a note from neighbors at 40th/Findlay (map) who wondered if anyone else has been hit by tree vandalism/theft. Three “young trees” were cut down in a planting strip and front yard – not lost to stormy weather, we’re told; saw marks were visible on the stumps. We haven’t heard of any trees targeted since the holidays, in a couple cases that appeared to be thieves seeking free Christmas trees (which they could have instead gotten from at least two local lots that wound up giving away remainders).

Following up on our report from last weekend that the trial was about to begin for Lovett Chambers, charged with shooting and killing Travis Hood in Morgan Junction two years ago: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says pre-trial motions continued throughout this week and will continue next week, so the trial is not expected to get to opening statements until week after next. Those motions decide matters large and small, from what evidence will and won’t be admitted to how often the defendant can get a haircut during the trial (answer: weekly). Both sides have laid out their cases in trial briefs as well as motions, hundreds and hundreds of pages worth – some documents so big, we can’t get them to download through the online system. We’ve reported before that Chambers’ lawyers are expected to focus on self-defense as well as post-traumatic stress disorder; one recent document contends that the latter is due to what he went through in prison when he was much younger. According to court documents, his record has been clean for more than 30 years. Chambers is on trial for second-degree murder, reduced last summer from the original first-degree charge.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports tonight – first, from Patrice:

Thought you might like to know that my catalytic converter, muffler, tailpipe were all stolen right off of my car sometime Monday night.

Turns out I have a wanted item. I drive a ’97 Toyota 4-Runner and the Cat converter is full of precious metals. I looked up info on a 4-runner blog and learned that some cities get rashes of these thefts and it only takes about 30 seconds to cut it off. Which is what they did to my car. Cut it all clean off.

I live in the Admiral District on Walnut. [map] The car was parked in the street. Other folks may want to know so they can try preventive measures. I’m just sick about it.

And from Lori:

Monday early a.m. (between 3:30 and 5) and early evening two incidents of a person with a flashlight outside houses in the 50th and Alaska [map] neighborhood. Possible mailbox thefts. Police have been notified.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 2:04 AM: This note came in late Monday night. Though it corresponds to a “lewd conduct” call showing in the SPD log, we won’t be able to follow up with police for further details until later this morning, so we are passing the info along as-is for now, since families in the area might want to alert their kids:

My daughter attends Denny International Middle School. (Monday) she was on her way to meet me. She was walking up Kenyon toward 35th and when she got to 30th [map] a man in a 4-door silver or grayish sedan tried to get her attention. When she looked over the man was naked from the waist down and masturbating. I arrived literally a minute later. We called 911. He wasn’t apprehended. Just wanted to share this information with my community.

Thanks,
Anonymous Concerned Mother

No further description in the note – but again, we will follow up with police later this morning and publish an update with anything more we find out.

9:28 AM: Here’s what else we have found out – from ACM, it happened at about 2:37 pm. From the police report – They got the call at 2:40 pm and the first unit arrived in the area at 2:55 pm, at which point the vehicle was nowhere in sight; it apparently left shortly after the girl arrived in the area, as she is reported as having heard its engine start up. The car is described in the police report as “small, medium-sized four-door car with round headlights, round door mirrors, tinted front windows, and possibly no front grille.” The passenger door was open and the man was leaning back/reclining, so his upper body was not in view, according to the report, which says he tried to get the girl’s attention by calling out, “Pssst, pssst.”

11:38 AM: We have just published a separate followup including a letter to families from the Denny/Sealth principals.