2:04 PM: For the second day in a row, a local student has been robbed while walking to school. Thursday, it happened in Gatewood; today, in Westwood. The victim’s mom contacted us in hopes someone might see this, tossed aside somewhere:

She told us her daughter’s phone “was nabbed right out of her jacket pocket as she walked from Westwood Village to Sealth High School on 25th ave. SW. We filed a police report but she’d really like the bottom half of her Beemo phone case back. It might have been discarded somewhere along 25th Avenue SW.”

We have requested but not yet received the police report in this case – if and when we do, we’ll add whatever else it includes, including descriptions, if any. Meantime, we asked the mom if her daughter’s OK. “She’s understandably shaken but physically OK. She’s just real sad about losing the phone case.” If you see it, contact police; the case number is 15-017129.

4:10 PM: We’ve obtained the report from SPD but it includes very little additional information. This was reported around 8:30 this morning; police were called once the victim arrived at CSIHS, so there’s no exact address of where she was when it happened. The robber is described only as black, male, maybe 15-17 years old, wearing black. The victim said he came up to her, said “Give me your phone”; she didn’t respond. He then reached into the front pocket of her sweatshirt, grabbed her phone, and ran southbound, toward Westwood Village.

Nine days ago, Beth‘s VW Passat was stolen from her driveway near Lincoln Park. The next day, a reader reported it turned up in front of their home in Beverly Park. Now – Beth says it’s been stolen again:

Turns out they ransacked and found an extra key in my husband’s car. I am
requesting help again since some lovely lady found it last time in the 115th
area. I was having it rekeyed on Saturday!!!

2004 royal blue VW Passat with Sun Valley and state of WA stickers on back,
license #AKD2678 (in a Hans Automotive frame). I am so frustrated!

If you see it, call 911.

P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s first meeting of 2015, with local SPD leadership on hand, is at 7 pm next Tuesday (January 20th). If you have neighborhood crime/safety concerns, be there.

Just found out about this via a routine check of the police-report map: A middle-school student walking to catch a school bus this morning told police that two men knocked him down and robbed him.

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3:54 PM: You might recall last week’s uproar over a county budget change that was scheduled to kick in February 1st, changing how suspects in certain kinds of crimes are handled – booking and releasing them, rather than booking them into jail while they await a bail hearing (often the next day). Here’s our coverage from last Friday. Today, a change: County Executive Dow Constantine has sent a letter (read it here) to county officials including criminal-justice-system leaders, saying that they’ve found “resources” to hold off on “book and release” until at least June 1st, and maybe longer if certain changes can be implemented in the courts. There’s a news-media conference call about this in a few minutes and we’ll be on it – more info to come.

4:23 PM UPDATE: The conference call was relatively short. Constantine spokesperson Chad Lewis said part of the reason why the postponement is possible is that: “The jail population tends to naturally decline in the winter,” so this is not urgent.

We couldn’t help but note that the season hasn’t changed since last Friday, when we were all on the phone talking about this being implemented next month, so, what’s changed? Lewis acknowledged that “stakeholder” reaction played a role.

Meantime, looking ahead as to whether this ever will have to be implemented, the possible changes in court processes outlined in Constantine’s letter, to reduce jail population over the longer term, include “shortening the time between plea or verdict and sentencing.” Lewis says they’re also hopeful the Legislature will address the budgeting problems that have left King and other counties with a shortfall. We asked if there’s a new reason for that hope; he said, “The public safety issue gets more attention” but that’s not the only part of the budget affected by chronic revenue trouble. In response to another question, Lewis insists, “The executive never wanted to put (the book-and-release policy) forward” but didn’t feel he had a choice.

They don’t know yet what kind of a review or assessment will be done between now and June 1st to determine if the book-and-release policy will kick in then, or ever, said Lewis.

(Surveillance-video screengrab)
Following up on last Thursday’s Alki arrest – in which, as reported in our first followup, the suspect was found in a treehouse: 32-year-old Emanuel Kozma is now charged with three felonies, 2nd degree burglary, 1st degree criminal trespass, and 3rd-degree theft. Our first report included a reader report that Kozma was also suspected in a package theft earlier in the day, before the Alki search and arrest resulting from a package theft inside a secure building, and the charging documents include the earlier incident. An excerpt:

… The defendant entered a secure apartment building lobby and stole a package delivered for a tenant. When confronted by a witness, the defendant dropped the items he had taken out of the stolen package and ran away.

When police found the defendant and inventoried his bag, they discovered items stolen from the front porches of a nearby duplex as well as assorted checks not written to the defendant. The residents of the duplex had surveillance video of the defendant stealing delivered packages.

The defendant has had 23 warrants since 2001, based on 30 bookings at King County Jail. At the time of his arrest, the defendant had an outstanding DOC Escape warrant related to his Assault 3 conviction and community custody. The defendant fled when confronted by a witness and hid from police in a tree; he finally came down when a police K9 officer indicated he was in the tree. Also, the defendant has two convictions for Attempting to Elude. Additionally, the defendant’s references were not available to verify his address, employment, or ties to the community. The defendant is facing a significant prison sentence if convicted as charged – his standard range for Burglary 2º is 51 to 68 months. For all of these reasons, the State believes the defendant is a flight risk if released.

The apartment-building theft happened in the 6000 block of SW Stevens; the earlier thefts, in the 2400 block of 55th SW. Meantime, the King County Jail Register indicates Kozma remains in jail, with no bail amount set so far, as stipulated in the aforementioned warrant for escape. We’re checking with the state Corrections Department to see if a photo of him is available to add to this story. (Added 12:04 pm: Thanks to DOC for the fast response – we’ve received a photo and have added it above.)

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports today:

STABBING SUSPECT CHARGED: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed a charge of second-degree assault against Beverlee Darden, the 52-year-old High Point woman arrested after last Wednesday night’s stabbing outside South Seattle Market at 35th/Morgan. In the charging documents, prosecutors say the suspect thought the 17-year-old victim, described as a volunteer at West Seattle Food Bank who lives near Darden, was interested in Darden’s husband, and had been calling her insulting names based on that. On Wednesday night, the victim confronted her about it, and, prosecutors say, while they were arguing, Darden stabbed her. The charging documents say the knife appears to be the same one used when Darden was accused of stabbing her husband last November, a case in which no charges appear to have been filed, but she does have a record – 12 bookings into the King County Jail since 1986, and 10 arrest warrants. She remains in jail with bail set at $50,000.

SUSPECTED TOOL THEFT: From a resident near 21st/Roxbury:

About 10 am this morning I noticed a man in the middle of my planted parking strip. He was messing with some tool boxes. I’m assuming he just stole the two boxes, and a white Home Depot bucket full of stuff. He couldn’t carry it all, so threw what he could in the bucket and took off. My dog was barking at him, and possibly he saw me, so that is why he took off so fast. He only took a drill out, and the rest of the two boxes had stuff in them. So, if your tools were stolen this am, the police have most of them.

11:02 AM: There’s always the possibility these two reports do NOT involve thefts, but in case you can help reunite items with their rightful owners, we’re sharing the reader reports. First, from North Delridge:

I had a package stolen from my porch on Thursday. At least I think it was stolen because it has been reported as delivered and my neighbors don’t have it. It was from Nordstrom but I don’t think it was labeled as such. It had two bras and a skirt. I live on 25th between Brandon and Findlay, right behind the Delridge Library.

Second, if you’re missing a suitcase, through theft or otherwise, a tipster says this turned up on an Admiral parking strip, and tweeted a photo:

It was still there as of first thing this morning, SW Stevens west of 38th SW.

11:48 AM NOTE: SPD tweets suggest the suitcase has been reported to police as “found property,” so if you’re the owner and don’t see this until later, check with them. (Also, see the comments below for an update from the finder.)

ADDED 2:20 PM: Just received a photo of a bicycle found in the greenbelt near Fauntleroy Church:

Morgan says it was there as of early afternoon, “in the Fenton Glen little ravine by the little path to the creek at the far end of Fauntleroy Church’s parking lot … sort of hidden behind a big cedar.”

Michael‘s bicycle is “instantly recognizable,” as he puts it. And now it’s gone … so he’s hoping that if you see it, you’ll be able to help him get it back. He’s part of the Alki Beach Creeps bike club; his “beach cruiser” bike was stolen in Pioneer Square. Call 911 if you see it.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:05 PM: If you think some crime suspects get out of jail too quickly now – wait until next month, when, according to a story KING 5 broke last night, the county might not allow some of them to get booked into jail at all – they’ll be brought downtown, processed, and released. We just heard about this when Mayor Murray’s office sent a news release, saying he has sent County Executive Dow Constantine a letter objecting to it:

Mayor Ed Murray has serious concerns about a King County proposal to release additional felony suspects in property crime cases immediately after booking in downtown Seattle. The mayor outlined his concerns today in a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine.

“This proposed plan presents an unacceptable public safety risk to the residents of Seattle and will undermine our mutual efforts to reduce drug and property crimes,” wrote Murray. “This proposal also has serious potential policing and budget implications for the City of Seattle.” (Full letter embedded below)

On Feb. 1, King County plans to reduce the inmate population by instituting a “book-and-release” policy for several felony drug and property offenses, including auto theft, hit and run (with injury), malicious mischief, reckless endangerment, stolen property, theft, vehicle prowl and drug possession.

The proposed plan will mean that suspects arrested for these crimes in communities around King County will be brought to Seattle to be booked and then released onto the streets of downtown.

Currently, judges individually assess each suspect booked at the jail to decide whether to hold them pending trial. The proposed County plan would eliminate a judge’s review in favor of a presumption of release for these non-violent offenses.

In his letter, Murray outlined alternatives to reduce burdens on the jail (reducing the time between a suspect’s arraignment and trial), as well as reduce impacts on the city (remote booking or mandatory return transportation for suspects brought downtown for booking from jurisdictions outside of Seattle).

We’ve asked both the county and city for a copy of the memo that Murray says police chiefs received this week, and we’ve asked the executive’s office for reaction to Murray’s letter. We’ll add whatever we hear back.

5:13 PM UPDATE: To answer journalists’ questions including ours, the executive’s office set up a conference call last hour, and your editor here was one of four who asked questions. The toplines:

*This is a done deal at this point – it was part of the county budget approved by the County Council and Executive.

*Rather than a budget cut, this was a budget request that didn’t get granted. The County’s director of adult/juvenile detention William Hayes, one of three county reps on the call, said it would cost $5.2 million to open another section of the jail to handle the increase in daily population expected over the next year if everything was status quo – last year’s average daily county jail/detention population (Seattle and Kent) was 1900, 50 over projections, and this year was expected to be 1920. There’s room at the jail – but not the personnel to staff it. That request was not granted. This policy is the result.

*The key talking point was that this would mean a difference of a few hours or few days in time most of these suspects would have spent in jail. It was also stressed that police will have the option to say, we don’t want this suspect released. In response to that, we pointed out that police might not get immediate access to the suspect’s full record, or warrant status. The county reps say that if technical problems keep them from finding out whether there’s a warrant out for someone, they won’t be released until the status can be verified.

*Overall, the county reps (also including Constantine spokesperson Chad Lewis and a budget-office staffer, Krista Camenzind) said a “chronic structural gap with the county’s general fund” is to blame. 70 percent of the general fund goes to criminal justice, from deputies to prosecutors to defenders to judges to jails, and it’s been going down even as the population grows, with a $54 million gap to cover this time around. We asked, couldn’t the civil system have been cut instead of the criminal? Reply: It already had been.

*We asked for a copy of the memo that the mayor mentioned, received this week by police chiefs around the county pointing out which crimes this generally would affect. The county reps say that was a draft memo and they don’t have a final version yet because suggestions were made by chiefs at a meeting yesterday and some of them are being incorporated into the final version.

Overall, Lewis summarized, the county considers this change the “best of bad options that are available.” Hayes said it’s not as if the suspects are being set entirely free – they will have to come in for court dates, and even if they fail to appear, “at some point (the legal system) is going to catch up to them.”

The cynical person might wonder if this is a setup for a forthcoming ballot measure to ask for more criminal-justice funding, we suggested. Lewis said no, there are no plans to seek any kind of a funding measure for public safety; Constantine is pursuing the Best Starts for Kids initiative, Lewis pointed out, an early-childhood initiative that he hopes will reduce the need for criminal justice, years down the road.

ADDED 6:12 PM: The mayor’s office has provided, at our request, the document mentioned in Murray’s letter, circulated to police chiefs earlier this week. Read on for the full text – including the proposed list of crimes; note that not all property crimes are involved – for example, residential-burglary suspects would still be held as they are now, this memo says:

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Another stolen car to watch out for: Taken last night from Beth‘s driveway near Lincoln Park, a dark blue 2004 VW Passat with a Sun Valley sticker on the back. WA plates, AKD2678. As @getyourcarback advises, call 911 if you see it.

UPDATE, EARLY FRIDAY: Found in Beverly Park! (See comments.)

A truck just stolen in Gatewood tops this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup:

STOLEN TRUCK: Within the past hour or so, a black 2001 Ford Ranger, single cab, Washington plate B74060R, was taken from 37th/Thistle (map) in Gatewood. Its owner says police have already been there to take a report. If you see it, call 911 ASAP.

STOLEN/FOUND CAR: That wasn’t the only daytime car theft this weekend – Rob e-mailed us Saturday mid-afternoon about a blue 1993 Honda Civic taken from in front of his house in the 3300 block of SW 100th (map) in Arbor Heights, and just 20 minutes after his note, before we could even publish an item about it, he e-mailed again to say it had been found (he didn’t say where) and that they were off to retrieve it.

CAR CASING: Around 10:45 am Friday morning, a neighbor on 44th SW between Dakota and Andover (map) saw “three young teenage boys walking down 44th Avenue SW between Dakota and Andover checking all the car/vehicles’ doors. I opened my front door and hollered, ‘I’ve taken your picture,’ and they ran north on 44th.”

Somebody fired two shots into the front window of a south Morgan Junction business less than an hour ago. Our photo shows one of the bullet holes in the glass at Stella Ruffington, a dog-care center in the 7000 block of California SW. No one at the business wanted to comment; police say no one was hurt, neither human nor canine. They were trying to sort out the circumstances.

Barring breaking news, here’s our last West Seattle Crime Watch roundup of 2014. (You can always check the archives, by the way, via either the CW page – see the tab on our header – or here.) We are always sorry to hear about ANY of this happening, but we appreciate the reader reports, so that other West Seattleites can be better-informed – as we mention often, we don’t get as much information from police as you might assume. (We’re working on that, though.)

RECOGNIZE THIS CAMERA THIEF’S JACKET/BOOTS? From Grant in Morgan Junction:

My home’s two exterior security cameras were stolen on Monday, December 29 around 10:00 pm. I believe the thief crept along a narrow unlit path alongside my property, then across my backyard, and around to my front door to disable and remove my door camera from behind. Next he proceeded to my driveway camera where he again came up from behind it and disabled it before removing and leaving.

A rake was found by my door suggesting this was used tilt the camera. The door camera was thoroughly removed with a screwdriver, but the driveway camera had part of its mount left attached to the house. This suggests to me the thief was probably just wanting to get the cameras fast to sell them.

If nothing else, it shows someone had studied my house beforehand and planned how to come in through the backyard to take these at night. That person may have already been in the backyard before to make sure there was no backyard cam to catch him coming in that way. Lesson learned: mount valuables like security camera high up and with tamper-resistant screws, and make sure a thief can’t disable and remove them from behind.

HAVE YOU SEEN KATHY’S CAR? Stolen in Upper Fauntleroy:

My one and only family car….blue 1997 4-door Honda Civic was stolen last night on SW Sullivan Street near 39th Avenue SW. It has a child’s car seat in the back. License plate AJY 3038. The black chrome along the bottom of the driver’s side has also been removed (previous car prowl incident) . There are a couple of small bumper stickers on the back with Seattle Storm license plate frame.

Call 911 if you see it.

Click or scroll for (updated) three more reports – another stolen car, found; prowler/peeper at a local home; and (just confirmed and added, 2:07 pm) a store break-in:

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Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN CAR: Amanda hopes you’ll keep an eye out for her car – “My car was stolen from the alley of (the 900 block of) SW Holden St between the hours of 2 pm Sunday and 8 am Monday morning. It is a gold 1994 Honda Accord with the license AIB2949.” Call 911 if you’ve seen it.

TWO CAR BREAK-INS: We received a texted report this morning about two cars broken into on 48th SW in the Admiral area. The texter notes, “Lucky for us, we don’t keep anything important in our cars, so no harm, but unneeded this time of year, especially since we have just brought home our son from the hospital just over a week and a half ago.”

ANOTHER CAR BREAK-IN: An unfortunate reminder that car break-ins don’t just happen when everyone but the criminals are asleep – one happened lightning-fast to Lisa near 16th/100th:

I walked into the Autozone store after having my check engine light checked with one of the employees so they could print the results, and within less than 1 minute somebody had smashed my window and grabbed my computer bag. I was parked directly in front of the store, and it all happened in moments…

ADDED: One more 48th SW break-in:

(Monday) night someone went into our Subaru parked on 48 Ave SW between SW Dakota and SW Genesse. I am sure they were disappointed. We don’t leave anything in the car. They did search hard. They went through the whole interior of the vehicle including the side panel compartments in back in the wagon. Completely ransacked it.

Tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch starts with two incidents today/tonight that resulted in arrests:

CAR-PROWL SUSPECT ARRESTED: Thanks to several people asking us about an incident near 20th/Thistle (map) tonight, we’ve been able to get information from police: An area resident saw someone “prowling inside her car” and confronted the man, who threatened her, showing what “appeared to be a weapon in his waistband.” He then took off. At some point, police were called and responded with a K-9 team; the dog found the suspect, and he was arrested.

BURGLARY INTERRUPTED: Also interrupted, a break-in at a home in the 6000 block of 26th SW (map) this afternoon. We’ve confirmed details with police on this one as well: Someone in the house heard glass breaking and hid while calling police. They arrived and saw three suspects flee. They chased and caught two nearby; the third fled westward to High Point, and other officers found him there, also with the help of a K-9. Police say one of the suspects had a cut hand, from broken glass; some stolen property was recovered; and one suspect threatened to kill an officer. All three were booked into jail.

And two three reader reports:

VANDALISM: According to a texter, taggers vandalized garage doors overnight along the 47th SW alley between Stevens and Lander (map). It’s been reported to police.

PLANT THEFT: CR reports from north of Morgan Junction:

Our green ceramic glazed pot (about 16″ tall) with 1 foot tall “lemon cypress” was stolen from the 5900 block of California Avenue SW (map). The ceramic pot is located on our main entrance door of our townhouse. It was stolen between nighttime of December 26 to early morning of December 27.

ADDED 3:10 AM – CAR PROWLS: Just got a text (206-293-6302 any time) that two cars had been prowled on 45th between Hanford and Hinds a short time ago. Police were called and are there now.

Our first West Seattle Crime Watch roundup since pre-Christmas starts with two reader reports:

BURGLARY INTERRUPTED: From Jeff:

Attempted residential break-in. 7500 block of 46th Ave SW, approximately 7:45 (Friday) night. Neighbors came home as it was occurring. Burglar fled. Police notified.

We’ve asked a followup question about any description that might be available.

STOLEN BIKE: So often, stolen bicycles turn up abandoned somewhere – the thief used it to get to the scene of the next crime, and then cast it aside. Sharon is looking for hers: “My bike was stolen from (the 1700 block of) Alki Ave SW. It is a black Marin crossover with a sticker on the the front, which may have already been taken off. … I will provide a reward if found.”

We also have three reports from the online police files; it usually takes several days for narratives to become available, if they ever do, but we keep watch to see what’s new, and found these, including gifts stolen from a church and rapidly returned:

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Seattle Police say about three of every four stolen cars turn up somewhere. Today’s West Seattle Crime Watch starts with the latest one.

Eric‘s stolen 1997 Accord was featured here last week, and we got the photos and update from him last night:

I wanted to let you know the King County Sheriff notified me on Saturday he found my car in Skyview. When I went to the impound lot, I found some other victim(s) stolen items in my trunk including opened christmas cards, a lyric/poetry notebook, silver serving platter, a license plate which was not mine and many other items. My belongings were unfortunately missing.

Feel free to share this info if you would like to. Sure wish they would catch these creeps.

Eric had written that his kids’ booster seats were in the car when stolen.

One more Crime Watch note – an early-morning text about car prowls in the 11th/12th/Henderson/Barton area; police were searching shortly after getting the call.