Courtroom coverage by Katie Meyer/reporter, Patrick Sand/video:

Sentencing Alan Polevia this afternoon, King County Superior Court Judge Ken Schubert went along with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office recommendation of a six-month sentence – with credit for the three months Polevia’s been in jail since his arrest in late June.

He is the repeat offender who made news for escaping from police custody at Harborview Medical Center in February – while handcuffed; then was spotted in Shorewood on March 5th, leading to hours of helicopter-augmented searching; then was taken into custody three weeks later. He spent three days in jail; shortly afterward, he was charged in a West Seattle burglary case from six months earlier, but didn’t appear for arraignment, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Then on June 11th, he was arrested in Arbor Heights – and released less than two weeks later, after his bail was reduced. Within 24 hours of that release, on June 24th, he was arrested yet again, in a case that led to a charge of second-degree burglary, involving a house on 28th SW just south of the city limits that was vacant because of fire damage several weeks earlier. Polevia’s plea bargain includes both that burglary, to which he pleaded guilty, and the West Seattle case from last September, in which the burglary charge was reduced to 2nd-degree theft, with Polevia pleading guilty to that and a 3rd-degree theft charge accompanying it.

This afternoon, his sentencing happened in a relatively empty King County Superior Court room; aside from the judge, deputy prosecuting attorney Darren Thompson and Polevia’s public defender Nikole Hecklinger, Polevia’s sister was the sole family member in attendance. No one in the courtroom spoke up to identify themselves as a victim; no victims’ statements were read.

As part of a plea agreement first reported here September 10th, Polevia had pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, two of theft – one of those reduced from burglary, because it involved an item stolen from out in the open.

His lawyer explained that Polevia’s sister is a social worker, who has discussed their family history with attorney. After Polevia serves this sentence, he will be staying with her (what community that’s in, wasn’t mentioned) and will have social and jail-release services to help keep him out of trouble.

Asked if he wanted to say anything, Polevia said “Nah, I hope you follow the recommendations. I think I learned some things, I’ve been messing up the last couple years” and said it was largely in part because his child’s mother, who had been with him 16 years, left him, after which, he said, he began getting high and messing up. Now, he said, he has had time to think and realizes he has to make things right for some people, including his family. His daughter’s birthday is October 6th, and he said his “favorite thing in the world is being a father.” He added, “Drugs have been a problem in my family for my whole lifetime … I want to raise my kids right.”

Judge noted today’s sentencing includes a no-contact order with the theft/burglary victims, and mentioned three local addresses (near where he was last arrested) as places he is to stay away from. Judge Schubert also imposed a “no illegal/non-prescribed drugs” clause in the conditions of the sentence. Prosecutor Thompson asked for clarification as to whether alcohol was to be included in the prohibited substances; the judge said no, he didn’t see any indication in the files that alcohol was a problem, and he believes Polevia understands not to replace one vice with another.

We start tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch with statistics you might have missed, since we compiled them during a discussion in the comment section of a story earlier this week. Every month, Seattle Police publish crime statistics, precinct by precinct, sector by sector, for the previous month; the August statistics are online now, and here’s what we found for the Southwest Precinct (West Seattle and South Park), compared to August of last year – robberies and burglaries sharply up, assaults and thefts down:

0 homicides, 0 rapes, SAME as August 2012
13 robberies, UP from 7 in August 2012
61 assaults, DOWN from 70 in August 2012
97 burglaries, UP from 65 in August 2012
124 larcenies (thefts), DOWN from 215 in August 2012
33 auto thefts, DOWN from 43 in August 2012
.
To compare the entire year-to-date 2013 with a year earlier will take a longer round of number-crunching, but we will do that for an upcoming WS Crime Watch. Now to the newest reader reports, starting with Robyn‘s burglary:

I always appreciate the alerts from neighbors about recent crime incidents in WS so I thought I should share our story so others can be in the know. Our home was burglarized yesterday afternoon (we’re on 38th between Raymond and Juneau). It happened between 1:30 pm and 3:15 pm when I ran out to do a few errands real quick (I was working from home). They came in/out through the front (we come and go through the back alley). We’re pretty sure I interrupted them when I got home as a few things were dropped on the way out, but they were mainly after small electronics (laptops, iPads, etc.) and jewelry. The only slight lead we have is some possible fingerprints on items they moved as well as a suspicious car in front of our house that morning. Our neighbor across the street said a strange blue SUV with a Baby on Board sticker was writing info down and looking up at our house yesterday morning when she was leaving to take her son to school. When she made eye contact they sped away. The police have all that info and more.

Ahead – another burglary, a burglary attempt, and a warning for dog owners (added 9:36 pm, yet another burglary report that just came in via the WSB Forum):

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Before we get to six reader reports received this morning/last night: Checking the SPD crime map, we noticed a Monday morning armed street robbery we hadn’t heard about previously, so we sought details from SPD media relations. From the brief report they sent in reply:

A woman reported a man approached her around 6:25 am Monday at a bus stop at 46th SW and Admiral Way, showed a handgun, and demanded her purse. He ran away southbound on 46th with the victim’s purse and laptop. The report describes him as white or Hispanic, late 20s/early 30s, under 6 feet tall, medium build, dark clothing, gray baseball cap, mask or bandana over his face. Police searched but could not find him.

Now, the six reader reports, all property crimes – read on for details of what’s been reported and where:

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Extra edition of West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon, since we try to get auto-theft reports out relatively quickly. From Josh:

My 1997 Honda Accord was stolen from 2000 block of SW Trenton ST right behind Staples between the hours of 830 pm last night (9/21/13) and this afternoon (9/22/13). It is a forest green Accord and the passenger side door handle is half broken off and there is a green Mesa Verde National Park parking sticker that’s about 1.5×1.5 inches on the left bottom front windshield. License plate ALC6772.

Call 911 if you see it.

Ahead, a road-rage incident reported to police, and a knife found in The Junction (stolen? lost? maybe you know):

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In this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup: First, we mentioned this on our partner site White Center Now last night, but in case the stolen stroller turns up on this side of the line:

(Saturday night) around 7:15-7:30 pm, our family was eating at Proletariat Pizza in White Center. Our orange and brown BOB single stroller was stolen. Our family is sad, as we use it every day. If found please return to Proletariat Pizza; they know how to contact us.

-Highland Park Family

Next – Anne e-mailed this report last night:

Our neighbors on 8300 block of 39th ave SW were broken into (Friday). Their computers were stolen, hence my post as their neighbor. Police were called and fingerprints were taken. It was during daylight hours. We must all be aware of our surroundings. These break-ins are happening much too frequently.

According to the police-reports map – screen grab at left – that’s one of eight West Seattle burglaries in the past week, through yesterday (the “2” icon denotes a location when the burglary was one of two crimes). That’s West Seattle’s general average (you’ll hear more about crime trends in a story coming up here later today). The other seven burglary locations you see on the map are:

4500 block West Marginal Way SW (Sunday 9/15)

8500 block 37th SW (Sunday 9/15)

8600 block 17th SW (Monday 9/17)

7900 block 32nd SW (Tuesday 9/18)

400 block SW Cloverdale (Thursday 9/19)

6700 block 12th SW (Friday 9/20)

3900 block SW 107th (Friday 9/20)

One more reader report: And Deborah sent this short report: “Car burglary Jack Block Park, Thurs. 3:30 pm, of a teal GMC truck. Any witnesses?” (If so, call 911.)

PREVENTING CRIME: Our area’s next crime-prevention meetings are the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network (Tuesday, 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct) with a presentation about Smart911, and Thursday’s special Fauntleroy Community Association-organized crime-prevention meeting, 6:30 pm ice-cream social, 7 pm meeting (as previewed here), at The Hall at Fauntleroy.

(UPDATING 2:23 pm with additional information from police)

1:43 PM: Another West Seattle school has sent parents an alert about a reported incident of indecent exposure. This alert from Westside School (WSB sponsor) has been forwarded to us by parents who just received it; it was signed by assistant head of school Don Cunningham:

I am writing to inform you of an incident that happened yesterday. A student, during lunch recess, observed a man sitting in a car on 32nd Ave (our eastern campus border) with only a t-shirt on. The incident was reported to adults on campus (although later in the day), the police were informed, and the child’s parents were contacted. As some of you may have read, a similar incident occurred recently at Holy Rosary School, also here in West Seattle. The individual was described to be a white male in a black sports car. We have met with and are cooperating fully with law enforcement officials.

Here at Westside, the safety and security of your children is of the utmost importance to us. At the same time, we highly value the presence of parents and members of our community in the buildings and on the grounds. We have taken significant efforts to secure our campus, supervise our entrance and exit points, control traffic flow, and ensure that the facilities are run in as safe a manner as possible. Our perimeter is secure during the school day, after drop-off the front door is the only access, and all visitors are required to sign in.

What does this incident mean to us? It means, once again, to talk to your children about strangers. Help them to understand that they need to avoid situations where they might be vulnerable, including talking with strangers through a fence and particularly anyone that entices them into a vehicle or building. …

We asked police earlier today for any additional descriptive information about the person seen near Holy Rosary yesterday (the second such incident in the area of that school in less than a week and a half); none has been provided so far. We will be checking with SPD again right now to see if they have anything more on this case.

1:57 PM UPDATE: Police say they are putting together this information and cannot tell us anything more until they are ready to make it public.

2:22 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Jeff Kappel with SPD media relations. He says they believe the two incidents yesterday might indeed have been the same man – the description was similar, including the vehicle.

Here’s what else he told us:

*The incident near Westside School happened around 12:30 pm yesterday but they didn’t get the report until four hours later – apparently the 7-year-old girl who saw the man did not tell anyone at school, but told someone at home.

She saw him through the east fence of the school south of 32nd/Holden, which is high off the street – she says the man was white, anywhere from 20s to 40s, short black hair, scruffy beard. He was in a “black beat-up car, sporty sedan, with body damage, parked on the west side of 32nd, facing northbound,” said Det. Kappel. The man had T-shirt on, no pants, he and the girl saw each other, nothing was said, no contact – he says none of the three incidents in West Seattle have had any contact between the man/men and those who saw him/them, and the exposer/s did not get out of their vehicle in any of these incidents. Again, he says the car and suspect descriptions from both the Holy Rosary and Westside incidents yesterday are similar, but they seem to be different – the vehicle, in particular – from the one at HR on the 9th.

3:35 PM UPDATE: Police have just published an SPD Blotter update with the information they gave us an hour ago as well as an overview, and contacts for anyone with information.

Reader reports to share this morning: Looks like another stolen-car recovery in West Seattle – Alan just sent word of a stolen car recovered near 14th and Holly; he called it in as an abandoned/possibly stolen car (white Honda Accord LX), and says police have since shown up along with the apparent owner, who drove it away. That was one of two cars in the area that he says appeared to have been prowled overnight:

My neighbor was woken at 2:30 by the alarm on his work van going off. No entry was made or damage done. He noticed that two vehicles had dome lights on when he left for work this morning. One car belongs to a neighbor, which is never used. The door was ajar, so I shut it and notified the neighbor.

Another person texted us about a gun found at 16th/Myrtle this morning and reported to police; no details available on the investigation so far, though.

Karen from the Hansen View Block Watch (near The Mount) shares another car theft/recovery report circulated on their list:

Holly had her older dark green SUV stolen overnight on Monday or early Tuesday morning (I’m not sure of the make/model). She said the car was unlocked when it was taken; it was parked in front of their house on the east side of 37th (not in the alley). She reported the theft to police on Tuesday morning. By midday, it had been found and recovered in White Center. The stereo console had been removed, but the car was otherwise undamaged.

And Joey reported a suspected car-prowl attempt early Wednesday in Admiral:

At about 4:30am I was woken up by my car alarm outside my apartment (on the corner of Hill and California). My 1991 Integra was unopened and not missing anything , but as I went outside to disarm and check it out, I heard a car start, then quickly accelerate down 44th Ave SW (I’m estimating). I know that this could have been coincidental, but I don’t think it was.

Meantime, Bradi reports a found bicycle that she wanted to mention here before turning it over to police:

My husband found a women’s MAGNA 15-speed Mountain Bike, a day or so ago, in the North Delridge Area, across the street from the Delridge Deli Mart. It’s a blue-gray color. Looks new. It had been abandoned for hours, with 2 flat tires, just sitting on the sidewalk, so we assumed it stolen.

If it’s yours, tweet a message to Bradi – who would want to hear more-descriptive information before turning it over – at @mrs_jonesb. A theft-report # would be optimal. And a reminder for bicycle-theft victims – when SPD recovers bicycles, they’re tweeting info at @getyourbikeback.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Remember that scene from the back parking lot at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) in early July? As reported here that day, the man in the photo was arrested in a stolen truck spotted by a WSB reader; a pregnant woman who was with him was arrested while shopping at the store.

Now, after more than two months, charges have finally been filed against the man, 20-year-old West Seattle resident Sean Jeardoe, in that incident and a stack of other crimes, mostly committed in West Seattle.

First – thanks to John for tipping us to this, by e-mailing us the link to this Vashon Beachcomber story about Jeardoe’s recent arrest (thanks in part to victims tracking a stolen iPhone!) and charges. Court documents say he was arrested last week with the same woman as the Thriftway incident, 33-year-old Jessica Detrick. Six days after this arrest, she has just been released from jail, after pleading guilty in an unrelated incident (more on that later). The King County Jail Register shows Jeardoe’s bail is set at $75,000; we have just downloaded court documents for details of the charges filed against him Monday – which include West Seattle burglaries and thefts; read on:

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Good news in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch update – two more stolen cars found. First we heard from Chas, whose red Volvo, stolen a week ago at Westwood Village, turned up nearby:

Got a call from SPD (late this afternoon) that the Volvo had been spotted and verified by an officer to be on 29th between Cambridge and Barton – less than 1000 feet from where it had been taken. Nothing missing and so far it seems to run with no differences. Glovebox was locked as it had been when reported missing. My wife suspects a new computer-based theft tool was being tested – the 1999 S70 is the first Volvo to have a chip required for the ignition to start.

And we just heard from Karen, whose twice-stolen car is back:

1998 Honda CRV you posted on this a.m. has been recovered approximately 1 1/2 miles from where it was stolen. Thanks to West Seattle resident who called it in to police. No damage.

P.S. Our report on tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – no bombshells, but a wide-ranging discussion of area concerns/trends – will be up sometime tomorrow.

Be on the lookout for Karen‘s car – stolen again:

Stolen last night from front of house 7300 block of 29th SW, 1998 RED HONDA CRV with roof bike rack and bike rack (Thule) attached to back spare tire. Police report filed. This car was stolen almost a year ago and found 11 days later, 16 blocks away.

Karen’s car also is now on SPD’s @getyourcarback Twitter feed. As for current car-theft trends in West Seattle, here’s what’s on the city’s police-reports map for the past week:

Those seven thefts (the circle with a “2” in it denotes a car theft and a different crime) were reported between the 10th (last Tuesday) and 16th (yesterday). Car-theft details are not made available, so if it ever happens to you (we hope not!), please do what Karen did and send us the basics so we can help get the word out. One theft per day is average in this area, according to the past few months of online stats.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports: First, Toddy‘s home in Upper Morgan was burglarized, and she’s hoping to get one particular thing back:

We were burglarized on Friday sometime between 10 am and 12 noon. We were out and they jumped up on the back roof of our house, climbed up the roof to the second floor, and slit the screen and jumped in the window that was open. They took our iPad, iPhone, Dell laptop computer, my diamond engagement ring, other jewelry including both of our gold school rings, a sentimental gold lion charm from my mother, my husband’s wallet with credit cards and such, and many other things that they will realize do not mean anything to them but mean a lot to us. All of our photos and videos were on the laptop and are so very special to us.

The police came and basically spent 5 minutes and provided us paperwork and sort of made it seem like “join the club.” We just feel so violated and I hate that someone was in my family home rifling through our things. … (The stolen Dell laptop) has the only (un-backed up) short video of my 97-year-old grandmother saying how she met my grandfather – that is really the
only thing I want back. They can keep the rest.

Two other reports ahead:

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Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports – first, Ann wanted to warn you about a twist on package theft that happened at her condo building in the 3000 block of SW Bradford:

(Wednesday) afternoon, an upstairs neighbor’s phone rang. She answered it, the woman said “FedEx,” she buzzed her in. Then the neighbor checked the condo camera and caught the “FedEx” lady taking packages off the mail shelf. My neighbor hightailed it out the back door and retrieved the loot, but the “FedEx” lady is still at large.

Now, bicycle thefts – Stu from Alki Bike and Board reports this one:

I am sad to report we had a theft of a pretty pricey bicycle. The bicycle was a 2011 56cm Masi Evoluzione full carbon bicycle with Shimano Ultegra components. The color scheme was white/red with white spoke wheels. The retail price was $3899.

And be on the lookout for this bike too – Michael, who recently moved to West Seattle, says it was taken from his apartment building’s garage at 35th and Avalon:

Just over a week ago, on 8/26, our building’s parking garage was broken into and a number of locked bikes were stolen, one of them being my own. The bike is very distinct looking … a State Bicycle Co. single speed (model: Copper). Has a black Brooks England B-17 Saddle, Forte Axis Carbon Fork (front), and Cinelli Handlebars.

If you find it or have other information, contact police and refer to incident 2013-317856.

P.S. Yes, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets this month – bring neighborhood concerns directly to police who are in attendance along with the WSCPC’s citizen volunteers. 7 pm next Tuesday, September 17th, Southwest Precinct meeting room (Delridge/Webster).

(June 2013 photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Checking in on our “watch list” of ongoing criminal cases, we discovered that Alan Polevia has pleaded guilty in two cases, as part of a plea agreement. If you don’t recognize the name immediately – Polevia, 32, has made news here a few times this year. After he escaped from police custody at Harborview Medical Center in February – while handcuffed – he was spotted in Shorewood on March 5th, leading to hours of helicopter-augmented searching. He was finally taken into custody three weeks later. He spent only three days in jail; shortly afterward, he was charged in a West Seattle burglary case from six months earlier, but didn’t appear for arraignment, so a warrant was issued for his arrest. On June 11th, he was arrested in Arbor Heights – and released less than two weeks later, after his bail was reduced. Less than 24 hours after that, he was arrested yet again, in a case that led to a charge of second-degree burglary, involving a house on 28th SW, just south of the city limits, that was vacant because of fire damage several weeks earlier. His plea bargain includes both that burglary, to which he pleaded guilty to the original charge, and the West Seattle case from last September, in which the burglary charge was reduced to 2nd-degree theft, with Polevia pleading guilty to that and the original 3rd-degree theft charge accompanying it.

For each of those two cases, according to documents in the online file, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is recommending a sentence of six months – with the two sentences to be served concurrently. Polevia is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Ken Schubert on September 27th, by which time he will already have served three months in jail – his fifth, and by far longest, stay in jail since last December.

(UPDATED 3:04 PM with new text of police update)

Just in – new information from police about the flasher incident reported here on Monday afternoon after Holy Rosary School sent an alert to parents, who forwarded it to us. From SPD Blotter:

Officers continue to look for a man who exposed himself to children outside Holy Rosary School. On September 9th at approximately 1:15 p.m. three 9-year-old girls were sitting on the edge of the playground when they noticed the suspect sitting in his vehicle, a large white SUV parked the wrong way on 41st Avenue SW, facing northbound on the west side of the street next to the playground.

The suspect summoned the girls over to his truck. As the girls got closer they saw that the suspect, who was sitting in the reclined driver’s seat, was not wearing any pants or underwear. All three girls turned around and walked back toward the school building and went back to class where the incident was reported.

There was no attempted or actual physical contact between the suspect and the three girls nor is there any indication that the suspect ever exited the truck.

The suspect drove off before the arrival of responding officers. Officers conducted an area search; however, the suspect remains at large.

The suspect is described as a white male in his mid to late 20′s with short dark hair and a heavy build.
Officers notified school staff of the incident and disseminated the details of the incident and the suspect/vehicle description to all patrol officers working in the West Seattle area.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect or his vehicle is asked to call 911 or the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5575 and refer to this incident. Anonymous tips are welcome.

Sexual Assault Unit detectives are actively investigating the incident.

EDITOR’S NOTE, 3:04 PM: We have updated the text above to reflect SPD’s updated blotter post, with a few more details.

We’re checking to see if police have more information to share, but in the meantime, multiple Holy Rosary School parents have forwarded us a safety alert sent by the school, and we’re sharing it so others can be on the lookout: The school told parents: “Students reported that a man was seen in a parked white vehicle with his door open. He was naked. It seemed to be a white SUV.” The alert added that staffers were out looking around the school (which is at 42nd/Genesee on the north end of The Junction) and had alerted police.

Be on the lookout for David‘s stolen pickup truck:

Our 2001 Dodge Ram was stolen at 2:30 am today, September 9th, near 39th/Charlestown [map]. We saw the crooks drive off in it when we heard the engine start, but couldn’t catch up. It’s a Ram 1500 with a canopy, golden brown color. It has some historic family photos which, while valueless to anyone, are irreplaceable to us. Bunch of steel and papers on its way to the recycle center in back. Please call 911 if you spot it; the police are also looking.

Checking the police-call map, in the past 24 hours vehicle thefts also were reported at 44th/Alaska (early today) and at Lincoln Park (last night) – no details on those, though, unless, as in the stolen-pickup case, we hear directly from the vehicles’ owners.