We’re continuing to follow the case of Michael S. Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off his monitoring equipment in Canada and eventually turned up in West Seattle. He was back in court today for another hearing related to the misdemeanor harassment and resisting-arrest charges filed against him in connection with his arrest in an Admiral alley four weeks ago. City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Mills tells WSB that Stanley’s bail remains set at $100,000, the level to which it was raised days after the arrest. However, no charges are filed against him yet in connection with a claim that he sexually assaulted a teenager just before the harassment incident. Seattle Police finished their investigation and forwarded the case to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which has to decide whether to charge Stanley; KCPAO spokesperson Dan Donohoe just told us the case “remains under review.” His Municipal Court trial on the harassment charge, in the meantime, is set for early January.

We start West Seattle Crime Watch with notes received today reporting two burglaries last night:

*A resident near 41st/Graham reports someone broke in while she and her husband were asleep: “Must have been a one-person job because they only took a 32-inch Vizeo TV and my husband’s $1500 Toshiba work laptop.”

*A resident near 49th/Brandon reports, “Our house was broken into last night. … They came in through the basement window. Police were here last night. They focused on money, prescription drugs, credit cards, and Seahawks jerseys!”

Checking trends, the Seattle Police crime map shows 16 burglaries reported in the past week – the 49th/Brandon break-in is one of them; the other one isn’t on the map yet:

Ahead, the list of dates/locations for the other 15 shown on the map – last Sunday was by far the busiest day of the week for burglars:

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Another West Seattle business has received the “your power’s about to be cut off and you need to pay us now” scam call. Last week, a WSB reader tipped us that a local business had received the call, in which someone claims to be from Seattle City Light and claims the business’s power bill is overdue and that service will be cut off unless money is provided immediately. Here’s our ensuing story. Authorities have made it clear these are scams – you wouldn’t ever get that kind of call from the city-run utility, which also would not cut you off for being one month overdue, and would provide multiple written warnings before a shutoff. Donna at Stuffed Cakes in Westwood called us today to say she received the scam call, and warns that the callers are very insistent – don’t let yourself be bullied! As SCL’s earlier alert exhorts you to do, please call police if you think you’ve received this (or any other scam) call.

Two more car crimes to report in West Seattle Crime Watch:

CAR STOLEN, 2 WEEKS AFTER GETTING HIT: Allison reports a car theft that hurts extra:

Our red 1997 Subaru Legacy Wagon was stolen last night between 5:45 – 7:30 pm on Avalon Way. License plate AGY2872. If anyone sees it around or parked somewhere please call 911? To add insult to injury, this was one of our cars that got hit on Avalon on 10/28/2013, the big hit-and-run where the gal flipped her Hyundai and totaled my little Tercel. Now the Subaru gets stolen? Really?? What the heck is going on around here??? This is not MY West Seattle!

ANOTHER CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFT: The one in last night’s Crime Watch roundup was the first one we had heard of in a while. Now there’s another. Janet e-mailed to report:

I just saw your Crime Watch post from last night, and wanted to add that our catsitter had the catalytic converter stolen from her truck parked on our street in Seaview late Sunday night or early Monday morning. She said it looked like they had used a sawzall or something along those lines.

P.S. Next community crimefighting meeting is Tuesday (November 19), West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm at Southwest Precinct, all welcome.

Four reader reports and an update tonight:

BURGLARY: Michael’s home camera system caught that quick clip one week ago, on November 5th, when the two people in the video broke into his home in Upper Morgan. In the video, you see them running into and out of a glass door they broke to get in. The main loot, he says, was money that one of his children had been saving up – it appears they left fast because of Michael’s “ear-piercing alarm.” The telltale hat in the video helped him spot one of the suspects near 35th and Morgan two days later; police were called and while Michael says they didn’t have enough evidence to hold anyone at that time, the case is advancing and he’s hopeful of an eventual conviction.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER STOLEN: From Ray: “Just wanted to alert the neighborhood… The catalytic converter was removed from my truck (Toyota 4-Runner) early Monday morning. It was parked in front of my house but on the street. I was told that the thief used pipe cutters and it only takes a few minutes. We live on 40th/Dakota.”

CAR PROWLS IN ADMIRAL: From someone who wants to remain anonymous:

Monday morning (Nov. 11), when leaving for work, I discovered my car broken into. Incident occured on 2700 block of California Ave, right by Freshy’s Coffee. Note, this appears to be the fourth similar occurrence within a few blocks in just the last two weeks. Our GPS was stolen, loose change stolen, and all car compartments were emptied and strewn about. Our car was locked, it’s a 2004 Ford. This is also the second time our car’s been broken into while parked here. Police report was filed.

POSSIBLE PROWLER: Elizabeth noticed a car driving slowly back and forth along her street (SW Monroe in Gatewood) last night, light-colored boxy sedan, possibly early to mid-nineties Toyota or Honda: “The driver picked up speed pretty quickly when they saw me watching. This is a good reminder that we all need to keep a watch out for unusual activity to prevent crime in our neighborhoods.

OUT OF JAIL: Alan Polevia, the convicted burglar/thief sentenced to six months in jail back in September after serving three months, is out. His release on October 21st carries the note “sentence expiration.” We recorded video of his sentencing hearing September 27th (that report also recaps his lengthy backstory).

According to the Seattle Police crime map, 13 burglaries have been reported in West Seattle in the past week. Tonight, we’ve heard from a victim in one of the two most recent – newlywed Kathryn, who lives near 35th and 100th in Arbor Heights:

On Friday night between 4 pm and 10:30 pm, our house was broken into and burglarized. The door was kicked in; they didn’t touch anything in the living room and went straight for the bedroom. They found our safe and took $1500 cash that we had received from friends and family at our recent wedding (Sept. 29th) plus more in gift cards. They also stole my 17″ Toshiba laptop and my white iPad 4, 3 bottles of wine, and that’s it.

The police that came to the scene said they felt like it was someone who knew us, because they knew right where to look and left (other valuables). So we feel fortunate for that. We thought the West Seattle Blog should be notified, and if anyone hears of someone trying to sell the laptop or iPad, to contact the police ! I have serial number for both if that’s helpful.

Arbor Heights was not a hot spot this past week; in addition to this, only one other break-in is shown on the map – Monday near California/100th.

Three Four reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today – click ahead for details:

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(WSB photo, September 26, taken while law enforcers were searching Puerto Vallarta)
Six weeks after the arrest of Eduardo Morales-Cardenas, owner of Puerto Vallarta in The Junction, for allegedly buying stolen liquor, he is now charged with two felonies. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Morales-Cardenas and four others this afternoon; he is charged with trafficking in stolen property and attempted trafficking in stolen property. Prosecutors are asking that bail for Cardenas-Morales be set at half a million dollars, though he has no criminal history. He is scheduled to answer the charges in King County Superior Court two weeks from today. We just received the charging documents and are reviewing them now .

ADDED: Charged along with Morales-Cardenas are Amber Vincent, Shaye Glenn-Nitschke, Eric Olson, and Michael Jensen. Jensen, Olson, Glenn-Nitschke and Vincent are charged with 2nd-degree organized retail theft, with the victim named as QFC; Jensen, Olson, and Vincent face a second version of that charge, with the victim named as Safeway; Jensen and Olson face a third version of that charge, this time against Costco. The charges against Morales-Cardenas mention Safeway and QFC. Here’s what the charging documents say happened:

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Another day in court today for Michael S. Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off his monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, turning up eventually in West Seattle, arrested for harassment and under investigation for sexual assault. The City Attorney’s Office has added another charge to the case that started with harassment, when Stanley was arrested in an Admiral alley two weeks ago – he is now also charged with resisting arrest, and pleaded not guilty this morning. We have an inquiry out seeking more information on the new charge and will add it here when we have it; meantime, Stanley remains jailed, bail still set at $100,000, and he’s scheduled to return to Seattle Municipal Court in two weeks.

Stanley is not yet charged in the alleged sexual assault of a teenager who reported it to police after the harassment arrest, but our partners at The Seattle Times reported last week that Seattle Police have completed their part of the investigation and referred it to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Five reader reports in this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – starting with a business burglary. Louise at Life in Balance Physical Therapy and Pilates says:

Life in Balance was robbed last night and an assortment of items were taken including 2 laptops, iPad, iPod, Biofeedback and stim machines. A cervical traction unit, a printer and many other smaller items.

They’re at 5410 California SW. Further north, in The Junction, Marjorie at Ma’Ono Fried Chicken and Whisky reports vandalism/theft, with plantings taken from the tree wells outside the restaurant sometime Wednesday night/Thursday morning. “We had several succulents in our planting area stolen … It’s very sad that someone would do this.”

On to Lincoln Park, where Jesse reports a car prowl this week:

Just wanted to pass along that we had our window smashed out at Lincoln Park (Wednesday night) between 5 and 6 pm and purse stolen from the trunk. Someone must have been sitting in the lot watching us arrive and get out of the car, because they went straight for the trunk release and the purse we tried to hide. Definitely an unpleasant surprise but we’ve had exceptional service from 911, SPD, and the credit card companies. So, that’s a silver lining.

Janna e-mailed to report a burglary in Arbor Heights, near California/104th:

Tuesday (Oct. 22nd), sometime while we were at work (during the day), our house was robbed. When I arrived home we found the house completely ransacked, glass everywhere from the shattered slider, and the “guard dog” shaking like a leaf.

In the end nobody was hurt, they really didn’t take anything of value – house was staged, electronics were unplugged and all lined up – but we think they got spooked and ran off without the loot. They did get away with jewelry, cameras, change jars, and some other weird stuff…etc.

My concern, is them coming back. We do have an alarm system, but these thieves are smart and know how to avoid tripping the alarms. And gave the dog treats to keep her quiet, which ultimately made her super sick – not awesome!

And Meg in the 4200 block of Beach Drive reports vandalism and theft, with stolen items to watch for:

On Saturday, Oct. 19, I was leaving my condo building at about 5 pm and noticed that the right panel of the door buzzer system had been loosened (that’s the vandalism part) and was not secure. I attempted to correct it, but it came off in my hand, so I placed it inside the building. This was finally corrected Monday, Oct. 28.

In the meantime, a package was delivered by UPS on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and brought inside by my neighbor and placed on my doormat (which is not visible from any exterior door). My neighbor said it was no longer there when she left her unit on Saturday morning, Oct. 26. On Monday the 28, she came home to find the buzzer repairman working on the door unit, and saw the opened package down by our mailboxes (inside the front door). The package had been opened with a sharp instrument and the contents and packing slip removed (the burglary part). It contained one of a kind collectible stones and a metal specimen valued at over $700.

The seller will be sending me photos of the 3 stones and the metal specimen that I’ll provide to the police, but in the meantime I would appreciate anyone who may have received either offers to sell these to them or gotten them as gifts to be aware they are stolen property. I will offer a reward for their safe return.

Here are photos she just sent – click any image to see a larger view:

Four days after a 34-year-old Highland Park man was arrested in his van near Chief Sealth International High School and cited for indecent exposure, the City Attorney’s Office says the charge was dropped today, announced when the man appeared in Municipal Court for what was supposed to be an arraignment. CAO spokesperson Kimberly Mills explained via e-mail that the city did not have the jurisdiction to charge him: “The City declined to file in this instance because it is not a crime that can be charged under the Seattle Municipal Code right now. It is a charge that is filed under the Revised Code of Washington (which is the county prosecutor’s purview). The case is being sent to SPD and the county, where it will be considered for a charge in King County District Court.” Mills explained that this type of charge and others WILL be part of the Seattle Municipal Code as of November 1st; here’s the September news release explaining that

Tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup starts with an incident late today in Morgan Junction: We received several messages about a guns-drawn police response in the California/Beveridge vicinity; here’s the explanation from Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams:

An adult male was arrested after he allegedly pointed what appeared to be a handgun at an adult female victim. The suspect also was reported to have verbally threatened to shoot the victim. Southwest Precinct patrol officers arrived quickly and arrested the suspect. A weapon that appeared to be a handgun, but actually was a pellet gun, was recovered from the suspect’s person. The suspect was booked into King County Jail for Felony Harassment.

We have (updated) four reader reports to share tonight too. Matt e-mailed this morning to say:

I noticed there is a string of car break-ins reported recently. Last night our Honda Accord had the driver-side window smashed in. They didn’t take anything as there was nothing to take; however, it did look like they rifled through the car. We live on Beach Drive, near Lowman Beach Park.

Steven reports a theft over the weekend from his home in Highland Park:

My garden zombie and doormat were stolen. Also, a black skeleton hanging from the house. These items cannot be seen clearly from the road, unless you are looking from neighboring streets. I am including a picture of the garden zombie, and it should be easy to locate should it be outside.

Also, the doormat is easily identifiable as it says “Oh sh** not you again”. If you have seen any of these items please let me know. I have filed police reports already.

And a followup on the Infiniti reported stolen from 35th SW early Friday:

So Seattle Police found my Infiniti last night in the International District. No obvious damage. Outside is ok; inside is trashed and needs extensive detailing. In it, I found many comfort items (clothes, cooking pots, mechanical radio, phone chargers) of an urban nomad, it seems, including a crack pipe. Gas level was at E.

ADDED: One more reader report, from Joel, shortly after we published this. He reports an attempted burglary at his Gatewood home in the 8300 block of 39th SW, second time in three months, with a burglary attempt at his neighbors’ home on SW Rose as well.

8:38 AM: Be on the lookout for SB‘s car:

Our white 1994 Honda Accord was stolen from the back of our house in the 3800 block of 35th Ave. SW early this morning. I noticed it was gone when I woke up and looked out the window just after 3 a.m. It was there when I went to bed just before 10 p.m. License plate is 182 ZVK. I filed a police report and noticed that this is just a block from where an Infiniti was stolen about the same time yesterday. They’d wiped the condensation off of the window of another car we have…apparently to look inside and see if there was anything valuable in it…or if the keys were inside?

We have pictures since we’ve been trying to sell it. It was all cleaned up and ready to go. :-(

We’ll add a photo if we get one.

10:26 AM UPDATE: SB says police found her car:

SPD called just after 9 a.m. to let us know they found it. It was abandoned with a bunch of stuff inside and minus the stereo in an alley behind 60th just north of Admiral.

Unfortunately, if you check the comments, another car was then stolen there. If we get more info on THAT car, we’ll update this again.

Two more reports for West Seattle Crime Watch tonight. First – multiple West Seattle High School parents shared an e-mail sent by the school administration:

… Around 2 p.m., a man who is a parent of a student at our school, entered the main office and was acting suspiciously.

Security was called and in talking to the man, noticed he had a knife attached to his belt buckle. This is a violation of our zero tolerance of weapons rule. 911 was called and the Seattle Police Department arrived quickly. The man had left our school already, but was arrested outside and taken into custody.

We are proud of our staff and security for acting so quickly. No students were in the area or involved in the incident.

We are looking forward to a safe and fun homecoming dance tonight, and we want to let families know that we will continue to be vigilant when it comes to safety in our school.

We don’t have any other details about this yet, nor do we know the man’s status. Meantime, we have a reader report from Jude, asking you to be on the lookout for a car stolen early today:

My Infiniti FX35 was stolen from right in front of my house at 3 am on Friday, 10/25. I live on the 3700 block of 35th Ave SW. The vehicle is brown with a silver roof rack. Plate 520-XWQ. I have all spare keys so it interesting how this was done given that a key fob is required to allow ignition — not to mention how the door was opened. Hope the car died out somewhere for lack of a RFID key on the perpetrator. Wishful thinking. I did file a police report this morning with the Southwest Precinct.

If you see it or have information about it, call 911.

P.S. This isn’t crime but it does involve the local precinct – if you have leftover/unneeded/expired drugs in your home, TOMORROW is the day to drop them off at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) front desk, 10 am-2 pm, for the fall edition of National Drug Take-Back Day.

This morning’s arrest near Chief Sealth International High School (WSB coverage here) was actually the second flasher-type arrest in West Seattle in less than 12 hours. We’ve obtained the report on an indecent-exposure arrest last night at Westwood Village; the 35-year-old man arrested in that incident got out of jail about an hour ago. The suspect in this case is reported to have exposed himself to two workers at an unidentified Westwood business through its front window, as they were closing up around 9 pm last night. The police report says the same man is believed to have caused “disturbances” at “a total of about six different businesses” at Westwood last night and that he also is believed to have “inappropriately touched women.” The report SPD provided to us on request concludes:

Routine records check of (the suspect) shows that he is the subject in a previous indecent-liberties event and is a documented officer-safety hazard. In speaking with (him), he appears to be suffering from some kind of mental disorder and if left untreated could very easily escalate his actions.

Despite that, the jail register shows his bail was set at $1,000 and that he got out of jail at 2:02 pm, a “conditional release,” according to the register. Indecent exposure is a misdemeanor; we are checking with the City Attorney’s Office to see if they can tell us more about the status of this case.

(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
10:12 AM: Police have just confirmed the arrest of the man at the center of our photo, taken into custody after a student reported seeing him masturbating inside that van parked near Chief Sealth International High School this morning, though they don’t know yet if he is connected to any of the “flasher” incidents over the past few weeks. Here’s the report just published on SPD Blotter:

Southwest Precinct officers arrested a 34-year-old man for lewd conduct earlier this morning in the 2400 Block of SW Thistle Street.

At about 8:30 this morning, a 17-year-old female student was walking to school when she passed a dark blue mini-van parked on the street. As she passed the van, she observed the suspect inside masturbating. The girl immediately ran to school and reported it to the principal’s office. Officers immediately responded and located the van and contacted the suspect. He was positively identified and arrested by officers.

The suspect was transported to the Southwest Precinct where he is being interviewed by detectives. He will later be booked into the King County Jail. It is unknown at this time whether this man is connected with the previous incidents near other West Seattle schools.

We heard the original call – which drew quite the police response, given the recent incidents – and took the photo above while officers were questioning the man at the scene (we’ve blurred out the suspect’s head and the van’s license plate). But we had not confirmed, prior to the SPD Blotter post, that the person taken in for questioning had been arrested and would be jailed. We’ll update with anything else we find out later today.

2:42 PM: The suspect is not on the King County Jail register as of last check, and the official police report as it currently stands does not indicate any link to other incidents, so far. He is a Highland Park resident who does not have a felony conviction record.

4:53 PM: The suspect, Danen Romine, is charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure in Seattle Municipal Court – as opposed to King County Superior Court, when you are cited, it is an official charge. His bail is set at $500 and he is scheduled to answer the charge tomorrow morning (the jailhouse courtroom has arraignments in city cases on weekends).

9:58 PM: The jail register shows Romine posted bail and got out after less than five hours, just before 7 pm tonight.

More than a year after a beating and shooting outside an Alki restaurant/bar, a King County Superior Court jury has delivered its verdict for the man charged in connection with it. The trial of 28-year-old Michael Helmer of Kent ended one week ago today with jurors declaring him guilty of four counts of second-degree assault. The incident in August 2012 rocked the community enough that the establishment outside which it happened, Bamboo Bar and Grill, hosted a neighborhood meeting and promised changes. (This summer was much quieter at the beach, as discussed with police at last month’s Alki Community Council meeting.)

Prosecutors said Helmer was one of two men who attacked another man outside Bamboo (the other apparently has never been found); another man tried to help the first victim, who was on the ground and being kicked, and was shot by Helmer, with the bullet traveling through his arm and lodging near his heart, where it couldn’t be removed.

A witness followed Helmer and called 911 with updates until police arrived, at which time he pointed out Helmer, and officers made the arrest, subsequently finding the 9-millimeter gun wrapped in a jersey. He’s been in jail ever since – so those 14 months will likely be counted toward whatever he gets when he is sentenced November 8th. Prosecutors are recommending 6 years and seven months – the combination of 43 months (four concurrent terms) followed by 36 months for use of a deadly weapon.

P.S. – Thanks to the WSB reader who asked tonight about this case, which we had not checked on lately; the information above comes from court documents we downloaded while researching her inquiry.

No new flasher incidents reported so far today – but we have two updates:

*Two schools, Madison Middle School and Schmitz Park Elementary School, have sent letters home to parents to make sure they heard about yesterday’s incident in north West Seattle.

*Seattle Police have published an “update” on the Tuesday incidents. Comparing it to what they released yesterday, includes some changes in the story of exactly what happened, and some slight changes to the suspect’s description.

More details on all of the above, ahead:

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One day after the West Seattle arrest of Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off a monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, he has just appeared in Seattle Municipal Court (via video feed). Our partners at The Seattle Times report that Stanley pleaded not guilty to harassment and that his bail is set at $100,000. Earlier this morning, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe told WSB that Stanley has not yet been booked in the alleged Admiral-area sexual assault that police learned about after the initial harassment arrest, so he will not have a bail hearing in that potential case today. Any additional information in the case today will be added to this story. (Photo: King County sex-offender-registry page)

ADDED 1:54 PM: News release about this morning’s hearing, sent by the City Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the current case:

Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue set bail at $100,000 today for registered sex offender Michael Shawn Stanley on a misdemeanor harassment charge filed by the City Attorney’s Office.

CAO asked for the unusually high bail for a misdemeanor based on information from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating a separate, alleged sexual assault by Stanley on a teenage male. Stanley, an American citizen, re-entered the United States recently from Canada where he has an extensive sex crimes record. Also, in this state, he has been convicted of first-degree burglary and DUI.

The misdemeanor charge alleges that Stanley, while intoxicated, was making loud noises in an alley behind a residence in West Seattle. When the victim asked him to be quiet, Stanley repeatedly said he would beat the victim up.

The City’s sentencing recommendation is 364 days in jail/274 days suspended, an anti-harassment order and a substance-abuse evaluation plus any recommended follow-up (with Stanley remaining under the court’s jurisdiction for two years).

ADDED 5:51 PM: KING 5 obtained video from Admiral Chevron that they say shows Stanley in the mini-mart there very early yesterday with the teen who told police he had been sexually assaulted. See their report here.