Here’s a round of recent West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports. First, yet another vehicle theft (besides the 2 reported here on Tuesday). From Andy:

Our car was stolen (Monday) night from in front of our home. We live a block off California on 44th, near the West Seattle Nursery. It’s a 1995 black Honda Civic hatchback, license number ACY9729.

(added 4:31 pm) Just got word from Nicole of a burglary today:

Just a heads up to let you know there was a burglary on the 5400 block of 46th SW at around noon today. My parents’ place was broken into while my mom was away for about 20 minutes to run an errand. House was locked.

(back to original report) Kathleen warns of car prowling at Jack Block Park (the incident happened last Thursday night):

…I wanted to let you know my purse was stolen out of my car at Jack Block last night (super quick smash and grab). I really want to report it not only to bring attention to be hyper-vigilant in this area (and not leave your purse in the car — duh) but really, I loved my purse so I am wanting to see if anyone in that area on a walk, etc. saw it. If anyone does see it, if they can let me know, that would be great. (“Roots” brand, tan nice leather “messenger bag” style with long thick strap and 2 pockets.) Hoping they tossed it in the bushes. BTW, I had 3 cards and they tried all 3 at Shell Station on CA and at Delridge Mini Mart. The Port police said it is the same place they have used others, so they think they know who it is.

And bikes both stolen and found – starting with Brianna‘s report of a stolen bike Sunday morning in The Junction:

… My bike was stolen from outside Great Harvest Bakery in the Alaska Junction. It was a 45-46 cm Raleigh women’s Revenio road bike, with it was a bright blue helmet. The bike is mostly black with blue and white details.

Sue is hoping to find her bike stolen 3 weeks ago:

My beautiful blue/black carbon Lemond Zurich T- 04 woman’s road bike was stolen from a secure condo garage along Beach Drive, where it hung bolted and locked on a concrete wall. Serial #WL3149448, registered with the police on 1/14/2005. Blue Bontrager tires, Terry gel saddle, lights, bag, pump, U lock, etc. I rode hundreds of miles in events like Cycle Oregon and loved this bike. It fit me like a glove. Please watch out for it and tell your friends to do the same. Thanks!

Ahead, a found bike and found scooter – might or might not be crime-related – both with photos:

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Four weeks after his August 6th arrest for allegedly stealing a truck on Alki and then using it to ram two cars – one a Seattle Police cruiser – 23-year-old Donald M. Plute is back in jail. (Thanks to commenter Tophat Topcat for the tip!) You might recall that Plute spent only one day in jail because, as reported here August 8th, a judge ruled there wasn’t enough probable cause to hold him. Compounding matters, a warrant for his arrest in another case was issued the day of that ruling – but it didn’t show up in the system until after Plute was released from jail.

On August 16th, prosecutors charged him in the truck theft/ramming case, and a $250,000 warrant was issued – but that was just a piece of paper until he could be taken into custody again, which happened sometime yesterday. We don’t have any information on circumstances of his arrest, but Plute is jailed in lieu of $260,000 bail – the quarter-million for the August 6th incident, and $10,000 for the other warrant. We’ve obtained court documents from that case, which involves an incident in White Center one year ago today, in which a King County Sheriff’s Office deputy tried to stop Plute after he allegedly ran a stop sign on his motorcycle at high speed, without a helmet. The documents say he ditched the bike and bolted; when the deputy caught up with him, he wrote, Plute advanced toward him with clenched fists, and was subdued with a Taser. The charges in that case are reckless driving and failure to obey a police officer. He’s due back in court on September 11th. (WSB photo above is from Plute’s arrest in Gatewood on August 6th)

Two stolen-vehicle reports to share – first, from Jacob:

I had my green 1995 Acura Integra stolen from in front of my house on 41st and Kenyon in Gatewood overnight. It is a four door vehicle with a baby seat in the back.

Second, Kristine is hoping you might be able to help her find her stolen truck:

It was stolen from the 2000 block of Alki. It is a forest-green Chevrolet Z71. The year is 1998. The front license plate has a Seahawks cover on it.

If you see either vehicle, or have any related information, call 911.

(Wednesday night photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
4:35 PM: Here’s the latest in the case of the three robbery suspects arrested in Arbor Heights late Wednesday night: Bail for each suspect is now set at $250,000, according to the King County Jail Register. We’re waiting for probable-cause documents from this afternoon’s bail hearing to come in from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and will add details when the info comes in. The three were arrested when police pulled over the car shown in our photo above, about half a mile north of 35th and 104th, where a woman had been held up on the street and robbed of her purse. Police then said yesterday they believe the three, ages 19, 21, and 22, were involved in two other crimes Wednesday night – an attack on a man by the Fauntleroy ferry dock, and one outside West Seattle – and that they may be responsible for some of the other recent street robberies around the city.

5:04 PM UPDATE: The documents are in. Here are some of the toplines as we read through:
-None of the suspects has a West Seattle address; the addresses listed for them are in Boulevard Park, the Central District, and First Hill
-What police found inside the car included a handgun, a purse (believed to belong to the Arbor Heights robbery victim), and “several cell phones”
-The three confessed to involvement in the three incidents Wednesday night

There is no additional information about possible criminal histories, but the jail register shows that the 21-year-old suspect from First Hill spent a day and a half in the county jail in June for a case described as shoplifting and harassment.

In West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:

ROBBERY SUSPECTS: First, an update on the three men whose arrests we covered late last night in Arbor Heights, believed linked to other crimes around the city: They were not booked into jail until midday today, so their bail hearing isn’t until tomorrow afternoon. We haven’t turned up any information on criminal records yet, but the authorities have access to more tools than we do, so we should find out something definitive when probable-cause paperwork is available tomorrow.

BUSY DAY FOR BURGLARIES: The SPD map, tweets, and scanner traffic total up to (at least) eight burglaries reported in West Seattle today, more than three times the average:

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(WSB photo from 48th/Findlay arrest scene last February)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Half a year ago, you might recall the saga of what appeared to be a one-man burglary wave – 25-year-old Justin Wood, arrested twice, for two burglaries, one week apart, while he was already facing prosecution for another, and then confessing to more than 20 more break-ins. Wood’s bail eventually was set at an extraordinarily high amount for a “nonviolent criminal” – half a million dollars.

We lost track of Wood’s case until a WSB’er’s note last night informing us he had pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. So we dug up the court documents to find out more about the plea bargain struck in this case:

Last Thursday, Wood pleaded guilty to seven counts of residential burglary, one count of attempted residential burglary, and two counts of theft of a firearm, from incidents between September of last year and February of this year, all at residences in West Seattle. The burglaries to which he has confessed happened all over the peninsula, from North Admiral to Westwood, according to addresses and summaries in the court documents, which say some loot was recovered, but a lot was pawned, apparently so Wood could feed a heroin habit. He was found in possession of heroin during one of his final arrests back in February. Some of the burglaries were committed while he was out on personal recognizance after a December arrest for a November burglary last year.

Documents show the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office plans to recommend a variety of concurrent sentences that, if the judge agrees, will add up to 8 1/2 years total. Wood’s sentencing is scheduled for October. He’s been back in jail six months as of tomorrow, with his bail still at that half-million-dollar level set shortly after he went back in.

Be on the lookout for his van full of work tools, stolen from the Westwood Village area. It’s a white 1995 Econoline utility van, no back or side windows, two ladder racks that – at least at the time of the theft – carried two yellow ladders. License plates are Washington B88338H; there’s no signage on the van, the owner says, but there’s a “crease in the back passenger side corner panel.” It was taken sometime between 10 pm Monday and 6 am Tuesday near 24th and Barton (map), and has been reported to Seattle Police, so if you see it or have information about it, call 911 (as SPD advises in its tweets about this and all stolen vehicles).

Two robbers and two victims in a holdup late Tuesday night: We heard fragments of this via the scanner, and now we’ve heard directly from one victim, whose name we’ll abbreviate to “M.” He wrote, “My friend and I were robbed by two armed men at gunpoint; they asked for our phones. It took place on California and Ferry [map] at around 10:45 pm; be careful and be on the lookout.” He says the robbers approached from behind, “displayed their weapon and said ‘this is a stickup,” then walked us down the hill far enough to be in the shadow, and took our things.” He described one as Hispanic, 5’8″, in a gray hoodie, the other African-American, 5’10”, in a “purple Husky hoodie,” both male, both wearing shorts. Last we heard on the scanner, poilce hadn’t found the robbers, but we’ll doublecheck later this morning.

4:54 AM: Commenter Eric asked about a recap of other recent armed street robberies. Checking our files and the SPD map (which only has a “robberies” category, so note that not all incidents showing with that icon are holdups like this):

–Monday night (August 18th), 5800 block of SW Lander (no details online, will check with SPD)
–Thursday morning (August 15th), 2600 block of SW Thistle, knifepoint holdup, phone stolen, arrest made when phone tracked by GPS (23-year-old suspect Tyler Lambert has been charged and is still in jail)
–August 3rd, 30th and Myrtle (this case and the next one were both covered in this story)
–August 1st, 5200 block 16th SW

ADDED: We procured the Monday night Alki robbery report from SPD, as noted in comments. The report says it happened at Whale Tail Park just before 6 pm Monday; the victim was listening to music on his iPhone when he was approached by three people (no descriptions are included in the section of the report we received, except that one was female). One of them asked the victim if they could use his phone to make a phone call. The victim handed over his phone, and the robber/thief said “it’s mine now.” While he did not display a gun or say he had one, the report says the victim said he had reason to believe he did. The three then ran southbound from the park; the victim went to a friend’s home nearby and called his mom, who called 911 an unspecified time later, after she and her son drove around looking for the robbers. No injuries reported.

Following up on our Monday report about the attack on a WSDOT worker posting notices in the 9500 block of Myers Way (map): 36-year-old Matthew Hadley is now charged with second-degree assault. The court documents include the same narrative we reported here yesterday (follow the “Monday report” link above) – with one additional detail: The suspect’s weapon was a folding knife with a three-and-a-half-inch blade. So far, the jail register indicates Hadley’s bail on the assault charge remains at $10,000, but he is also being held on a no-bail federal warrant dated this past May, issued for an unspecified weapons offense. Court documents say that’s the only criminal history prosecutors have found for Hadley, so far.

10:44 AM: Bail is set at $10,000 for the man arrested for allegedly stabbing a state worker at an encampment site in the 9500 block of Myers Way (map) last Friday – and it turns out, there’s a federal warrant out for his arrest. The victim, who was not seriously injured and declined treatment at the scene, was posting 72-hour eviction notices at the site along with a colleague, according to the Seattle Police report we obtained today:

… They noticed that (the suspect) was sleeping under a tarp or blanket. (Worker) said, “Good morning, it’s time to leave the property.” (Suspect) stood up and told (worker) that he was trespassing. (Worker) told Hadley that he was actually the one trespassing. (Suspect) pulled a knife and lunged at (worker), cutting him in the chest. (Worker) quickly grabbed a branch to try to keep distance between himself and (suspect …. who) grabbed a bigger branch. (The workers) retreated to their work truck and called the police. (The suspect) walked out of the state-owned property he was camping on at the same time (an officer) arrived at the scene.

However, the suspect didn’t surrender quietly, according to the report; he ignored the officer’s orders and walked across Myers Way, then running southbound, with the officer driving behind him for about two blocks until the suspect stopped again, at which time the officer took away his knife, and took him into custody. The subsequent check of the suspect’s record turned up the federal warrant for what’s described only as a weapons offense, with “full extradition.” We’re following up on that as well as on the status of the “encampment” site and the injured worker, and will add any additional information we get.

12:33 PM UPDATE: Just talked with Bart Treece of WSDOT, who says the worker who was attacked is fine – they did talk him into getting checked out at a hospital, eventually; the wound was described as a “nick.” These are workers from the WSDOT’s maintenance division, who do everything from roadway repair to plowing snow to something like this. And while they have been threatened before, Treece says this is the first known actual attack on a WSDOT worker while posting or clearing this type of site.

The “Myers Way woods” area has to be posted relatively often, Treece told WSB in a phone conversation. Typically, that’s followed by a cleanup, usually done with assistance of work crews from the Department of Corrections; in this case, that’ll likely be done sometime later this week. It’s WSDOT property because it’s right-of-way for Highway 509, immediately east, and it’s a safety issue, he emphasized, in making sure people don’t camp there. In the general West Seattle vicinity, besides Myers Way, Treece says, the 1st Avenue South Bridge area requires postings and cleanup relatively often. That costs hundreds of thousands a year at sites like this around the state, according to Treece, money WSDOT would rather spend on the roads.

Two car crimes in West Seattle Crime Watch today – both happen to be from WSB readers named Cheryl, coincidentally: First, a stolen SUV:

My mom’s car was stolen early this morning from 7300 block of 30th Ave SW [map] and I wanted to see if we could get it on the blog to hopefully track it down. It’s a 2000 Red Jeep Cherokee Sport/Freedom Lic Plate #ABJ5598. … The police came out and we filed a report General Offense #13-297919.

One clue – a bumper sticker for Twilight Artist Collective.

Next, a car prowl (Seattle’s most-common crime, says SPD) in Arbor Heights, in the 10000 block of Marine View Drive (map):

I wanted to let you and your readers know that my car was prowled last night, in my driveway. My stereo was stolen and the dash is all torn up, items were stolen from the glove box (paperwork and whatnot), and a dark teal Eagle Creek backpack full of my son’s clothes from camp was stolen. I know there has been a rash of car prowls in the neighborhood recently but I felt safe because my car is parked to far off the road. Not the case.

There’s no car-prowl wave shown in that area on the Seattle Police crime map, which – since we’ve long noted it’s not a perfect representation of everything happening – might be a glitch, but if anyone who’s been hit has NOT filed a report, please do, for reasons from increasing the possibility you’ll get your stuff back if it gets recovered, to increasing the possibility of patrols as SPD moves more and more into a data-driven world. You can even report car prowls online.

Starting to get a resurgence of gas-siphoning reports – here’s one out of the inbox tonight from Andre:

Gas was stolen from our car using the drain plug on the bottom of our gas tank. Our car was parked on the street on 20th Ave SW between Cambridge and Barton.

Remember that if you see suspicious activity happening NOW, potentially a crime, don’t hesitate to call 911.

(August 6th photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Donald Maxwell Plute is now charged in connection with the pickup theft and car-ramming incident that unfolded across the peninsula a week and a half ago. And his bail in this case alone will start at $250,000 – if police can find and arrest him.

Plute is the 23-year-old Top Hat man who was let out of jail the day after his arrest last week as first reported here, because District Court Judge Johanna Bender didn’t find “probable cause” to hold him. Compounding matters at the time, a warrant for his arrest was issued the same day, related to another case, but somehow it wasn’t brought to the judge’s attention. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told WSB at the time that charges still might be filed – and today, indeed, they have been.

Plute is now charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault, and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. As we reported during and after it all happened on August 6th, the pickup truck he is accused of stealing from outside Cactus on Alki was pursued by an Audi containing two men including the pickup’s owner. While calling 911, they followed the pickup to Upper Alki, where it reverse-rammed the car, then took off. It was spotted again in Morgan Junction, where a police car pursuing it was also reverse-rammed on southbound California just south of Fauntleroy. The pickup was ditched nearby in Gatewood and Plute was arrested hiding under a deck at a nearby home.

The charging document filed today says that evidence developed since last week includes fingerprints from a phone that was in the pickup when it was stolen, as well as witness identification of Plute. The documents also say Plute has had five warrants out for his arrest in the past three years, with convictions including hit-and-run and another case of attempting to elude police; his record goes back to age 15, with juvenile convictions including theft, assault, car prowl, and possession of a stolen vehicle. The charging documents tell the tale of many citizen witnesses who spotted the suspect on the run in Gatewood and also note that the damage to the police car alone will cost more than $11,000 to fix. Again, Plute is now charged, but is not in custody; if and when he’s arrested, $260,000 in warrants are out for him.

ADDED 1:38 AM: Went back through our photo archives and found a full-face photo we took at the arrest scene after Plute was taken out of a patrol car to be checked out by arriving firefighter/medics summoned when he complained of pain.

According to a close-up view on the Facebook page a commenter mentioned, the neck tattoo says “FEAR ME.”

From Jamie: “On August 14th a 20′ U-Haul van containing ALL of a newly stationed Coast Guard member’s belongings was stolen from SW Hudson and 38th Ave SW. The license plate of the van is Arizona AE28808. Hopefully it will be recovered somewhere with a few of the person’s belongings inside.” If you see it – or have any information – call police.

Seattle Police say no one’s been arrested yet in connection with a stabbing early this morning at what they describe as a “transient camp” beneath the Delridge Way offramp from the bridge. Via SPD Blotter, they report that Port of Seattle Police were first called to the parking lot of the Chelan Café around 2 am, but when it was determined the attack had happened at the “camp” across the street, SPD took over. The man who was stabbed says he was asleep under the offramp and woke up to discover a man he knows only as “Lazarus” was stabbing him. He was taken to the hospital (the call is on the 911 log as a “medic response,” not “assault with weapons”) and is expected to survive.