West Seattle, Washington
05 Tuesday
A West Seattle break-in last night has two young suspects in custody today. Here’s the report just published on SPD Blotter:
Two 13-year-old boys are in the Youth Services Center this morning following a burglary last night to a South Delridge apartment.
Last night, at about 11:30 pm, a man called 911 stating that he had just confronted two teenage burglars inside his residence in the 7900 Block of Delridge Way Southwest. After the confrontation, the suspects fled south out of the apartment.
A few minutes later, a Southwest Precinct officer arrived in the area and saw two teenage suspects matching the description provided by the victim get on a bus in front of the apartment complex. The officer detained the two while other officers contacted the victim.
We start our weekend-ending West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with a semi-happy ending. From Adam:
I just wanted to let you know that a bicycle that was stolen from me a year ago has been recovered. It is thrashed, but it is back. I just went to identify it at the station today. They say they are cracking down on the bicycle thefts and identifying more and more. They found mine in a stash that an arrested burglar told them about. The police are taking notice. Just wanted to let you know about a successful recovery. I thought I’d never see it again a couple months after it was nabbed. This is kind of awesome. $900 bike, a tune-up and some new parts are better than dishing out another $900.
Remember that SPD is tweeting info on bicycles it recovers – check @getyourbikeback.
Now, two reader reports received this weekend. From Jackie:
On Friday morning, the staff at Images hair salon arrived at work to find the police waiting there. Someone had smashed the front door, entered the salon then (burglarized) and ransacked it. According to the officer, they have a good idea who did it, so we are hopeful the fingerprints they found will put this person in jail.
The salon is in the 5000 block of California SW, south of The Junction. Next, from Rachel:
Thought I’d share for other Highland Park residents that my car was broken into Wednesday night and my GPS was stolen. I thought my husband had just gone looking for something in the car because our items were shuffled around, but the doors were locked in the morning when I got up to take my kids to the zoo. My husband just noticed today that the GPS was missing. No broken windows, just a thief courteous enough to lock the doors when they were finished.
P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting is this Tuesday – and as always, you are welcome to bring neighborhood concerns/questions to police leadership for Q/A during the meeting, which also is scheduled to feature guest speakers, as noted on the WSCPC website. 7 pm Tuesday (October 15th) at the Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster.
6:58 PM: Police and fire have rushed to the 2500 block of SW Barton to respond to an assault-with-weapons call. Details as we get it.
7:02 PM: We’re told it’s a stabbing with two victims – our crew is on the way and we hope to find out more shortly about circumstances and conditions.
7:10 PM: Our crew says one victim is being treated by the bus stop across Barton from Target, the other by the Westwood Village McDonald’s.
SPD now says both victims are “males believed to be in their late teens.” Seattle Fire, however, says one is a 21-year-old man, the other a 15-year-old boy.
7:19 PM: Our crew at the scene says police are still trying to sort out whether the victims were stabbed where they were found. No word of any arrests yet. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to early assessments.
9:29 PM: No new information. We’ve added two photos taken before police cleared the scene about an hour ago.
10:33 AM FRIDAY: Just published on SPD Blotter:
Gang Unit detectives are handling the follow up to a stabbing of two people last night at the Westwood Village. The two victims, ages 15 and 21, were transported to Harborview Medical Center with multiple stab wounds.
At about 6:45 pm, several Southwest Precinct officers were handling a disturbance call in the 2600 Block of SW Barton when someone came running up to them stating that someone had been stabbed across the street. Officers immediately ran over and found the 15-year-old male on the street. Seattle Fire was immediately called and responded. A second victim, the 21-year-old, was found across the street.
As the victims were being attended to, their friends told officers what had happened. The group of friends had gone to Westwood Village when they confronted another group of Hispanic males. The two victims reportedly got into a fist fight with the group and during the fight the man was stabbed by one of the suspects. The Hispanic males reportedly then fled. The 15-year-old and another friend gave chase, catching up to and confronting them near the QFC. According to witnesses, the 15-year-old collapsed in the street with multiple stab wounds. Both of the victims were treated at the scene and then transported to HMC. The suspects, only described as Hispanic males, fled the scene.
Gang Unit detectives responded to the scene and will be handling the investigation.
11:01 AM: We’re getting questions about the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter over downtown White Center. In case you’re seeing it and wondering too, here’s what we published on partner site White Center Now: KCSO says the search is for someone who broke into a car and stole a purse. Deputies are searching on the ground too, and were seen in the 14th/96th vicinity.
11:56 AM: Search is over – per @kcsoairsupport, they didn’t find the person they were looking for.
12:27 PM: Our ground crew says the search was centered toward the park end of SW 96th, east of 14th SW. They took the relatively rare opportunity to get a clear photo of Guardian One – which assists other law-enforcement agencies at times, including Seattle Police, which doesn’t have its own chopper – in case you aren’t familiar with what it looks like (sometimes handy in order to distinguish between law-enforcement and TV choppers).
3:52 PM: Update from KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West: “The suspect from (this incident) was arrested near 102 and 8th SW after being spotted prowling cars in Steve Cox Park.”
(WSB photo from 8800 block of 24th SW search scene Tuesday afternoon)
Following up on this Tuesday report: The man arrested by SWAT officers inside an Alki restaurant is out of jail tonight, as is his brother, also arrested yesterday. Police would say only that both arrests are related to an investigation that’s been ongoing since March. According to probable-cause documents we obtained from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office after today’s bail hearing for the two suspects, the man arrested while dining at Pegasus Pizza with a child is a 29-year-old man whose address is listed as the 24th SW residence where we photographed SWAT officers about an hour later (photo above). We don’t know the identity of the handcuffed person in our 24th SW photo from Tuesday’s story; the court documents say the 22-year-old brother was arrested at his residence in Magnolia. Both were held for investigation of drug violations.
The documents say that the vehicle and residence search related to the older brother arrested on Alki yielded more than $13,000 cash as well as 100 oxycodone and percocet tablets, plus a loaded gun. Vehicle and residence searches related to the younger brother arrested in Magnolia were reported to have yielded 75 tablets of the same drugs, as well as $1,000 cash, multiple guns, and a bulletproof vest. The King County Jail Register shows that both got out this evening after posting bond – the older suspect’s bail had been set at $25,000, the younger one’s at $20,000. No charges filed yet (which is why we are not identifying them) but we will continue to check on the case.
New information about last night’s crash at 26th/Roxbury: We now know why one person was in handcuffs at the scene. Cuffed doesn’t always mean arrested, and no further information was available last night, but we followed up with Seattle Police today and have found out that this began as a reported domestic-violence incident. The police report says it started with a domestic disturbance in the 1300 block of SW Cambridge; a passerby “witnessed a male break down the front door to the house and yell at the people inside.” At the scene, a woman told police that her 25-year-old son – who had left before officers arrived – is having a hard time finding a job, and a hard time controlling his anger, which was touched off by an out-of-state traffic ticket, with a sizable fine, arriving in the mail. She said he was taking out his anger by repeatedly slamming the front door, with damage compounded by a real-estate lockbox getting caught in the door frame with each slam.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with a tale of two cars … both stolen, both found.
One tale had a happy ending: Josh‘s 1997 Accord, stolen from Westwood two weeks ago, turned up by Roosevelt Reservoir “with only a few minor scratches” over the weekend.
The other did not. It was the Escalade that Heather reported on Sunday as stolen from The Junction. She sent a followup saying it turned up in South Park Monday:
It was missing its engine, much of its interior, and its doors.
Many cars are found in decent shape because they were just used to get from Point A to Point B – but then, there are cases like this.
Other Crime Watch reports to share, starting with Jack, hoping to get his stolen bicycle back:
Sometime between Thursday, October 3 at 5:00 pm and Saturday, October 5 at 5:00 pm my bicycle was stolen from my garage. I live at California and Genesee, and the bicycle is a green 2010 Novara Randonee. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the bike, but it had a black back rack and purple handlebar tape.
James says his neighborhood near Lincoln Park is experiencing a “straight-up epidemic” of car prowls:
Thursday, our car was broken into at around 3:30 AM. Our alarm went off, but we didn’t hear it. Neighbors who did said they didn’t see anyone at the scene.
(Sat PM/Sun AM), 4 cars were entered. One neighbor has two work trucks that were entered. For me, the same car that was entered on Thursday was re-entered. The sad end of the story was our neighbor who lost his wallet with some cash and all his debit/credit cards.
Another car break-in, reported by Jeff:
My 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan was broken into at about 3:30 PM (Sunday) at the 2600 Block of SW Trenton St during my son’s baseball practice at the SWAC. Car was parked on the north side of the street across from the entrance to Westwood Village and below the softball field. Passenger rear window was broken out and all my drum hardware bag containing drum & cymbal stands and other miscellaneous items, along with two Yamaha 12″ floor monitors and my son’s diabetes supplies were stolen. Most valuable items are two small Chauvet LED mini light bars and a Shure SM57 mic and Sennheiser e606 bass drum mic. Drum hardware is really only useful if you’re a drummer so has almost zero street value. Monitors list for about $500 but these are about 7 years old so have maybe $100 value at most.
Here’s the official Seattle Police advice on car-prowl prevention.
With the caveat that of course even one is too many – the Seattle Police crime map shows an apparently relatively light week for auto theft in West Seattle. The longterm average is roughly one a day, but for Sunday 9/29 through Saturday 10/5, the map shows four:
*Last Wednesday (10/2), 4100 block of California SW
*Thursday (10/3), 9000 block of 18th SW
*Friday (10/4), 9200 block of 17th SW
*Yesterday (10/5), 8300 block of 46th SW
We checked the map because we’ve received one reader report so far today – Heather e-mailed to ask that you watch out for her Escalade, stolen overnight:
Wanting to let you know about a stolen vehicle in the Junction area. 2005 Escalade, license number AIN1530. Dark teal colored. Stolen from our alley driveway (4700 block of) 45th Ave SW. Stolen sometime during the night. Unloaded our Costco items at 7 pm. Noticed at 9:45 this morning that it was gone.
If you see it or have other information about the theft – call 911.
Three suspects are under arrest tonight after a search in Puget Ridge. We confirmed the arrests with Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams after hearing some scanner traffic about the search, which included a K-9 team, in an area reported to have ranged from 21st/Myrtle to 18th/Myrtle to 16th/Holly. Lt. Williams says, “The suspects are under arrest for burglary, auto theft, and there were some outstanding felony warrants.” We don’t know specifics of when and where the burglary and auto-theft incidents happened, but we’ll keep an eye on this case for followup.
Also tonight, a reader report from Erin, whose bicycle was stolen from an apartment building in The Triangle:
My bike was stolen from the secure bike storage at Link apartments in West Seattle. It is a 2011 women’s Cannondale Synapse Alloy 7 Sora Road Bike in Egyptian Blue, size 51. It has been listed by a seller in West Seattle on craigslist (since been pulled).
One more West Seattle Crime Watch note this afternoon. From Nancy:
This afternoon … someone stole a backpack from my husband’s car. He parked in front of our house for a couple minutes to check on one of our kids and when he went back out to the car it was gone. His wallet and a laptop were in it. We’re assuming that those are long gone but hoping that the thief dumped the backpack somewhere. There was some paperwork in it that has absolutely no monetary value but would be a huge hassle to replace. Can you ask your readers to let you know if they come across an abandoned black backpack in the North Admiral / Admiral neighborhood?
Next community crimefighting meeting, by the way, will be the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm Tuesday, October 15th, at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster); president Richard Miller told WSB last night that he is still finalizing the guest speaker(s) plan.
Once the weather calmed Monday night, graffiti vandals got busy. We noticed big tags on a vacant building along the Fauntleroy Way curve in Fairmount Springs; not far away, Chuck reports:
I was dismayed to find a spray-paint tag on my property on Graham St and 44th, just off California … I’ve not been tagged in the 20-plus years I’ve lived here, so it was startling.
Do report graffiti vandalism (and then paint it out as fast as you can) – you can even file an online report here.
Next, a burglary report, and the list of what’s been reported in the past week, since it’s been more than a week since our last trend check. Sheli e-mailed us that her home at Lander/Walnut was broken into around 3:30 pm Monday, adding, “3 witnesses saw 5 young boys looking suspicious. High school kids? Knocked in my whole door, stole iPads, before alarm was tripped.”
That’s one of 14 burglaries listed in police reports between last Tuesday (9/24) and this Monday (9/30):
From the SPD police-reports map, the others (where the icons on the map are “2” or “3” it does NOT mean two or three burglaries, the other incidents were different crime categories):
1400 block of Palm SW, Tuesday 9/24
5900 block of 38th SW, Tuesday 9/24
8800 block of 36th SW, Tuesday 9/24
8100 block of 9th SW, Tuesday 9/24
5900 block of Beach Drive, Wednesday 9/25
3300 block of SW 106th, Wednesday 9/25
3700 block of SW Cloverdale, Thursday 9/26
3500 block of SW 105th, Friday 9/27
8400 block of 30th SW, Saturday 9/28
7700 block of 12th SW, Sunday 9/29
8600 block of 13th SW, Sunday 9/29
3000 block of Admiral Way, Monday 9/30
8100 block of 14th SW, Monday 9/30
7200 block 17th SW, Monday 9/30
Next, a car prowl and a request that you be on the lookout for the loot:
Read More
No major crime reports during this stormy weekend, but tonight we want to share reader reports in queue since just before the weekend, all related to car break-ins. (We would check the latest trends and include those here, but the Seattle Police system that automatically sends brief incident reports to the online map and to Twitter is NOT updating today – here’s hoping it’ll be fixed tomorrow.)
STOLEN UNICYCLE: Taken from Arbor Heights, near 32nd and 106th, early Thursday morning, from a car parked in a driveway. From our anonymous report:
The dog alerted us to intruders in the driveway even before the car alarm went off, I called 9-1-1, the neighbor saw the 2 people (one person had a mohawk-style haircut) as they were running away with it and was able to give descriptions to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, but *still* the perps got away.
This really stinks in many ways, especially because this type of unicycle isn’t made anymore, it is hubby’s favorite, and he’d just brought it home hours earlier from his last day at his job. If you see it, secure it and call the police, please!!
Further description, since our inset photo from July 2011 is not that close-up – the seat is all black, there’s a “bump out” on the fork, and the 26-inch wheel – much bigger than the usual unicycle – has a “mountain bike”-style treaded tire.
Ahead, four more reader reports – car break-ins at public facilities as well as in residential neighborhoods:
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.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has sent word of sentencing today for a mail thief whose three-county spree included, we are told, West Seattle crimes. Here’s the announcement:
A mail thief who broke into locked mailboxes to steal checks and identities was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 44 months in prison and four years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. WILFREDO BERMUDEZ, 40, of Seattle, was arrested in November 2012 after 13 months of breaking into mailboxes in the Puget Sound region. BERMUDEZ stole mail in three different counties, including checks, driver’s licenses, and other items by breaking into victims’ mailboxes. He often threw away or destroyed the remainder of victims’ mail, and left the mailbox damaged or unusable in the process.
7:14 PM: We’re at The Hall at Fauntleroy, where about 50 people have gathered for the crime/safety/prevention meeting presented by the Fauntleroy Community Association. In addition to FCA leaders and neighbors, Capt. Joe Kessler (in the top photo), Lt. Pierre Davis, and Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores from the Southwest Precinct are here and will be speaking (and answering questions) shortly, and the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network is here too. We’ll publish live toplines as news/information of note emerges. It’s not just for Fauntleroy residents – so if you’re interested, come on over to 9131 California SW (in the historic schoolhouse).
7:26 PM: Capt. Kessler is getting to the stats, after going through the SW Precinct org chart. He says 61 burglaries is the monthly average. Last month, one week had 39 burglaries, as widely reported, but the following week, he noted, there were 11 – and that’s because of one arrest. He mentions a recent arrest – “we targeted him and we finally got him.” And he notes that “almost half of the burglars we arrest are a direct result of calling 911. When we say, ‘call 911 if you see something suspicious,’ we really do mean it. … Nothing makes us feel better at night than putting a couple burglars in jail.” Lt. Davis took up the presentation from there, with a slide showing that the yearlong average of car prowls is 45 a month, and another one showing an average of 8 street robberies a month over the past year.
7:38 PM: In Fauntleroy, over the past year, the most common police calls were:
**CLICK AHEAD TO READ THE REST OF OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE**
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):
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:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
West Seattle’s two highest-ranking Seattle Police crimefighters are making the neighborhood rounds.
This Thursday, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler and operations Lt. Pierre Davis are scheduled to brief a Fauntleroy Community Association-organized crime-prevention meeting (as previewed here).
This past week, we heard from both at the Alki Community Council, and from Lt. Davis at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which, because its originally scheduled guests had been postponed, turned into a lengthy Q/A session.
Ahead, key points from both meetings:
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):
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.
(UPDATED WEDNESDAY EVENING with SPD Blotter info)
1:03 PM: Thanks to multiple Holy Rosary School parents who have forwarded this alert sent in the past hour:
There was another report of an inappropriate exposure during lunch time recess today. This was a different man and he was outside the school property. The police and neighboring schools were notified immediately. Staff will be outside at the end of school.
That’s the entirety of the alert, with no descriptive information, but we’ll be checking with police ASAP and adding anything we learn from them. The previous report was on September 9th, and police went public with additional details the next day. (The school is at 41st/42nd/Genesee on the north end of The Junction.)
ADDED 1:08 PM: Just talked with Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson. He says this is all that’s in their system right now, since an officer’s apparently still out at the scene and hoping to talk with whomever directly witnessed this: The call came in at 11:42 am, that “a male was exposing himself”; the person was described only as white, with dark hair, and possible facial hair. He was said to have left in a vehicle and was reported to have been last seen headed westbound on Dakota.
ADDED 7:38 PM: A story about this has just appeared on SPD Blotter, but there’s no additional descriptive information:
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