Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:

KAYAKS STOLEN: Have you seen either of those kayaks? Diane says they have been stolen from the 9200 block of Fauntleroy Way SW (map) in the past few days; one has a rudder, the other does not. If you have any information, please contact police – the theft has been reported.

MAILBOX TAMPERING: This happened over the weekend in the 7700 block of 11th SW (map):

I just wanted to put the word out someone was trying to open up our locked mailbox … I noticed it was like someone was trying to force it open when I checked it on Sat. around 5 pm. It made me wonder why it seemed not closed all the way. Then today, Sunday, my son told me someone tried to mess with it when he came home after 6 pm. I went outside and checked it, and clearly, it got a lot looser than the day before, the left corner of the inner locked lid was quite noticeably bent. It wasn’t big enough opening for a hand to reach mail inside. Still, it is very disturbing to find someone is messing with a locked mailbox.

Neighborhood concerns? Bring them to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting, 7 pm Tuesday, April 15th, at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) meeting room, also including guests from the SPD Crisis Intervention Team.

3:48 PM: We promised an update if there were major developments in the Morgan Junction murder trial – and here’s one: After both sides concluded their questioning of defendant Lovett “Cid” Chambers, the defense rested its case at 3:30 this afternoon. That means both sides have now presented their versions of what happened the night Chambers shot and killed Travis Hood on January 21, 2012; the prosecution has declined the opportunity to present rebuttal evidence; so jury instructions will be prepared and presented, and lawyers for both sides will deliver their closing arguments. We’ve just had an indication there are some significant issues to debate regarding the jury instructions, so we can’t say for sure whether the closing arguments will happen tomorrow.

The trial began in early January with two months of motions and arguments involving just the lawyers and the judge, before the jury was chosen in mid-February and began hearing testimony after opening statements on February 19th. All our reports are linked in our most recent full-length update; our next one, covering today, will be published sometime late tonight/early tomorrow.

4:23 PM: Just worked out in a court session with the lawyers and Judge Theresa B. Doyle – the jury will come in at 11 tomorrow, so their instructions won’t be presented any earlier than that. Judge Doyle granted each side 2 hours for closing arguments, and there was general agreement those were highly unlikely to start before court resumes after lunch (1:30 pm), which in turn means that jury deliberations won’t begin any sooner than sometime Thursday.

WEDNESDAY MORNING NOTE: The next long-form story is running late but will be up before today’s proceedings begin, barring major breaking news.

10:49 AM: Police are investigating two reported street robberies reported in West Seattle last night, believed to be related. We have heard from the victim in one that happened in The Junction – he wants to be anonymous, but wrote:

I just wanted to let readers be aware that last night, at approximately 9:00 pm, I was assaulted and robbed. There was a group of teen/young adult men waiting at the (C Line, Alaska west of California) bus stop. They followed me down a few blocks [to 46th/Alaska] and once I was alone, they rushed me, punched me several times, and grabbed at my (Timbuk3 custom messenger) bag. Once they had the bag they ran off.

In retrospect, the group seemed very suspicious from the start, like they were just looking for targets. There were about 7-10 people in the group, and they split up so they could attack me from several sides at once. I just wanted the people of West Seattle to remember to stay aware of their environment and to be safe.

The victim had told us that police mentioned another street robbery last night in the Westwood Village area. So we asked Seattle Police about that. Det. Mark Jamieson said that one was reported around 11:30 pm near the Westwood QFC and led to police contacting a “group of possible suspects” and arresting one for robbery. He says the victim told police “a group of 6-8 males and females had approached him, asked what time it was, and then assaulted him and took his cell phone. Seattle Fire also responded to treat the victim’s cuts and abrasions. The injuries did not require any further medical treatment. The victim told officers that the suspects then fled. While officers were interviewing the victim, other officers located four suspects at 35th Avenue SW and SW Roxbury Street. The victim was able to positively idenitify one of the adult males in the group, as well as a juvenile female as being involved in his attack and robbery. Both suspects were arrested and taken to the precinct. … During the investigation, officers recovered items such as credit and debit cards near the scene of the robbery.” Those cards were linked to the Junction robbery, he says, adding that the juvenile female was questioned and then released to her family. The victim in the earlier robbery, by the way, said he didn’t need medical attention, but he’s bruised.

12:20 PM: A post about the robberies on SPD Blotter also mentions a third possible case the night before.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“The defense calls Lovett Chambers.”

After those words from attorney Ben Goldsmith, the highest-stakes witness of the 3-month-old murder trial – the defendant himself – crossed the courtroom Monday afternoon to testify.

The day’s other major witness was his wife Sara Chambers, who was on the stand all morning and at the start of the afternoon. But she wasn’t there when he fired the fatal shots at Travis Hood on January 21, 2012, so all she could provide was context and aftermath.

Goldsmith asked outright and immediately: “Why did you shoot him?”

“To save my life,” Chambers replied.

After that zero-to-sixty opening, Goldsmith backtracked to lead Chambers through the background of his Seattle life. He met his wife at Pike Place Market (where, she testified earlier, she has sold jewelry for more than 30 years). Shortly thereafter, he started his own construction company, and was licensed in Washington and Oregon. But while en route to a bid opening for an Oregon project, he said, he was hit by a truck, breaking his back, leading to two surgeries. He decided to switch businesses and went back to school for computer-related degrees from local colleges.

They moved to West Seattle from Leschi in 1993, after buying their house (built in the 1940s, Sara Chambers had testified earlier). Chambers explained that one of its attractions was that it “sits on a one-block street, not much traffic.”

Asked about the day of the shooting, his home office is where his story began. He had been on a conference call that went so well, he was “elated” afterward: “I was happy because I got this contract … that was going to go on for possibly a couple years so we’d be ensured income.” He called his wife to tell her.

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12:41 PM: Quick update for those following our coverage of the King County Superior Court trial of Lovett “Cid” Chambers, charged with second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Travis Hood by Morgan Junction Park in January 2012: Proceedings did indeed resume today, after an extra day off because of ailing attorneys; the last previous session was Wednesday (here’s our report, which includes links to all our previous coverage).

Today, the defendant’s wife Sara Chambers is testifying for the defense, which has concluded its primary questioning of her. She testified that she was at home watching a movie when he came in after the shooting and that he said nothing about it before pouring a glass of wine and sitting down in the living room with her; police showed up within an hour. We’ll have a full report on today’s proceedings late tonight; the defense might rest its case before the week is out. The trial started in early January, with six weeks of motion hearings before the jury was seated to hear testimony starting February 19th; WSB is the only news organization in court to cover it.

2:16 PM: Now the defendant is on the stand. He acknowledges he fired the fatal shots the night of January 21, 2012, and says he did it “to save my life.”

TUESDAY MORNING NOTE: Monday’s full report is here.

If you spot the van stolen from Danielle‘s home, please call 911:

My husband’s work van was stolen from in front of our house (in the 9400 block of 8th Ave SW; map) this morning sometime between 3AM-545AM. It is a 2013 Full Size White Ford E150 with a ladder rack on top. Logo on the side in black/red/blue font reads “Comfort Systems USA.” Underneath in smaller print it says “Merit Mechanical”. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. A report has been filed with the police department as well. The is the second time one of these vans has been taken from our home.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After an abbreviated Wednesday session in which the ailing defense team “powered through” the proceedings, as Judge Theresa B. Doyle put it, she granted their request to put the Morgan Junction murder trial into recess Thursday for an extra day off, so it resumes on Monday.

The defense is likely to rest its case next week after calling witnesses including defendant Lovett “Cid” Chambers‘s wife Sara Chambers.

Wednesday’s testimony started with vocabulary and ended with testing

The former Rocksport bartender who says she clashed with shooting victim Travis Hood over his use of the N-word was back on the stand as the day began.

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Almost five months after being charged with trafficking in stolen liquor, Puerto Vallarta Restaurant owner Eduardo Morales-Cardenas has pleaded guilty to two charges. We have been checking the online files weekly and found out today that he appeared before Judge Monica Benton yesterday afternoon to enter the pleas: Guilty to one count of first-degree trafficking in stolen property, guilty to one count of attempted trafficking in stolen property. In the documentation, he acknowledges buying what he said he knew was alcohol stolen from Safeway and QFC; he was arrested last September, but charges weren’t filed until November. Morales-Cardenas is scheduled for sentencing on April 11th before Judge Carol Schapira; the prosecution, which says they found no prior criminal history for him, is recommending a sentence of 364 days in work release/electronic home detention.

Checking on the status of the others who were charged at the same time, accused of stealing and selling liquor in the same case, here’s what court documents show: One co-defendant, Eric Olson, also pleaded guilty yesterday and will be sentenced at the same April 11th hearing; a 43-month sentence will be recommended. Another, Amber Vincent, pleaded guilty last month to organized retail theft and trafficking in stolen property, and was sentenced to three months of work release; Shaye Glenn-Nitschke also pleaded guilty last month, to one charge, and was released from jail because he’d served more time than he had been sentenced to. A fourth defendant, Michael Jensen, is scheduled for a plea hearing next week.

Two West Seattle stores focused mostly on phone sales are taking stock today after overnight burglaries. We heard this morning about the AT&T store in Morgan Junction getting hit, and before we could publish a story, we found out that Sound Advice, the Verizon dealer in The Junction, had an overnight break-in too. So far, it appears that store suffered the most extensive losses – virtually cleaned out, manager Mike Ellis told us when we stopped in a little while ago, even the monitor in the window that played promotional videos. They are open, but it’ll take them a day or so to recover on inventory; they are still taking stock. As for the AT&T store, Seattle Police spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson told us it too was taking stock after initially reporting a window was broken and about half a dozen phones taken from a display. Jana tweeted this photo after passing by early this morning:

No word so far if the two break-ins are believed to have been the work of the same burglars; in both cases, as you can see in the photos, they smashed glass doors to get in.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Between the start and finish of proceedings on Tuesday, five witnesses had spent time testifying for the defense at the murder trial of Lovett “Cid” Chambers – one of his friends, one of his relatives, a bartender, a DNA analyst, and a police officer.

Tuesday began with cross-examination resuming for the defendant’s older sister Betty Wynne. Prosecutor Mari Isaacson first offered something of an apology for the concluding moments on Monday, when Wynne seemed distressed and confused by the questioning.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she offered.

Wynne, for her part, again contended she hadn’t opened up to the prosecution during an earlier phone interview “because I didn’t know you and I don’t usually talk about family things over the phone, and I really didn’t know who I was talking to …”

Regardless, Isaacson had to press on, so she did, somewhat gently, while Wynne replied somewhat more testily than the day before.

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That’s a sketch just released by King County Sheriff’s Office detectives, in their search for the man who beat and raped a woman earlier this month along SW Roxbury. We reported the attack the day it happened, March 7th; here is the latest from detectives:

On Friday, March 7th, just after midnight the victim was walking eastbound on the south side of Roxbury near 24th Ave. She was approached by a black male who asked her for a cigarette. The victim gave the man a cigarette when he suddenly dragged her to a nearby lot where he punched her repeatedly then sexually assaulted her.

After the assault the man fled, taking the victim’s purse with him. The purse was never located and may have been discarded nearby or possibly given to an associate of the suspect. The purse is very distinctive:

The attacker was described as a younger black male, early 20’s, about 5’9″, medium build, wearing a dark-colored hoodie and jeans. The suspect may have injuries to his hands due to the violent assault on the victim.

If you have information about this man or the missing purse, please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 (24 hours). You can also be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 and remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Morgan Junction murder-trial defendant Lovett Chambers, known to friends as “Cid,” has another nickname that emerged in court Monday: “Cookie.”

The second witness for the defense, the 69-year-old defendant’s 73-year-old sister Betty Wynne, said that’s how she has always known him, since their grandmother dubbed him that for a purported love of sweets.

Her testimony – which will continue Tuesday, in what became an awkward cross-examination today – followed the conclusion of the appearance of the first defense witness, forensic psychologist Dr. Mark Cunningham. He had testified that his time examining the defendant, talking to others, and doing extra research led him to believe Chambers had post-traumatic stress disorder from what he saw and what happened to him during his years in juvenile facilities, jail, and prisons, and that it affected his perception of the encounter that preceded the shooting for which he is on trial.

Prosecutor Margaret Nave was cross-examining Dr. Cunningham as last week’s sessions before King County Superior Court Judge Theresa B. Doyle wrapped up, and that’s where she picked up Monday.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Tomorrow is scheduled to be the second full day of defense-witness testimony in the Morgan Junction murder trial.

The defense’s first full day, on Thursday, delved into 69-year-old defendant Lovett “Cid” Chambers‘s life, before, during, and after the incident for which he is charged with second-degree murder.

Forensic psychologist Dr. Mark Cunningham was on the stand all day and will be there again when proceedings resume tomorrow morning before King County Superior Court Judge Theresa B. Doyle.

After the conclusion of direct questioning by defense attorney Ben Goldsmith, prosecutor Margaret Nave was cross-examining him about his practice and his pricing by day’s end on Thursday.

Cunningham’s report on interviews with Chambers and others, enhanced by other research, was intended as context for the defense contention that Chambers acted in self-defense, through the prism of post-traumatic stress disorder, when he shot 35-year-old Travis Hood by Morgan Junction Park the night of January 21, 2012. Cunningham drew a portrait of a man who, despite having been out of prison for decades, was constantly on edge for the possibility that dangerous elements from his former life would find him in his new one.

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Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports tonight:

STOLEN CAR: From Danny and Laine:

On the morning of March 22nd in between 2:00 to 7:30 am, on the 3000 block of Bataan St SW [map], our car (1994 red Honda Civic hatchback license 727-WPG) was stolen from in front of our home. The car is in pretty good shape with a noticeable dent on the door on the passenger side as well as a scratch on the front right bumper with purple paint residue from a prior accident. Also there is a black bike rack with sticker that says “got oars?”, and a Bastyr University Sticker (faded white and red in color) on the back bottom left window.

Please call 911 if you see their car.

RECOGNIZE THESE SHOES? From Curtis:

Someone smashed into my car this morning at 20th & SW Barton [map] this morning in a stolen Acura… then dropped these shoes after running away across Delridge.

My neighbor saw a slim hooded figure run off to the east across Delridge who dropped those shoes.

Any clues? Police report’s on file for that one too.

P.S. If you’re interested in how police deal with stolen property, don’t miss the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network’s next meeting, 6:30 pm Tuesday (March 25th) at the precinct – full details here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

When the Morgan Junction murder trial resumes this morning, it will be the first full day of testimony in defense of 69-year-old Lovett “Cid” Chambers, who doesn’t deny shooting and killing 35-year-old Travis Hood on January 21, 2012, but says it was self-defense.

Defense lawyers began presenting their case after the prosecution rested on Wednesday, four weeks after jurors were seated and started hearing the case. It was the first day of proceedings this week, after court was called off Monday and Tuesday due to illnesses.

The first defense witness, expected to spend most if not all of today back on the stand, is forensic psychologist Dr. Mark Cunningham, who evaluated Chambers and concluded his actions were affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.

But first, Wednesday began with Seattle Police Homicide Detective Tim DeVore, the final prosecution witness, finishing his time on the stand:

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Just in from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, one of his periodic e-mails with word of Level 3 sex offenders moving into West Seattle. We have added links to the pages on the sex-offender-info website where you’ll find these men’s photos and other additional information:

In an effort to keep you informed, and in our constant attempts to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know about level 3 sex offenders that have moved into Southwest Precinct neighborhoods in recent weeks.

· Richard Blick, a 61 year-old White male, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 5600 block of 42nd Avenue Southwest. Mr. Blick is currently under Department of Corrections supervision. [More info, photo here]

· Muche Whidby, a 63 year-old African American male, is a level 3 sex offender who has recently moved to the 6000 block of Lanham Place Southwest. Mr. Whidby is no longer under Department of Corrections supervision. [More info, photo here]

Detective Fields from the Seattle Police Department’s Sex Offender Detail is assigned to check on these offenders and verify their information.

To learn more about these offenders and to see their photos, please visit the King County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender website and search by their names. You will also find personal safety tips and resources on this site. icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=54473&disc

If you have further questions about these offenders, contact Michelle McRae of the Seattle Police Sex Offender Detail at 206-684-5581 or e-mail at michelle.mcrae@seattle.gov.

To register to receive an email alert whenever a published offender registers within one mile of your desired addresses, go to (this) link.

After the jump (if you’re seeing this from the WSB home page), Solomon’s e-mail continues with information explaining “Level 3” and how best to protect children:

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Though the Morgan Junction murder trial was called off for the day, we stayed at the courthouse for a plea hearing in another West Seattle case. Indeed, the three men charged in the Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy street robberies last August 21st have just appeared before King County Superior Court Judge Carol Schapira to plead guilty as charged: 22-year-old Hassan I. Abdirizak, 19-year-old Abdulkamir A. Ahmed, and 22-year-old Najib A. Aden. Each was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of attempted first-degree robbery – for a Beacon Hill incident the same night as well as the two in West Seattle.

None are West Seattle residents. Aden has been out of jail since November, while Abdirizak and Ahmed have remained in custody. Months ago, there was talk they might face charges in robberies elsewhere in the city, but as part of the plea bargain, no additional charges were or will be filed, and each pleaded guilty to the three original charges. Prosecutors will recommend what equals a 68-month (just over five and a half years) sentence – the top end of the “standard” range for 1st-degree robbery – for each one when they are sentenced, followed by 18 months’ community custody (probation). The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 pm April 18th.