A brazen car theft – stolen though someone was right next to the car – tops the New Year’s first West Seattle Crime Watch report roundup. From Carlos:

This morning around 8:35 am, my daughter’s used car (1988 4-door green Mercedes 300E, license plate # AFV7311) was stolen right in front of my wife, who was warming it up; the key was on as she was defrosting the windows, she was on the passenger side. A car with two men drove past the house (42nd/Findlay) and the passenger got out and walked on the street, jumped in the car and drove off. It’s an old car, but my daughter needs it for school. If anyone spots the car, please call the Seattle Police Department (case number 13-000485).

Reach them via 911 if you see it, as advised in the SPD @getyourcarback tweet about this case.

Two other Crime Watch reader reports – both from Lincoln Park – after the jump:Read More

Seattle Police report tonight that they have found and arrested a man charged in connection with a home-invasion robbery in Morgan Junction. Tonight’s SPD Blotter report says it happened the morning of December 18th in the 6300 block of 42nd SW; a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were at home when two men kicked in the door, pointed guns at them, and demanded first money, then jewelry. According to the original police report, which we just looked up online after reading the SPD Blotter report, the victim recognized one of the robbers as “a former friend.” SPD Blotter says one suspect subsequently was charged with robbery, burglary, and harassment, and an arrest warrant was issued; that suspect, police revealed tonight, was found yesterday at a Kent motel and booked into jail. None of the online documents we’ve seen so far mention his name, though he is charged; we are still trying to find it and will add it to this story when we do.

Three reports in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup, and the first two are from two-time crime victims. First, from Alisa, near 21st and Cambridge:

My house was broken into again (Friday night) for the second time in 6 months. They took everything of value this time.

If you saw anything suspicious in the area last night – please let police know.

Second, from Ann in Gatewood, 3900 block of SW Austin:

Just wanted to report that my husband’s truck was broken into over night sometime between 11 pm and 7:30 am. A few items were taken but thankfully there was no damage to the truck. We have reported this to the police. This is the second time we’ve been hit this year. My car was stolen from the same block in the summer!!

Speaking of auto theft … while SPD does not include locations in its @getyourcarback tweets, they do announce the sector of the city when mentioning these on the scanner, and we heard this one described over the air – seconds after it appeared on Twitter – as being a theft from William sector (western West Seattle):

BLACK 97 HONDA ACCORD 4DOOR LIC/AJT5948.WA***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911***

— Seattle Police(@getyourcarback) December 30, 2012

Three reader reports in Crime Watch tonight. First:

That’s the spot near 21st and Roxbury where a truck knocked down a pole early this morning. The WSB’er who shared that photo and the next one heard it happen: “It sounded like someone dropped a dumpster from a 747,” he recalls. Looking around to see what happened, he saw a truck crashed into the pole, airbags deployed – and then, driven away before police arrived. Later, checking around the neighborhood, he discovered the suspect truck hadn’t gotten far:

Police, of course, were called again. Driver still on the loose, last we heard. Ahead, two other reports – thefts big and not-as-big:

Read More

Another stolen car to watch for. Mike has been traveling and got bad news just as he was getting ready to head home:

Our son, who is taking care of our house in Highland Park, reports that his car was stolen from in front of our house in the last 24 hours. It’s a gold 1993 Saturn SW2 wagon, license plate ABE0639. Its front left quarter panel has a large crack in it (it’s a plastic car). It was loaded with donations for Goodwill, probably worth more than the value of the car. My son has notified SPD.

And they in turn tweeted the info earlier tonight. As the @getyourcarback tweets always say – if you see a car reported as stolen, call 911.

Checking the online files on various crime/court cases we have been following – we just discovered a guilty plea in one recent case: That of 28-year-old Skyler Gronholz, charged with third-degree assault for the attack that left two officers and a Good Samaritan injured after a traffic stop last month at 42nd/Charlestown. (A week later, we covered a Southwest Precinct event in which the citizen was formally thanked for helping the officers.) At the time of Gronholz’s arrest the night of that incident, he also was wanted on a warrant related to a burglary/stolen property case in which he had pleaded guilty earlier this year; court documents say that case is being folded into this one. He pleaded guilty to the November assault charge last week; prosecutors are recommending a 3 1/2-year prison sentence when he is sentenced on January 11th.

Another update today in the case of Ryan Cox, charged with malicious harassment (hate crime) and third-degree assault for allegedly attacking a man with a baseball bat because of his perception of the victim’s sexual orientation. The incident happened as they left a Metro bus in Luna Park in late October. After repeated postponements, Cox finally had a competency hearing in King County Superior Court today. According to the paperwork, Judge Palmer Robinson found Cox not competent to stand trial, consulting results of an evaluation done in jail (documents indicate Cox was not present at today’s hearing). But, unlike previous cases against Cox in a lower court (mostly dealing with the homophobic-graffiti vandalism for which he first made news in 2009), that did not mean the charges were dismissed; Cox instead has been committed to Western State Hospital, for an attempt to restore him to competency. Felony cases allow the system more time for that process – 45 days on the level at which Cox has been charged (some felony charges allow up to 90 days for restoration). The next court date in his case is February 6th.

Since many stolen vehicles are found close to the scene of the crime – this one may be somewhere on the peninsula: We just received an e-mail report of a green 2002 Chevy Tahoe z71 (photo above) stolen from a home near 35th/Hudson last night. License plate is 767 PXH; you’ll likely notice a broken passenger-side window. It’s SPD case 12-438190, if you see it and call 911 as SPD always advises.

From Kim, who suggests others be on the lookout for a would-be thief spotted late this morning:

Just thought I would pass along that my husband, a friend and I just caught and stopped a bike theft. We noticed this guy walking through our side yard (there’s no fence but still odd for people to walk through our yard) at around 11AM. He was walking very slowly and even paused when we caught each other’s gaze through my window. I walked outside and caught him grabbing my neighbors old bike from under a pile of other items. When I yelled to him that those items were not his, he didn’t even jump. He just stood up and walked out of the yard slowly and even had to pass me to get out of the yard. Very strange and totally brazen considering it was midday on a weekend. Thankfully I had my husband and his friend here to run outside and make sure he didn’t try to come back. This guy was African American, late teens to early 20’s, wearing a black jacket with a white hoody layered underneath, black jeans and a ball cap. He left walking south on California Ave. We live on the 2100 block of California. Keep a lookout for this guy, he was obviously not scared of getting caught and may try this in someone else’s yard.

Two notes tonight – one, an Arbor Heights neighborhood hit again; our last car-prowl tipster from yesterday now has this report of an intruder she thought might be her neighbor – but wasn’t:

Around 8:20 this morning my dog was acting funny in the yard, and it turns out that there was something afoot. When I called out the neighbor’s name, there was a mumbled, “(Neighbor) is in the house.” Um, huh? So I called again, with a clearer response this time, “(Neighbor) is in the house.” Hmmm, that didn’t make sense, knowing the neighbor. Third try, this time a clearer response, and the guy was starting out of the shed ** but with his back to me***. My dog was not happy with this, and the guy turned, so I got a good look at him: Dark-skinned male, late 20s? [not young teen, not elderly, but the age guess is not easy for me], gray beanie,, lumpy black back pack, gray/black cammie pants, and clear plastic bags on his feet up just below his knees. Guy took off while I called 9-1-1 , and it turns out that several houses whose yards share borders were all hit — including a large, wheeled powertool that was found in the yard next door to its owner.

Folks, PLEASE call 9-1-1 if you see *anything* that isn’t regular!

This all happened in the area of SW 106th through SW108th on 31st SW and 32nd SW.

Meantime, near California/Juneau, this turned up behind Alison‘s back fence:

She wonders, “Maybe stolen and ditched??” (And we can’t help wonder if it somehow was related to this unclaimed, mystery artwork.)

(Updated Friday night with report of additional car-prowl victims in Arbor Heights – see end of story)

With delivery trucks rumbling along the streets delivering holiday mail and gifts like so many motorized sleighs, it’s time for another round of West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

First, from SW 98th in Arbor Heights, a check was reportedly taken from a mailbox and “washed.” The tipster says “Turns out that another neighbor witnessed this happening and gave chase, but lost them. We have a partial license plate and a description of the car.” (We have a followup out to see if they’ll share that information.)

Further north, package thieves struck again. From the victim:

A Christmas Gift package was delivered to our house (Wednesday), while we were not home, and was stolen off our front porch before we returned from work. We live in the area near Our Lady of Guadalupe – just letting folks know that there might be some package poachers roaming the neighborhood.

And a possible would-be package thief was caught on a security camera in the Shorewood area, near 26th and 106th, with what would be an unusual tactic:

The person who shared the image explains it – that, and other reports, as this continues after the jump:Read More

Four months after a federal plea bargain, former West Seattle medical-marijuana entrepreneur Brionne Corbray has been sentenced.

According to online records from this afternoon’s federal court hearing, while prosecutors asked for a one-year sentence, Corbray’s sentence is for five years of probation plus a $25,000 fine; his lawyer had suggested three years of probation. He pleaded guilty last summer to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, stemming from a undercover sting in which the federal government said its agents had been able to buy it without medical-marijuana authorization. The sting was followed by raids in November 2011.

At the time, Corbray’s GAME Collective had a short-lived “lounge” in downtown White Center (where we photographed federal agents on the day of the raids) as well as its original location on California SW between Alaska and Morgan Junctions, and one in North Seattle. In documents submitted to U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez in advance of today’s sentencing, Corbray was vouched for by family, friends, and community members, and he submitted a letter in his own defense, saying he had talked to local and state authorities to get assurance that what he wanted to do was legal, while also saying the White Center and North Seattle locations were primarily run by others:

We all just wanted to make a living in a bad economy and since we followed the state law and were doing a business that hundreds of others were also doing in the city and state we thought we were legal.

The federal government, meantime, said there is nothing even in state law authorizing storefront dispensaries, much less the type of “lounge” briefly operated in White Center, and its document also contends, “… Defendant’s activities would still be illegal today, even after the recent passage of I-502,” though the state has not yet drawn up the guidelines and rules for sales of marijuana.

His lawyer pointed out that Corbray is one of just a few people prosecuted in our state for medical-marijuana businesses, noting that the federal government later sent warning letters to other dispensaries about operating too close to schools but did not prosecute any of them, and concluded, “Given the muddied and mixed messages that persist… sentencing Mr. Corbray to prison is neither an effective nor necessary means to end the medical marijuana industry or even storefront dispensaries.”

The final document from this afternoon’s court proceeding isn’t available online yet; if there is any additional information of note, we’ll add it to this story tomorrow.

RYAN COX CASE: For those following the case of repeat offender Ryan Cox, in jail since late October for allegedly attacking a man with a baseball bat because of his perception of the victim’s sexual orientation: Cox’s arraignment on hate-crime charges is delayed again – a judge was told this morning that Cox’s mental evaluation still hasn’t happened, and that’s necessary for the competency hearing that is scheduled in connection with the arraignment. New court date: One week from today.

ANOTHER STOLEN CAR: Second one today – and since they are often found close to where they were taken, we publish these reports so the victims’ fellow West Seattleites can be on the lookout. This 2001 Honda Accord was taken between midnight and 4 am from 39th and Andover:

Shaun sent the photo on behalf of the neighbors who are the car’s owners, saying they are already going through a stressful time in their life with health challenges. If you see it – call 911.

Wintry weather didn’t keep the criminals home. We have four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning – three from the snow-showery overnight hours. First, be on the lookout for Jen’s stolen car:

My 1993 Honda Accord was stolen overnight. Car is a green 4-door sedan. Lic. #AIZ7501. The car was parked in the driveway in Fauntlee Hills between Donovan and Concord.

It has been reported to the police, so if anyone sees it they should call 911.

Ahead, two car prowls and a burglary:Read More

Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch today. First, the case of the stolen fence:

That fence used to be in front of the newly opened Duos Lounge on Avalon Way. While we were corresponding with co-owner Benjamin Jury, he mentioned their fence had been stolen: “It went missing sometime between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm on Sunday.” And, he says, some workers even were in the Duos kitchen at the time. If you have any clues, contact police.

Next – the search for a hit-run driver, or at least a witness – since the victim says there are two places this might have happened.

Kat shared the photo and writes:

My car was hit (Monday) sometime between 11 am and 12 pm on California Ave. Driver’s side door.

I was getting a mammogram at the Swedish Mobile unit (3400 California SW) and was parked behind it on the street. I didn’t notice it when I got into my car but there was a lot of traffic and I was just trying to get into my car.

I went to lunch at the Royal India Grill (2342 California Ave. S.W.) and parked across the street on California between the Admiral Theater and Mission. I noticed the damage right away as I walked toward my car. If anyone has any info, please e-mail me at shezahipchick@yahoo.com

P.S. While this would normally be the night for the monthly West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, like many community groups, they’re skipping December; school security – a topic planned long before last week’s Connecticut massacre – is on the agenda for the January meeting (7 pm Tuesday, January 15th, Southwest Precinct).

Burglary victims in Arbor Heights says there’s just one item they really want back… a dark wood box containing the cremated remains of their dog. “We presume the thief took the box thinking it had jewelry in it; clearly he or she is in for a surprise when it’s opened. We are hoping it turns up somewhere.” We asked Kim for any distinguishing features, in case someone comes across it tossed aside somewhere – “possibly rosewood, with a polished finish, about 5″ x 6″, quite heavy,” she says.

WSB’ers *do* find stolen items. For example, it looks like Amy‘s stolen Saab T900, reported here early today, has turned up – Franci saw it in The Junction and called 911. She also let us know, and we in turn have flagged Amy – we’ll add an update if this all works out.

(11:41 PM UPDATE: Amy confirms it’s her car – though Franci had called a few hours earlier, police hadn’t contacted Amy yet, but an hour ago, she went to check out the scene, called 911 to confirm it, and subsequently met there with the same officer who took the original stolen-car report yesterday.)

Back on the stolen front:

That’s Kami‘s bicycle, when it was new … and long before it was stolen:

My bicycle was stolen from in front of 4550 38th Ave SW (The Link Apartments) sometime last night. It was locked, but we all know that’s just a deterrent. It’s a Specialized Expedition in silver, with tan seat/grips and black fenders. It looks like the baby of a mountain bike and a cruiser, and is probably dirty as sin. It’s my car, I use it every day and one day a week it’s part of my job. I was hoping that you guys could put a post up, and I will offer a $100 reward, no questions asked. But she’s my baby and I hope to see her again.

Car break-ins are part of a sadly predictable holiday-season trend – and tonight we have two more reports. First, from Tish:
Sometime between 11 pm 12/11 and 9 am 12/12 someone entered our driveway, broke out the back window of our Sable wagon and stole two leafblowers. Police report has been submitted. We are located in the 9600 block of Marine View Drive SW [map].

And from KB:

I was parked behind the businesses (west side) on California and Oregon in the Junction lot for about 30 minutes (Tuesday) and returned to my car and someone had smashed the passenger side window and took a plastic bag with the medical boot I wear for my fractured foot and a canvas bag with a library book and some personal papers. They had also gone through the glove compartment. I went through the dumpsters in the alley hoping they would dump the bags, but couldn’t find them. Now I have to take the day off to go to the doctor and have the glass guy come out and replace my window. What I learned? Do NOT leave bags in car even if they don’t contain goods of great monetary value! Put your belongings in trunk! Also – it is very dark in that lot even at 4:30 pm. I wouldn’t park there again in the late afternoon or evening.

Here again is the official SPD car-prowl-prevention advice.

Rude awakening for Jennifer, who reports an overnight car theft:

Our car was stolen last night, between the hours of 8 pm and 7 am. We’re at 11th and Thistle [map]. The car is a red ’96 Saturn (plate 802-UTE) and had nothing of value in it, so we assume it was taken on a joy ride and hope to update you with its safe, little-to-no damage return. (Fingers crossed.) Police have been called. In the meantime, we thought we’d let the neighborhood know.

This also just went up on SPD’s @getyourcarback Twitter feed, and as it advises, if you see this car – call 911.