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:
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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:

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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.

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):

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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:

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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):

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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.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Remember that scene from the back parking lot at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) in early July? As reported here that day, the man in the photo was arrested in a stolen truck spotted by a WSB reader; a pregnant woman who was with him was arrested while shopping at the store.

Now, after more than two months, charges have finally been filed against the man, 20-year-old West Seattle resident Sean Jeardoe, in that incident and a stack of other crimes, mostly committed in West Seattle.

First – thanks to John for tipping us to this, by e-mailing us the link to this Vashon Beachcomber story about Jeardoe’s recent arrest (thanks in part to victims tracking a stolen iPhone!) and charges. Court documents say he was arrested last week with the same woman as the Thriftway incident, 33-year-old Jessica Detrick. Six days after this arrest, she has just been released from jail, after pleading guilty in an unrelated incident (more on that later). The King County Jail Register shows Jeardoe’s bail is set at $75,000; we have just downloaded court documents for details of the charges filed against him Monday – which include West Seattle burglaries and thefts; read on:

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Good news in tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch update – two more stolen cars found. First we heard from Chas, whose red Volvo, stolen a week ago at Westwood Village, turned up nearby:

Got a call from SPD (late this afternoon) that the Volvo had been spotted and verified by an officer to be on 29th between Cambridge and Barton – less than 1000 feet from where it had been taken. Nothing missing and so far it seems to run with no differences. Glovebox was locked as it had been when reported missing. My wife suspects a new computer-based theft tool was being tested – the 1999 S70 is the first Volvo to have a chip required for the ignition to start.

And we just heard from Karen, whose twice-stolen car is back:

1998 Honda CRV you posted on this a.m. has been recovered approximately 1 1/2 miles from where it was stolen. Thanks to West Seattle resident who called it in to police. No damage.

P.S. Our report on tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – no bombshells, but a wide-ranging discussion of area concerns/trends – will be up sometime tomorrow.

Be on the lookout for Karen‘s car – stolen again:

Stolen last night from front of house 7300 block of 29th SW, 1998 RED HONDA CRV with roof bike rack and bike rack (Thule) attached to back spare tire. Police report filed. This car was stolen almost a year ago and found 11 days later, 16 blocks away.

Karen’s car also is now on SPD’s @getyourcarback Twitter feed. As for current car-theft trends in West Seattle, here’s what’s on the city’s police-reports map for the past week:

Those seven thefts (the circle with a “2” in it denotes a car theft and a different crime) were reported between the 10th (last Tuesday) and 16th (yesterday). Car-theft details are not made available, so if it ever happens to you (we hope not!), please do what Karen did and send us the basics so we can help get the word out. One theft per day is average in this area, according to the past few months of online stats.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports: First, Toddy‘s home in Upper Morgan was burglarized, and she’s hoping to get one particular thing back:

We were burglarized on Friday sometime between 10 am and 12 noon. We were out and they jumped up on the back roof of our house, climbed up the roof to the second floor, and slit the screen and jumped in the window that was open. They took our iPad, iPhone, Dell laptop computer, my diamond engagement ring, other jewelry including both of our gold school rings, a sentimental gold lion charm from my mother, my husband’s wallet with credit cards and such, and many other things that they will realize do not mean anything to them but mean a lot to us. All of our photos and videos were on the laptop and are so very special to us.

The police came and basically spent 5 minutes and provided us paperwork and sort of made it seem like “join the club.” We just feel so violated and I hate that someone was in my family home rifling through our things. … (The stolen Dell laptop) has the only (un-backed up) short video of my 97-year-old grandmother saying how she met my grandfather – that is really the
only thing I want back. They can keep the rest.

Two other reports ahead:

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