Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports – first, Ann wanted to warn you about a twist on package theft that happened at her condo building in the 3000 block of SW Bradford:

(Wednesday) afternoon, an upstairs neighbor’s phone rang. She answered it, the woman said “FedEx,” she buzzed her in. Then the neighbor checked the condo camera and caught the “FedEx” lady taking packages off the mail shelf. My neighbor hightailed it out the back door and retrieved the loot, but the “FedEx” lady is still at large.

Now, bicycle thefts – Stu from Alki Bike and Board reports this one:

I am sad to report we had a theft of a pretty pricey bicycle. The bicycle was a 2011 56cm Masi Evoluzione full carbon bicycle with Shimano Ultegra components. The color scheme was white/red with white spoke wheels. The retail price was $3899.

And be on the lookout for this bike too – Michael, who recently moved to West Seattle, says it was taken from his apartment building’s garage at 35th and Avalon:

Just over a week ago, on 8/26, our building’s parking garage was broken into and a number of locked bikes were stolen, one of them being my own. The bike is very distinct looking … a State Bicycle Co. single speed (model: Copper). Has a black Brooks England B-17 Saddle, Forte Axis Carbon Fork (front), and Cinelli Handlebars.

If you find it or have other information, contact police and refer to incident 2013-317856.

P.S. Yes, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets this month – bring neighborhood concerns directly to police who are in attendance along with the WSCPC’s citizen volunteers. 7 pm next Tuesday, September 17th, Southwest Precinct meeting room (Delridge/Webster).

(June 2013 photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Checking in on our “watch list” of ongoing criminal cases, we discovered that Alan Polevia has pleaded guilty in two cases, as part of a plea agreement. If you don’t recognize the name immediately – Polevia, 32, has made news here a few times this year. After he escaped from police custody at Harborview Medical Center in February – while handcuffed – he was spotted in Shorewood on March 5th, leading to hours of helicopter-augmented searching. He was finally taken into custody three weeks later. He spent only 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. On June 11th, he was arrested in Arbor Heights – and released less than two weeks later, after his bail was reduced. Less than 24 hours after that, 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. His plea bargain includes both that burglary, to which he pleaded guilty to the original charge, 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 the original 3rd-degree theft charge accompanying it.

For each of those two cases, according to documents in the online file, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is recommending a sentence of six months – with the two sentences to be served concurrently. Polevia is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Ken Schubert on September 27th, by which time he will already have served three months in jail – his fifth, and by far longest, stay in jail since last December.

(UPDATED 3:04 PM with new text of police update)

Just in – new information from police about the flasher incident reported here on Monday afternoon after Holy Rosary School sent an alert to parents, who forwarded it to us. From SPD Blotter:

Officers continue to look for a man who exposed himself to children outside Holy Rosary School. On September 9th at approximately 1:15 p.m. three 9-year-old girls were sitting on the edge of the playground when they noticed the suspect sitting in his vehicle, a large white SUV parked the wrong way on 41st Avenue SW, facing northbound on the west side of the street next to the playground.

The suspect summoned the girls over to his truck. As the girls got closer they saw that the suspect, who was sitting in the reclined driver’s seat, was not wearing any pants or underwear. All three girls turned around and walked back toward the school building and went back to class where the incident was reported.

There was no attempted or actual physical contact between the suspect and the three girls nor is there any indication that the suspect ever exited the truck.

The suspect drove off before the arrival of responding officers. Officers conducted an area search; however, the suspect remains at large.

The suspect is described as a white male in his mid to late 20′s with short dark hair and a heavy build.
Officers notified school staff of the incident and disseminated the details of the incident and the suspect/vehicle description to all patrol officers working in the West Seattle area.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect or his vehicle is asked to call 911 or the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5575 and refer to this incident. Anonymous tips are welcome.

Sexual Assault Unit detectives are actively investigating the incident.

EDITOR’S NOTE, 3:04 PM: We have updated the text above to reflect SPD’s updated blotter post, with a few more details.

We’re checking to see if police have more information to share, but in the meantime, multiple Holy Rosary School parents have forwarded us a safety alert sent by the school, and we’re sharing it so others can be on the lookout: The school told parents: “Students reported that a man was seen in a parked white vehicle with his door open. He was naked. It seemed to be a white SUV.” The alert added that staffers were out looking around the school (which is at 42nd/Genesee on the north end of The Junction) and had alerted police.

Be on the lookout for David‘s stolen pickup truck:

Our 2001 Dodge Ram was stolen at 2:30 am today, September 9th, near 39th/Charlestown [map]. We saw the crooks drive off in it when we heard the engine start, but couldn’t catch up. It’s a Ram 1500 with a canopy, golden brown color. It has some historic family photos which, while valueless to anyone, are irreplaceable to us. Bunch of steel and papers on its way to the recycle center in back. Please call 911 if you spot it; the police are also looking.

Checking the police-call map, in the past 24 hours vehicle thefts also were reported at 44th/Alaska (early today) and at Lincoln Park (last night) – no details on those, though, unless, as in the stolen-pickup case, we hear directly from the vehicles’ owners.

That’s a frame from surveillance video that’s now in police’s hands, showing burglars that stole thousands of dollars in merchandise from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), and doing costly damage in the meantime – note the boarded-up window:

A WSB reader and WSR customer tipped us on this; we contacted proprietors Tim and Lori McConnell, who tell the story here:

We were burglarized Friday morning around 3:30. Two men broke into our locked downstairs door by prying it open and defeating the lock. They then broke our exterior window to gain access to the store. They were in the store for about 8 minutes and took a duffel bag out with them. They returned about 45 minutes later; the first (burglar) took a small bag with him and the second one had our cash drawer, which contained no cash. He dropped it, climbing out the window, and it popped open. When he noticed no cash, he left it. He also got his bag stuck while climbing out, spilling the contents in the upper hallway. The second (burglar) also took a few pairs of shoes with him, mens size 12.5, Saucony, Nike Pegasus and Asics Kayanos. Both suspect were fairly tall, and we believe one of them had been in earlier during business hours with his girlfriend.

They stole all of our GPS watches and heart-rate monitors, including the non-working displays. They also stole all of our Tifosi sunglasses, and some random items including running headlamps and flashing clip-on lights. They did not get our register cash, as we keep that in another location, but they did break into our small lockbox where we keep extra one-dollar bills and change, taking all the ones (about $80). All told it was about $5,000 worth of items, not including the cost of the window and the new cash drawer.

We have video of both of them, which is how we know what time they broke in. They moved the camera that faces the entry door to Anytime Fitness, but I assume they were not aware about the other cameras that we got most of the video from. The video has been given to SPD Burglary Division. We also have witnesses that called 911, but SPD didn’t get there in time. We ask that anyone that is approached to buy any items from Polar, Garmin or Timex, or random Tifosi sunglasses without the case, contact SPD. Or if you see them for sale on Craigslist or EBay, please let us know. It’s just merchandise, and its not like having your personal items stolen (that happened to us last month in Vancouver), but it still feels like a violation. Especially when we watched the videos of them carrying away all of our merchandise that we make a living from. We do have insurance, but like all insurance, we have a deductible, so we will be out at least $1000 plus whatever items we don’t know were stolen.

We hate to see this and want to let all other small businesses know this happened. We really thought we were safe from this type of crime. Maybe not immune, but definitely not on crooks’ radar. Who would rob a running store? Well, apparently the two guys who did this would.

We want our friends, runners, customers and neighbors to know we still love West Seattle, we still live here and this will not deter us from continuing to operate in, and support all, of West Seattle.

Thanks, Tim and Lori

Again, contact police if you know anything about the burglary – or the stolen items. If and when we get clearer surveillance images and suspect descriptions, we’ll publish a followup.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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