Many places display flags on the 4th of July and other patriotically themed holidays. The West Seattle home of Sharon and Duff Kennedy is among them. Or – has been. The flag they hang every 4th of July was stolen last night; the photo above shows where it had been displayed. This is not just any flag, Sharon explains:

We hung the flag that was given to my husband when his son Roger was laid to rest.

It was the flag presented to him at (Roger’s) burial; he was a Vietnam War casualty.

We hang it every 4th of July, and this year we hung it in a new spot, and after our company left late the night of the 4th, we forgot to take the flag down.

It is a very large flag and we hung it so proudly each year.

The thief took it down carefully, and all the hangers we used are still in place.

We want our flag back, we will buy a replacement flag for the person who stole ours, not ask any questions, no bad feelings.

The flag is about 10 feet wide and about 5 feet long.

The sentimental value is priceless.

Perhaps the thief can simply return it – the Kennedys are at 4234 Beach Drive SW.

Michale e-mailed to ask that you keep an eye out for this truck stolen from the 9800 block of 25th SW, just south of the city/county boundary:

Just wanted to report that last night around 4:30 am our 2012 Black Nissan Frontier 4×4 was stolen out of our driveway at 9808 25th ave sw 98118. License plate B88732x. If anyone see this truck they can contact the King County (Sheriff’s Office) or us at 206-310-2661.

Two reader reports this afternoon – starting with this one from a concerned parent, which might not have been a crime but was enough to raise her suspicions and get the word out:

I am writing to report a suspicious person who tried to solicit a conversation with my 13-year-old daughter after following her several blocks and passing her in his car 5 times while she was out walking our dog. Starting in the area of the 4000 block of SW Charlestown St. and contact made on the 3400 block of 38th Ave SW. Police were contacted and report filed.

Description:
late 20s/early 30s
white/caucasian male with glasses
normal build (unknown height)
dark or brown mid-length hair
driving small silver 4 door car

She was walking a 100+ pound dog! Gutsy!!

Also: Rachelle reports a search in her neighborhood, the 4800 block of Delridge Way, early this morning:

I woke up at 3 am 7/2/13 to my dogs barking in the backyard and flashes of light coming through the bedroom windows. I went to the front door and saw police searching outside our house, neighboring houses, and throughout the block. I asked what was going on and they said there was someone breaking into cars/houses and they had just jumped the fence into our backyard. He advised us to stay inside the house. Shortly after, a K9 unit arrived, so they asked us to bring our dogs inside. They searched around our house and block until about 5 am at which time they came and told us they had finished their search. The suspects had gotten away, probably headed south. They said the call came in when the suspects had broken into a garage north of our house. Apparently, there were 2 of them and they were seen with a yellow crowbar.

As much as stuff like this sakes me up a bit, I am so thankful that at least we have the officers in the SW Precinct. They always respond so quickly and are very thorough in their searches/investigations. Their kindness, communication with us, advice and understanding always helps put us at ease (if such a thing exists in a situation like this). This isn’t our first rodeo with events such as these in the neighborhood. Its reassuring to know they’re looking out. Hopefully they catch these guys. Just wanted to make the community aware. Be safe, folks.

We haven’t heard directly from any of the reported break-in victims but we do see a police auto-tweet about a middle-of-the-night break-in report in the 4700 block of 25th SW.

ADDED: After publishing this, we received two notes possibly related to the aforementioned incident:

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Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, starting with this one just out of the inbox – Ellie has a warning about package prowlers east of The Junction:

We live on 39th and Oregon and discovered torn-open UPS packages in our front yard this evening, about 9:30 pm. They had not been there a few hours prior. The shipping labels were still intact, so we took the empty boxes and a packing slip that was found further down the sidewalk back to the house the packages were addressed to and gave them to the people who had been expecting their items to arrive safely. Please put a crime watch notice about this on the blog so people in this area can be on the lookout for package prowlers.

This morning, Scott e-mailed word of a theft:

We live on 49th SW between Admiral and Charlestown. Woke up this morning to discover someone took my Yakima roof rack and one bike carrier and fairing. I thought it was locked down but apparently it wasn’t or they broke the locks. The rack and bike carrier were both pretty old and can’t be worth much but I guess desperate people aren’t always rational people. Looking at the crime report on WSB I see there was at least one other vehicle accessory theft last night in the vicinity. Lesson of the day, please lock your cars and make sure accessories are locked down.

And Josh‘s car was prowled near Lincoln Park over the weekend:

I just wanted to let you know that our car was rummaged through (Saturday) night. We live on Kenyon Place by Lincoln Park on a dead-end street. Unfortunately, we forgot to lock the door and they rummaged through and stole our iPod and charger. They left everything else and didn’t do any damage, so that’s a plus.

P.S. Five weeks till this year’s Night Out on Tuesday, August 6th – plan a block party with your neighbors to show solidarity against crime. Register here.

Karen is hoping you can help her find her stolen car:

My black 2005 ford Mustang was stolen last night (6/28) around 11pm. It was parked outside my home on the street (in the 1700 block of) Alki Ave SW. The license plate is AGX1087. If you have seen anything suspicious or were taking photos in the area, please e-mail Karen at kkapsca@yahoo.com.

And to let police know, they request a call to 911.

2:37 PM: Early this morning, some High Point residents thought they heard gunfire. Police checked it out – nothing and no one found. Then, about 10 hours later, someone turned up at a hospital many miles away, claiming they’d been shot in West Seattle. >SPD Blotter has details.

ADDED 3:03 PM: SPD Blotter has published another West Seattle story today as well – involving suspects caught in connection with break-ins at Highland Park and Sanislo Elementaries.

Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

POLICE AT LINCOLN PARK: If you were at, or passing, Lincoln Park early this evening, you might have seen the big police response in the north parking lot. We went to the scene after several tips and found out that it basically wasn’t as big a deal as it looked, and did NOT involve any kind of crime happening in the park. Following up with Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, he said it started with police finding a vehicle in Lincoln Park that resembled one being sought in connection with an unspecified incident in the unincorporated King County area, but in the end, Lt. Williams says, “We detained and identified three individuals, then released them after discussing the situation with County.”

Now, two updates on cases we’ve been following:

CHARGES IN 17TH/CAMBRIDGE CRASH: 26-year-old Kalameu Paulo of Seatac is charged with two counts of vehicular assault and one count of felony hit-and-run in connection with the Sunday morning crash that seriously injured two people. Court documents tell the same story reported here in our Tuesday followup – that she allegedly ran a stop sign and T-boned the victims’ car, then was caught running away from the scene. She was described as showing signs of intoxication, and the court documents add the additional detail of a witness saying she had seen Paulo at the Locker Room bar in White Center earlier in the evening, appearing “particularly drunk.” The documents say alcohol/drug test results are not back yet. Her bail remains at $75,000.

ALAN POLEVIA CHARGED: Bail also remains set at $75,000 for 32-year-old Alan Polevia, now charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the incident for which he was arrested Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours after being released from a jail stay that began with an Arbor Heights arrest on June 11th. As reported here last night, police say he broke into a home in the 10000 block of 28th SW, and was arrested shortly thereafter. But there’s a new detail in court documents: While, as reported here, he was allowed to leave jail previously with a condition that he would be living at a Burien address where his father allegedly lived, we now learn he told police after the arrest Monday that he does not know where his father lives now, and had instead been picked up from jail by a girlfriend who took him to her house. Prosecutors asked the judge today to keep bail at $75,000 because out of 12 cases against Polevia in the past 12 years, 10 of them have resulted in warrants.

The court documents reveal that the “vacant” home Polevia allegedly broke into is the home damaged in a fire we covered last month for our partner site White Center Now. Court documents say he denied to police that he had broken into the house and said he had gone there because “some guy” told him he might find some coins there.

Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: One day after his arrest less than 24 hours after he was released from jail, Alan Polevia has just appeared at a bail hearing. His bail was set at $75,000. And we’ve confirmed that he was the person arrested in the Seola/Shorewood area at midday yesterday. We received some details of the incident from King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Kathleen Larson. She says the break-in was in the 10000 block of 28th SW – a vacant home whose owner was checking the property and discovered a door had been pried open, and a bag “filled with property” was in the back yard. He then saw a man come out of the hedge; the property owner followed him, while calling 911. Deputies brought a K-9 team and set up containment; eventually they found him in the woods, she said – up in a tree. He’s due back in court tomorrow.

That’s Caleb‘s drum set- stolen from the storage unit of his apartment building in the 5000 block of California SW (just south of The Junction) sometime Monday. He and one of his neighbors, Yolanda, e-mailed us early today about the break-in with multiple victims. She said storage units had been broken into and ransacked, with “random valuables” taken. Among the stolen items, Caleb lost his “C&C custom Mahogany drum set, my cymbals, and all my hardware.” He believes it happened between noon and 1:30 pm Monday: “My downstairs neighbor went for a walk around that time and came back to (find the) storage-room door broken open. I’m pretty sure they moved it though the back alley behind my building because I found one of my drum pads back there. Maybe somebody saw something?” The door was locked, Yolanda said, but apparently yielded to being kicked in, and then the burglar(s) broke the locks off the storage units. If you have any information about this, or other crimes, contact SPD.

Less than 24 hours after he got out on bail – as reported here last night – Alan Polevia is back in the King County Jail, for investigation of residential burglary, as of just before 3 pm. We just confirmed that via the jail register after getting a telephone tip. We had checked earlier on a King County Sheriff’s Office search in the Seola area; KCSO had no official information but area residents told us it all started with someone being spotted hopping a fence and running through back yards. We do not yet know if Polevia is linked to that but will update with whatever we find out about how he wound up back in jail.

1:08 PM TUESDAY, UPDATE: We still have not confirmed 100 percent that it’s the same incident, so that’ll have to wait until after his bail hearing at mid-afternoon. KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Kathleen Larson did confirm there was an arrest in the Seola-area case – a suspect (born the same year as Polevia, if somehow it turns out not to be him), finally cornered … in a tree.

Topping tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – a hit-and-run at 56th/Alki tonight. Marty says he saw it from the deck at Duke’s:

White 4-door, late-model Cadillac (didn’t see driver) hit maroon Dodge Durango (east side of street) about 9:33 p.m., slamming it up across the sidewalk to within inches of the food truck in the Alki Auto Repair parking lot. Luckily, no one injured. Cadillac turned east onto 56th, presumably squirreled around neighborhood before finding exit up Admiral. A small black car gave chase; no word on whether it caught up w/the perp. Best of luck to SPD finding Caddy & driver.

We’re checking. (Thanks also to Jonathan for a tip about the crash.)

Also from Alki, Darren‘s Kona men’s mountain bike was stolen sometime last night or very early today:

Last night between 9:30pm and 6:00am this morning, someone came down onto my porch and cut my bike lock and stole my bike.

Here’s a photo of Darren’s bike:

Darren’s building is in the 2200 block of Alki.

From Arbor Heights, Rick got a handwritten note from an apparent neighbor in the 10000 block of 35th, reading:

*WARNING* My house was broken into in the middle of the day on Friday (assume this means 6/14) probably around 11am-1pm. The thieves came in through a back window. They were probably on foot because they took things like all my jewelry, laptop, Xbox, etc. Nothing too big. BE CAREFUL & SAFE!

And Toby reports a car prowl in the 32nd/Barton vicinity:

Wanted to let everyone know and remind people to keep their doors locked and to not leave valuables in their car. Sadly we (re)learned the hard way. My girlfriend’s car was left unlocked last night and unfortunately she had forgotten her wallet in the glove box. It was gone this morning along with a Coach sun-glass case, some small bottles of perfume and a few other odds and ends. The wallet was also Coach, so if anyone happens to see any of the stuff (yeah right!), please let us know. Credit cards are cancelled, police have been notified. Overall not too terrible but there are better ways to start your day!

P.S. Our report on tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting will be up overnight. No big news, though, but a couple updates as well as discussions of ongoing issues/cases.

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(Tuesday photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
We checked in at day’s end with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office regarding the status of Alan Polevia, the repeat offender arrested Tuesday (WSB coverage here), found hiding in an Arbor Heights crawl space. Spokesperson Ian Goodhew says they could not “rush-file” a charge related to that incident – as reported here Wednesday, a firearms charge was considered – because more investigation needs to be done by police. But Polevia does remain jailed in connection with the warrants that were out for his arrest – one in relation to him not showing up to answer burglary/theft charges filed in March (six months after the incident they relate to). Bottom line, according to the King County Jail Register, his bail is currently down to $7,550. But Goodhew says Polevia is expected to be in custody when he is arraigned on the aforementioned March charges on Wednesday, as well as an unrelated Municipal Court case. And they’re hopeful they’ll get the additional information soon for a filing decision in this week’s incident.