West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
The headline from tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting came right at the start, in the crime-trends briefing from Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis: 
An “upswing” in auto theft. Lt. Davis said the most recent week tallied 19 thefts, more than double the usual average. (Apparently a regional problem, as that also is the biggest problem in White Center and environs right now, according to a King County Sheriff’s Office briefing at a public-safety forum we covered there last week.) Here’s the official SPD auto-theft-prevention advice.
Otherwise, Lt. Davis reported, burglaries and car prowls are “down to an acceptable low right now”; in response to an attendee’s question, he said there is still no new information to release in the Beach Drive murder of Greggette Guy two months ago. The group also heard from Heather Turner of Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims; she briefly described the many resources they offer – find them all here.
The fire call we covered on SW Kenyon Saturday night turns out to be one of two “suspicious” fires now under investigation by police. After this comment from the homeowners in the 2400 block of SW Kenyon (map), where firefighters handled what was described at the time as burning debris, we checked this morning with Seattle Police, and here’s what they told us: It’s been determined that fire was set in a pile of yard debris, and spread to the house. While that fire briefly drew a full “fire in single-family residence” response, another one about a block away at 24th and Holden at almost the same time drew a much smaller response (and isn’t even on the call log) – it was in a trash can on the sidewalk, according to police, who say the only damage done was to the plastic can, which melted. SPD media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson tells WSB that while witnesses say they believe they saw three young children set the trash can fire, there were no witnesses at the larger fire on Kenyon. No injuries reported in either incident, and no arrests so far; the investigation continues.
One more stolen vehicle to put on your watch list, in addition to the auto theft report from Thursday and motorcycle theft report from this morning. From Jesse:
Last night, after 11:30, my girlfriend’s car was taken from right in front of our house on the 5000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW. Police have been notified and the impound has been checked.
It’s a white, 4-door, 1990 Acura Legend. The plate # is: 621UEW.
This is a very busy street and I can’t imagine no one drove by or saw anything. If you live around here be careful! Doors were locked and there’s no glass on the ground.
Be on the lookout for that red ’98 Superhawk motorcycle (photo added 12:20 pm) with an ‘I taught the Stig” sticker on its windshield, like this one:
Debbie reports the motorcycle was stolen very early this morning from the 7700 block of 18th SW – and this bicycle was left where the motorcycle had been:
If you’ve seen the motorcycle or know who the bicycle belongs to, please notify police.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this evening:
Sometime last night after 5 pm and before 6 am today, my mom’s car was stolen. It’s a 1989 Toyota Camry black 4 door Front passenger hub cap missing. Parked (legally) on the street in the 6300 block of 42nd Ave SW. Impound has been checked and police report made. She just wants it back. Unemployed and just enough insurance to not get a ticket!
From Walt:
I would like to pass on some car prowls that happened on our block. 2 vehicles were broken into in the block of 42nd & 102nd, Arbor Heights neighborhood. Apparently early morning 5-9-12.
P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets next Tuesday (May 15th) at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), 7 pm, with a victims’-rights advocate as special guest.
2:03 PM: One man is in the hospital and one person in custody after a stabbing at a home in the 7500 block of 21st SW. Seattle Police say the 911 call came from a woman saying her 18 and 20-year-old sons were arguing – it somehow got out of hand and a third person, a 29-year-old man, ended up with a stab wound to his “upper back area.” One person was arrested; seven people were in the house at the time of the incident, we are told, and police are still sorting it all out.
ADDED 3:18 PM: Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore says the victim was in serious condition when taken to the hospital.
(WSB photo from April 22nd)
It was high noon on a sunny Sunday last month when a man walked into John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster, robbed the store, and got away. Now, two and a half weeks later, there’s news of an arrest – from SPD Blotter:
… Detectives received information from Yakima possibly identifying the suspect. The suspect was already in the Yakima County Jail on a different matter. A robbery detective showed the victim a photo lineup and the suspect was positively identified. The detective travelled to Yakima and took custody of the 39 year old suspect. He was brought back to Seattle where he was interviewed and then booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery. The Robbery Unit will continue to investigate this case.
Read the full SPD Blotter report here.
(WSB video of entire hearing, added 10:57 am)
ORIGINAL 8:49 AM REPORT: We are in the courtroom of King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, where Brandon Chaney has been brought in, in jailhouse orange-red, to be sentenced. He is the last of four defendants to be sentenced in the February 2009 murder of 
lifelong West Seattleite Steve Bushaw (right). Chaney was the getaway driver the night two men shot and killed Mr. Bushaw in The Junction on Super Bowl Sunday night in 2009, in retribution for another crime in which it was “mistakenly believed,” as prosecutors put it, “that (the victim) was involved.” As first reported here one week ago, Chaney, whose case ended in a mistrial last summer, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and “felony rendering of criminal assistance.” and We will publish updates as this unfolds.
8:50 AM UPDATE: Prosecutor Jeff Baird is recapping the longrunning case, briefly, noting that the other defendants were sent to prison for murder in this “senseless and tragic,” as he describes it, case. Members of Mr. Bushaw’s family are here, and his mother will address the court, Baird says. Prosecutors are recommending the high end of the ranges for the two charges – 34 months and 14 months, to be served concurrently, plus a 36-month penalty because a gun was involved, 70 months total. Chaney would get credit for time served; arrests were made in late 2009, 10 months after the murder.
8:55 AM UPDATE: “My son was just paving his way in the world – his whole life was ahead of him,” Meg Bushaw has begun her remarks to the court, saying her life “was forever changed by this tragedy,” as has been that of her family. “Let justice be served… Only Brandon really knows how involved he was with this, and I hope he lives with this the rest of their life. I hope he knows who did the home invasion, because everyone in this courtroom knows it wasn’t our son. May he know the depth of our sorrow for the rest of his life. I hope he learns what is right and wrong … Finally today my family and I will have closure to this nightmare.”
8:57 AM UPDATE: The lead detective in the case, James Cooper, is now speaking. “We know what led to the death of Steve Bushaw,” he said, going on to say that Chaney was solely responsible for choices he made in this case, and saying that he wants him to at least get the high end. “I speak for the ones who can’t… I speak today for Steve Bushaw.” Cooper thinks Chaney should be sentenced to 120 months – 10 years – far beyond the high end of the “range.” He was followed by Chaney’s current lawyer, not the same one who represented him during the trial last year. He said neither Chaney nor any of the other three “had ‘killer’ stamped all over them,” and that in everything he read of the case’s background, it simply made no sense that this happened. Chaney spoke briefly, after his lawyer read an excerpt from a letter of apology that he wrote.
9:01 AM UPDATE: Judge DuBuque is speaking now, about the “lives shattered … a tragedy of unmeasurable proportions, the effect that this has had on the community.” She is sentencing him to the 34 months recommended for manslaughter, the 14 months recommended for criminal assistance, and the 36-month firearm enhancement, so with the first two served concurrently, that is the 70-month sentence requested by prosecutors, followed by 18 months of community custody (probation).
9:05 AM UPDATE: And after just a bit more than 15 minutes, the hearing is over, and deputies have put Chaney back in handcuffs and led him out of the courtroom. He had family members here, the judge was told, but none spoke. The other three defendants were all sentenced last year – Bryce Huber, who planned the shooting, was tried with Chaney, and found guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to 32 years; triggermen John Sylve and Danny O’Neal, who both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without going to trial, were sentenced to 20 and 15 years respectively. We recorded today’s hearing on video and will add it to this story after uploading it back at headquarters.
The last defendant in the case of the February 2009 murder of lifelong West Seattleite Steve Bushaw (right) will NOT be going to trial after all – he pleaded guilty today. A status hearing was scheduled for Brandon Chaney, the only one of four original defendants who had not either pleaded guilty or been convicted (a jury deadlocked on his fate during the double trial last summer that resulted in Bryce Huber‘s conviction). We just checked on the court files, and there’s a document filed that says:
This cause comes before the Court for change of plea.
State’s motion to amend information to Count I, Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree with Firearm, and Count II, Felony Rendering Criminal Assistance in the 1st Degree.
Motion is granted.
The Court signs Order Permitting Filing of Amended Information. The Second Amended Information is filed.
Defendant is arraigned on Second Amended Information, and enters a plea of guilty. The Court inquires of Defendant, and accepts the plea. Statement of Defendant on Plea of Guilty is executed. Sentencing date is set for May 10, 2012 at 8:45 a.m.
Chaney was described as the getaway driver; he was tried last summer along with Huber, who was described as the person who planned the murder. The two men who shot at Bushaw in The Junction the night he was killed, John Sylve and Danny O’Neal, both pleaded guilty to murder. More to come.
10:26 PM NOTE: No further documents in the case have been available tonight, but we’re hoping to get them tomorrow, to find out more about the recommended sentence, for starters. (Huber was sentenced to 31 years; O’Neal, to 15 years; Sylve, to 20 years.) We’ll publish a separate followup when we know more.
ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe tells WSB they’re asking for a 70-month sentence for Chaney – that’s five years and 10 months. KCPAO also provided a court document that was not available online when we published our first report last night – it includes Chaney’s statement that “I caused the death of Steve Bushaw, by criminal negligence, I was failing to be aware of the substantial risk that death may occur because of the others’ actions and words. They were armed with pistols … Also I prevented/hindered/delayed the discovery and/or apprehension of the others – whom I knew had committed murder … by transporting them and concealing weapons.”
According to court documents, Chaney was present during the home-invasion robbery two weeks before the murder that was central to the murder motive. The victim sold marijuana, in addition to working as a longshoreman, and the home-invasion robbery happened at the home of his supplier. The robbers were said to have been on the phone with someone during the robbery, and the robbery victim believed it was Bushaw, and that he had orchestrated the home-invasion robbery. However, he was never arrested or charged, and as the case unfolded – the arrests came 10 months after the murder – police said Bushaw had not even been a suspect.
Two quick West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon: First, a business burglary – a concerned customer texted us this morning to say they had heard Tony’s Market, the produce stand at 35th/Barton, had been hit by crime; we stopped in to check and the staff confirmed they had been burglarized overnight, but, they told us, the burglar(s) didn’t get away with much.
Second, police had to be called to the Youngstown Flats construction site at 26th/Dakota on Sunday night, according to the development team, when young trespassers were caught trying to climb the crane. The developers’ update says they broke through a “perimeter chain-link fence” to get to the crane, and so site security is being beefed up including “an additional barrier around the crane.”
The “fishbone” bridge along Longfellow Creek in North Delridge is always a beautiful sight … even with something startling at one end, which was the case for a while this morning, as Rose e-mailed us to report:
As I was walking along the path from All-Star Fitness in the Dragonfly Park, I saw a tow-truck. Kinda strange. I kept walking and found another tow-truck at the bridge and asked what was going on….the nice young man pointed out to me the stolen car. It was missing the front bumper and hood. The front tires were taken off but left behind. Seattle’s finest in blue were there also.
Rose also shared the photos (thank you!).
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports from the WSB inbox.
First, Nicole e-mailed to report that she and her sister are looking for a blue Element backpack, and contents, stolen at Lincoln Park during a birthday celebration last Saturday night. On Sunday morning, she says, joggers found it “in the woods” at the park, found her sister’s ID and credit card and contacted the family, promising to mail the cards but leaving the backpack on a bench to be picked up – and before Nicole’s sister got there, “it had been stolen yet again. It had a new dress inside, and makeup that both of us had spent hundreds of dollars on over the years and some sentimental items we’d really like to get back.” If you find anything that you think might have been part of the backpack contents she’s seeking, contact police – she’s filed a report – or e-mail her at nicole12541254@gmail.com.
And Lance reports a Sunday car prowl at 16th and Cloverdale: “Nothing seems to be missing… Everything tossed about.”
Some streets have prefab “Neighborhood Watch” signs. Some are homemade. Then, there’s this:
Alicia shared that photo from 30th/Henderson in Westwood last night, saying it had just “popped up.” (We went over to verify – it’s still there.) Wondering if any specific recent incident had inspired the sign, we checked the city’s “incident response” map; nearest notable crime shown on the map is a burglary attempt early last Tuesday one block east, in which, according to the police report, the victim tried to scare off the suspect, who was reportedly trying to kick their door in, “by yelling for his wife to call the police and get his gun.” The report also says police arrested a suspect nearby.
Two notes this morning – first, from Brandon:
I guess I can add myself to the list of car-burglary victims.
My red Jeep was broken into last night on the 3000 block of Alki. They cut the soft top to steal a large item out of the back.
If anyone saw an individual carrying a large box (2’x2’x3′) between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. last night on Alki, the incident number with the Seattle Police Department is 12-129616.
Second note is a warning from us. Might have just been an accident – something falling – but also might have been thrown, so we reported it to police and wanted to mention it to you too: Within the past hour, as we drove eastbound on Sylvan Way, east of High Point, through the greenbelt area between the cemetery and the Delridge/Orchard commercial area, something large and heavy suddenly hit the right side of our windshield – sitting on that side of the car, looked to your editor here as if it fell straight down It left a semicircular crack in the glass and also scratched the hood before apparently sliding to the road. In case it had been thrown, we decided not to go back to look, and called 911 instead – they said they’d send an officer to “check the area.” (Not likely a case of something from an “unsecured load,” since there were no vehicles near ours.)
You’ve heard the basic crime-prevention advice and probably follow it – standard advice such as lock your doors, close your windows, don’t leave anything in your car. But crime prevention goes beyond that. There are other steps you can take to make your property less attractive to criminals, and there’s an entire school of thought/advice called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn is trained in it, and this week, for the third time in 13 months, he gave a CPTED presentation to the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network. Seems like advice you just can’t hear TOO often, so we covered the meeting and his presentation, in case you couldn’t be there.Read More
Thanks to Rob for the photos from the ex-Genesee Hill School campus, where Seattle Public Schools has just fenced off building access – as they had told us two weeks ago that they planned to do in the “near future.”
District spokesperson Tom Redman had told WSB that they planned to fence off the buildings because of increasing crime – graffiti, other vandalism, break-ins – but that garden or field use wouldn’t be affected. Rob says that with the fencing, “The buildings are still accessible from the west side (51st) and the park is only accessible from the south end (Genesee Hill).”
Last month, the district had fenced off field access from SW Genesee, citing vandalism concerns.
A Seaview family is reporting a burglary attempt – and they have video showing the person they believe responsible, so they are offering a cash reward for identification of the suspect. Their story ends with a link to the video:
A man entered our fenced yard in the area of 44th Ave SW and SW Findlay St yesterday morning on 4/25 at 2:50am. Our security camera captured him on our deck after he entered our gated and fenced yard from the alley.
Based on the video, he apparently attempted to enter our locked back door to the house, while we were asleep! You’ll see him go off screen to the left where our back door is. We have some stuff on the patio table during spring cleaning.
Tonight for the first time since the murder of 51-year-old Greggette Guy along Beach Drive in West Seattle, we are hearing from her widower, Dwight Guy. He spoke on-camera with Q13 FOX News‘s “Washington’s Most Wanted” anchor/reporter David Rose, who sent us word of their followup, plus the news that the family is now offering a $10,000 reward. Q13’s video clips aren’t embeddable, so we can’t show it to you here, but we can point you to this page on their website to see 
their story with part of the interview; they’re promising more on their next edition of WMW this weekend. Six weeks have now passed since Ms. Guy’s body was found in the water south of Cormorant Cove Park, hours after she parked her car a half-mile south at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint Park, where police have said they believe she was murdered. Dwight Guy tells Q13 FOX in the interview that he reported her missing hours before she was found dead, after realizing that something might be wrong because she hadn’t come home. If you have information about the case, call 800-222-TIPS, or 911. (Our archived coverage of the case is here.)
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Beach Drive Blog reports that a bench in Ms. Guy’s memory will be installed at Emma Schmitz park next week. MONDAY UPDATE: Turns out the bench that’s being installed is in memory of someone else, and BDB has corrected their story.
Two car-crime notes in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon – first, from Erin:
I just wanted to share that my car was ransacked over night. We are (on 31st) between Myrtle and Othello. It seems as if they were just looking for money or valuables as all the contents of the center console were strewn about. Fortunately I didn’t have anything in there worth taking. Oddly, they left their gloves behind – one in the car and one next to the car on the ground. Just want to let everyone know so they remember to take all valuables out of their car.
And we have a car-theft report from an apartment resident at 9th/Kenyon in Highland Park; it was another resident’s car, so no description, but the person who e-mailed us about it says someone was seen potentially casing the area the preceding two nights.
Publishing this on SPD Blotter this morning, Seattle Police headlined it “Road Rage Incident on Alki.” Reading the narrative, we’re retitling it “Parking Rage.” Nobody hurt, but one man went to jail:
7:28 PM: On our way to check out a report that the King County Sheriff’s Office just shared with Seattle Police over the radio – an armed robbery reported at the Subway shop in the 10400 block of 16th SW. The description at this point does NOT seem to have anything in common with the one from the John’s Corner Deli holdup we covered seven-plus hours ago here in West Seattle – in this case, per the scanner, the description is “black male, around 19, bald, black sweater/red stripes, carrying a backpack” in which both a gun and knife were seen.
7:43 PM UPDATE: No deputies were at the shop, so we went in to ask about the robbery report. Store staffers say it happened closer to 7 pm; nobody was hurt.
11:56 AM: Police are rushing to 35th/Webster where an armed robbery has just been reported. We have this description so far – white male, around 6 feet tall, in his 30s, black/gray hair, black baseball cap, black jeans, dark vest, green T shirt, unshaven (with “a little” facial hair), tinted gray sunglasses, last seen running north “and then headed back east” from the area, per the scanner. More as we get it.
12:20 PM UPDATE: At the scene (adding a photo), we have confirmed with police that the business robbed was indeed John’s Corner Deli – not the first time. No injuries reported. In addition to the robber description above, police say they are looking for an apparent accomplice driving a getaway vehicle (there was one scanner report of a possible dark SUV headed east on Holden).
12:52 PM UPDATE: No word of any luck so far finding the robber/s.
MONDAY UPDATE: We just called SPD to ask for any additional details. Aside from what’s reported above, two things – one, confirmation that the robber WAS armed; he “removed a handgun from his waistline, pointed it at the clerk, demanded money from the till, the victim handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the (robber) fled the store,” Det. Mark Jamieson tells WSB. There’s also a different description of a POSSIBLE getaway vehicle – white early-to-mid ’90s Buick or Oldsmobile.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports this afternoon. First, from Sara:
We came home to a scary surprise yesterday evening and wanted to let our West Seattle neighbors know so that it doesn’t happen to them. Someone had tried to break-in to our house in the Fauntleroy neighborhhood, north of Endolyne Joe’s. Sometime between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., they managed to pry open a bathroom window in the back of our house, in an area where they wouldn’t have been easily seen. It seems they grabbed one of our patio chairs, stood on that to get up to a drain spout and pried open our old-fashioned window; breaking the drain, the window and a chunk of the windowsill in the process.
Sara’s report continues with another photo – plus, we have a separate car break-in report – after the jump:Read More
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