(Added: Photos by Mike Scharer)
3:51 PM: A police search is under way right now in the Admiral area after a report of a “takeover-style” robbery inside a home – with masked robber/s ordering people to get on the ground, and then fleeing on foot. A K-9 team is on the way. We have a crew headed to the area.

3:56 PM: The suspect description just broadcast is “white male, 20s, 5’10”, husky build, black handgun,” dressed in dark clothing, including a ski mask. This is unfolding in the Belvidere area – the scene is near Belvidere and Hinds (map).

4:12 PM: Co-publisher Patrick Sand has talked to police in the area; they confirm nobody hurt, a K-9 team is searching the area so if you’re in that vicinity, stay off the sidewalk/street to avoid possibly interrupting the trail.

4:26 PM: If you’re seeing/hearing a helicopter, it’s TV. Police are still very actively searching and following on a couple of leads – but there is no one in custody yet. According to multiple reports (including Diane in comments), the house where this happened has been having an estate sale.

4:33 PM: We do NOT have confirmation that this is the suspect – but per scanner, police have pulled over a car that was seen in the area with someone resembling the description, and they have one person in custody. More to come – still avoid the area as it will be up to police to determine if they have the person they’ve been seeking.

4:41 PM: Apparently that was NOT the person they were seeking. Search continues.

4:53 PM: Adding photos by Mike Scharer, taken as police made their initial guns-drawn entry to the robbery scene and started searching the area. The search, with the help of K-9, is still under way. That indicates there is a strong possibility they believe the robber is in the area – so please call 911 if you see ANYTHING suspicious.

5:20 PM: Still no luck finding the robber. There are indications that people who have been kept from their homes will be allowed back in shortly.

5:35 PM: A couple notes from the SPD Blotter report about this – “jewelry and cash” was taken from victims who were at the estate sale when this happened, plus it’s a confirmation of one robber.

11:21 PM NOTE: Just in case you’re wondering, yes, we’re still tracking this, but there’s no word of an arrest.

Thanks to everybody who has texted about the King County Sheriff’s Office deputies at the 30th/Roxbury 76 station. They are investigating a reported armed robbery, according to a bulletin that also was shared with Seattle Police (whose jurisdiction ends at the city/county boundary down the middle of Roxbury in that area). No other details so far.

11:02 PM NOTE: Might not be able to get more details before morning. But as the first commenter reminds us, this area has had other robberies lately – it’s only a few blocks from the 35th/Roxbury strip mall where the beverage/tobacco shop was held up a week and a half ago, and also barely a block from Roxhill Park, scene of the much-reported recent robberies targeting teens.

10 AM UPDATE: KCSO Sgt. Patrick McCurdy says this might be linked to other robberies in the county: They believe the same robber hit the Texaco and Zip Mart (in White Center) “within the last week to week and a half.” They think he got away in a car but don’t have a description of it yet. He is described as a black man in his late 30s to early 40s, medium build, 5’10”, 190 pounds, and Sgt. McCurdy adds, “In all of the circumstances, the suspect had his face covered, probably with a bandana. One of the robberies occurred in the early morning hours (around 4:00 am or so), and the other two occurred close to 10:00 PM. In all robberies, the suspect displayed a small black semi-automatic handgun.”

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:35 PM: Since so many stolen vehicles are found relatively close to the theft location, we offer the chance in West Seattle Crime Watch reports to get the word out around the peninsula, in addition to the police bulletins over the radio and via Twitter. Today, two thefts to report – just blocks apart. First one comes from someone whose neighbor’s truck was stolen from her garage Saturday night near 39th and Andover:

She is offering a $300 reward for information that leads directly to the recovery of the vehicle. The thieves entered through the alley into the back yard. They opened a gate that had an eye hook lock on the inside and then went in through the side door of the detached garage to access the vehicle. They also had to open the electric garage door, which is not quiet, to get the truck out. There was nothing valuable inside the truck and no windows on the outside of the garage for them to see what was inside if they were walking by. The theft seems highly suspicious because of the extremes that the theives went to to gain access to an old truck.

The truck is a white ’92 Nissan pick-up with red interior. There is a silver, metal knob on the steering wheel that is often referred to as a “suicide knob” or a “granny knob.” The license plate number is B12695R. If you see the vehicle, please contact the police or e-mail livelife1286@gmail.com.

Just blocks away, a car theft late last night or early today, reported by Bob:

10:00 PM and 9:00 AM this morning. Car was an ’89 red Subaru Legacy with Ore plates. Stolen from 44th Ave SW between Dakota & Andover.

ADDED 6 PM: Got word of another one, from Chris:

My neighbor’s truck was stolen sometime this morning around 7:30 am. it is a 1980 Toyota truck with a white canopy w/ rack. Lic # B30651H stolen from 23rd ave sw and sw Barton st. If found, please call 763-4027. Thank you.

Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning. First, from SPD Blotter, an early-morning carjacking:

Just before 2:00 am, officers responded to the the area of 28th Avenue SW and SW Nevada Street for a report of an armed carjacking/robbery. Officers contacted the victim who told them that he was parking his 1993 Ford F150 truck on the west side of 28th, just north of SW Nevada.

He stated that he had just parked his truck and was walking away when he was approached by an unknown suspect. The suspect was armed with a silver handgun and pointed it at the victim, demanding that he hand over his personal property.

The suspect took the victim’s wallet, cell phone and truck keys. He then took the victim’s truck, last seen driving eastbound on SW Nevada. Officers conducted an area search, as well as alerting King County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol. Despite the area search, the truck or suspect was not located.

The victim’s truck is described as a silver 1993 Ford F150 pickup truck with extended cab. The suspect is described as a white male, 30′s, 5’8″ tall, wearing a black t-shirt and a black knit cap. The victim was not injured …

First carjacking we recall hearing about around here in quite some time. Also this morning, a stolen car to watch for. From Jeffrey:

My car was stolen last night … 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback – White – 912-VQE. Stolen from 41XX SW Edmunds Street between 10 PM 1/28 and 7 AM 1/29.

That’s only about a block from where Cari‘s car, also a Subaru, was stolen last Thursday night. A spot check of the SPD crime map suggests it’s been a busy week for car thieves – here’s a screengrab of that map:

This represents 19 car thefts in West Seattle in the past week. At this zoom level, the map shows 15 – we moused over each one on the SPD website and three each represent two, plus it does not appear Jeffrey’s report is on the map (which is time-lagged) yet. That’s more than double the rate in November, the most recent month for which stats are available online (scroll to the last page for SW Precinct stats). Here’s SPD advice on car-theft prevention.

Two incidents in this afternoon’s West Seattle Crime Watch report: Fawn from Kinetic Physical Therapy is looking for information related to the vandalism attack against her storefront (which also houses other wellness professionals) in the 4800 block of California SW early today: “Someone threw a large rock at the window this morning at 3:15 am, according to an upstairs tenant who heard the sound. Any information if anyone saw this would be helpful.”

Second, though SPD doesn’t include locations on its auto-theft tweets, a friend of the victim in this theft of a purple Honda tells WSB it happened in Delridge:

COLOR: PURPLEYR: 1997 MAKE: HONDA MODEL: ACCORD BODY: 4 DRLIC: 050YBLST: WA***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911***

— Seattle Police(@getyourcarback) January 24, 2013

Let police know if you have any more information.

Finally, another recently stolen Honda has been found – the tipster in this theft three weeks ago e-mailed to say it was found last week “about 5 blocks north of where it was stolen, on SW Orchard between 12th & 16th. … The car was fine but everything in the trunk and glove box was stolen; they even took the rubber floor mats.”

1:09 PM: For the first of this afternoon’s two West Seattle Crime Watch reports, we are still working to get more details from police, but for starters, they confirm the robbery happened: Stacey e-mailed to say she was walking through the Westwood Village parking lot yesterday afternoon “when four 8th grade boys asked to use my phone. They were visibly shaken up and had, they said, just been robbed at gunpoint by three masked men while walking down an alley near the park across the street (Roxhill Park). The robbers each had guns and the boys gave up their phones, wallets and in one case a backpack.” That’s all we know so far; police tell us more details will be available via SPD Blotter later this afternoon, and we’ll add to this report when that information is in. We have no idea at this point if there’s any relation to the armed robbery at a 35th/Roxbury business on Monday.

3:13 PM UPDATE: The SPD report says this was one of TWO robberies targeting kids that age, in that area, in the past four days – the first one was near 27th and Cambridge last Sunday, and yesterday’s robbery is now described as having happened in Roxhill Park itself. Details here.

(back to original report) Second, a stolen truck to look for: In the Hansen View area south of The Mount, a locked work truck – white Silverado with a Charter Construction logo and the word HEROIC on the back – was reported as stolen overnight. Here’s the @getyourcarback tweet; call 911 if you see it.

Speaking of stolen cars – the blue Camry reported as stolen in our Monday night Crime Watch roundup has been found on White Center, according to this comment from Melissa, who sent the original report.

A 30-year-old man is now in jail for investigation of burglary, thanks to what Seattle Police describe as “an alert neighbor” who called 911 this morning after seeing a stranger “lurking” before vanishing into a yard. From the report on SPD Blotter:

This morning just shortly after 9:00 am, a woman saw an unknown male roaming around in her neighbor’s yard in the 3700 block of SW Donovan St, she then heard the sound of glass breaking. The woman immediately called 911 and gave an excellent description and direction of travel as the suspect was leaving her neighbor’s yard.

Officers were close by and quickly responded. They located the suspect in the immediate vicinity. The suspect was identified and detained for an outstanding warrant. He was subsequently identified by the caller as the subject in her friend’s yard. Officers determined that the suspect attempted to gain entry by breaking the window on the north side door.

P.S. We don’t know whether this neighborhood has a Block Watch but whether you do or don’t, if you’re interested in banding together to prevent/fight crime, here’s one more reminder that the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meets at 6:30 tonight, Southwest Precinct (Webster west of Delridge).

First – no arrest so far in this afternoon’s armed robbery. We do have 3 Crime Watch reader reports. First – Melissa asks that you be on the lookout for this stolen car:

My boyfriend’s car was stolen today in Westwood between 2 pm and 7:15 pm. It’s a blue 1991 Toyota Camry with the plate 695-ZHJ. There’s noticeable damage to both the front and back bumper. It’s scratched up and pretty much black on the corners. Nothing valuable inside, just hoping to locate it.

Call 911 if you see it, as advised by SPD via @getyourcarback.

The other two are car prowls. From Amie:

Car was rummaged through. Nothing valuable taken because nothing valuable was in the car, but papers were strew on the seat from the glove box. Seaview neighborhood.

And from Conor:

We live on 47th SW between Charlestown and Spokane and had our car window smashed (early Monday) at 2 am. Cameras show a man and a women team working each side of the street. They wiped the fog off nearly every car on the block looking for stuff.

Cameras are in fact on the agenda for our area’s next crime-fighting meeting: West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meets Tuesday night, 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), all welcome, even if you’re not a BW captain or even (yet) in a BW.

Interested in surveillance cameras to deter crime or record it if it happens? That’s a major topic of next Tuesday’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting – and you don’t have to be a BW captain (or even part of a BW) to attend. Also on the agenda, new Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler is expected to drop in for a (re-)introduction (here’s our recent story on his return to the precinct). The meeting’s at 6:30 pm Tuesday (January 22nd) in the precinct meeting room, which is right off the parking lot on SW Webster at Delridge – full details on the Blockwatch Captains Network website.

Two notes that came in after this morning’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – First, watch for Amber‘s car, stolen overnight near 18th/Thistle, a black 2-door Nissan 200SX, with a cracked bumper and Obama sticker, plate AGE7999. Amber says, “I have a club and just happened to not put it on the car last night.” We’ve also heard from Kristen, who says the stolen car she reported here two weeks ago is back, “found by a SPD officer running license plates about a mile and a half away when he noticed the window was down. Other than some water to clean up and some odd things being taken (the faceplate to the stereo but not the stereo), the car was completely intact!”

Two burglaries discovered one block apart last night top this West Seattle Crime Watch update. First we heard from Jim, who reported via Twitter that his neighbors’ home in the 7300 block of 27th SW had been broken into; the burglar(s) smashed the windows with “large rocks.” Then we heard from Kevin:

Came home to a robbed and ransacked house at (7300 block of) 28th Ave SW. Broke through the back door and broke in the garage door too. Happened between 8:20 am and 5:20 pm. Electronics, jewelry, credit cards, passports among other things. Every single cabinet drawer and closet gone through and thrown on the floor.

One other burglary was reported last night, according to the SPD map – and it too was in the 7300 block, but this time the street was 36th SW.

Car prowlers continue to show up all over the peninsula. The latest reports, and new information about this week’s Arbor Heights mail theft, after the jump:Read More

Five reader reports today – we start with Hilary‘s report of a bizarre vandalism spree in The Triangle, around 38th and Alaska:

Late Saturday night (1/12) sometime between 8:45pm & 12:30am (Sun) somebody hit at least 8 cars with some kind of paint peeling substance – my friend left my house around 12:30 and came back because she had this unknown substance on her hands. We called the police and they came out and did a report, leaving cards on the cars who were affected. Sadly, we did not hear or see anything but maybe someone else did.

ADDED 8:46 PM: From a firsthand report by Jess, who was among the victims says the same thing happened to her car in the same place last Thursday:

… The vandals sprayed some kind of white foamy acid substance across my car that ate the paint all the way to the metal. I have filed a police report with SPD and recommend that anyone else that has experienced this do the same.

(back to original 5:08 pm report) Next, a burglary reported by Brian:

Came home this morning after being out of town for the weekend to find my home in Highland Park burglarized. Someone had forced entry via the back door and thoroughly ransacked the place, stealing several things of value. Police came out and took a report. Have started talking to neighbors but no leads so far. Just wanted to let the blog know so that you can warn/inform other area residents.

And we have three separate reports of mail theft/tampering – read on:

Read More