West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
From Tim within the past hour:
A man in a blue track suit just went down our block (7500 block of 46th Ave SW) testing car door handles. About 5’ 7-8”, medium complexion, w/short dark hair. 911 has been contacted.
From Joe:
I live down on 26th & Trenton St. (behind Westwood Village) and noticed that my blue 2006 Yamaha Vino scooter had been stolen. It was parked on 26th Ave just north of the 26th & Trenton intersection. License plate 910305. Probably stolen sometime between 1 pm Wednesday and noon today (Thursday). The only modification is it has a windshield. Looks exactly like this (plus a windshield).
Eco Beauty, an Aveda salon/spa north of Morgan Junction, is opening late today – but not because they wanted to. They had to wait for police to come investigate a crime; the broken glass above is part of the evidence. Salon manager Phillip Todd, who posted an alert about the burglary on the WSB Facebook page, says that broken window shows how the burglar/s got in; they got away with some money. We talked to them around noontime and noticed that police were there about half an hour ago, so they should be open before long.
ORIGINAL TUESDAY NIGHT REPORT: Two suspected serial bank robbers are in custody tonight, and we’re working to find out if they are the suspects from last week’s Washington Federal Savings holdup in Morgan Junction. The arrests were announced tonight by King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart, who said KCSO detectives arrested the two men, 64 and 65 years old, late today in the Mukilteo area. Sgt. Urquhart’s announcement says the two are wanted for five robberies since July, three in Shoreline and two in Seattle. In two of the three Shoreline stickups, the robbers were described as wearing masks – “Halloween masks” in one, a “Bill Clinton mask” in the other. 
You might recall that police told us last week that the Washington Federal robbers wore “Halloween masks,” at least one of which was described as the likeness of another former president, George W. Bush. We had just asked the FBI late today if any surveillance photos from that holdup would be made available, and a spokesperson told us they didn’t anticipate doing so; now, comes word of these arrests. Sgt. Urquhart replied to our followup inquiry by saying he doesn’t have specifics of the Seattle cases – but confirmed one of them was in West Seattle. (If we can’t get further confirmation tonight, we certainly will tomorrow.)
9:20 AM WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Det. Mark Jamieson with Seattle Police’s media unit confirms the two suspects are indeed believed to be the robbers who hit Washington Federal last Thursday. They’re both in the King County Jail. (Thursday photo above left, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Two cases of incidents involving suspicious people/vehicles in West Seattle neighborhoods – read on:Read More
First one, early this morning:
Two loud booms rattled people in the heart of The Junction around 1 am, including WSB contributor Katie Meyer, who checked it out. According to what she learned at the scene and what we heard via scanner – somebody set off fireworks in the portable restroom by the bus shelter on the south side of SW Alaska, just west of California. Police and fire checked it out; the latter reported, there was certainly smoke, but no real fire and no significant damage.
Ahead, two other vandalism cases:Read More
The man charged last spring in a string of burglaries, with victims including residents at the Arrowhead Gardens retirement complex in southeastern West Seattle, pleaded guilty today to 16 charges. We reported in April on the case of 41-year-old John Novotny, who stole a variety of items all the way down to Christmas ornaments. In addition to burglary charges, he pleaded guilty to forgery, identity theft, and “taking a motor vehicle.” The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is seeking an “exceptional” 10-year sentence for Novotny when he is sentenced on December 9th (that’s almost double the low end of the “standard range”).
(Added 12:53 pm: Video of some of the seized drugs, guns)
Our partner site White Center Now had first word yesterday of the big raids focused on two WC sites described as “hubs” for crime – and contributor Deanie Schwarz is covering the new information today, with federal, state, county, and other authorities briefing the media at Steve Cox Memorial Park.
(Photo by Courtney Blethen Riffkin, SEATTLE TIMES/Republished with permission)
Here’s the latest, with word of dozens of people arrested, dozens of guns seized, and confiscated drugs. We’ll be adding more details there throughout the afternoon.
The man suspected of exposing himself to children in several spots around the city including Alki is now charged, and his bail has been raised. The update from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office:
A 29-year-old man arrested for exposing himself to children in Seattle was charged this afternoon with one count of Child Molestation Second Degree and five counts of Indecent Exposure. Jesse K. Drugger is scheduled for arraignment on the charges on November 3 at 8:30 a.m. at the King County Courthouse, courtroom 1201. Prosecutors requested and the court approved a bail increase to $250,000 from $100,000. The defendant remains in jail.
We have just received the charging documents and will add any additional information they yield.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
ORIGINAL 2:25 PM REPORT: Police have rushed to the Washington Federal branch at California/Fauntleroy in Morgan Junction after a robbery report. According to what we are hearing on the scanner, the suspects are described as two men, apparently wearing Halloween masks. There are two reports that the getaway car might be black – a witness near the kitty-corner Thriftway saw men carrying at least one pillowcase jump into a car there and take off. Police are on the lookout all over West Seattle and the city, and also reportedly trying to determine if it’s part of a recent series (we haven’t had any here in WS lately).
2:44 PM UPDATE: Added a photo from WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who’s at the scene, and says Seattle Police have given him a few other details – the robbers were white, male, and wearing hoodies, as well as the aforementioned “Halloween masks.” Police confirm they are looking for a black getaway car. Scanner traffic says the robbers were believed to be armed with a shotgun and a handgun.
3:32 PM UPDATE: No word of any arrests so far. A few more details from Christopher at the scene: “The bank manager confirms the branch is closed for the rest of the day and as patrons have been showing up, they’ve been directed to use other branches. SPD detectives are on scene and are reviewing camera footage. They’re also taking pictures in the alley north of the bank location.” We asked him if they had been told what the robbers’ reported “Halloween masks” looked like. One description so far: Possibly a George W. Bush mask.
A new development in the Alki home-invasion robbery we first told you about early yesterday: Seattle Police have released this image of one of the suspected robbers. They say it’s from an ATM here in West Seattle, captured as the suspect used a credit card stolen in the robbery. If you have any idea who this is, or any other information about the robbery, call the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535. The SPD Blotter update on this adds: “Anonymous calls are welcome.”
The 29-year-old man suspected of exposing himself to children in the Whale Tail Park area, as well as elsewhere around the city, had a bail hearing this afternoon. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says bail was set at $100,000, and they have until tomorrow to file charges. They also released court documents that say he has at least two aliases, and was convicted of indecent exposure in December 2005. One of the non-WS incidents in which he is suspected, court documents say, went beyond “exposing” – he allegedly got close enough to one young victim to get bodily fluids on her. In the September 29th Alki incident, reported to WSB by a parent, he allegedly stalked a group of kids for several blocks before the exposure incident.He was arrested late Monday night at his home in Kenmore.
Seattle Police confirm they are investigating a reported home-invasion robbery in Alki late last night. We checked with them after getting a call from a woman who said her neighbors in the 5600 block of SW Lander (map) were robbed by two armed men who forced their way in. Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams tells WSB they did respond to that call about 10:20 pm: “Initial reports were that 2 males in their early 20’s forced their way into a home and detained the two occupants at gunpoint. The suspects took a variety of personal items, then left on foot. No one was injured. A K9 unit responded and attempted to track the suspects, but the suspects likely left in a car that was nearby.” The caller told us the robbers were reported to have taken off with loot “in pillowcases.” No descriptions at this point; we’ll check back with police later this morning.
12:33 PM: SPD has just posted its summary of what happened, with some additional details.
(Photo added 3:37 pm – police off SW Alaska, block west of Delridge)
1:55 PM: Police are still in North Delridge searching for two burglary suspects – and have arrested two others. Part of the search has involved the West Seattle Golf Course. Here’s what Seattle Police Officer Renée Witt says happened: They got a call around quarter till 1 about a burglary in the 5400 block of 30th SW. Someone saw suspects described as three black males and one heavyset black female, all in their 20s, one male with gray sweatshirt and black pants. First the person who called police was out looking for them; then police arrived, saw two suspects, saw two more run onto the Golf Course from SW Brandon. Two arrests were made, but an extensive search continues for the other two. We’re awaiting more information from police to see if they have any additional descriptive information about the two they’re still seeking.
2:14 PM UPDATE: Officer Witt just shared updated information – ONE suspect in custody, two others still being sought, and there’s still an “active track inside the golf course.”
3:37 PM UPDATE: That hasn’t stopped the golfing, in case you wondered – at least not along the north side of the course (SW Genesee) when we drove by a little while ago. Meantime, police were still combing the neighborhood as of our check (photo added above). If no formal updates come within the next few hours, we’ll check at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm at the precinct (Delridge/Webster), all welcome to hear about crime trends and discuss neighborhood crime concerns.
Seattle Police report this morning that the man they’ve been seeking in connection with at least five cases of indecent exposure – including an incident in Alki’s Whale Tail Park area – is in custody. From SPD Blotter:
The man detectives believe responsible for at least 5 indecent exposure incidents was arrested at his residence in Kenmore this morning at approximately 1:00 a.m. During the course of their investigation, detectives discovered that the suspect had been at Westlake Park, participating in Occupy Wall Street. Flyers of the suspect was circulated to officers and the public at the event.
The suspect was booked into King County Jail this morning for Investigation of Indecent Exposure.
Here’s our original report about the Alki incident; here’s the SPD report from last week about the search for him, including a sketch. Our fellow online-only neighborhood-news site CapitolHillSeattle.com has a bit more about how police found him. We’re checking on the suspect’s background right now, to see if he has any obvious West Seattle ties.
ADDED 11:16 AM: The suspect is 29 years old, according to online records. So far court records do not show anything major.
ADDED 3:49 PM: Since he is not yet charged, we are not using his name, but the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says he is scheduled for a bail hearing tomorrow.
2 reports tonight – both involving vandalism via eggs – and one involving other crimes too – read on for both:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox:
Sometime before 5 pm today, we had two bikes stolen from our backyard on the 4100 block of 55th Ave SW – a yellow GT Outpost “18 (S/N P7EL27002) and a silver Marin Bolinas Ridge “15 (S/N 415MGM014) mountain bikes. We’ve called the police and are waiting for them to call back to take a report. Anyone with info please email: marcy.rugland@gmail.com
Giannoni’s Pizzeria on the south side of Westwood Village WILL be open on time at 11 this morning, owner Donna says – but that’s after some cleanup work they would rather have not had to do. What you’re looking at in our photo is a hole in the wall at Giannoni’s, cut by burglars who broke in and then went through the wall to get into Taco Del Mar next door. Donna tells us the burglars made off with quarters from the pizzeria’s Pac-Man video-game machine, among other things, so they’ve alerted the nearby QFC in case anyone turns up at Coinstar with an unusual amount of quarters. We’re checking with police for more details on the break-in, but in the meantime, Donna says the burglar(s) were apparently scared off while inside TDM, and it’s believed to have happened around 2:30 am, so please contact SPD if you were in the area and saw anything suspicious.
Seattle Police have just gone public with that sketch of a man they say has exposed himself to children in at least five incidents – one in West Seattle two weeks ago. Here’s the full story on SPD Blotter. The West Seattle incident was reported here the day it happened – as a flasher who targeted kids in Alki’s Whale Tail Park area.
At the King County Courthouse this morning, Gatewood resident Duane Starkenburg was arraigned on the newest charge against him – child rape, from an incident that allegedly happened about a decade ago, but wasn’t brought to police attention till last month. King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe says Starkenburg pleaded not guilty; his bail will remain set at half a million dollars. His next court appearance in this case is scheduled for October 25th, while he is still awaiting trial on the three charges against him in the jogger-attacks case for which he was arrested last January.
Thanks to our friends at KING 5 for the tip on this one: The United States Postal Service says this doesn’t happen very often, but it happened at the corner of Admiral and Belvidere night before last – someone made off with the big blue USPS mailbox, leaving little behind but these stubs jutting out of the sidewalk:
This, despite special measures taken more than a decade ago to make the boxes and their installations more theft-resistant, according to USPS spokesperson Ernie Swanson, who confirmed the Postal Inspection Service is investigating this as a theft. Swanson tells WSB the mailbox will be replaced. If you think you might have had mail in the box when it was taken, call 877-876-2455.
Out of the WSB inbox tonight, from Beehive:
My car was stolen from my alley access driveway with bedroom windows overlooking it. I also had a club on it at Fauntleroy and Edmunds. 1995 teal Honda Civic with low profile. I’m pissed off! Please warn others to take additional measures.
One of the half-dozen-plus ongoing criminal cases on which we check periodically is that of Angelo Felice, charged with the stabbing murder last February of the Fauntleroy man best known by his vaudeville name, Hokum W. Jeebs. Felice was back in court today; a trial date was tentatively set for January 17th, provided everything is in order at the “omnibus” check-in hearing that will precede it, on December 30th. We last reported on this case in March; what’s happened since then is the fairly standard pattern of check-in hearings, postponements, and also in this case some motions and documents that are “sealed,” regarding expert witnesses for the defense. Felice has been in jail, held in lieu of $1 million bail, since last February 16th, the day after the killing, when he was picked up while walking in Highland Park, hours after being seen climbing out of a ravine near Jeebs’s home.
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