12:36 PM: First Crime Watch reader report of the day, from Jennifer:

Someone broke into our car that was parked in front of our house close to Stevens and 36th Ave SW, either last night or early this morning. They took my son’s wallet and all his baseball gear, which was in the trunk. There wasn’t much in the wallet, but the baseball gear was important to him. Hopefully, the thieves may not find that useful and disposed of it. It was in a large navy blue duffel bag.

If you think you’ve found it, let us know and we’ll connect you.

1:18 PM: Second Crime Watch report of the day – Megan‘s stolen car:

My car was stolen last night sometime between Sat 8:30 pm and Sun 10:45 am.

I live (in the 3600 block of California SW). It was in a locked and gated garage. It is a 2018 blue Kia Forte, license plate BMH6881. Has a UW sticker on side window. Lahaina Crossfit sticker on rear window. And Green Bay Packers license plate brackets front and back. Police number is 24-080233.

Call 911 if you find it.

We have more information tonight about the home-invasion suspect arrested by SWAT officers near Fauntleroy/Hudson on Wednesday. We’re identifying him because he’s being held on another case in which he’s charged, as well as this one in which charges are still pending. Total bail for 20-year-old Tyler L. Taylor is $700,000. A half-million of that is for the home-invasion robbery in which he’s accused, while most of the rest is for the case in which he’s charged. That case involves domestic-violence assault and unlawful gun possession, stemming from a January incident at his home in North Seattle, in which he allegedly threatened to pistol-whip family members. Though Taylor does not have a felony record, he was not supposed to have the gun under terms of a protection order against him. He was arrested after that incident; the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office wanted his bail set at $350,000, but the (unidentified) first-appearance judge set it at $75,000, and after a week, Taylor got out on bond.

According to probable-cause documents from his hearing today, that was almost two months after the home invasion for which he’s being held now. It happened in North Seattle on December 2nd; four men broke into a house and held a couple at gunpoint for more than an hour while stealing items including a car and forcing them to access their bank accounts online. (The narrative notes that the robbers at one point argued over how debit and credit cards work.) Taylor and other suspects were eventually found through use of the victims’ stolen cards at stores and ATMs from which security video was procured, plus cross-referenced cell phone records. The probable-cause documents also say Taylor used a stolen card to buy a $550 virtual-reality headset from a Best Buy store and linked his own account to the purchase.

None of the court documents in either case give any hints as to what Taylor was doing in West Seattle at the time of his arrest Wednesday, nor how police knew to find him there, but one document does say he threw a handgun over a fence before he was taken into custody. It was recovered, and found to have been illegally modified to automatic. Taylor was one of three suspects arrested yesterday; the other two arrests happened outside West Seattle. Potential charges Taylor faces in this case, according to prosecutors, are first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, ID theft, motor-vehicle theft, and second-degree unlawful firearm possession.

5:06 PM: At midday today, we got a tip about an apparent warrant arrest, with tactical officers, at (corrected) Fauntleroy/Hudson (and the security-camera image above). The operation was wrapping up and everyone was gone by the time we arrived, but officers had told dispatch they had one person in custody. There were also indications that other agencies were involved, so we’ve been following up to try to find out more. SPD just told us, in response to our inquiry, that the West Seattle arrest was one of the suspects mentioned in their newest post:

This morning, at various locations throughout the city, detectives arrested three suspects involved in a series of home invasion robberies.

During one of the robberies, in the Lake City neighborhood, the suspects were armed with handguns and rifles. They allegedly entered the victim’s home while they were sleeping, woke them up, and demanded the victims unlock electronic devices found inside the house.

Over the past several months, Seattle Police Robbery detectives and Mountlake Terrace Police Department detectives have been investigating similar robberies and were able to identify three of the involved suspects.

Today, in a joint arrest operation with Seattle SWAT, North Sound Metro SWAT, all three suspects were placed into custody. During one of the arrests a firearm was recovered.

A 21-year-old male was booked into King County Jail (KCJ) for investigation of robbery. A 20-year-old male was booked for robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm. A 27-year-old was booked into Snohomish County jail for robbery.

We’re now trying to find out which suspect was the one arrested here, and exactly which incident(s) he was wanted for.

6:06 PM: Seattle Police say the man arrested at Fauntleroy/Hudson was the 20-year-old they mentioned. He was just booked into King County Jail, where the docket shows other cases in which he is charged; we’ll be reviewing those documents soon as we can download them.

Maybe you’ll help find Cameron‘s scooter:

I just moved to West Seattle from Belltown about a week ago and am excited to be in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, within a few days of moving, my scooter was stolen.

Make and model: Genuine Hooligan 170cc
Color: black
Year: 2016
License: 2K8049

We’ll add the police report # when we get it. (Added: It’s 24-069706.)

(WSB photo, Friday night)

The man arrested after Friday night’s standoff at an apartment complex at Delridge/Thistle remains in jail today. He is not yet charged in the domestic-violence case for which officers were seeking him, but he is charged in two other cases for which he had arrest warrants, so we’re identifying him. 27-year-old DeMarco D. Gatterson is a resident of Auburn, according to court documents in those cases. He is charged in separate cases with drive-by shooting and assault for an incident on I-5 in Tukwila and with organized retail theft for an incident in Auburn. In the shooting, prosecutors say he pursued a relative “over many miles of South King County highways and streets … firing numerous rounds” at the relative’s car. The court documents say the relative, a cousin of the suspect, had come here to pick up Gatterson and take him to live in Las Vegas for a fresh start. The incident happened in late January and Gatterson was charged in early February. There was already a warrant out for him because he failed to appear at a probation hearing related to a DUI and hit-run case in Kent. He didn’t show up for hearings in this case either, nor for hearings on other charges filed against him in early February, related to a January theft of iPhones worth more than $4,500 from a T-Mobile retail store in Auburn. At one point during the theft, prosecutors wrote, Gatterson showed his own ID to a store clerk, and that’s part of how he was identified and charged. But until Friday night, he hadn’t been found or arrested in any of this; he does have an extensive criminal record, prosecutors say. What led to his arrest Friday night, according to SPD, was actually an assault one night earlier. Their incident summary adds that a gun was found in the search that followed that arrest. Gatterson’s bail is listed on the jail docket as $100,000.

(WSB photo, early Sunday)

“The facts of this case are terrifying.” That’s how the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office opens the charging-document summary for 29-year-old Ethan McConaghy, charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault, accused of breaking into a home near 48th/Charlestown early Sunday morning and attacking the family who lives there. (Here’s our original report.) Even more than the narrative in the charging document, that assessment is borne out by the family telling their story in their own words – including their children’s bravery. Here’s what they sent:

It was around 6:45 am and my husband and I had just woken up when we were startled by the sound of breaking glass. Thinking that our china cabinet shelves had collapsed, we went downstairs and were confronted by an intruder entering the house via our broken dining room window. We demanded he leave our house but he didn’t respond and instead, came at us. My husband stopped him physically and they began to wrestle. I yelled for our children to call 911.

I proceeded to help my husband by opening the door so he could force the intruder outside. Once out, he was again told to leave. He ignored us and came at my husband again; they wrestled, moving onto the lawn while I called out for help. The man then ducked out of his shirt and jacket, allowing him to elude my husband and run at me while I was standing in the doorway. I defended myself but was ultimately dragged down the front steps to the lawn. The man then ran back into the house; he made it to the foot of the stairs before my husband caught up with him.

I had followed my husband inside and we tried to hold the intruder back, but he was able to struggle up the stairs. He then managed to break free and enter our younger daughter’s room, but he came back out immediately. She was not there because she had locked herself in our bedroom and was on the phone with 911. He then broke down the door to our bedroom and rushed our daughter, knocking the phone out of her hand. At that point, my husband was able to stop him by jumping on top of him. I grabbed our daughter and took her downstairs, yelling to our older daughter to call 911 and that we needed to leave immediately. When we caught up with her, she was on the phone with 911, and we were all able to get out of the house together.

Our children ran for safety while I ran to the neighbor’s house to get help. When I returned to our house with my neighbor, my husband had the man pinned down. I then left to locate our daughters. While I was looking for them, the police arrived, and I directed them to the scene. Our daughters had hidden themselves safely out of sight and were soon found by the police. Eventually, the police brought the man out of our house, and he was taken away in their custody.

We appreciate the help and kindness of our neighbors and the police response. We are proud of our daughters. They reacted quickly and effectively; they got the police to our house, took care of each other, and found safety. My daughters and I are in awe of how my husband handled the situation. Through this ordeal, we are closer as a family. We can only hope that as we heal mentally and physically from this experience, the person who caused this trauma is also getting the help he needs so we all can grow from this terrible experience.

The suspect remains in the King County Jail, held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The charging documents list his “last known address” as several blocks south of the crime scene; the family had never seen him before. His only listed prior conviction is for DUI, 13 years ago; he also has a recent DUI case that is not yet resolved.

Another business burglary early today: Just after 1 am, we heard police dispatched to a suspected burglary at the gas station/mini-mart on the northwest corner of 41st/Admiral. Little subsequent information was exchanged over the air, so we followed up with SPD’s media office today. They confirmed the mini-mart was burglarized: “Officers found a broken front glass door at the business and an employee outside. No one was found inside. It appears (the burglar) used a rock to break in and steal items.” The description provided by SPD is “short white man in his 30s to 40s with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a dark jacket, gray hoodie, dark pants, and black shoes.” If you have any information, the incident number to reference is 24-070026.

(July 2023 framegrab from SDOT traffic camera)

Last July, we reported on a deadly shooting with two scenes, miles apart – it happened near Delridge Library but the victim, 26-year-old Rayshawn Parker, was found in a crashed car at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge’s 4th Avenue exit. Today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced that two suspects are charged with murdering Mr. Parker — 17-year-old Tacoma resident Lederian N. Thomas and 22-year-old West Seattle resident Derrion M. Lewis, who is already in jail, charged in two other murders that happened in South King County days after this one. The charging documents also appear to solve a non-injury shooting in West Seattle earlier in the day.

The charging papers total 16 pages. Here’s the distillation: Investigators believe the Delridge murder was the result of an “orchestrate(d) … gunfight with rival gang members” at the gas station south of the library, which left behind “over fifty shell casings from three different caliber handguns” while the victim, mortally wounded, sped away in his SUV, crashed at the offramp, and collapsed to the ground. The next morning, a shot-up Chrysler was discovered in Tukwila and impounded; fingerprints found in it traced to Lewis and the vehicle’s owner, a Westwood resident with whom he was believed to be in a relationship at the time. Investigators also say that a week earlier, during a “separate investigation,” Lewis was seen driving the same vehicle to a meeting with his Department of Corrections case officer at the DOC’s office near 35th/Morgan. (Both he and Thomas have records).

The narrative details hours of taunting social-media videos Lewis allegedly recorded leading up to the gas-station shootout, apparently trying to goad rivals – he and Thomas are described as members of a different gang from the victim. And it links Lewis to the non-injury shooting that closed down 35th SW near Findlay hours before the Delridge murder (here’s our coverage of that gunfire incident). Evidence cited in the charges includes ballistics matches, cell-phone records, and social-media posts (primarily Instagram).

The KCPAO says both are in custody, charged with second-degree murder; online records show Lewis has been in jail since last August 1st, but since juvenile-detention records are not available online, we don’t know how long Thomas has been held – he is charged as an adult, though. Both are scheduled for arraignment March 25.

UPDATE: SPD says Thomas was arrested this past Tuesday.

Reported via email:

My 2012 gray Hyundai Accent was stolen from our parking garage last night at Bradford Court I had two steering wheel locks on it. The rear window has a 12 sticker. Police Report: 24-069376. License Plate: AIC4926.

Call 911 if you see it.

Just before 1 am, a 911 caller reported that someone broke into the AT&T store at Jefferson Square by throwing a brick through the glass. Police arrived and confirmed the break-in. The burglar was described over the air as white, male, and wearing a red coat, last seen walking away carrying bags, apparently containing stolen items. No arrest reported so far; police called in SFD to board up the door. If you have any information, the police incident number for reference is 24-069059.

Tonight, we have two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, plus SPD-released video from a triple-carjack-attempt case we covered in December.

MAILBOX BREAK-IN: Via text – this happened in a building at California and College in Admiral:

From security footage from the manager – at around 3:30 AM a man used the USPS key box to access the building door, then used USPS mailbox key to open all boxes, went through the mail, then closed it back up. He busted a separate mail box for commercial residents, then opened two adjacent doors, 1 leading up to floors and the other into a hallway leading to the back door into the alley where he left.

When the manager filed a report with the USPS he was told that one of their trucks was stolen with the keys in it. He also tried to open the large blue USPS box in front of La Premiere Apts but was not successful … I ran into the mailman & he opened the box to see if the entrance door key was there & apparently he put it back so he could come back. So this guy is very intentional he has the USPS master key, uses it to go in and out of the buildings, takes the mail he wants, puts the key back to come back for more crimes.

The SPD report # is 24-904172.

CAR WINDOWS SMASHED: The photo and report are from Jeffrey in The Junction:

At 4532 42nd Ave SW, my car window got smashed inside the parking garage. And, I noticed outside the apartment complex on 42nd Ave SW, there was another vehicle that was street parked with a smashed window. According to building staff, they’ve been hearing the whole block has been experiencing smash and grab.

SPD RELEASES VIDEO FROM DECEMBER ARRESTS: Today, SPD released an edited video compilation from a case we covered extensively when it happened almost three months ago – three West Seattle carjacking attempts in one night a week before Christmas, followed by a pursuit that ended with police arresting teenage suspects near Boeing Field. First, here’s the new video:

Here’s our original report as it all unfolded the night it happened, and here’s our followup after the suspects were charged three days later (as shown in that story, the charging documents in December even had framegrabs from the video made public today). So what’s happened since then? The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says the 16-year-old and one of the 14-year-olds are on electronic home monitoring, while the other 14-year-old remains in detention.

Morgan is hoping somebody on the bridge saw this happen:

I was hit and run today on the West Seattle (Bridge) as I was heading westbound into West Seattle at approximately 12:16 pm. This happened just before the 1st Ave exit in the right-hand lane. I was driving a white 2018 Audi SQ5 and the car that hit me was a black Acura 4-door with dark tinted windows; it looked like a mid-2010 TSX/TL. It hit me 3 times and took off at over 100 mph. They took the Admiral Way exit and then I lost them. They will have right front damage, mostly white paint from my Audi. My entire left side from bumper to front end was damaged. Unfortunately, it happened so fast I couldn’t get a license plate, but there were so many people that witnessed it I was hoping someone saw or recorded it and can provide information to the police. The SPD case # is 24-068499. They never had any intention of stopping, and although I and my dog are sore, it could have been much worse, so I am grateful we are unharmed.

From weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) summaries made public late this afternoon, two incidents we hadn’t previously heard about:

(WSB photo, added Tuesday morning)

JUNCTION CRASH-AND-GRAB: West Seattle Smoke Shop in The Junction (4750 California SW) was hit by crash-and-grab burglars around 4:30 am Saturday. According to archived audio, three vehicles were seen nearby, including a dark minivan, with five to 10 people milling about them, and police got word of the crash-and-grab while on the way to check out that report. The summary says that “suspects backed an unknown-model Hyundai over the cement bollards installed in front of (the business) and plowed into the already boarded-up smoke shop. The suspects entered the store, taking various vape products, and caused damage to the building.”

MORGAN JUNCTION GUNFIRE: This happened just after 4 am Friday: “Officers responded to the 6500 block California Ave SW to a report of a shot fired following an argument in the street. Officers arrived and located a single shell casing in a business driveway. Caller reported that possible suspect left in a vehicle NB after firing the round.”

And a little more information on a break-in we covered Sunday:

48TH/CHARLESTOWN BREAK-IN FOLLOWUP: We reported initially that the man arrested in this incident was taken to Harborview. He subsequently was booked into King County Jail, we confirmed today, and is still there. According to the SPD summary of the incident, he “broke a large window at the front of the home and crawled through the broken glass” to get in, where a man and woman living there confronted him; while the three fought/struggled, one of the residents hit him, and that’s how they got him “pinned down” before police arrived.

We don’t know if these two burglaries late last night and early this morning less than a mile apart are related; the second one resulted in an arrest. Here’s what we know so far:

BURGLARY THIS MORNING: This happened before 7 am near 48th/Charlestown, and we heard about it via a texted tip when a sizable police and medical response resulted.

At the scene, police told us it was an attempted burglary, and that the medical response was intensified when the suspect, believed to be under the influence of drugs, became combative. Listening to recorded dispatch/officer exchanges, 911 got a call for help, and police arrived to find a resident had “pinned down” the suspected burglar, who was quickly taken into custody. The initial medical dispatch was described as being for minor injuries in the scuffle; then it was beefed up with more units about 15 minutes later when the suspect, described as a man about 30 years old, exhibited “acute behavior disturbance.” We were told at the scene that he would be taken to the hospital.

BURGLARY LAST NIGHT: Dennis sent this report early today:

I’m sad to report that our home was broken into (Saturday night) between the hours of 9-11 pm. We were out but our two dogs were home. Whoever did this did not hurt our dogs, but they did enough to frighten them. We live in the neighborhood between Frater and 56th, to the west of Schmitz Park. They entered our home on the side of the house without cameras, so they must have known or seen the location of our cameras and bypassed them. Unfortunately, they stole personal belongings, rifled through our drawers and belongings, stole work laptops, and just created chaos in our home. Police were called and a report was filed.

ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: Report # is 24-66348. We also asked Dennis about items to watch for:

We’ll be following up tomorrow to see if the two might be related, given the time frame and relative proximity.

Reader reports about stolen vehicles:

PLYMOUTH MINIVAN: The photos and report were sent by William:

Stolen over Friday night or early Saturday is a white 1992 Plymouth Grand Voyage mini-van from in front of our house near Admiral and 62nd Ave SW. We were moving someone into a senior home, so it was unfortunately loaded with items. I know this will likely be emptied of contents and then abandoned – sad enough. Sadder yet though is that this was one of dad’s prize possessions, and it is stolen on the weekend we are moving him. If nothing else, we certainly want to have his Retired Army license plates back !

If seen, please call 911. Plates: AR 07246 Police report #24-66045

HYUNDAI SUV: This report is from Christina – it’s near the scene of this morning’s 3:30 am hit-run crash, so we have a followup question seeking more details about her neighbor’s car and whether it might be related to that, but while we await a reply, here’s her report:

My car was stolen early this morning or last night at the Strata Apartments on California Ave near Fauntleroy. My neighbor’s Hyundai was also stolen and she found out it was totaled when the drivers crashed into a business off of Fauntleroy. A witness said they saw the drivers jump into a black SUV after, which we believe could have been my car. I would appreciate if you could have people on the lookout for my car, which is a black Hyundai Tucson with tinted black windows and a California license plate (#7ZEB142).

Two hit-run crashes early this morning:

CALIFORNIA/GRAHAM: Thanks to Steve for the aftermath photo:

According to emergency-radio archives, that car was damaged by the driver of another car that hit a tree south of California/Graham around 3:30 am. Initially SFD sent a “rescue extrication” dispatch but it was quickly cancelled when responders learned the other car was empty and its driver had fled the scene. That car (not shown as it apparently was towed away after the crash) was described as a suspected stolen vehicle, with Georgia plates and trashed ignition. According to radio exchanges, the driver who caused the crash might have been racing someone.

17TH/ROXBURY: The report and photo were texted this afternoon:

On 3/9/2024 @ 12:35 am I was driving westbound on SW Roxbury when I had a green light through 17th Avenue SW. As I entered the intersection a white ~ 2000 – 2004 Dodge Ram 4×4 pickup truck ran the red light and entered the intersection. He hit the right/front of my car. My speed into the intersection was 25mph and he looked to be going about 30 mph. The impact pushed me into the oncoming east-bound lane. The driver fled the scene immediately and left west-bound to the next cross-street and made a left heading south. I followed him about 1 block but he was traveling at a very high rate of speed. My vehicle is VERY badly damaged and I was less than 1 mile from home, so I drove there and called 911. I reported the collision to both Seattle Police dispatch and King County dispatch operators. I was told that witnesses on-scene also reported the collision to 911. My significant other drove me back to the hit-and-run scene and I retrieved a broken metal side step in the street from the truck that hit me. There were no police, fire units, or witnesses at the scene. The photo is the broken metal side step from the white Dodge Ram. It looked to be a “king cab” model and looked like it had a black roll bar. It will have driver’s side door/body damage with a broken-off step. There should be an identical step on the passenger side. The truck’s damage will include red paint. If anyone sees this vehicle or knows the owner, please call 911.

10:36 PM: Multiple people have texted us about hearing apparent gunfire in the Westwood area. Police have been searching for evidence and finally just found it – shell casings near the 8400 block of 25th SW, not far from Southwest Teen Life Center and the Chief Sealth IHS/Denny IMS campus. No report of any injuries so far. Some 911 callers reported seeing a light-colored vehicle possibly associated with this, according to dispatch and officers.

11:13 PM: In cases like this – gunfire but no injuries reported – officers often investigate the scene and simply notify the Gun Violence Reduction Unit. In this case, though, according to radio communication, GVRU detectives were going to go to the scene, perhaps because it’s within blocks of high-profile gun-violence cases such as the January death of 15-year-old Mobarak Adam at SWTLC. Still no injuries reported from tonight’s gunfire.

11:21 PM: One parked vehicle has bullet damage, an officer just told dispatch. … The location has been updated to 25th/Cloverdale.

(Images from charging documents, Mixayboua at West Seattle Target with stolen card)

The man who stole two USPS mail trucks in West Seattle – and others elsewhere in the city – was sentenced in federal court today. 27-year-old Johny Mixayboua got a 3 1/2-year sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones. That’s what federal prosecutors had recommended for Mixayboua’s convictions on charges of theft of government property, mail theft, illegal transactions on access devices, and illegally possessing a firearm. The West Seattle mail-truck thefts both happened on January 17, 2023 – one on Beach Drive SW, the other on 57th SW. Three weeks earlier, he had stolen a USPS vehicle in South Seattle and with it, a key used to access cluster mailboxes; at one point the USPS entirely shut down residential service in the 98118 for a week during the investigation. Investigators used home security video and store-security video to link Mixayboua to mail thefts and attempts to use stolen credit cards (including images from Target in Westwood Village). He was eventually found near where he was living in a vehicle near a relative’s home, and officers also found a “ghost gun,” which compounded matters as Mixayboua was already a convicted felon and not allowed to have firearms. He pleaded guilty last December to the charges on which he was sentenced today, seven months after his May arrest.