West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
(November 2020 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
The longest-running criminal case we’ve been watching is ending with a plea bargain after more than 2 1/2 years. Three days after a man was shot while driving in an Alki alley, a nearby resident, 38-year-old Garrett Heinemann, was charged with first-degree assault and first-degree burglary. Heinemann was arrested shortly after the shooting and has been in jail ever since. This happened in the middle of the day, 12:35 pm on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 29, 2020. The case was a head-scratcher; the victim told police that while he had recently moved to the area, he had never met Heinemann, who was reported to have stepped out into the alley in front of the victim’s car, told him to put his hands up, and opened fire. The victim was hit in both arms, neck, and one shoulder, according to court documents. The defendant had no criminal history and had legally owned the pistol for eight years, with a concealed-weapon permit; he had discarded it into the water at Alki shortly after the shooting, before police caught up with him. We’ve read court documents off and on for the entire 2 1/2 years that this case has taken to resolution and have never seen any mention of Heinemann offering an explanation for why he shot the victim.
Court documents say Heinemann pleaded guilty Wednesday to the two original charges – the burglary count is for barging into another neighbor’s residence after the shooting and trying to pistol-whip him. In the agreement, prosecutors are dismissing the “firearms enhancement” that would have added years to the sentence. They are recommending a 9 1/2-year sentence, toward the low end of the “standard” range; the final decision will be up to King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee on September 1st.
That photo of a mostly-stripped beach bench was sent by Stephanie, who told us after an Alki walk this morning: “One of the Honey Buckets is tipped over this morning. Another regular morning walker told me he saw older kids push it over then take off in a car, laughing. Two benches are also ripped up. This is around 59th and Alki.” The other “ripped up” bench was not stripped of most of its wood, but instead left with one board on the ground and two rearranged as sides of a triangle. We checked in with Seattle Parks to ask about repair plans; spokesperson Rachel Schulkin tells WSB, “We will make those repairs in the next couple weeks (hopefully less).”
Sent by Lisa:
Stolen 2013 Nissan Altima, license plate BFK3128, champagne color, in the Gatewood area on 7/25 (today) between 4:30-5:30 pm. Police report # 23-211051. Please email lenclistads@gmail.com if you have any information.
11:29 PM: Police are blocking off the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW after discovering shell casings following 911 calls about gunfire. This is the same area in which a deadly shooting happened last night. Early descriptions of two vehicles possibly involved tonight include one – a white Charger or Chrysler 300 – that police told dispatch sounded similar to one involved last night.
11:53 PM: Officers told dispatch they’re reopening southbound Delridge. No reports of anyone injured, so far.
12:50 AM: Now police are investigating gunfire reported in the 6400 block of 31st SW, where they’ve found casings in an alley – from a handgun, they told dispatch, plus “rifle rounds.”
We asked police for followup information today on two incidents we reported last night as possibly linked – gunfire at a Delridge gas station, with blood found around a car, and a shooting victim found after a crash toward the east end of the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s what police have just released:
Around 10:45 p.m., police responded to multiple reports of a shooting in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest. Upon arrival, officers observed evidence of a shooting but did not locate any victims.
Shortly after the shooting, police responded to a collision on the West Seattle Bridge. When officers arrived, they discovered the driver had multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers attempted life-saving measures until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. The 26-year-old man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased early Monday morning.
Homicide Detectives are leading the investigation. If anyone has information, please call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
The shooting happened at the gas station recently rebranded as Shree’s, at 5445 Delridge Way SW; the crash happened at the eastbound bridge’s 4th Avenue exit.
ADDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identifies the 26-year-old victim as Rayshawn Parker, killed by “multiple gunshot wounds.”
10:52 PM: Second gunfire incident in six hours – this time, after numerous reports to 911, police have found shell casings at a gas station near Delridge/Findlay, as well as a car “with blood around it,” though no word of victims so far. There’s also a report of bullets hitting a nearby residence and car. This is still developing.
11:04 PM: Police are investigating whether the Delridge shooting is linked to a driver found with a gunshot wound after a crash at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge’s 4th Avenue exit.
11:11 PM: Back to the West Seattle scene, an officer just told dispatch they’ve recovered “about 50 casings” so far. Whether that’s all at the gas station or elsewhere, they didn’t say.
11:30 PM: After being flagged down by someone, police have found more shell casings – “at least five so far” – in the 3100 block of SW Myrtle.
11:47 PM: As shown on the traffic-camera frame grab above, part of Delridge is still blocked off near the original gunfire scene.
12:14 AM: Northbound Delridge has reopened, officers just told dispatch.
1:33 AM: Many unanswered questions in all this – we hope to be able to add followup information later this morning.
(Reader photo)
Thanks for the tips. Police are investigating gunfire around 4:30 pm on 35th SW. They reported finding casings at 35th/Findlay. Nobody is reported injured. The northbound side of 35th was closed for a while as police collected casings but we went through about 20 minutes ago and it was open again, no police left on scene. From archived dispatch audio, and a witness report, this may have involved a person on foot – described as a Black or Hispanic man in his 20s, shirtless, jeans – shooting at a vehicle before then getting into another vehicle himself. Police were sorting out the vehicle descriptions but reported that one vehicle from which shots were fired was described as “a light-colored sedan.” If you have any information, the police incident # is 23-208790.
From the inbox this morning two readers report stolen cars:
STOLEN BLUE JUKE: From Candice:
Emailing to report a car stolen from the Admiral Junction Safeway parking lot on Saturday night shortly after midnight.
The car was stolen in a 5-minute window, so it’s likely the lot is being prowled. Apparently several cars have been stolen from the lot lately!
It’s is a dark blue 2016 Nissan Juke with no distinguishing marks/stickers on it. The license plate is CES6149 – reports of any sightings would be GREAT.
UPDATE: This car has been found.
STOLEN GREEN SOUL: Stolen from David less than a block south of the city limit:
Would like to post about my car being stolen over in White Center behind the the Sea Mar clinic on SW 98th street between 14th SW and 15th SW. This was Saturday night of the 22nd occurred between 8:55 pm and 12:15 am. Green 2015 Kia Soul. Had a bumper sticker of “Ms. Kiwi” and green rhinestone license plate frames. License plate CEA9712. King County Sheriff’s Office case number C23024310.
Received tonight from Andrew:
I had someone break into my house tonight in the 5700 block of Admiral Way. This individual identified herself as Sarah Rose and was chased out by my neighbor. She went up 59th and likely hid in someone’s yard to avoid police, who were called and responded. Case number is 23-206843.
Police have said at multiple recent community meetings that auto theft is the only category of property crime on the rise in West Seattle. Today is certainly contributing to the trend – we’ve received four more reports:
GREEN FOCUS: Cadence‘s car has a distinctive feature:
Around 12:30 am my car was stolen at gunpoint by two teenagers on the intersection of California and Graham by The Bridge Bar. Last seen heading south on California AVE. It is a green 2006 Ford Focus zx3 with underglow that is purple when the car is on. The license plate is CFG4285. Any details about it would be appreciated. This car is my baby and I love it.
Cadence says police have been contacted; a gunpoint theft would generally be classified as a robbery/carjacking, but we haven’t yet found the report number on the police log. (added) Report # is 23-205971.
GRAY TUCSON: Just texted as we wrote this roundup:
My parents just had their car stolen; we live right on 35th between Brandon and Dawson, It is a gray Hyundai Tucson with a license plate number of BSL3533; it was stolen within the last few hours.
Police report # to come for this too. (Update: 23-206657)
RED YUKON: From Gail:
I would like to report our 2005 GMC Yukon was stolen sometime between 11:00 and 7:00. 36th SW below the water tower. It’s red; license plate #CHA5090. Police report # 23-206152
GOLD VUE: Hanna reports her sister’s car was taken: “This happened yesterday evening in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo on California Ave and Admiral Way. The car is a 2008 gold Saturn Vue.” It had a temporary plate as it had just been transferred from a relative. We’re waiting for the police report #. (UPDATE: This car has been found.)
What happened near 46th/Massachusetts in North Admiral around midnight sounds similar to what happened near 41st/Portland in Gatewood earlier this week. Terry sent photos and a note thanking neighbors for their heroism:
Big THANK YOU to all our neighbors in North Admiral who called 911 shortly before midnight last night and woke me and my husband to alert us about the fire on our property. There apparently was a loud explosion prior to the fire. Looking for the woman who turned on our garden hose and started to try to put out the flames before we were able to get out of the house – my husband took the hose from you but we were in such shock we were not able to properly thank you before you left. Kudos to the quick response from Seattle Fire and Police – the only damage appears to be to our landscaping.
Each of these two reader reports is about two bicycles:
STOLEN BICYCLES: Zoe says thieves in this truck stole two electric folding bikes from her garage last night between 5:45 and 6:15:
It’s a Chevrolet Silverado that she says “drove by in the alley” off 35th SW between Andover and Dakota, “then came back again and stole the bikes … two men, one with white hair, wearing a mask.” The bikes are “a Jetson bike and Lectric Lite beige.”
DUMPED-LIKELY-STOLEN BICYCLES: From Nancy:
Two adult bicycles were left at my office building around 2 am this morning (July 21, 2023) in the 5400 block of California Ave SW. A light green Electra Cruiser 7 bicycle and a green Takara bicycle.
We don’t yet have police-report #s in either of these cases, so if you have specific information on any of these bikes, let us know and we’ll connect you. (Update) A commenter says they parked the last two bikes there intentionally; we’ve notified the person who reported them.
Just sent by Debbie and Steve:
Sometime between 5:50 pm July 19th and 5:30 pm today, our pickup was stolen, parked on the street by our house (near 39th & Thistle). We are currently trying to report it to the police. It is a 2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty.
We’ll add the police report # when available. (update) It’s 23-205610.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
RESIDENTIAL ROBBERY/ASSAULT: According to a police-report summary made available today, there was a residential robbery on Wednesday. The report number with the summary cross-references to an incident reported shortly before 6 am Wednesday in a multi-unit building on the 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW: “Officers responded to a robbery that occurred at the residence. The (robber) hit the victim with the gun and then took items from the bedroom to include jewelry and the passport of the victim. The (robber) then fled in a vehicle from the scene.” No description of the robber or vehicle was included; we’re trying to find out more. (added) So far, archived audio from the incident includes a partial description of the robber/attacker and vehicle as a Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a white T-shirt and “basketball shorts,” leaving in a blue Mustang. (Added) SFD says its medics treated a 63-year-old man for injuries from the assault; he declined to be taken to the hospital.
STOLEN GOLD ACCORD: The photo and report are from Elana:
Last night between 10 pm-6 am on the 8600 block of 31st between Trenton and Cloverdale, our vehicle (1991 gold Honda Accord, license plate CGH4946) was stolen out of our driveway and on the way out they backed into our other vehicle, which was parked on the other side of the street. The police report number is 23-204950.
8/11 UPDATE: Found.
As reported here, that reader-provided photo shows the scene Monday morning at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex as what was left of a burned, presumably stolen Kia Soul was towed away. The fire was reported around 4 am; nearby residents say the lot has been a chronic trouble spot for stunt driving and worse. It’s a Seattle Public Schools facility, so we asked the district whether the gate to that part of the lot was supposed to be locked. Short answer, yes, per a district spokesperson, whose full reply to our inquiry was:
Locking the Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex gates is part of the nightly routine of the nighttime attendant at the complex. Seattle Public Schools facilities and grounds team reviews the safety and security procedures with the staff on a regular basis. The grounds team responds in a timely manner when gate locks are not functional to repair or replace the hardware.
The community can use our Safe Schools Hotline 206-252-0510 to report threats or dangerous activity on any SPS property. This phone number is managed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
After getting that response Tuesday afternoon, we went by NCSWAC at 1:30 am today to see if the gate was secured; it was.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The 24-year-old woman rescued from her submerged car after a speeding driver hit her on Alki Avenue on Sunday is improving.
Harborview Medical Center tells WSB that Madison Kelly is now in serious condition, an upgrade from critical, which is how she was assessed after bystanders pulled her from the water and performed CPR even before SPD and SFD arrived at the scene. Crowdfunding continues to help her and her family with expenses.
We don’t know the status of the 23-year-old man reported to be driving at high speed before hitting her car so hard it was pushed over an embankment and into Puget Sound; police say they placed him under arrest at the crash scene but did not book him into jail as he was also taken to Harborview, with non-life-threatening injuries.
Nearby residents have long lobbied the city for more action against racing and other street disorder on Alki and Harbor Avenues. SDOT installed some speed humps/cushions and raised dividers last fall, but a long stretch of Alki Avenue – including the 1300 block, where the collision happened – remains without them. After Sunday’s crash, resident Steve Pumphrey, a leader of the neighborhood group that’s been pushing for changes, emailed city leaders a letter reading in part:
… The accident that may yet result in a fatality was reported as caused by high speed (a witness reports in excess of 90 mph) and reckless driving by the person behind the steering wheel of a so-called “racer.” It sadly becomes the capstone in an argument we have been making for years to have the city install speed humps along Harbor Avenue where they do not exist, along Alki Avenue to the beach business district, and around SW 63rd to Beach Drive. This stretch from the West Seattle Bridge to the beach and beyond is, and has been for years, a popular raceway known throughout the county, and if nothing is done, more incidents like (Sunday’s), and worse, will continue to occur. I should add that the problem becomes even worse during the dark hours.
The situation along Harbor and Alki Avenues has not improved except for a small part of the stretch where speed humps were installed earlier this year from the water taxi dock to Anchor Park. This is an urgent need, and something must be done before more innocent people — residents and visitors alike — are injured or worse yet killed!
Pumphrey also urged City Councilmembers to approve the speed-camera proposal currently before them.
We sent inquiries to both SDOT and Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office on Monday morning to ask about the status of more traffic calming in the area. Councilmember Herbold and her office told us today that they contacted SDOT in both May and June to advocate for the neighbors, and shared a previous email chain with SDOT’s Bill LaBorde in which he told them last month in part:
… Regarding the traffic safety requests, we’ve been prioritizing all traffic safety requests against serious and fatal crash data overlaid with a racial and social equity screen and, by these criteria, the Harbor-Alki corridor doesn’t rank as high as requests we receive from other parts of the city with more urgent needs safety needs, more so given the speed humps and other traffic calming we’ve already added to the corridor over the last several months (the corridor ranks in the lowest 20th percentile of arterials in the attached 2022 High Injury Network map, which was compiled before the new speed humps were added). …
That’s from LaBorde’s email response dated June 9th. SDOT’s response to us, via spokesperson Mariam Ali, arrived less than an hour ago:
We are aware of the reckless and illegal driving occurring in these areas and are looking into identifying safety improvements to help address residents’ concerns. We continue to monitor the traffic data in the area as one of the steps to help us determine if any additional short or long-term safety improvements can be made.
As you know, we built safety improvements in this area to address community concerns to the reckless and illegal driving incidents. This includes:
-Building safety enhancements along Harbor Ave SW and Alki Ave SW between the West Seattle Water Taxi and Luna Park.
-Installing about a half dozen sets of speed humps, as well as a raised center divider to prevent people from illegally driving in the wrong direction to pass other cars.
-Working with Seattle Parks Department to consider whether to put speed humps within the Don Armeni Boat Ramp parking lot.
-Building speed humps and crossing improvements further west on Alki Ave SW between 63rd Ave SW and 57th Ave SW.In addition, we’ve collected feedback on the early designs for the Alki Point Healthy Street project and working on a proposed design concept. We plan to share this proposed design concept with the community soon.
We also asked SDOT about the current price tag for a speed hump/cushion; roughly $10,000, Ali said.
We will continue to follow up on multiple facets of this, from the safety concerns to the people involved in this specific collision.
The report and photo are from Lisa:
My bicycle was stolen between noon and 1 pm today on the east side of California Ave SW at SW Hinds Street. It is a dark gray Trek hybrid bicycle with disc brakes and mountain bike handlebars. It has a rear rack.
Lisa doesn’t have the permanent police-report number yet, but the tracking number is T23015545.
Two more Kia Souls top this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup:
STOLEN SOUL: Trent just moved here and his red Soul was stolen last night in High Point, near 35th/Juneau.
Plate is (corrected) RWK2780. SPD incident # is 23-201757.
BURNED-LIKELY-STOLEN SOUL: Thanks for the tips and photos this morning. SFD and SPD responded to the Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot around 4:15 am today after reports of a Soul engulfed in flames. A few hours later, what was left of it was towed (not likely Trent’s car, as this one is white):
According to archived emergency-radio exchanges, no one was there when officers and firefighters arrived. SFD didn’t send its investigator and we have yet to find an incident number for the police response, so there’s no additional information so far.
GATEWOOD EXPLOSIVE FIRES: One reader asked about an explosion and SFD response last night near 41st/Portland in Gatewood. This reader report we just received answers the question:
Around 11 pm Sunday (yesterday) night, a car driving south on 41st (from Holden towards Portland) stopped at the intersection of 41st and Portland and tossed a(n) firework/explosive out of their car. It produced a very loud bang and an impressive flash. I was in the back part of my house and saw the flash with the blinds and curtains closed.
The explosion was large enough to start fires on lawns on both the north and south side of Portland. There were several fires on my lawn and one across the street.. My neighbors and I were able to get them all out before SFD arrived.
A neighbor with a doorbell device recorded the car drive by their house, stop at the intersection of 41st and Portland and shows the car drive by and the actual blast. You can see sparks for a few seconds before the big blast.
We didn’t find any debris, so not sure exactly what it was.
ADDED: Here’s security video on which you can see/hear the explosion:
WEEKEND GUNFIRE: Police summaries from the weekend include a brief mention of one confirmed gunfire incident in West Seattle – police found “evidence of a shooting” (which usually means shell casings; no victims reported) in the 5600 block of 26th SW after 911 calls around 9:40 pm Saturday night. If you have any information, 23-200285 is the report #.
A tragic anniversary is hours away. Robb Mason was killed by a hit-run driver as he bicycled home from his job in West Seattle on July 15, 2022. His wife Claudia Mason wants to mark the occasion with this message centered on gratitude:
Tomorrow marks one year since my husband, Robb Mason, was brutally killed by a hit-and-run driver while commuting by bicycle from West Seattle. I’ve spent this past year learning how to live without my best friend, a devoted companion and the love of my life. While the year has flown by, each day has felt like an eternity. Making the transition from wife to widow has been excruciating and my life has been put on a course that I didn’t ask for and that I would have never chosen.
The support of my family and friends has been indispensable in helping me bear this burden, but what I had not anticipated was the crucial role that so many others would play in processing Robb’s unnatural and very public death. I have met too many people to count and while some have jobs that may, at times, expose them to the worst of humanity (which was done to my husband), every one of them, through their competence, compassion, patience, and understanding revealed to me the best of humanity.
Although I cannot list them all, I offer here a small selection as well as my heartfelt thanks.
There were those who took great care of Robb’s body, including Rescue One, the Seattle Fire Department. and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. A special place in my heart is reserved for the wonderful people at Return Home who, for the funeral, presented Robb with dignity in spite of his terrible injuries so that I could see him one final time to say goodbye.
There were those who worked and continue to work at getting some justice for him and for me: the Seattle Police Department, the King County Prosecutor, and my civil attorneys at Washington Bike Law.
There were those who honored him in their quest to make our streets safer; Seattle Critical Mass, Washington Bikes, and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways with support from the offices of the Mayor and the SDOT director.
There were those in institutions, organizations, and government agencies who helped with the seemingly endless transactions that are required when a person dies. To my sad surprise I learned that our state provides benefits to families of homicide victims and the empathetic employees at the Labor & Industries Crime Victims Compensation Program helped connect me to them.
Finally, there were countless people who offered small yet important acts of kindness to show that Robb’s life mattered. Along with all the cards, flowers and GoFundMe donations, a lovely condolence wind chime arrived at my home sent by Regence BlueShield when they learned that one of their own massage therapy providers had been killed.
My life continues to be transformed through all the people I have met and new bonds have been established amongst my family, friends and acquaintances which have made our community stronger than it was before. Out of tragedy has come unity, love and hope.
We can never predict when tragedy will strike us but we may take comfort in knowing that our community is ready and willing to lend support when it does. I wish that I hadn’t had to learn this firsthand but it nonetheless fills me with gratitude.
Claudia V. Mason – Magnolia resident and a victim of traffic violence
(At present, the person charged with the death of my husband remains on home electronic detention.)
In West Seattle Crime Watch, two reader reports about Hyundais:
STOLEN: Reported by Kara, stolen from a friend in Highland Park last night or early today:
Blue Hyundai Elantra SEL, 2018
LIC Plate BYP 0384
Has a yellow “Please be patient…student driver” on left bumper.
Case #: 23-198949
DUMPED-LIKELY-STOLEN: We hope this isn’t the same car. Reported earlier today by Megan, who hasn’t heard whether this was ultimately resolved:
I came across a dumped Hyundai in the same spot one was found earlier this week. It’s partially pushed over the edge of a ravine at the Riverview Playfields. Down by the little league fields.
I’ve attached some pictures in case anyone recognizes it. I also tried calling SPD non emergency number but I couldn’t get through to anyone.
Reported by Shelley:
My husband’s silver 2015 Hyundai Sonata, license # AUX7982, was stolen outside of Arbor Heights tennis courts between 4 and 5:45 today. Someone had tried to steal it a few months ago, and Hyundai supposedly fixed the easy-to-steal problem, but obviously that didn’t work.
2:13 PM: Thanks for all the tips about Guardian One circling over south Highland Park and a police response on the ground. We’re working to find out what led to this and will update shortly.
2:18 PM: KCSO seems to be the lead agency and a deputy tells us on the ground that they’re looking for robbery suspects. Four, according to dispatch. We don’t yet know where the robbery was.
2:34 PM: A commenter says the robbery was at 16th/107th in White Center; we’re going that way to check. Meantime, the ground search is focused near 12th/Barton (added photo above).
2:58 PM: The mini-mart on that corner told us it wasn’t them. (And the commenter now says that was a mistaken reference to a robbery earlier this year.) We have an inquiry out to KCSO’s media team.
3:19 PM: Finally found the incident in archived KCSO dispatch audio. The robbery was at the Top to Bottom clothing store in White Center, 9651 15th SW. The robber(s) were armed and got away with ~$500 worth of clothing. Still listening for more details.
3:43 PM: A tip led officers to detain at least one suspect at/near 15th/Roxbury. Seattle Police are involved again because in this case it started with a reported sighting on SW Cambridge.
3:55 PM: KCSO has provided a bit more information – the armed robbery was reported around 1:30 pm, with four people “reported to have entered the business at that location, displayed guns and stole about $500.00 worth of merchandise … 2 persons were detained close to the area in connection with the robbery, but it is not 100% sure if they were involved at this time. No injuries were reported and no firearms recovered as of yet. Some clothing items that have belonged to the suspects were recovered in the surrounding neighborhood. These were confiscated as evidence.”
4 PM: KCSO update on the previous two detainees: “The two detained were released as there was no evidence, or witnesses that could say they were 100% involved.”
Quick alert sent by B less than an hour ago, of note since “Prime Day” has likely led to more deliveries: “Just witnessed a package theft from my neighbor’s porch on 11th SW and Holden. Black male passenger jumped out of an I30 Infiniti and right back into the car with a package, then they sped off down Holden toward 16th.” B says the car resembled this stock photo.
| 36 COMMENTS