We’re at the King County Courthouse, where the hearing we came for lasted barely a minute. The defendant: 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg, the West Seattle man arrested in late January and charged with indecent liberties for allegedly attacking three women in Lincoln Park over the past seven months. This was to be a “case-setting” hearing; Starkenburg’s lawyer asked for a continuance (postponement), as they continue to receive and review various records in the case, he told the judge; the prosecutor did not object. So Judge Ronald Kessler agreed to the defense’s request to set Starkenburg’s next appearance for May 3rd. Starkenburg did not speak; we won’t have a new photograph from today, but he looked about the same as he did at his last hearing (see photo in this February story), close-shaven head, wearing a dark suit. He remains free on $175,000 bond, and remains under orders to stay out of all parks in King County.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes to share this afternoon. First, keep an eye out for the car shown above, which belongs to Alex, and was stolen in the Fairmount Park area:

Last night 3/25, an ’87 burgundy Toyota Supra was stolen at 38th and Graham in West Seattle. It seems to have been stolen from between 7 pm and 8 am this morning 3/26. The car has a number of specific details; it is missing the washer squirters in the hood, has a Casual Industries (black and white circular sticker) on the drivers side of the windshield, lowered with chrome wheels and a large (loud) exhaust. If anyone sees this car, please call Seattle PD and reference police report # 2011-97683.

Second: Tom reports his house was broken into just east/uphill from Solstice Park:

At 10:30 (Friday) morning my home was burglarized. Persons kicked in the rear door, smashing through two locks, and stole electronic items. It was broad, brash, and swift. Appropriate police personnel were informed immediately.

Last but not least, SusieQ shares the story of a flower theft – after the jump:Read More

Again today, we have a new auto-theft report, and a followup from a stolen car’s owner:

First: That’s Josh‘s pickup, and he is hoping you have seen it:

It was stolen from my house in Highland Park Monday night (3-21). Sometime between 7 pm and 8:30 pm someone stole the truck from in front of my house and I am hoping they drove a short distance and possibly ditched the truck in West Seattle. The canopy and lumber rack are custom made and very easy to spot, I am hoping someone in West Seattle might recognize the truck. … 1988 Toyota 2WD extended cab truck – black. The canopy and lumber rack are custom built of bright silver aluminum. The front driver side fender has a little body damage and back window of the canopy has a NPR sticker. The plate number is B08669S.

And one day after we published a stolen-car report from James, he says his Honda was found near 28th and Roxbury – a couple miles from 35th/Holly, where it was stolen – the roof rack and stereo are gone, he says, but “they left all the audio books, and the hats and the tire chains. They left the pound of organic apples and the 10 Clif bars i had. Which goes to show, these criminals left the nutritious food, and the educational books behind, just to sell a few items that may make them money. Which I can only speculate will not feed them, nor will it help them in their future.”

(11:32 AM UPDATE: We have added the KCPAO’s news release, including information on charges against the youngest suspect, to the end of this story. In it, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg makes the same points that Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes made in a story published on WSB yesterday – he says regulation is vital, and without it, the current unregulated proliferation “invites violence”)

ORIGINAL 10:01 AM STORY: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges in the Saturday night armed robbery at West Seattle medical-marijuana dispensary G.A.M.E. Collective. We are expecting additional information from KCPAO this morning but so far, court documents obtained online indicate the adult suspect, 24-year-old Donshae Dwayne Sims of Northgate (state Department of Corrections photo at right), is charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and first-degree unlawful firearm possession (he’s a convicted felon, from an earlier assault case). The older juvenile suspect, 16-year-old Malik Heckard of Des Moines, is charged as an adult – which is why we are publishing his name, though otherwise we generally will not use juvenile suspects’ names – with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and second-degree unlawful firearm possession. Information on the other juvenile suspect’s status is not available through the online court-records system, so we are waiting to hear from prosecutors.

Accompanying the charging documents is more information on how investigators say the heist unfolded (beyond what was contained in probable-cause documents made public on Monday and transcribed in our followup):

Read More

First, the stolen-car report: James says his car was parked at 35th/Holly last night between 10:30 and midnight, when somebody stole it. It’s a 4-cylinder, 4-door white 1997 Honda Accord with a Thule roof rack, “and it’s been lowered,” he adds. He drives it to deliver pizza; it was locked and has an alarm, he says, but somebody made off with it anyway. Call police if you see it.

Now, the found car – you might recall Devin‘s report about two weeks ago – now, it’s been found:

With the help of the Seattle and Tacoma Police, our stolen Acura was found and recovered in Tacoma. There was some minor damage to the steering column (from hotwiring) and the radio and vehicle contents were removed. We were able to get it repaired and the car is back in West Seattle.

Crime-prevention note: We’re just back from a big-turnout West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network meeting at the precinct, featuring a presentation on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design – things to do in and around your home to make it more crime-resistant. We’ll have the story up in the 10 pm hour.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has announced that the so-called “polite robber,” caught on videotape apologizing while holding up a Roxbury gas station (just outside city limits) in early February, has pleaded guilty. 65-year-old Gregory Paul Hess pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and will be sentenced April 1st. The PAO says the sentencing range would be 51 to 68 months in prison. As we reported previously, Hess gained some fame eight years ago for a series of robberies attributed to the “Transaction Bandit.” After the local heist this past February, police say, Hess confessed; they also say that he reported putting $90 in the bank, from the $200 he stole.

(WSB photo: Police after the robbery, about a block north of the dispensary)
Two days after an armed robbery at a medical-marijuana dispensary in the 5400 block of California SW (original Saturday night WSB coverage here), the three suspects made initial court appearances this afternoon. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says the adult suspect, 24, has bail set at $500,000; the 15- and 16-year-old boys who also were arrested have been ordered to “remain in secure detention.” The KCPAO has until Wednesday to file charges or set the suspects free. We’ll add to this story shortly with details from the court documents accompanying word of today’s hearing.

ADDED 5:31 PM UPDATE: We’re transcribing the court document (minus any suspect/witness names), after the jump:Read More

(SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Police have just posted their account – we’ve added it)

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
7:49 PM: We finally have a bit of information about the big police response that’s drawn tips and questions the past hour and a half. The first tipster thought they were seeing something “undercover” around California/Juneau, so we headed out and saw police at two scenes, the tense “guns-drawn” situation in the photo above (which we photographed with a zoom lens), just north of California-Brandon, where someone was ordered out of a car and then cuffed:

Further south, there were multiple cars outside the building that is home to a medical-marijuana dispensary, and while you can’t see it from this angle, police were inside – the door is set back from the street (the building is not in our angle either, it’s immediately south) – talking with people:

Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams tells WSB that since officers are still out, full details aren’t available yet but it is reported to have been a robbery or attempted robbery; three people are in custody (according to later scanner traffic, two are juveniles, one is an adult), and up to two more suspects may still be at large. Lt. Williams says robbery and CSI detectives are responding to investigate now. There is no indication anyone is hurt, and no information yet about whether anything was taken.

10:28 PM UPDATE: More information from Lt. Williams, now confirming it was a robbery: “The suspects’ did take some property of the dispensary and personal property of at least one person inside. At least some of the property taken was recovered by officers. The detectives are continuing their investigation.” (We just drove past the scene, on our way back from two other stories, and saw two police cars still parked outside the building on California.)

SUNDAY MORNING, 9:17 AM: SPD Blotter has just posted a summary of what they say happened:

On March 19th, shortly after 6:00 PM, three suspects entered a licensed medical marijuana dispensary located in the 5400 Block of California Avenue SW. Also inside the business were three employees and two customers. The three suspects were asked by employees to leave, as they were not there to purchase anything. At that point, the suspects pulled out handguns and proceeded to restrain everyone in the store and rob them. The suspects then fled the store on foot. The employees of the business were able to free themselves and gave chase. They managed to catch two of the suspects a few blocks away. In his haste to get away, one of the suspects dropped his handgun and some stolen items in the alley. Responding officers arrested the two suspects and then located and arrested the third suspect a short distance away. In all, two handguns, the victim’s wallets and money and stolen marijuana were all recovered. Robbery and CSI detectives responded to the location to process the scene. All of the suspects were interviewed by detectives. The 24 year old male was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery. The other suspects, ages 16 and 17, were booked into the Youth Services Center for Investigation of Robbery. Robbery detectives will have the responsibility for the continuing investigation.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon. First – recognize that bicycle? Seattle Police have it and think it might have been stolen, so if you recognize it, Detective Brian Ballew wants to hear from you – 206-233-7836.

Second, another afternoon burglary, close to the location of one reported here last week – details after the jump:Read More

Julia wanted to get the word out about the burglary at her house on Thursday – including praise for the responding police officer – read on:Read More

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Peter:

Just a heads-up, our house was burglarized sometime between 12:30-3 this afternoon. We live on 38th between Oregon and Genesee [map]. They went through all of the drawers in the bedroom/bathroom and they took two TVs, Nintendo DSI, and jewelry. They kicked in the backdoor and we think they went out through the front door (it was unlocked when my wife came home). Leaving out the front seems pretty risky on their part, since we live on a fairly busy street.

Checking the city map for 911 calls in the past day and a half (there’s a significant lag, so, for example, Peter’s break-in isn’t on the map yet), other West Seattle residential burglaries reported in that time period include two last night – one in the 4700 block of 36th SW and one in the 9200 block of 8th SW.

ADDED 9:18 PM: Also got word of a Junction-area burglary this afternoon, from Steve:

It looks like someone was busy this afternoon. Our house located on 48th Ave and Edmunds was also burglarized. Like Peter’s house they kicked in the back door and went through all the drawers in our bedroom and bathroom. As far as we can tell they only took a laptop computer.

From WSB contributor Katie Meyer at the King County Courthouse: Arraignment has just concluded for 19-year-old Angelo Felice, charged with first-degree murder for last month’s fatal stabbing of the Fauntleroy-residing entertainer best known as Hokum W. Jeebs. Felice pleaded not guilty; his bail remains at $1 million, and his next hearing is set for (updated) April 6th at 1 pm. He was arrested at 16th/Holden after police started searching for a man seen climbing out of a ravine near the murder scene hours afterward (as reported by a commenter here). More details, and a photo (the judge denied the defense’s request to stop the media from photographing Felice’s face) to come. ADDED 11:58 AM: Photo of the suspect in court today, photographed for WSB by Jill Schmieder of Altena Photography. Here’s her image of the entire scene at the bench, including Judge Theresa Doyle:

Near Lowman Beach Park early today, R noticed and reported a trio of suspected car prowlers – read on for details:Read More

Quick West Seattle Crime Watch note tonight: Mark sent word that his home at 18th/Brandon (map) was broken into just after 3 pm today. He says, “Fortunately we had an alarm which scared the burglars off but they still made off with my laptop.”

(Checking the city’s police-call map and police-report map – both of which lag several hours and don’t reflect all reports – the only other West Seattle residential burglary we see reported since yesterday morning, so far, is a break-in reported Friday evening in the 4800 block of Delridge.)

Two days ago, we updated the saga of accused catalytic-converter thief Joel Lund, described by police as an “active” suspect. The latest update: Just about 24 hours ago, Lund got out of jail. (Thanks to the WSB’er who found this on the King County Jail Register before we did.) Here’s what our research has turned up: After he pleaded not guilty yesterday to the one charge currently against him, malicious mischief, the judge agreed to let him out of jail provided he participates in the Community Center for Alternative Programs, which requires weekday check-ins and classes at a facility downtown. The conditions also included drug/alcohol/mental-health treatment, according to court documents. King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe tells WSB that prosecutors opposed letting Lund out at all. His bail had been set at $20,000; he was arrested February 15th for the second time in three days, and he had remained behind bars since then, until yesterday’s decision by Judge Theresa Doyle. Potential burglary and theft charges listed on the jail register remain under investigation, with nothing formal filed yet, according to Donohue. Lund is due back in court for trial-date-setting on March 17th.

P.S. We mentioned in our report the other day that we had been working on a longer story. Since the case keeps moving faster than we do, we’re just going to add the background from that story – on the current case and previous ones – here, after the jump:Read More