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.

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

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.

Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight: Two reports of multiple burglaries in individual neighborhoods, and one report of vandalism along a block of businesses in Morgan Junction – read on:Read More

(Ron and Meg Bushaw, Steve’s parents)
Story and photos by Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“I want you to know, you have put a hole in our hearts that will always be there,” murder victim Steve Bushaw‘s mother told one of her son’s killers in court this afternoon.

Meg Bushaw was speaking directly to Danny O’Neal, one of two men who fired their guns at her son outside Talarico’s in The Junction on Super Bowl Sunday night in 2009.

She was one of more than a dozen members of Steve Bushaw’s family who were in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, for what was supposed to be the sentencing of both “triggermen” who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder – O’Neal and John Sylve. This comes one month after a jury found the killing’s so-called mastermind, Bryce Huber, guilty of first-degree murder; he has already been sentenced to almost 32 years in prison.

The two triggermen were to be sentenced separately, explained as being necessary because there weren’t enough court deputies to bring them into, and guard them in, the courtroom at the same time – but after Sylve was brought in, his lawyer asked for a continuance, because for reasons unknown, Sylve’s family had not shown up. The prosecutor, judge, and family all agreed to the delay.

(From left, prosecutor Jeff Baird, defense lawyer Walter Peale, confessed killer Danny O’Neal)
Before that, Judge DuBuque sentenced O’Neal to the 183 months recommended by prosecutor Jeff Baird – including 60 months (five years) because a gun was involved.

O’Neal’s mother Alfreda Mitchell was among those speaking on his behalf. She turned to address the Bushaw family, crying as she said that her son had previously “always been a person that has made wise choices … I don’t even know if he understands what happened. I don’t expect you to forgive him, because I know what I would feel if I was sitting in your position.” His wife and older sister also turned to face the Bushaw family and apologize, expressing hope they could find forgiveness someday. Then, O’Neal himself did the same, following it with an apology to his own family, including his daughter. And he insisted, “I didn’t go (to West Seattle) that night planning to kill your son in the middle of the street in front of no less than 30 people.”

As she announced the sentence, Judge DuBuque called the case overall “tragic,” without easy answers as to why the killing happened. (O’Neal said in court that he didn’t believe Steve Bushaw was responsible for the home-invasion robbery that was described as the motive.)

Sylve’s sentencing is now scheduled for November 4th. November is also when another hearing is scheduled in the matter of whether the fourth defendant in the case, Brandon Chaney, will be retried – the jury that found Huber guilty could not agree on Chaney’s innocence or guilt.

We will add more details of the hearing, and photos, shortly.

We received two reports about this tonight, the most detailed one from Greg:

Wanted to share this for the benefit of parents and children in the Alki neighborhood. This afternoon a neighbor’s 5th grader and friend of the same age were followed as they walked home from Whale Tail Park along Lander to get something to bring back to the park. The child’s home is about 3 blocks from the park. The stalker was 30ish with a hoodie and stubbly beard. He lingered across the street from the house for a few minutes. When he was gone, the kids headed back to Whale Tail Park to join my wife, who was waiting there for them. On the way back to the park they were confronted by the same man along Lander in the block just east of the park in some bushes along the sidewalk. The man was exposing himself. The kids ran to the park and told my wife who was their waiting for them. She looked for the man but he was gone. She found somebody at the park to call the police who later came to our neighbor’s house and interviewed the child.

We just checked with police to see if they have any more on this; Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams says officers searched the area after answering a 911 call around 4 pm about the flasher, but couldn’t find the suspect, who is described in the police report as “about 30-years-old, possibly with a mustache and closely-shaved beard, and wearing a black hoodie and pale blue jeans.”

Many of the auto thefts we hear about happen in the middle of the night – but here’s another reminder thieves might be brazen enough to strike in the middle of the day, too: Amber reports that a gray late-’90s Nissan belonging to a neighbor’s employee was stolen from the street in front of her house today, between 7:45 am and 5 pm. She’s on 18th SW near Thistle (where, she says, a neighbor was hit by burglars just last week).