West Seattle, Washington
29 Monday
Another West Seattle Crime Watch report this morning: We just confirmed that a police search in the Delridge/Findlay area last night was because of an armed robbery at a local store. Read on for details:Read More
Be on the lookout for the car at left – stolen, according to the first of three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports we have tonight. Z says it’s a 1991 Nissan Sentra, red, 2-door, black trunk and spoiler, gray interior, license plate # 051UEJ, stolen near 41st and Admiral Way sometime over the holiday weekend while Z was out of town. If you spot it, please call 911.
Ahead – burglary and car-prowl reports, plus a bonus link!Read More
In addition to the burglaries and break-in attempt featured in our West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports earlier today, we had an inquiry out to police about two other possible incidents heard on the scanner. In response to it all, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen confirms there’s a “notable increase” in home burglaries tracing back to last week – a surprise during a holiday week, he says – and shares these details on trends:
The neighborhoods that are being affected the most are:
· East of Delridge from Spokane St to about SW Holden St, West of the Duwamish.
· South of SW Morgan to the City boundary Line, West of 35th SW.Days and Time:
· Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
· 7 am to 6 pmCurrent trends include 2-3 subjects in a large car (old-retired taxis have been used) in order to put large objects in the trunk or back seat area. The suspects are knocking on the front door, waiting for an answer. If no answer, they are forcing entry via a non-visible door/window.
Our West Seattle folks are doing a great job by calling 911 when they see suspicious circumstances in their neighborhoods. I would also like to remind our citizens to closely work with their neighbors, watching out for each other particularly during times when their homes are vacant during the day.
I don’t want to take the fun/joy out of the Holidays, but criminals will target homes for the gifts lying under the tree. Also, while shopping, please be aware of your personal surroundings as you walk to your car with gifts…It is not unusual for subjects to approach shoppers and forcibly take their packages as well as break into parked vehicles at shopping centers.
There’s more holiday crime-deterrence advice in the latest newsletter from SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, published here a week ago.
In addition to this morning’s 3-report West Seattle Crime Watch roundup, we just got this, from Chloe, victimized by burglar/s near 35th/Roxbury this morning:
It happened about 9:30-11:30 today. My house was rummaged through, PlayStation, games for it, some DVDs, a lap top and possibly a camera. Roommate came home to it in this state. No one was hurt and sadly no one saw anything. An officer just left after taking fingerprints. This is the second tine this has happened this year.
Thanks to everyone who shares their reports, to help keep the greater neighborhood informed. The police are always the first, most important call, but their reports are not made public for quite some time, so in cases like this, our best source of info is you. (The WSB Crime Watch page has the most recent links, plus various crime/police-related resources.)
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, one about a burglary this past weekend, one about a break-in attempt last week while residents were home – read on (added 9:55 am, gas siphoning interrupted in progress):Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox, from a tipster who didn’t want their name used:
I spotted a car prowler about 9:45 pm tonight on 45th Ave SW near Alaska. He was trying to open every car via the car door handle. Male wearing a white/beige ball cap. Wearing black hoodie or sweater. I immediately called the police and they sent someone out to look for the suspect. Just wanted to let you know so people can be sure to lock their cars, especially on streets that have no street lights.
Also important … as police advise over and over again: Don’t leave anything in your car that might even remotely tempt a thief, not even something that hints there might be items of value (example: if you have GPS, don’t just bring it in for the night, take down the suction cups too).
Be extra-aware of burglars this holiday season. So warned the most recent newsletter from Seattle Police crime-prevention coordinators citywide. Though the burglary rate has dropped lately, according to Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen, a couple of cases have attracted attention these past couple days – some of which might even play into a citywide “pattern” that police are trying to break right now. We have that story plus a followup on a stolen car (including what the thief did with a card also stolen from the victim) – read on:Read More
Four reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning, from car thieves caught on video, to interrupted burglars – read on:Read More
2:05 AM: That’s the aftermath of the second of two car fires in two hours in eastern West Seattle tonight. There’s no official information on the two fires, not even whether they’re potentially related, but we do know that police and fire investigators were sent to both scenes. Our photo is from 28th/Brandon, an undeveloped street north of eastern High Point, where the burning car was found after midnight. About two hours earlier, another car fire was investigated at 18th and Myrtle, a mile and a half away (as this map shows). We hope to find out later this morning if arson is suspected in either or both.
9:37 AM UPDATE: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says their investigator determined both fires to be arson: “There are no witnesses and no suspects. It is under investigation whether the two car fires are related or not.”
2:48 PM UPDATE: More information just in from SFD’s Moore: The 18th/Myrtle fire involved a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and did $6,500 in damage. The 28th/Brandon fire (as shown in our photo above) involved a 2005 BMW, with damage estimated at $16,000. Both fires are currently under investigation by SPD.
(6/28/2011 photo courtesy Kathryn)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One of our periodic peeks into various court files to check on ongoing cases has just yielded news: There’s been a plea bargain in last June’s arson/domestic violence case in Gatewood. It happened three weeks ago, but we just spotted it now, and it does not appear anyone else has reported this yet. The fire happened on June 28th; the only person hurt was the defendant and home co-owner, 40-year-old John C. Siegel, whose injuries were later described as self-inflicted. He was found sitting outside the home as it burned.
The case drew extra citywide attention because Siegel had just gotten out of jail a month earlier after a plea bargain in a domestic-violence case that also yielded a charge of threatening a judge (as reported by Seattle Weekly). He is a lawyer and has been representing himself in this case, as he did in that one; the list of files in the four-month-old arson case is longer than many lists from cases that have been going on for years, and full of documents he wrote by hand while in jail (where he’s been since the fire). Here’s what we found out about Siegel’s plea bargain:Read More
First set of quick notes from last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting: Southwest Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis briefed the group, as usual, on crime-trend highlights:
*Residential burglaries, up 2 percent
*Non-residential burglaries, down 6 percent
*Auto thefts, up 10 percent
*Car prowls “way down” thanks to some recent arrests that “led to others”
Overall, Lt. Davis’s assessment: “We’re getting our bad guys, but there are still a lot more out there.” He stressed that “if you see something, say something” – call 911 if what you see is happening now; don’t worry about possibly “bothering” them with a non-emergency, as the operator’s job is to figure out the best way to route your call. Report #2, coming up – highlights from Metro Transit Police Chief Lisa Mulligan‘s presentation on what her team is all about. (Side note: WSCPC won’t meet in December, so its next meeting is January 17th.)
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – two rounds of The WSBeat, compiled over the past few weeks:
*Early Tuesday of last week, a 41-year-old man was walking on 16th SW near SW Elmgrove when he was confronted by a man being pushed in a wheelchair, who yelled out some “territorial” type of threats. Suddenly, the man in the wheelchair jumped up, punched the victim in the face and knocked him backward to the ground. The victim had to be taken to Harborview for treatment of multiple golf ball-sized contusions and lacerations to his head. The attacker — described as an Asian/Pacific Islander male, aged 22-29, with an athletic build and black hair in a ponytail — remains at large.
14 more summaries ahead:Read More
Two more West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight: First one is just out of the WSB inbox, from someone who doesn’t want to be identified:
We wanted to alert everybody that our house in Sunrise Heights was tagged with graffiti by vandals today between 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
My wife and I would like to thank the Seattle Police for their excellent response and our wonderful neighbors for their moral support! We’d like the vandals to know that our block watch has been alerted and is being extra vigilant.
Second one came to us originally as a tip from someone who knows the victim. WSB contributor Keri DeTore talked with the victim and filed this report:
West Seattle resident and self-employed contractor Hollis Beebe is asking you to be on the lookout for a number of tools that were stolen from his garage on November 1st. This theft literally adds insult to injury: Beebe is still recovering from falling off a roof on September 25th, which left him with a broken right hand, wrist, elbow, and pelvis. Though he’s walking again, doctors anticipate another six months of recuperation for his arm.
The tools were taken from a detached garage around midnight, and Beebe told WSB that police believe this theft is part of a string of recent robberies in the North Admiral area. He adds that the tools stolen were all professional-grade and some were rare.
Tools to be on the lookout for include:Read More
From the past few days, two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports, both crimes targeting cars:Read More
Notice an abandoned bicycle? Might be the one stolen late last night. Or – missing some items? A WSB’er found some. Both are ahead in the latest West Seattle Crime Watch reports:Read More
Keep watch for Corina‘s car. She writes, “My black Nissan Pathfinder 1992 with a yellow ‘I’m a circa regular” sticker was just stolen from my house” a little more than an hour ago. 5300 block of 18th SW; call 911 if you see it.
E-mail just in from the Toledo family says they’ve recovered the puppy reported stolen during a burglary at a Delridge home belonging to a relative of King County Council candidate Diana Toledo, “dropped off at a local shelter this morning” by a couple who saw a TV news report about the theft. Their note thanks all the local media outlets who ran stories about the missing dog (here’s ours from last weekend).
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports with means of transportation to watch for – stolen car and stolen bike (the latter, part of what was taken in a garage break-in) – read on:Read More
Four brief West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share tonight – a package taken from a porch, and three car break-ins, including one that might have had a witness, since it was in a busy parking lot:Read More
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports today – a puppy stolen in a burglary, and break-ins in a parking garage – read on for both reports:Read More
Two reports of car prowling early today in two West Seattle neighborhoods – read on for details:Read More
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
In King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, the third of the three men found guilty of murdering Steve Bushaw in West Seattle in early 2009 has just been sentenced: One of the two triggermen who pleaded guilty, John Sylve, was given a sentence of 20 years total.
His sentencing originally was to be on the same day as that of the other triggerman, Danny O’Neal (here’s our Sept. 30th report), but Sylve’s family was a no-show in court on that date and all parties agreed to a postponement, including the victim’s family.
As the hearing began, the 26-year-old victim’s mother Meg Bushaw spoke:
ORIGINAL 3:17 AM REPORT: Two things this morning – one that’s happening right now: We’re working to find out more about a search that’s under way in the neighborhood east of California SW, between the Alaska and Morgan Junctions. Officers, including a K-9 team, are out searching for somebody. As soon as we find out what led to this, we’ll update. (Thanks to those who have reported this via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.)
9:40 AM UPDATE: Got the details from SPD: This started as a report of a “suspicious male” in the alley behind the 5400 block of 45th SW, with a running vehicle. Police arrived, saw three “unknown race males in dark clothing … 5’6 to 5’8″, slim build” who took off running eastbound upon seeing officers. They had been standing around a car that was up on blocks with three wheels/tires off. A search ensued; the K-9 team lost the scent around the 5400 block of 42nd, which likely means, police say, someone picked them up there. The car turned out to be stolen but hadn’t been reported yet; police are analyzing some items from its interior for possible prints.
(back to original report) Meantime, we have a report about a car prowl during the daytime on Wednesday – read on:Read More
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