West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, report #1: Latest trends
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.)
Double dose of The WSBeat: What else police have been handling
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
West Seattle Crime Watch: Graffiti attack; stolen tools
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
West Seattle Crime Watch update: Stolen puppy returned
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).
West Seattle Crime Watch: Early-am search; daylight car prowl
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
West Seattle Crime Watch: Coffee shop warns of thief
From Cafe Osita owner Andrea Ramirez:
My business was just robbed and I’m hoping to advise other businesses (especially along 35th) to keep an eye out.
I own Cafe Osita in the Sunrise Heights area of WSea (7349 35th Ave SW). White male, approx 18 – 25 yrs old, dirty blonde hair cut short (part on right side) wearing baggy jeans and oversized sweatshirt with graffiti graphics. Also has a black eye on right side and carrying a backpack. Came into shop asking for change, then hot water and then ice water. He managed to take a full tip jar off the counter while my back was turned. The police have been notified.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Police investigate salon break-in
Eco Beauty, an Aveda salon/spa north of Morgan Junction, is opening late today – but not because they wanted to. They had to wait for police to come investigate a crime; the broken glass above is part of the evidence. Salon manager Phillip Todd, who posted an alert about the burglary on the WSB Facebook page, says that broken window shows how the burglar/s got in; they got away with some money. We talked to them around noontime and noticed that police were there about half an hour ago, so they should be open before long.
Suspected serial bank robbers arrested; 1 heist in West Seattle
ORIGINAL TUESDAY NIGHT REPORT: Two suspected serial bank robbers are in custody tonight, and we’re working to find out if they are the suspects from last week’s Washington Federal Savings holdup in Morgan Junction. The arrests were announced tonight by King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart, who said KCSO detectives arrested the two men, 64 and 65 years old, late today in the Mukilteo area. Sgt. Urquhart’s announcement says the two are wanted for five robberies since July, three in Shoreline and two in Seattle. In two of the three Shoreline stickups, the robbers were described as wearing masks – “Halloween masks” in one, a “Bill Clinton mask” in the other. 
You might recall that police told us last week that the Washington Federal robbers wore “Halloween masks,” at least one of which was described as the likeness of another former president, George W. Bush. We had just asked the FBI late today if any surveillance photos from that holdup would be made available, and a spokesperson told us they didn’t anticipate doing so; now, comes word of these arrests. Sgt. Urquhart replied to our followup inquiry by saying he doesn’t have specifics of the Seattle cases – but confirmed one of them was in West Seattle. (If we can’t get further confirmation tonight, we certainly will tomorrow.)
9:20 AM WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Det. Mark Jamieson with Seattle Police’s media unit confirms the two suspects are indeed believed to be the robbers who hit Washington Federal last Thursday. They’re both in the King County Jail. (Thursday photo above left, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
West Seattle Crime Watch: Three cases of vandalism
First one, early this morning:
Two loud booms rattled people in the heart of The Junction around 1 am, including WSB contributor Katie Meyer, who checked it out. According to what she learned at the scene and what we heard via scanner – somebody set off fireworks in the portable restroom by the bus shelter on the south side of SW Alaska, just west of California. Police and fire checked it out; the latter reported, there was certainly smoke, but no real fire and no significant damage.
Ahead, two other vandalism cases:Read More
Followup: Guilty plea for ‘prolific’ burglar who victimized West Seattle senior citizens
The man charged last spring in a string of burglaries, with victims including residents at the Arrowhead Gardens retirement complex in southeastern West Seattle, pleaded guilty today to 16 charges. We reported in April on the case of 41-year-old John Novotny, who stole a variety of items all the way down to Christmas ornaments. In addition to burglary charges, he pleaded guilty to forgery, identity theft, and “taking a motor vehicle.” The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is seeking an “exceptional” 10-year sentence for Novotny when he is sentenced on December 9th (that’s almost double the low end of the “standard range”).
In King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque‘s courtroom, the third of the three men found guilty of
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