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Followup: Westwood man pleads guilty to possessing child porn
January 28, 2010 1:27 pm
|    Comments Off on Followup: Westwood man pleads guilty to possessing child porn
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

gavel.jpgLast August, we reported on charges filed against a 23-year-old Westwood man, 10 months after police found child pornography on his computer. Documents said Chas Voelckel was not believed to have taken any of the photos, but some of them contained what police described as “known victims” as young as 8. We’ve been checking the online court file in the case against Voelckel from time to time, and our latest check showed a major development: He pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge of “possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” He could face up to 10 years in prison, but the documents note the standard sentencing range is about a year, and indicate that’s what will be recommended when he is sentenced – currently set for March.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Armed robbery reported @ mini-mart
January 28, 2010 5:00 am
|      28 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

From the scanner: Police are responding right now to a reported armed robbery at the mini-mart in the 4000 block of California SW. First report was that there were two robbers, both wearing masks, and they were last seen running or walking from the scene, westbound on SW Andover (map); they’re described as white males, “fairly short, 5-5 to 5-6, at least one armed with a handgun,” one masked by a black bandanna with a white pattern, the other with a green bandanna, both with hooded jackets. 6:17 AM: No word of arrests, but police were working on potential evidence/leads such as surveillance video and prints.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Again and a Gain hit by burglars
January 27, 2010 5:51 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Sarah at Again and a Gain baby/child consignment shop in The Junction says their store’s been burglarized:

Many of the 5000 families, mostly based in West Seattle, who participate in reducing / recycling / & reusing at Again & a Gain will be sorry to hear (what happened to) this consignment shop for Everything Baby, Kid & Maternity dedicated to supporting and sponsoring many of our local schools, charities and organizations to promote Healthy Children & a Healthy Planet including WestSide Baby, Family Services and more including to help children and families in need in Haiti.. Discovered the shop was broken into overnight and the till cleaned out.

Police may have obtained some good fingerprints, incident # 10-30397. The community’s support of the shop will be greatly appreciated as we work to recover from this setback.

Again and a Gain is at 4832 California SW, east side of the street a few doors south of Edmunds. ADDED 10:19 PM: Of potential interest to other local businesses, this note from Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) in the WSB Forums, reacting to this story, recommending an alarm-monitoring company.

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Update: Charges filed in attack on bus driver from Alki
January 27, 2010 4:15 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office:

A 15-year-old boy was charged today with assault in the second degree and assault in the third degree for attacking a METRO bus driver early last Saturday morning in Tukwila. The victim was beaten unconscious during the assault.

“Any assault on a bus driver is a very serious matter,” said King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. “In addition to the harm to the bus driver, the passengers, other motorists and pedestrians are all put at risk when a driver is attacked,” Satterberg added.

Based on the victim’s injuries, assault second degree is the maximum charge. Because state law sets strict parameters for allowing adult prosecution, the 15-year-old defendant is not eligible for adult prosecution because of his age, lack of criminal history and other factors. However, King County Prosecutors will request a sentence above the standard range on the assault charge based on the seriousness of the offense and the risk to community safety.

Under state law, the standard sentence range in Juvenile Court for assault in the second degree is 15 to 36 weeks in detention, but prosecutors will recommend a sentence of over a year of incarceration if the defendant is convicted.

Two other boys, ages 16 and 17, were charged with malicious mischief in the first degree for breaking windows on the back door of the bus and damaging the door frame. Their cases are also required to remain in Juvenile Court where they each face a maximum sentence of up to 30 days in detention.

Two of the defendants remain in custody. The 16-year-old charged with malicious mischief is currently out of custody on electronic home monitoring. All three are scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. in Juvenile Court.

The victim’s daughter first talked about the incident in the WSB Forums, revealing her mom is an Alki resident; that post sparked our followup over the weekend. The family called on Metro to put more measures in place to protect drivers; Metro’s deputy general manager told us on Monday they will be looking at that.

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West Seattle Crime Watch followup: SWAT raid results
January 27, 2010 10:51 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

An update this morning on the Tuesday raid that brought King County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team members to a house in the 9400 block of 35th SW (here’s our original report): KCSO spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart says they found heroin inside the house and arrested three people who lived there – women ages 21 and 41, and a 19-year-old man, all of whom he says have been booked into King County Jail. He adds, “Because of information that one or more suspects had been armed or there might be weapons in the house, our SWAT Team served the warrant.” They didn’t find any weapons, though, and aren’t saying “what led (them) to the house” – as noted yesterday, it’s in Seattle city limits, but KCSO handled it because as Sgt. Urquhart put it, they “developed the case.”

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Update: Sheriff’s deputies search home on 35th SW near Roxbury
January 26, 2010 4:42 pm
|      23 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

(photo added 5:05 pm – one of the many officers who were there before sunset, thinning out some now)
Checked this out after a phone tip: There’s a sizable King County Sheriff’s Office presence on 35th just north of the strip mall at the northeast corner of Roxbury (map). So far, we’ve been told it’s “warrant service.” Checking with KCSO (this is in the city limits but no Seattle Police in sight – so it’s clearly a county case) to see if there’s any more info. No traffic effects, though the operation is quite eye-catching if you’re driving by. 5:16 PM UPDATE: Some of the officers have left, but right now the “search” part of the reported search warrant appears to be under way – from the street, you can see that officers are inside conducting an extensive search. 5:36 PM UPDATE: Just got a call back from Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart. He confirms it’s a drug case but, since it’s still ongoing, doesn’t have info on arrests or what’s been seized, yet. The house is in the city limits but since KCSO “developed the case,” as he put it, they’re the ones handling it.

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Crime Watch followup: NO current teen burglary gang, police say
January 26, 2010 12:27 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Wanted to publish this separately since as mentioned this morning, an e-mail claiming a teen burglary gang is active in West Seattle seems to have ricocheted around the peninsula: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James has talked with detectives – the people in the precinct who work burglary (among other) cases – and they are NOT dealing with anything resembling what was described in the widely forwarded e-mail from a burglary victim. Burglaries, yes; organized gang of students, no, he says. The confusion, says Lt. James, might be arising from ongoing followup to the arrests late last year of several teenage burglary suspects, but he stresses there are no “burglary patterns” of any kind active in West Seattle right now.

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Crime Watch: Burglary reports, including a much-forwarded e-mail
January 26, 2010 1:46 am
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Gatewood | Highland Park | West Seattle news

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports: First, an e-mail that may have landed in almost every inbox in West Seattle, judging by the number of people who forwarded it to us. When we first saw it Monday morning, we tried reaching contacts at the Southwest Precinct to get it confirmed or denied; we didn’t hear back but will try even harder tomorrow. Anyway, the note tells the story of a daylight burglary last Friday, apparently in Highland Park, going on to say that police told the victim that there’s “a ring of high school students that look for empty homes during their lunch hour” and are dropped off and picked up by someone; the note also says “This is going on 6-8 times a day in West Seattle alone, in all neighborhoods.” Higher than any local burglary rate we’ve ever heard, so we will persist with our police inquiries today to see if that’s really the case. Meantime, one other burglary report has come in, from Grace in Gatewood:

Wanted to let everyone know that there’s been a burglary in the Gatewood area on the 3500 block of SW Southern Street (map) right off of 35th Ave. Entry was through a kicked-in ground-level back door while the owners were out of town. If anyone saw anything suspicious on this block between Friday the 22nd and Sunday the 24th of January, please report it. No one was hurt, but lots of items of sentimental value were stolen.

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Followup: Metro safety concerns, after attack on driver from Alki
January 25, 2010 1:21 pm
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Among the stories we covered over the weekend – we learned from WSB’er “breanna43” via the WSB Forums that her mom, who lives on Alki, is the Metro bus driver hospitalized after being attacked on the job while her bus was stopped in Tukwila. Here’s our original story; we are following up this morning with safety concerns raised by her family. First in: King County Council chair Bob Ferguson sent a statement today:

I want to express my concern about the vicious attack on a County employee on Saturday. The County joins the employee’s family in hoping for her complete and speedy recovery.

As a regular bus commuter, I understand that safety aboard Metro buses is paramount. The County will investigate what additional precautions can be taken to ensure the well-being of drivers and riders alike. Bus drivers and their passengers are also grateful for the quick action of law enforcement in arresting the individuals responsible for the attack. No one should have to fear violence for simply doing their job.”

We have requested interviews with Metro/King County Department of Transportation to find out more about safety precautions and also about what will be done for this specific driver. Her daughter, meantime, tells us her mom is recovering physically but dealing with post-traumatic stress from what happened; she also has gone online and read the comments of support posted after our earlier story and elsewhere, and is “thankful that people are supportive,” her daughter says. The family’s doing some TV interviewing too; look for a followup story tonight on KING5. And we are checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office regarding the status of the 15-year-old arrested in connection with the attack.

1:35 PM UPDATE: Almost as soon as we hit “publish” on this story, we got a call back from Jim Jacobsen, Metro deputy general manager. He says they will be reviewing safety procedures because of this, though it’s been a while since the last time Metro checked into the possibility of enclosures for drivers; he says they’ll await results of the police investigation to see what else might be worth looking into. He says the system averages one incident each month that results in a driver injury. Drivers go through training to deal with difficult riders, he says, but in this case, their understanding is that it was unprovoked, and there was no time to go through any sort of “de-escalation.” We received early documents from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that indicate the suspect became angered because the driver, in keeping with Metro policy, refused to open the bus’s rear door – it was after 7 pm, which means you’re supposed to exit through the front door. The suspect is identified in documents as a 15-year-old Renton High School ninth-grader; he is due for a detention review in Juvenile Court at 2:30 this afternoon.

Back to Metro – Jacobsen says, most of all, “We’re pretty concerned about the operator and her family want to make sure she gets the help she needs and makes a full recovery.”

ADDED 5:31 PM: King County Executive Dow Constantine has issued a statement about the attack and Metro security – read on for the full text:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Wheel-stealers strike again
January 25, 2010 10:30 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Seaview | West Seattle news

Lightning may not strike twice, but crime can, as Jim in Seaview just found out.

Overnight someone stole all four wheels off our Honda Fit in Seaview. This is the second time, first time it happened in October 2008. It was the exact same pattern – Sunday night / Monday morning, car up on concrete blocks, lug nuts left behind, no other damage to the car.

We published Jim’s 2008 report here. (A few months later, a similar theft happened in Sunrise Heights, and that car’s owner sent a photo.)

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Jade West Café owner’s family sends update on Wah Wong & son
January 25, 2010 12:37 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

(photo by Paul Sureddin, taken early 2008)
It’s been more than a month since we found out that a Beacon Hill crash had left West Seattle restaurateur Wah Wong, 67, and his 22-year-old son Jason Wong badly hurt. Wah Wong’s one-man labor of love Jade West Cafe (map) has been closed ever since; well-wishers have put cards on the door; and a fund has been set up. Tonight, new information in this writeup sent to news organizations by Wah Wong’s daughter Janet Wong:

After many surgeries and over a month of being in the hospital, 22-year old Jason Wong will finally be released from the hospital since his accident.

On December 12th, Jason was helping take luggage out of his dad’s trunk when out of a nowhere a 1998 black Chevy Corvette came barreling down on South Columbian Way. The Corvette veered off the street and struck both Jason and father, Wah Wong, in their front yard pinning the two between the front of the Corvette and their own car. The family later learned the driver was drunk. The drunk driver was arrested and booked in the King County Jail.

Despite the release from the hospital, it will take many months to rehabilitate his foot. Jason’s left leg was so badly injured that his left leg was amputated. The family’s hope is for Jason to walk again.

Sister, Janet Wong, says, “He has been bedridden for the last month and will continue to be for the next few months. As soon as his leg is healed, he will need to be fitted for a prosthetic. Then rehabilitation will begin. The timing is a little tricky since he is unable to use his right foot. He will be able to do some kind of rehabilitation, but the big question is how much and how soon. We see long and intensive rehabilitation for Jason’s future.”

Jason’s Father, Wah Wong, is currently at Leon Sullivan Skilled Nursing Facility. Wah had leg surgery two weeks ago and is now in a cast. He continues to wear a neck brace for his fractured vertebrae, which will be removed in the next week or so. There is no discharge date for him at this time.

“We hope to have my dad home soon so he can recover comfortably there. Otherwise, things are progressing well for him and he will possibly need a little physical therapy,” says Janet.

Wah has been running the family restaurant, Jade West Café, for the last 22 years. Wah mostly runs the restaurant by himself. He does everything from cooking to cleaning to tending to his customers. Over the many years, he has built a solid customer base with many loyal customers who return to enjoy his food and friendship. Due to the accident, he will not be ready to return to work for another few months, if at all.

In the meantime, the house will undergo some renovations to accommodate Jason.

If you would like to help, please donate to “Save Jade West Café” at any Wells Fargo Bank. Your donations will help to cover mounting medical bills for the family.

The driver charged with vehicular assault in the case, 50-year-old Rodney James, remains in King County Jail, bail set at $250,000. Online court records indicate another pretrial hearing in his case is scheduled this week.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Hit-and-run help sought
January 24, 2010 9:43 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Out of the WSB inbox, from Kevin:

Someone driving a late model white Volvo wagon just sideswiped my truck in the Alaska Junction, parked on Rutan Pl SW [map] at approximately 8:00 PM. Driver continued down Rutan (a dead end street), turned around and sped past my neighbors who were trying to get the plates on the car. Seattle Police are out looking for the vehicle as it sounds like the driver may be intoxicated. Any info would be great as I am about to move out of state and this is really bad timing for me!

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“Just doing her job”: Metro driver from Alki attacked in Tukwila
January 23, 2010 10:07 pm
|      36 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle people

You may have heard the story already today – a 56-year-old Metro bus driver beaten unconscious while on the job, driving her bus in Tukwila early today. In some reports, like this one from KING5, the assault was somewhat overshadowed by the fact two police cars crashed while rushing to help. Tonight in the WSB Forums, member “breanna43” says the driver is her mom, an Alki resident, and asks for prayers. A news release from King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. John Urquhart says:

The incident occurred just after midnight this morning (January 23rd). The Route 124 bus stopped in Tukwila at S. 144th and International Blvd [map] to let passengers off. A group of seven or eight youths gathered at the back door but only two got off before the doors closed. At least some of the group went to the front of the bus and the driver was punched in the head several times, knocking her unconscious.

Meanwhile two suspects kicked and hit the rear door of the coach, breaking glass and bending the door frame. All suspects then ran off. A Tukwila K-9 dog tracked the group to a house in the 13700 block of 45th Ave South. Eight people were detained. Eventually witnesses from the bus identified three people who were directly involved in the altercation. They were arrested.

All three were booked into the Youth Center, including a 15 year-old boy from Renton for felony assault. Two males were booked for felony vandalism, ages 16 and 17, from Tukwila and Kent, respectively.

Neither of the officers whose cars collided – one KCSO, one Tukwila Police – was seriously hurt; one was treated at the scene, and the other was treated at a hospital and released. The bus driver is at Valley Medical Center. In her WSB Forums post, the driver’s daughter writes, “What would be so hard about building metal enclosures to keep our drivers (and relatives) safe from physical attacks?” In a followup e-mail exchange, she tells us her mom’s been with Metro for 7 years, adding, “I’d just like to say that she is a strong person and was just doing her job. I pray that King County will review its policies regarding Metro drivers’ safety. My mom was defenseless last night. I appreciate all well wishes, and she will too.”

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car-prowl reports
January 23, 2010 1:30 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

At last week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (WSB coverage here), the crime trends discussed by local police indicated car prowls had been on the decline lately. Today, though, we have reports of at least three incidents since then, west and southwest of The Junction – read on:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Suspected stolen mail dumped, found
January 22, 2010 10:33 am
|      28 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Crime | West Seattle news

From WSB’er Buddsmom:

This morning at approx. 7:20 I found a pile of stolen mail behind the bus shelter at 35th AVE SW and SW 108th [map] in Arbor Heights. The addresses are from four separate houses in the vicinity of SW 106th and 107th between the 3100 block of 106th to 35th Ave SW. Anything that appears to be of a financial nature had been opened. The Westwood branch of the post office has been notified and will turn the items over to the postal inspector for investigation.

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Charges to be dismissed again for homophobic-graffiti suspect
January 20, 2010 2:15 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

gavel.jpgWe are at Seattle Municipal Court, where a brief hearing for 31-year-old Ryan Joshua Cox, arrested twice last year for serial vandalism in West Seattle – graffiti that usually included a three-word anti-gay slur – has just concluded. The goal of the hearing was to determine if he was competent to stand trial on the 10 counts of property destruction with which he was charged after his December arrest. After Cox’s first arrest last year, similar charges were dropped because he was found not competent, and the case was not determined to be one in which authorities might consider trying to “restore competency” through forced medication. This time, there was discussion that might be possible. But what just happened is that Cox was brought into the courtroom – thin and trembling in a brick-red jail jumpsuit – and asked if he knew why he was here; here is our transcription of what followed:

Cox: “I was being harassed by my relatives … to strike back at them (I did) anti-gay graffiti.”

Judge Edsonya Charles: “How does that strike back at them?”

Cox: “(unintelligible) The goal of the cult is to force me to commit suicide or turn gay, so I strike back by discriminating against all gay people.”

It was subsequently pronounced that he was determined — through his behavior in court as well as a report that was presented to the court — to be incompetent to stand trial. The city attorney who is here told the judge they believed “restoration is not possible in the time we have” (we are waiting for her to become available after other cases, to explain what that means). So the charges are to be dismissed and Cox will be referred to Western State Hospital for “possible civil commitment.” Asked if he understood what that meant, Cox replied, “I could use the 40 bucks.” Judge Charles said, “I don’t know what that means, but …” Cox replied, “That’s the walking money they give you … when I was dismissed before.” And with that, officers led him back out of the courtroom. ADDED 3:06 PM: Per the city attorney’s rep – In a misdemeanor case, they are only given three weeks to try restoring competency; for felonies, the time frame is longer. The evaluation in this case suggested doctors saw little chance that Cox would respond to treatment in that time. So now instead, he will be referred for civil commitment, which we had discussed before with Mike Finkle, the city attorney’s office Mental Health Court expert. He explained that the hospital has 3 days for an evaluation and then the state can file a petition to have him involuntarily committed for 2 weeks inpatient or 90 days outpatient, after which the state can petition for a full hearing that could result in another 90 days of commitment and so on, up to, potentially, six months at a time. “Every six months, they either file a new petition, or release you,” it was explained.

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West Seattle Crime Prevention Council: New faces, new crime stats
January 20, 2010 3:58 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

If you think it’s been quieter lately on the crime front – in some categories of crime, yes, it has. After outgoing Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Steve Paulsen (right) passed the torch to his successor Lt. Norm James (explanation in our January 8th report) at last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, Lt. James ran down the state of the stats on the peninsula – noting that several categories of West Seattle crime are down. Also at the WSCPC meeting, other new faces in West Seattle crimefighting were introduced, officers/executive committee members were elected, and a Traffic Unit rep talked about red-light cams – all ahead:Read More

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Tomorrow night: Crime Council talks traffic; councilmember @ SWS
January 18, 2010 8:20 pm
|    Comments Off on Tomorrow night: Crime Council talks traffic; councilmember @ SWS
 |   Crime | Environment | Safety | West Seattle news

Fast-forwarding – two meetings of note in West Seattle tomorrow night: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council is back in action after skipping December (as do many local community groups), and a hot topic’s on the agenda: A rep from the Seattle Police Traffic Unit is expected at the meeting to talk about issues including red-light cameras (West Seattle has two – 35th/Avalon and 35th/Thistle). That meeting’s at 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (map). Meantime, Sustainable West Seattle also meets at 7 tomorrow night (Senior Center of West Seattle at California/Oregon; map), with Coordinating Council elections plus an appearance by new City Councilmember Mike O’Brien – a full preview of the meeting is on the Sustainable WS website.

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In court today: Cooper challenge; Admiral assault sentencing
January 15, 2010 7:22 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle school closure | West Seattle schools

In addition to what’s on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today, the King County Courthouse is the site of two court hearings of note:

(From left, Charita Dumas, Joy Anderson, Shelly Williams in court last June; photo by Christopher Boffoli)
COOPER CHALLENGE: According to anti-school-closure activist Chris Jackins, three parents’ challenge to the closure of Cooper Elementary School will be argued at 1:30 pm before Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas in courtroom W-965. In the last round of school closures, Seattle Public Schools closed the Cooper program along with the Genesee Hill Elementary building, moving the Pathfinder K-8 program – long “temporarily” housed at GH – into the Cooper building. Judge Greg Canova denied a motion for summary judgment in the case last summer (WSB coverage here); that meant it would go to a full hearing. Cooper parents Joy Anderson, Charita Dumas and Shelly Williams (shown in the photo above from last June’s hearing on the summary-judgment motion) contend the school was closed without a proper hearing; the district said state law only required hearings for school buildings that were closing, not school programs that were closing in buildings that would stay open.

ADMIRAL ASSAULT CASE SENTENCING: Three months’ work release is the recommended sentence for 23-year-old Jedidiah Doyle. He’s the man arrested after the August Admiral assault (reported here), a pistol-whipping in which Doyle’s gun (for which court documents say he had a concealed-weapons permit) went off once. He pleaded guilty last month to one count of assault. His sentencing is scheduled for 2:45 pm today in Superior Court courtroom E-955. The victim recovered, but according to court documents, he suffered a broken nose and broken facial bones and was left with “stitches in his face that extended from his chin to the top of his head.”

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary victim offers advice
January 10, 2010 12:50 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

From a burglary victim who asked to be anonymous, but wanted to share advice that might help others:

We were burglarized on Friday afternoon. We live in a townhouse east of the Alaska Junction. The intruder came in through the window on the ground floor. They took a number of things, including my beloved camera, all my lenses and some of my wife’s jewelry. Fortunately everything is replaceable and nobody was hurt, including our cats. Everyone should take a second look at their ground-floor doors and windows and reinforce them. A number of things could have prevented this from happening. Most of them very cheap solutions. I’ve spent most of the last two days making the house more secure and we will be getting an alarm system. It’s frustrating.

Here’s the official Seattle Police advice on burglary prevention; it’s perma-linked in the resources list at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page.

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Saturday night notes: New Junction business, totem pole progress
January 9, 2010 8:57 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

NEW JUNCTION BUSINESS: Got a note and a tweet about this late last night; we’d already been checking into it after the notice turned up online: A liquor-license application notice is posted at the former Georgia Blu storefront next to KeyBank in The Junction; the application says a “beer/wine specialty shop” license is being sought, under the name Bin 41. We reached the proprietors, but they’re not ready to discuss their venture yet.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE TOTEM POLE CASE? Also from the e-mailbag, a few notes this week asking whatever happened in the case of the stolen/recovered West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole (coverage archived here). The suspect still is not officially charged, but prosecutors told us this week they expected the case to be referred to their office “soon.” A special task force of the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which donated the pole and its park to the city more than 30 years ago, will meet with the Parks Department next week to talk about next steps in returning the totem pole to the park, and whether it needs restoration work first. The Rotarians also continue to accept donations for the Totem Pole Restoration Fund (go here).

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West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Stolen car, found
January 9, 2010 4:45 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Good news from Siobhan, who sent a Crime Watch report on a stolen red Neon a week ago: The car’s been found:

I am happy to be able to say that it has been recovered and has very little damage. They broke the keyguard on the door handle to get the lock opened, and then broke off the bottom plastic piece on the steering column to get it started. They rummaged through everything, including the trunk, figuring out that the back seats folded down from inside. They took a few things, but nothing that I really care about, except for the fact that they were my items and they took em. Nothing valuable.

My birthday was January 6th and I kept hoping they would call me… all day long.. nothing.. then at 6pm I got the call that my car was at the TBT Towing impound lot on 1st ave. What a great birthday present. :)

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West Seattle Crime Watch: “We … learned the hard way”
January 8, 2010 6:11 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

If you think you can leave something of value in your car, maybe because it’s someplace so visible thieves wouldn’t dare try anything, consider the lesson AJ and fiancé just learned. AJ, who’s in the 7500 block of 34th SW (map), shared this note sent to neighbors late last night.

Just wanted to alert you that my fiancé’s car was broken into tonight. We aren’t sure when the exact incident happened but we estimate somewhere around 10- 11pm. His car was parked right in front of our house and the burglars broke in from the street side (his passenger side of the car). They rummaged through his glove compartment before grabbing his book bag (that had his Mac book in it.) Worst part was, we were sitting right in our living room when this happened. Please keep an eye out for your valuables, as we unfortunately learned the hard way.

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