We’ve published a lot of “door-to-door alerts” here. Many may be legitimate solicitors – but sometimes, as police confirm, it could be a cover for something illegal. We have two reports to share this morning along those lines – read on:Read More

Talking with someone at West Seattle Summer Fest today about this afternoon’s bank robbery at Westwood Village, the subject of last year’s Admiral Wells Fargo stickup came up. Coincidentally, it turns out, there was a major court action in that case today: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli points us to a Seattle Times report that the robber, 51-year-old Douglas Cox – who survived being shot by police in the downtown standoff that followed the stickup — was sentenced today: 19 1/2 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty in April, and had a history of at least half a dozen other robberies. (His getaway driver was sentenced last year to almost 4 years behind bars.)

All three of these came in today. First two are short: Christina writes to say, “Our neighborhood had had several burglaries”; she says it’s the 6000 block of 17th SW (map), and she is looking to get involved with Block Watch. (This is the best place to start, to find out whether there’s one in your area OR whether you can start a new one; we also recommend checking out your neighborhood council if there is one – see the Neighborhood Groups list in the WSB sidebar.) Second report: “Our truck was broken into in the 4400 block of 51st Avenue on July 4th [map], and our neighbor’s house was broken into yesterday.” Third one is the longest – from Zane in the 7700 block of 16th SW (map):

Last night, before 12:33 my vehicle was broken into. A long list of items was taken. Including some very important work documents. I was complacent, I agree. But nevertheless some very important work documents were taken along with other items. They were in a blue plastic box along with a maroon “Safari Club International” bag. I am a general contractor, so the documents will relate to that. I am sure that I will never see the items stolen, but if anyone finds any of the documents please let me know.

No blame-the-victim comments, please; as you see above, they’re generally very well aware it was a mistake to leave anything in the car. Take it as a “don’t think it can’t happen to you,” or maybe you even live in one of those areas and in retrospect saw or heard something out of the ordinary (in which case, police remind us, call 911 – even if you’re not sure it’s 911-worthy, they say, if it’s happening NOW, call them NOW).

From our fellow online-neighborhood-news providers at Central District News: One of the suspects jailed in a skirmish with police in the Central Area yesterday (SPD report here) — in which a fleeing car almost ran over an officer — has a West Seattle address, and a lengthy criminal history. Here’s the centraldistrictnews.com report today (including a link to their extensive coverage from yesterday).

New information tonight about the report of a shooting at Me-Kwa-Mooks early today. Police say the victim’s claim that he was shot was false. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith has just provided the new details, while first confirming that, as we reported early today, “An officer located a victim of an assault while on routine park check. The male stated he had just been shot in the back of the head. The male was holding his head and visibly bleeding. Officers responded to the priority call and set up containment for the K9 unit. Medics were called to the scene for medical treatment.” From there, however, the story unraveled – Lt. Smith says police found the suspect but after talking with them both, “It appeared both parties may have assaulted each other. Both subjects became uncooperative during the investigation, and neither would identify the other as the person who assaulted them … Injuries treated by Fire Personnel and witness statements led officers to believe the victim may have been hit in the head with a rock or other blunt instrument, and not shot.” The original victim was treated for a “laceration to the back of his head” described as “not serious”; the “suspect/victim,” as police describe the other person, had “minor swelling to his lower lip” and “refused medical treatment.” (Note: We asked Lt. Smith if, as one commenter suggested, this was related to an Alki bar incident a short time earlier – he says it doesn’t appear to be; both parties in this case had been at the park.)

Two reports to share (which we were about to publish very early this morning when we got sidetracked by the Me-Kwa-Mooks shooting and numerous brush fires): First, one received by phone – a Gatewood resident (40th/Holly; map) says the Ford Expedition stolen from outside her house a month ago — then found a few days later — was broken into early Saturday. Method — smashed window. Stolen — a phone. Now, the second report: A stolen car reported here about two weeks ago has been found. Jen says, “My Canadian friend’s car that was stolen from 37th and Findlay [map] on 6/24 was found (Saturday) just a few blocks away. The ignition is wrecked and the contents are gone, but the car otherwise appears to be fine. Just wanted to follow up with a somewhat happy ending.” We also just heard from the area Block Watch leaders, who forwarded another neighbor’s e-mail including this observation about that: “This is a new twist on local car prowls; the car was broken into, hot wired, driven a few blocks to a place where the internal contents could be pulled out quickly, and the thieves leave the car behind!”

Three reports to share: First, from Admiral/57th (map), yesterday morning. Jackie sent the photo at left and explained, “Here’s how a nice kid, age 19, who works full time and is attending summer school full time, found his car (Thursday) morning. ” (The car’s owner is a summer guest at her house.) Second, also from Thursday morning, Jenni in Highland Park reports her neighbor’s home was broken into — near 13th/Kenyon (map) — in broad daylight. She adds, “This is the 5th break in within past 6months on 13th Ave SW. Four of the robberies were between Holden & Kenyon on 13th Ave SW. The reports are that a dark car with 3-4 black males 17-25 park their car and then patrol the neighborhood for homes to rob. We are getting very sick of this and the Seattle Police Dept rarely patrols 13th Ave SW. Many of my neighbors are purchasing firearms due to this increase of robberies which is not a good thing.” She reminds neighbors to do what police also advise if you see something suspicious happening — call 911. Third, Brian in The Junction (40th/Oregon; map) says his Ford Escape was broken into last night – possibly because the GPS suction cups were left in view. He says “a small amount of change/cash from the glove box” was all that was taken. ADDED SATURDAY: Ann Marie also reports a car break-in from Friday:

We live on Belvidere between Hanford and Hinds. I stupidly left our car, parked in our driveway, unlocked. I found the passenger door slightly ajar and the glove box open this morning. I guess they we must not have liked our taste in music, because all our CDs were there, but they took our Garmin GPS and some loose change. We’ll be more careful from now on!

This morning, SPDBlotter reports on an incident we heard play out via the scanner overnight without having all the details till now: It started in West Seattle, when officers detected a stolen car and followed it onto The Viaduct; the vehicle didn’t stop until the driver crashed it in the Woodland Park area. Along the way, radio communication between officers in various areas kept the vehicle in view. Police say that after it hit a tree and signs in the north end, the suspect – who turned out to be a juvenile – bolted, and tried to break into a nearby home before getting caught with the help of a K-9 team. Here are the details on SPDBlotter. ADDED AT 10:04 AM: Two details that aren’t in that report – we checked with SPD media unit Officer Mark Jamieson to verify the West Seattle location where this started — 7100 block of 35th. He also provided the suspect’s exact age: 17.

Car prowlers remain the most prolific criminals in West Seattle – striking at least three times a day in the past two months, per Southwest Precinct property-crime stats – and here’s another case. From the east side of Morgan Junction, Pamela and Andrew sent that photo; as he reports: “My car was broken into on Saturday night/Sunday morning close to 35th and Morgan [map]. The culprit smashed the back window of my car. The car alarm did not go off, or didn’t wake us. They took a bunch of computer hardware that was in the car. It’s all replaceable of course, but very annoying. I would encourage all W. Seattle residents to not leave stuff in your car around here, especially during the summer months. I normally take everything out of my car, but forgot just one time and suffered the consequences as a result.” Pamela added, “This is the first break-in/car break-in we have had in 11 years at the same home.”

We heard most of this play out on the scanner early this morning but didn’t get quite enough information to write about it till verifying with police – which now we’ve done: On Beach Drive around 4:30 this morning, police arrested two men who were caught with a stolen Zodiac watercraft. Neighbors noticed police had guns drawn as they made the stop – which we heard on the scanner, too – and Seattle Police media unit Officer Renee Witt explains that’s standard procedure for a “felony stop” (and theft of a large item qualifies). The theft had happened in the 3500 block of Beach Drive (map); the alleged thieves were stopped in the 6700 block, where the Zodiac was recovered. Officer Witt says the two suspects were booked into jail. (Thanks also to Denise and Leonard for e-mailing to ask about this.) One note about police activity in the middle of the night – often if we’re monitoring something but there’s not enough information yet for a report here on WSB, we publish a short note on Twitter (like this one regarding this incident), so check there too if you see/hear something going on – you don’t have to have an account to see our updates – twitter.com/westseattleblog.

First, from Betsy in North Delridge:

If you are missing your gray Toyota Camry with license plates 817 xv-, it is sitting on 26th Ave SW just north of Graham SW, missing some parts.

Meantime, a separate note out of the WSB inbox included the following photo and report:

From the accompanying e-mail:

I just wanted to inform neighbors of West Seattle Alki of my car that was broken into on the night of Thursday June 25th. I was staying at my friend’s house who lives on Alki Beach drive across from Jacobson street … My car was securely locked and my alarm was on when a burglar had broken in. My passenger side window had been punched in and the my pink bag filled with clothes, an orange makeup bag and lotions were taken. Nobody in the house had been awaken by my car alarm we think it happened around the time frame of 2:00-4:00 AM. … I have heard of many other cases like this happening in the past couple weeks and I hope they find the thief soon. I have reported this case to the police and so far nobody has been caught.

Sometimes “shots fired” calls to police turn out to be fireworks. Not this time. Right now police are out at Delridge/Thistle (map) investigating one of those calls, and, per the scanner, an officer reported finding several shell casings “just east of Delridge/Thistle.” No word so far of anyone having been hit; they are circulating a possible vehicle description — full-size white SUV, chrome rims, no description of who’s in it.

ORIGINAL 3:46 PM REPORT: We’ve received two reports from neighbors in the 41st/42nd/Andover/Charlestown vicinity of overnight spray-paint vandalism on a home and vehicle. The vandalism is described as using sexually offensive terms; one of the neighbors, Scott, says tagging happened in the area about a month ago too. Scott adds, “I’d like to think no one was being targeted as (his neighbor) is straight and I’m gay. I’m fairly sure this was just random and their choices of words and pictures were just what teenagers think will offend people. At least I hope it’s random! All of our neighbors are on high alert now for suspicious activity in the neighborhood.” Both cases have been reported to police.

ADDED 4:13 PM: Not too far south of there, Gracie reports an SUV break-in:

Just wanted to let you know about a car break-in at our apartment building, which is on the corner of 41st Ave SW and Alaska St. My husband’s SUV was broken into between 10:30pm Friday and 2:00pm Saturday. It was parked in a “secure” garage under our apartment building. The only things that were stolen were his 5 year-old Sirius radio (which is a piece of junk and pretty much worthless) and a USPS box with my birthday gift from a friend (some tea and 2 Japanese tea cups). All of his CDs were left untouched.

I personally haven’t seen the damage (as my husband didn’t notice it until after he left for work) but he described it to me. He said it looked like the thief tried to use a screwdriver as a key in the passenger side lock but then ended up jamming it in and around the lock and door handle until it opened.

Also, there was another car break-in last month in our building (that time, our neighbor’s car was parked in one of the Highline Medical Center’s visitor spaces and the thief broke a window) and a car was stolen from the Bank of America parking lot a few weeks ago.

One of the neighbors from the vandalism report above also mentioned their area had been hit a month earlier (with a different round of tagging).

Jen just sent this alert:

My friend’s car was stolen sometime this morning after 8 am from in front of the house. It’s a 1991 Honda Prelude, Red, with Canadian (Alberta) plates. Just filed a police report. The car was parked on the street on 37th Ave SW at Findlay.

Thanks to Ray C for sending that photo and word of a major police response at Fairmount Park Elementary (map), which has been closed for two years, though it was supposed to be reopening for summer school this year. The police were gone when we went by to check it out in person, but Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith has just confirmed to WSB that it was a break-in, adding, “Responding officers located a broken window and observed freshly painted graffiti in the school.” He says “three juveniles” were “taken into custody and due to their age, released to their parents at the precinct.” This is at least the third break-in there in two months; we also covered burglaries reported at Fairmount Park in April (with six arrests) and in May (intruder/s in that incident were reportedly gone before police arrived).