West Seattle, Washington
11 Wednesday
Thanks to everyone who sent tips about a search around the Link site (38th/Fauntleroy/Alaska). It was breaking up when we arrived; one officer still on the scene told us there was a report of an intruder. We just confirmed that with Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams, who says the big response was because it was a big site to search, but “no sign of entry, theft, damage found.”
First topline from tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting at the Southwest Precinct: Crime is notably down. If you’ve noticed we’ve had fewer crime reports lately, it’s not that it’s going unreported – it’s just not happening, according to Capt. Steve Paulsen. Last week, only one burglary was reported in all of West Seattle, he said – bringing the total for the month so far to 11, compared to what would usually be 27 to 30 by midmonth. (We crosschecked with the online police reports – indeed, only one listed from last Wednesday through today.) The precinct commander cited “significant recent arrests” – people suspected of burglarizing homes by day and prowling cars by night, arrested thanks to what Capt. Paulsen described as “outstanding detective work” as well as alert citizens and timely reporting by victims. West Seattle is getting a reputation among thieves as a bad place to do business, he suggested – while promptly cautioning that an uptick in theft is likely within the next month as holiday shopping begins. Time-honored advice: be aware of your surroundings; don’t leave purchases visible in your car while you go from store to store. In one unsolved case, Capt. Paulsen said there’s no arrest yet in last night’s Highland Park armed robbery. Meantime, he introduced “three-quarters of (his newly aligned) command staff”:
At right, Lt. Pierre Davis is the new operations lieutenant – second in command for the precinct – the job Capt. Paulsen had before leaving the SW Precinct early this year for a short stint at the West Precinct (where his SWP successor, Lt. Norm James, now works with former SWP commander Capt. Joe Kessler). At left, Lt. Alan Williams is third-watch commander (night shift); that’s the job from which Lt. Ron Smith, center, moved into the second-watch (day shift) role. Lts. Davis and Williams are new to the SWP. He also noted that the Community Police Team now has three officers (as reported here when one of them, Officer Ken Mazzuca, visited the Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting last week). CPT Officer Jonathan Kiehn, also at tonight’s meeting, praised citizens for providing improved info when calling 911 lately – a topic on which he spoke at the last West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network meeting. In particular, Officer Kiehn said, they’re giving better descriptions of suspects and the direction in which they’re heading.
Special guest at the meeting: Detective Suzanne Moore, who works on abuse/neglect cases, especially those with elderly victims. She shared two hotline numbers that can be used to report suspected cases – if they involve a residential facility, 800-562-6078; if they involve a private caregiver or home, 206-341-7660.
The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets the third Tuesday of the month, but they’re skipping December, so January’s the next meeting; keep an eye on www.wscpc.org.
Two court-case updates with local links: First, the West Seattle woman accused of drunkenly running her car into people outside Showbox SODO on October 28th has pleaded not guilty. Juanita Wright was in court Monday to answer four charges of vehicular assault; prosecutors say her blood-alcohol level was .29. Wright remains jailed in lieu of a quarter-million dollars bail, and is scheduled to return to court on December 13th.
Meantime, court documents reveal a West Seattle link in the case against two men who prosecutors say “allegedly plac(ed) skimming devices on local bank ATMs to steal data from the magnetic strips of customer debit and credit cards.” While no West Seattle skimming is alleged in the current charges against Claudiu Tudor and Mihai Podaru, the charges say Tudor used a stolen card number (after trying unsuccessfully to use another) to withdraw cash from the BECU ATM at Roxbury Safeway – not far from where he lives in White Center. Prosecutors say the numbers were skimmed from a machine in Renton, where the two men are suspected of skimming more than 50 cards, using them for more than $170,000 worth of fraud. They are charged with 1st-degree theft, identity theft, and improperly obtaining financial information; both remain jailed in lieu of $250,000 bail, awaiting arraignment one week from today, and prosecutors say a third suspect is still under investigation, as are possible crimes that the documents say may result in “hundreds of additional counts of identity theft.”
We’re on the way to check out a reported armed store robbery in Highland Park, in the 7700 block of Highland Park Way SW (map). Scanner ace Katie says the robber is described as a dark-skinned man about 25 years old wearing a black parka, hood up, gun was shown, last seen headed westbound on SW Kenyon. 7 PM: We’re in the vicinity; police are combing the area and, according to the scanner, bringing in a K-9. The store is still open. No other details so far. TUESDAY NOTE: This was written up for SPD Blotter, but the short item isn’t much more than we reported here.
Out of the WSB inbox, from Jagada:
We would like to request the following info regarding a hit and run accident that occurred 11/10/10 at approximately 3:30-4pm, be posted on the blog.
Location: SB Fauntleroy Way SW in front of Midas Service Center
Description of car/person that fled the scene:
Older model dark blue or black Chev Tahoe or Suburban type vehicle with a damaged grille guard on entire front end.
White male, reddish-gray scruffy beard with long unkept hair. He also had a dog in the car with him.
If you know who that might be – please contact police. (The non-emergency number is 206-625-5011.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth weekly installment of this new WSB feature, and now it has a name! If you missed the explanation/introduction with which we prefaced the series, you can see it here.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*On Wednesday around 3 a.m., officers were dispatched to 26th SW and Hudson, where citizens reported that a man was driving up and down the street with a flat tire and repeatedly trying to start the already running vehicle. Officers found the abandoned car in the 7000 block of 21st SW (complete with a smoking engine, shredded tire and with fresh damage to a fender and door).
The registered owner lived a couple of blocks away, so officers went to the home to continue their investigation. Smelling strongly of alcohol, the owner insisted that his car was with friends: “I’m not supposed to be driving because of my three DUIs.” He denied he had been driving the vehicle, and went back inside.
A while later, the owner showed up as officers were arranging to have the car towed. (Interestingly, he knew just where to find the car, even though the officers hadn’t disclosed its location.) He demanded the officers’ badge numbers before leaving and then spent several minutes—to no avail—trying to persuade the tow truck driver to simply drop the vehicle off around the corner.
(Four more summaries, including the case of the sleeping suspect, after the jump:)Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from a Fairmount Springs resident who doesn’t want to be identified:
I … wanted to let the community know that yesterday, Sunday, 11/7/10, at about 1:45 pm, two youths drove by our home on the 5900 block of Fauntleroy Way [map] and shot a bb gun at our front window, putting a hole through both panes. A neighbor walking by with her young son and was startled by the sudden POP! She noticed the culprits were driving a gray sedan but was unable to get the license plate number. The police have been notified and a case # was assigned. Please comment here if you have any helpful information or if you hear of any similar unfortunate incidents. Thanks very much, and be safe.
The city’s My Neighborhood map, which catalogs many police responses within a few hours, does confirm a case categorized as “property damage” in that block yesterday afternoon; because the classification is so general, it’s impossible to tell at this point whether there were other similar, recent cases, but we’re checking with police – West Seattle has had past cases of serial BB-gun shooters, with people being hit and hurt.
Several West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share this afternoon, starting with this one from Cassandra:
Recently sighted three men breaking into home on corner of 10th Ave. and SW Elmgrove St. They were surprised by the homeowner¹s landscapers. The three men fled on foot heading south bound down alley between 10th Ave. and 9th Ave. Occurred approximately 1:15pm. Police have been notified.
Four more Crime Watch reports ahead:Read More
Followup tonight on one of the cases summarized in WSB contributing reporter Megan Sheppard‘s police-files roundup published early today: Southwest Precinct detectives have arrested a suspect in the coffee-shop robbery/lewd conduct case; that’s the word from Detective Brian Ballew. The suspect is in the King County Jail; we’re looking for more information about him and will add anything we find.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth weekly installment of this new WSB feature – if you missed the explanation/introduction with which we prefaced the first one, you can see it here.
By Megan Sheppard
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Just after midnight early Monday, a Highland Park man awoke to the sounds of a child crying outside his residence. He saw what appeared to be a three-year-old walking barefoot in the middle of the street. He also noticed the front door open on a nearby residence. He went out, picked up the child, rang the bell and banged on the door. When no one answered, he took the child home and called 911. Officers arrived, entered the home through the open door, and found a four-year-old sleeping alone in a bedroom. There was no bed, and he was lying on some blankets on the floor. No other adults were present, except for a renter who came out of a basement room. A Child Protective Services social worker took custody of the children.
Six more cases, after the jump:Read More
This afternoon, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed four charges of vehicular assault against 43-year-old Juanita Wright, an Admiral resident who also uses the surnames Mars and Carpenter, in connection with a crash outside Showbox SODO last Thursday night. Prosecutors allege Wright had a blood-alcohol level of .29 as measured two hours after the crash – more than three times the legal-drunkenness level – and hit seven people who were crossing 1st Avenue South after a concert at the venue. Four of them were seriously hurt, with multiple broken bones, including a 28-year-old woman with a head injury that required removal of part of her skull. Wright’s car is described in court documents as having been full of empty or partly empty 24-ounce cans of 8.2% beer at the time of the crash. has been in jail since early last Friday morning, with bail set at a quarter-million dollars, and is scheduled for arraignment on November 15th. According to the charging documents, her record includes an unresolved drunk-driving charge from Pierce County 20 years ago, and more recent violations including speeding and driving without a license.
Three weeks till the Seattle City Council is expected to take its final vote on next year’s budget, with whatever changes they make to the original proposal that Mayor Mike McGinn presented five weeks ago. Next Budget Committee meeting is tomorrow – and one of the agenda items involves reviewing specific parts of the Police Department’s budget, including one that’s been of particular interest in communities including West Seattle – the Crime Prevention Coordinators’ status. The mayor’s proposal would eliminate three of the seven coordinators citywide; those coordinators are civilian employees who handle a wide variety of programs dealing directly with the public, including Block Watch and the annual Night Out. If you have something to say about this (or any other aspect of the city budget), this page includes a variety of ways to do that; meantime, tomorrow’s all-day budget hearing is scheduled to focus on SPD at about 3:15 pm (here’s the all-day agenda).
3 West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight – a car break-in with loot including a child’s prized skateboard, a custom model you would know if you saw; a home break-in with loot including a distinctive cutting board and a wedding video; and a case of gas siphoning. Read on:Read More
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share – two vehicle thefts from today (and a request to be on the lookout for the stolen vehicles), and a car prowl from earlier. The reports are after the jump:Read More
A new citywide group has formed to try to get the city’s public-safety plans aligned with community priorities. The group is called Community Leaders for Public Safety, and one of its founding members, West Seattle’s Pete Spalding, shared its proposal with WSB. On the list – a strategy to fight graffiti vandalism, including bringing back the Seattle Police graffiti detective position.Here’s the full list of the CLPS priorities – remember, these are citywide, but many are certainly applicable to West Seattle:
Seattle Public Safety Initiative
Facilities
* Find a suitable alternative for Rainier Beach Community Center during the two-year closure, such as Rainier Beach High School, with a seamless transition to ensure continuity for critical programs.
* Fund the North Precinct facility. If existing building cannot be fixed, the precinct should move to a site like the Seattle School District facility on Wilson and Pacific. Parking for employees and the public must factor into the decision.
* Re-examine neighborhood substations and drop-in centers.Community Policing
* Prioritize community policing in training programs and best police practices.
* Develop neighborhood engagement strategies so officers understand a place and its people. Reimplement Neighborhood Action Teams. Ensure that the City’s neighborhood plans reflect public safety principles, and that the City of Seattle honors the neighborhood plans.
* Fund current Crime Prevention Coordinator and Park Ranger programs, and re-examine using Community Safety Officers.Community Programs
* Youth Initiatives: Build on current programs, with community-based advisory panels, emphasizing a long-term generational model. Support activities at playfields, schools, and community centers. Seek corporate funding and partnerships.
* Nightlife Initiative: Prioritize a socially responsible, vibrant nightlife, with clubs funding solutions to problems that originate in clubs.
* Public Alcoholism: Support successful models to house chronic street inebriates. Working with the Washington State Liquor Control Board, create an Alcohol Impact Area for Beacon Hill.
* Gangs and Graffiti: Implement a city-wide strategy to address gang-related crime, including prostitution, and a coordinated graffiti plan that reinstates the SPD graffiti detective.
* Social Services: Distribute facilities equitably throughout Seattle, with a moratorium on subsidized housing for neighborhoods that have reached capacity.Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
* Apply CPTED principles in public playfields, parks, and other green spaces, and to DPD building permits, neighborhood zoning, and landscape decisions, and the Urban Forest Management Plan.
* Work with the Washington State Department of Transportation to incorporate CPTED principles into state road development and maintenance projects.Cooperation
* Leverage existing assets and interagency taskforces to address specific issues, and establish a public safety adviser in the Mayor’s office to lead interagency coordination and policy development.
* Schedule SDOT projects to allow for public safety response and more efficient emergency access.
* Fund programs that use Washington State DOC work crews and Seattle Community Court and Pretrial Diversion service workers, to support street cleanups, environmental restoration, vacant lot mitigation, playfield safety, and graffiti removal.Policy
* Enforce the no trespassing ordinance, nuisance housing ordinance, and encampment protocols.
* Ensure citizen oversight, a comment period for proposed policy changes, and public notice of meetings by committees working on public safety-related policies.
* Establish a quarterly meeting between the Mayor and Community Leaders for Public Safety
Spalding says many of the founding members are from Precinct Advisory Councils (he chairs the one for West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct) or crime-prevention groups. They’ve already sent this proposal to Mayor McGinn, CIty Council members, City Attorney Pete Holmes, and Police Chief John Diaz; the cover letter, which you can see here, summarizes, “We believe the return on investment in community programs – that address the needs of youth, that counter gangs and graffiti, that encourage service and safe housing for homeless people and others at risk – will make a sustainable difference in the quality of life for all Seattle residents.” We’ll keep you updated on where this goes from here.
At last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen mentioned the ongoing search for a suspect believed to be responsible for at least half a dozen recent local burglaries. Just got word from Lt. Ron Rasmussen that the suspect is now in custody:
Through the excellent work of the Southwest Precinct Detectives and Patrol Officers, we arrested a juvenile male last night who we believe is responsible for the series of burglaries that have occurred in West Seattle area over the past couple of weeks. The investigation continues as detectives continue to follow-up on leads developed during the investigation.
Capt. Paulsen said last night that a search warrant had been served even before the suspect’s arrest, and stolen property had been recovered. Meantime, he also said police are actively looking for a suspect in connection with two recent “indecent liberties” incidents involving females walking alone, and he suggested extra precautions – read on:Read More
Right now police are searching in Westwood for someone suspected of stabbing two people – the injuries so far are not believed to be major – according to the scanner, one in the hand, one in the lower arm. It happened in the 9200 block of 31st SW (map). 12:46 AM: Scanner now indicates one person’s in custody and a knife has been recovered.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third weekly installment of this new WSB feature – if you missed the explanation/introduction with which we prefaced the first one, you can see it here.
By Megan Sheppard
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Two men called 911 late Sunday and said they were trapped inside a locked Avalon Way storage facility. As it turns out, they just didn’t see the “open” button for the roll-up door. Firefighters opened the door from the outside, but one man’s taste of freedom was short-lived: Officers arrested him when a computer check showed he was wanted on a warrant for driving with a suspended license.
*Early Sunday evening, two thieves were likely congratulating themselves for nabbing a compressor and a variety of tools from the bed of a pickup truck parked in Morgan Junction. But karma paid a visit and the pair ended up in a car wreck just blocks away. The culprits managed to escape, but the tools—scattered across the roadway near SW Raymond and Fauntleroy SW — were retrieved by their owner.
10 more reports, ahead:Read More
While WSB contributing reporter Megan Sheppard was going through police reports for the (forthcoming) weekly “from the police files” roundup, she happened onto a report that led us to this disturbing case involving a West Seattle 8-year-old hospitalized after being beaten and jumped on. The suspect: His father, now in jail, charged with assault, bail set at $250,000. The attack happened in Renton but we can’t find evidence it’s been reported anywhere else. Details ahead:Read More
News just down the block from WSB HQ right now. Somebody made a deafening racket crashing a VW Jetta through the DO NOT ENTER sign at California/Thistle (map), heading southbound on California (the dead-end direction in which you’re not supposed to enter), and ending up against the front steps of a house at California/Sullivan. Nobody hurt, but the driver, according to neighbors, took off, apparently northbound on California; the only description is male, in a white shirt. Police have been called. The car is still there in the stairs, DO NOT ENTER sign against its hood, smoking; chunks of debris, including the concrete that held the sign, litter the street. 3:48 AM NOTE: An officer arrived within minutes of a neighbor’s call; another one headed out in search of the runaway driver. First question some (including us) had – was it a stolen car? Responding officer checked and says it’s not reported as such.
4:51 AM UPDATE: Police found the suspect, brought him back to the scene for witness ID (we weren’t the witnesses, we only heard the crash; the driver had bolted before we went out to see what had happened), and took him away. The car’s being towed, and SDOT has arrived to clean up the street debris and mark the suddenly signless “wrong way” street end; the car pushed/dragged the DO NOT ENTER sign more than 100 feet.
These aren’t West Seattle cases – but there are calls to be on the lookout region-wide, so we’re sharing them here, one with a photo, one with a sketch. First is the recent attack on a jogger in Seward Park, with new information about the attacker, and second is a just-announced case of alleged “cyberstalking” that may have victims all over Western Washington (if not beyond) – read on:Read More
We just got more information about the police presence Wednesday morning at a home near 49th SW and Stevens (here’s our previous report; the actual location turned out to be closer to 49th than 50th) – police are able to share a few more details. According to Det. Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit:
Detectives served a warrant at that location and arrested a 19-year-old man. He was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. They also seized items from the house of evidentiary value.
He says the investigation is ongoing but they’re not looking for any other suspects. As for what the “evidentiary value” items might be – the city’s crime-report map shows a report filed yesterday in that vicinity described only as “pornography”; the full report is not likely to be available for a few days. We’ll continue to follow up, including checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on whether the man who was arrested will be charged.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning. First, after a half-dozen notes/calls from concerned neighbors/passersby, we have a bit of information on the notable police presence near 50th/Stevens (map): Det. Mark Jamieson in the SPD media unit says it’s a search warrant, and that’s all he can say right now – not a currently active crime scene. We’ll be checking back later. (Added: Moments after we published this, another note came in from Laura, mentioning that the FBI is there too.) … Meantime, Jeff sends word of a stolen truck to watch for:
This weekend (Saturday) a friend of mine had his work truck stolen from his house near Genesee and 50th [map]. It is a large Chevy panel truck with “Express Cryogenics” painted on the outside, and is the only one of the same kind in the Seattle area. If anyone knows about this, or sees the truck driving around town, please call me (Jeff @ 206-933-6302) or (Paul @ 206-923-2699). It’s his work truck, and he can’t provide for his family without it. There is only one truck like this in Seattle.
9:30 AM UPDATE: Via Facebook, Julie says officers left the 50th/Stevens scene around 9 am. 5:55 PM UPDATE: Haven’t had a chance to mention this sooner – Jeff says they found the truck, in West Seattle, after getting a call less than an hour after this item was published this morning.
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