West Seattle, Washington
02 Tuesday
(thanks to Stephanie for the photo)
Dorcas sent first word of major police activity near Fairmount Playfield (map), and then Stephanie provided a the follow-up report (also confirmed via scanner) that an apparent break-in at closed (though opening soon for summer school) Fairmount Park Elementary is involved, and arrests are reported. We’re on the way to find out more in person. UPDATE: On site, we’ve counted nine cruisers and at least one Seattle Public Schools vehicle – good area to avoid till things settle down.
From the scanner, sounds like four suspects are in custody and one more is being sought. 5:50 PM UPDATE: Two more suspects in custody, per both the scanner and what we’re seeing on scene. Officers are still checking inside the school for more. We’re told at the scene that an alarm was tripped, leading to the successful response.
8:17 PM UPDATE: SPDBlotter has a little more information – all six suspects are described as male, 2 “young adults” and 4 “juveniles.” Looks like no property damage in the building, the report says.
That’s Andy Worline, just elected to chair the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council in West Seattle’s northeasternmost neighborhood, taking the reins from Pete Spalding, who took over on an interim basis after Matt Swenson resigned six months ago. Andy’s election (by acclamation of all 20-plus attendees in the Cooper School cafeteria) came midway through a meeting that began with some reassurance from Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen, invited by Pete because of a recent car-crime spree that rattled the neighborhood. Read on to hear what he had to say, along with details of the upcoming Pigeon Point Spring Clean event, and more:Read More
First, a West Seattle Crime Watch update – if you saw our first report this morning about the Senior Center burglary, take another look – we added a surveillance-cam screengrab later, provided by police. Now, two even newer burglaries – Rob and Naomi e-mailed to say it happened to their home in Sunrise Heights this afternoon:
Our home in the 7500 block of 32nd Avenue SW [map] was broken into today sometime between Noon and 4 PM. They stole a TV and other items like jewelry that’s more of a sentimental value than monetary. If anyone saw anything or if anyone seems stuff dumped on the road, please post! Thanks and keep watch on yourselves and neighbors!
And from Richard and Brenda:
Our neighbor in the 3400 block of 47th (along the west side of Madison Middle School) [map] had a break-in today. A wedding ring, lap top, and electronics were stolen. The police said that there have been a series of break-ins in the area.
Also, from the WSB Forums, another hit-and-run sideswipe – this time near 50th and Edmunds [map].
We first got a tip about this last week but couldn’t get it confirmed until today; now we’ve talked with both Southwest Precinct 
Detective Nick Bauer and Senior Center of West Seattle director Karen Sisson, and here’s what we can tell you: Police are investigating a costly break-in that also left behind some serious damage at the Senior Center HQ in The Junction. It happened sometime last Sunday night/early Monday. Sisson told WSB this morning that the burglars got into the center’s 1950s era safe and stole the equivalent of $5,000, including $2,500 in Safeway gift cards and $400 in postage stamps. But that’s not the Senior Center’s only loss – at least $3,000 in repairs are needed to office doors and walls damaged by the burglar/s, including what the police report described as two 2-foot holes in plasterboard in corridor walls. Locked file cabinets were broken into as well, even one, according to the police report, related to the Meals on Wheels program. No arrests so far; it’s the second prominent Junction nonprofit hit recently — the American Legion hall was broken into a week earlier. Police don’t know at this point if the two burglaries are related. (P.S. We are following up to see whether there’s anything specifically the Senior Center needs to have donated because of this – will add to the story, but in the meantime, they take donations year-round, and there’s even an online-donation link from this SC of WS page.) ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: Police have provided a surveillance-camera framegrab – see above left – they hope might help solve the break-in. Call 911 if you have any idea who it might be.
Another crime report to share today – out of the WSB inbox, from Nick:
Sometime early Friday morning (4/10) our car was vandalized on the street side by someone gouging a key completely from front to back in the neighborhood off Delridge near the West Seattle Bridge on 26th St SW. There has been a lot of extra activity in this area in the past year or so and has been escalating. If anyone has any information or saw anything suspicious in the area around that time please let us know. It’s kind of sad when things like this happen unprovoked and just goes to show that you always have to be on your guard…
Side note for everybody: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; in addition to making sure there’s a Block Watch in your area, we highly recommend attending the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, to bring concerns to local police leaders (and the volunteers who run the group), and to hear firsthand about local trends. 7 pm April 21, Southwest Precinct meeting room.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Dunsany:
While I was in Caffe Ladro this morning, someone backed into the side of my car smashing in the section in front of driver-side door. The car was parked down on Frontenac street [map] from 10:30 am until 12:30. Driver took off – no note and no witnesses to be found. I’m pretty disgusted with the complete lack of responsibility of people right now.
See anything? Let police know: 206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number. Frontenac, by the way, is the cross-street north of Caffe Ladro, as seen here on Google Street View:
First, from seattlepi.com, a Delridge man has told police he’s being harassed – with his truck repeatedly egged, and a swastika drawn on it. Second, a vandalism report from the WSB inbox tonight, sent by Shannon:
I wanted to report some new activity in our area. When we woke up this morning we noticed that someone had spray-painted some type of graffiti on the fire hydrants in bright orange paint. On the way to work, I realized the graffiti was on all the hydrants along 48th Avenue between Brandon and Raymond [map]. We made a police report – hope this isn’t signs of more to come. I park on that street and will definitely be bringing everything in from my car tonight – CD player, CDs, etc.
From an anonymous Alki-area resident – second car-break-in report this week from someone who considered it unlikely on their quiet dead-end street – read on for the victim’s story, and what the thief DIDN’T take:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from KEM … of particular interest if you think “not on OUR street”:
For the second time in as many months, our unlocked cars (shame on us, I know) have been prowled. We woke two months ago to my car doors left open, and a few items had been pilfered – a Polar heart rate monitor, and a few other inconsequential items. I assume I left my car door unlocked the night before, though I’m not totally sure. This morning we woke to my husband’s car having been rifled-through. We think his car was unlocked, too, and, as I said, shame on us for doing it twice. This time they stole a pair of iPhone earbuds, but nothing else. Risking getting caught for some iPhone ear buds? Seems sort of silly, really. Not a big deal in terms of loss of property, but we live on a quiet, dead-end street around 36th and 110th and it’s a little unsettling to think that prowlers are lurking around in the middle of the night and rifling through our stuff. Neighbors, beware! And keep your doors locked. (Duh.)
From the resource list at the bottom of our Crime Watch page, here’s the official advice on deterring car prowlers.
We got a note about this last night but couldn’t confirm it with Seattle Police till today: A clerk at Bartell Drugs in Jefferson Square was hurt during a strong-arm robbery Saturday afternoon. According to Officer Mark Jamieson from the SPD media unit, it happened just before 4 pm yesterday – the robber hit the clerk in the face, reached into the till and grabbed money, and ran away, last seen running onto 41st SW on the east side of Jefferson Square. Jamieson didn’t have information on whether the clerk had to be taken to the hospital (Fire Department medics did treat him at the scene), but he does say no one has been arrested; there are conflicting descriptions of the robber/attacker — white or Hispanic male, 5-6 or 5-7, wearing a blue plaid shirt and jeans. This was a “strong-arm robbery” instead of an “armed robbery,” Jamieson explains, because no weapon was seen or implied, but force was used. (Thanks to Elise and Mary for sending notes asking about this – both had family members who were at the store right after it happened.)
MONDAY UPDATE: A little more info from SPD – the clerk’s injuries were NOT severe enough to require hospitalization, though according to Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, the report says she was punched in the face and “pushed.”
Thanks to the folks who called earlier this afternoon to say they saw a SWAT team around Delridge/Holden. We actually saw the vehicle go by (although not in any particular hurry) at the start of the aforementioned problem-properties tour – and noticed the vehicle quite clearly marked “Bellevue.” Checked with the media liaison at Bellevue Police, who would only say they were “serving a warrant” as part of an “ongoing investigation.” ADDED 8:23 PM: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli points out it’s the same house from the second part of this recent story he covered.
ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: Another photo, from Tony Bradley:
Beyond the incident-by-incident crime reports, we work to bring you “big picture” context whenever it’s available. When we saw Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen at a meeting the other night, he mentioned he was about to brief the SWP Advisory Council on March crime stats for the area, so we asked for the same overview, to share with you:
Car prowls are up over February. Items stolen are purses, iPods, GPS, wallets, laptops … items that could easily be taken out of vehicles to lessen the probability of being prowled. Suspects are teenagers and drug addicts. We have seen a trend that teenage females are also being involved in this crime. It only takes a few seconds to enter a vehicle and take the items. Some vehicles have been left unlocked as well. The suspects are looking for opportunities and easy pickings.
Auto thefts continue to go downward. The flavor of the month for March is Honda Civics.
Residential burglaries are down from February – mid 40s [total number for the area], which is less then our normal average, 50 or so. Items taken are the same as in car prowls. Weekdays, between 10 am and 1:30 pm, is the hot time. We made 5 arrests in March which cleared several cases.
You can also get the latest on West Seattle crime trends in person — and ask key precinct personnel about concerns in your neighborhood – by attending the next WS Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm April 21 at the precinct (Delridge and Webster).
Two links of interest to share from our partner site White Center Now:
ANNEXATION: Burien’s proposal to annex part of the White Center/North Highline area is one step closer to reality tonight after a preliminary approval recommendation from the King County Boundary Review Board, following a public hearing in Tukwila. Burien’s city manager noted during the hearing that Seattle, which might annex the rest of the area – or might not – didn’t send a representative to comment. Read detailed notes from the hearing, as it happened, here.
AMANDA KNOX: Some people are so interested in the case of the young woman from West Seattle who’s on trial for murder in Italy, they could tell you the entire story in intricate detail. If you, on the other hand, feel like you came into the story in the middle, you might be interested in this WCN analysis/opinion piece retracing the case.
From longtime WSB’er “timeslid“:
Well, it happened to our car last night. Some really fabulous human rifled through our car last night. Nothing is missing other than the car cheese knife. It was really fun to come out to all the contents of the glove box strewn up the street. This was between Lander and Stevens on 38th (map). I thought I locked the door, but I guess I didn’t.
This already has been pointed out on the comment thread following the Sunday story, but here’s the official announcement early this morning from the family of Payton, the West Seattle schnoodle stolen during a visit to Capitol Hill (original report here) – he’s back home safe:
I don’t even know how to describe what happened in the last 28 hours or so but my wife and I are in total disbelief. We just got our beloved Payton back. Apparently sometime around 9am this morning the thieves dropped him on a busy 4 lane road in Federal Way. 2 ladies on their way to church saw him and picked him up. They posted some ads around Federal Way but saw the clip on KOMO and called it in.
We learned a lot over the last day plus. One, as many people have suggested – don’t leave your dog in your car unattended. It’s simply not safe or worth the risk. We also learned how powerful a group of united friends and can be when called upon. We’re forever grateful to everyone who worked very hard today to help us get the word out. Within moments of getting home last night, our friends and family went to work and gave us the support we needed. Also, if it wasn’t for the West Seattle Blog I’m not sure we would have him back right now. Many thanks to you and your readers for your comments which ultimately led to KOMO reaching out to us about the story.
Lastly, the owner’s of Piecora’s were so helpful and caring and deserve a lot business their way. The owner came in (Sunday) just to get me the footage that SPD decided to ignore (as it was just a theft of “personal property”) so we could get it on air and out to people.
Thanks a million to everyone who showed their support.
Dan
That’s Payton the schnoodle — whose person Dan Nicholson hopes everybody to be on the lookout citywide, after Payton was stolen from Dan’s car on Capitol Hill last night. Here’s his report on what happened:
Our 10 month old puppy, Payton (named after the Glove. In honor of my lost and beloved Sonics), was stolen from our car (last night) while we were dining at Piecora’s. He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and weighs 13.5 lbs. We were parked in their back lot and planned to go to the Beveridge Place in W. Seattle afterward as they allow dogs. I had to talk my wife into letting him come as I felt bad locking him back up after working all day. The camera photage literally shows them pull up, throw a boulder through our window, grabbed him and go. Fortunately they left our other dog. He’s our little buddy and basically we’re desperate to get him back. We’ll pay a reward to have him safely returned.
We’ve also pointed Dan toward our fellow neighborhood-news sites closer to the scene of the crime, including Capitol Hill Seattle. Call police if you’ve seen Payton.
An arrest in Tennessee will be welcome news for the congregation of Gatewood’s Peace Lutheran Church. Pastor Erik Kindem e-mailed the other day to call our attention to this seattlepi.com story about a woman mourning her murdered son, unable to leave the Tukwila motel where he was killed because she had nowhere else to go. Kindem knew the family and officiated at 24-year-old Kevin Camacho‘s funeral a week ago, in addition to seeking help for the family. Now there’s word from Tennessee that the suspected killer is in custody, awaiting an extradition hearing so he can be returned here to face charges.
Amanda sent that photo and this report:
On Friday morning, 3/27 I went outside to walk my dog at around 5:30 a.m. and noticed that all four wheels and tires had been stolen from my car, which was parked in front of my house on 44th Ave SW, between Oregon and Genesee (map). My husband and I parked the car in that location at approximately 8:30 p.m. last night, so the incident occurred overnight. The vandals were kind enough to leave the car sitting on a tire jack and a spare tire. My car is a 2005 Honda Civic and it did have alloy wheels. … I’ve rarely seen this level of damage on our street and, frankly, I don’t know how you police this sort of thing. But, just a word of caution to other folks in the area.
Less than a mile away, we just got a phoned-in report about a possible car-prowl suspect spotted in the 50th/Edmunds vicinity (map) – the caller had phoned 911 but also wanted to alert people in the area to a man seen looking in at least one car window, and then walking away very quickly when spotted by a passerby. She described him as “Asian, 18-23, about 5-9, red baseball cap, hoodie-type sweatshirt, and jeans. last seen heading south on 50th. She noted that two of her friends had their cars broken into in the past week in the Admiral District, so she’s got her radar up.
Last but not least, a report received earlier today from Steve:
Just wanted to get the word out that my car was broken into out in front of our house last night.This is in the 8700 block of 16th ave sw, at SW Trenton (map). They broke the passenger side window right at the lock button, got in and rifled through everything. Luckily there was nothing of value in the car (learned that the last time they did this a couple of years ago). In fact, the only thing that was missing was a couple of packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee that were in the space between the seats. Luckily, we have a regular speed trap in front of our house too, in the school zone, so Officer Sue took the report & all this morning.
The first question on everyone’s mind this morning was obviously – has anyone been caught yet, in connection with the robbery last night at 
John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster (original WSB coverage here)? We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit. The answer: No, no one in custody. Beyond that, two things: First, the media unit has just filed its summary of the situation on SPDBlotter, moments ago (see it here)- it mentions three details we didn’t have before: First, police say the robbers grabbed the entire cash register; second, they apparently got away in a vehicle, from a spot half a block away where the track followed by K-9 officers came to an end; third, the robbers were believed to be in their 30s. As for how the clerk is doing, we know he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, but information on his condition is not publicly available right now. Police are not saying whether the store got the incident on surveillance video but promise that if there are images to release to help in the search, we will get them so that they can be publicized. 10:14 AM UPDATE: We just went to the store to see if we could find out how the victim is doing. The shop is open again for business; the woman we spoke with didn’t want to say much more than, “My brother … is fine” and that they will be “OK.”
ORIGINAL 10:03 PM REPORT: The city’s 9-1-1 logs show a police and fire callout to the 7500 block of 35th to investigate an assault with weapons call. Text messages we’ve received say the search is working its way down Myrtle and some of the other side streets off that block of 35th. A helicopter is in the air over that area. Details will follow as we get them.
10:34 PM UPDATE: Police are still combing the area for two robbers who grabbed the cash till at John’s Corner Deli at 7500 35th SW. Police say two males wearing ski masks entered the store, one carrying a knife and the other carrying a firearm. A struggle ensued; a worker at the store received injuries which have not yet been disclosed.
Here’s a shot of what the floor inside looked like as seen from across the street.
1:29 AM UPDATE: The most recent update from police says the robbers are still on the loose and that the clerk suffered “facial injuries.” The descriptions of the robbers aren’t very detailed, but here’s exactly what police said in that update: One Hispanic male with a face mask and a shotgun; one “unknown race” male, mask, with a knife. If you have ANY information, call 911.
Just in case you haven’t already seen these items on the WSB Crime Watch page, which instantly picks up whatever Seattle Police publish to their SPDBlotter site: First, early this morning at a Roxhill-area home (the address is not mentioned), police went to a house whose resident reported the second break-in in two weeks; the alleged burglar was found in another house nearby, and police say they found “property” from both burglaries. Full SPDBlotter writeup here.
Then, late this morning, police went to a house in the 3800 block of 19th SW (map) to check out a report of people in what was supposed to be a vacant building; while talking to people they found inside, according to the police report, they were “charged” by a pit bull. One officer shot and wounded the dog. Full SPDBlotter writeup on that one here. (We also have received a note from a nearby resident who says police activity continued at the house through the afternoon.)
From the WSB Events calendar:
WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN LUNCHEON: 11:30 am at the West Seattle Golf Course. Guest speakers include 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse and West Seattle’s School Board rep Steve Sundquist; registration starts Registration will begin at 11:15 A.M. with the lunch/program beginning at 11:30 A.M. Cost is $10 for members; $12 for non-members. But call for reservations first: (206) 935-3216.
PARKS BOARD VOTE ON WATER TAXI DOCK: 7 pm at Parks Department HQ downtown (map). Tonight’s agenda includes a vote on whether to recommend that Parks support the plan to expand the dock at Seacrest so that the (newly renamed) King County Water Taxi can start year-round operations next year.
SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map). Tonight’s agenda includes the continued discussion of a possible “alcohol impact zone” on both sides of the city/county line.
First: From seattlepi.com – Six people have been indicted in connection with a prostitution ring, and they allegedly are affiliated with what’s described as a West Seattle-based gang. Read the story here.
Second, Derek P sent this photo, and the report that follows:
Just another FYI for West Seattle residents who believe that they may live on a quiet street. I returned back from work today passing my girlfriend’s vehicle parallel parked at SW Raymond St. & 30th Ave SW [map] What do I find? Gold paint running along the bottom of the drivers side (see photo). Reported to the SPD. No witnesses. Her vehicle happened to be one of two parked along the street at the time (4:30pm). Fortunately, the paint was still somewhat soft so I managed to remove most of it with some bug / tar remover plus some elbow grease. At first I assumed it was spray paint but I’m not so sure. I will probably go back out later to ask neighbors who may have been parked on the street earlier to see if their cars were hit.
Finally, Susan in Upper Fauntleroy sent this after reading about the stolen Buddha on Alki earlier this week:
Within the past week we had a large (4 foot) carving of a fisherman with a large fish stolen from our front poarch. I would love to get it back, it was rather unique, but I don’t have much hope. However, I wanted to let you know because there may be a trend and I want others in the West Seattle community to learn from our experience.
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