West Seattle, Washington
02 Tuesday
Bizarre “series of events,” as Officer Jeff Kappel described it, late last night in Gatewood. Here’s how Kappel, who’s with the Seattle Police media unit, tells the story: It started around 41st and SW Monroe (blue marker in map above) just after 10 pm with a report of a hit-and-run crash. The car responsible for that crash, a silver 1999 Honda Civic, went on to California/Ida, five blocks away (red marker in map above), where the woman driving that car — which turns out to have been stolen — abandoned it and tried to carjack another woman. She didn’t succeed, and ran away. Police seached the area, but as of Kappel’s official report, filed around midnight, hadn’t found her. He describes her as “an Asian female in her 20s, in a gray and red sweatsuit, wearing a whistle,” apparently around her neck. The victim of the carjacking attempt was not reported to have been hurt; no word if the would-be carjacker had a weapon. We’re checking with police this morning for any more followup on this.
The debut of that new banner (designed by Dina Johnson) was just one of the reasons why tonight could have been called a “banner night” for the Highland Park Action Committee, with highlights including:
**Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio said crime’s trended downward in the Highland Park area in the past 30 days; hearing complaints about late-night door-knockers, he advised calling 911.
**HPAC chair Dan Mullins said he’s been in touch with a Shoreline neighborhood group that, like HPAC, has been working to keep the possible future regional misdemeanor jail out of proximity to residential neighborhoods, and said they agree the jail belongs downtown. He also read a quote attributed to City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, saying the city should be building “castles for education,” not jails.
**Mullins also had an update on the Westcrest Park reservoir’s future park project; he says the Parks Department doesn’t plan anything definitive for the site until after the Seattle Public Utilities work to bury the reservoir is done next year – then public meetings will ensue. Rory Denovan suggested a neighborhood summit be held BEFORE then, so neighbors can create a plan for what they’d like to see.
**Highland Park Improvement Club – whose building houses HPAC meetings and much, much more — is celebrating its 90th anniversary this November, and planning fundraisers and work parties before then, starting with a wine-tasting event April 23rd.
HPAC meets the fourth Monday of each month; its info- and photo-laden website can be browsed at highlandpk.net.
Got a few notes very early Sunday about the area’s law-enforcement helicopter, Guardian One, spending some time over the Delridge Triangle area. WSB Forum members launched a discussion and we have added a little more information this morning – the call started with King County Sheriff’s Deputies who say it involved a report of a “fight in progress” – here’s the entire WSBF thread, in case you haven’t already read it there.
Out of the WSB inbox, from Lindsay — this happened just a few blocks from the one reported here Saturday, but it packs an extra frustration factor:
Our car (Mitsubishi) was broken into on the 3700 block of 34th Ave SW again! This is the 3rd or 4th time our car has been broken into in less than a year and a half. All other times it was done when our car was parked in the alley behind our house in a parking spot so we got a bright light that is always on over the parking spot. That didn’t stop them so we stopped parking out back. Now they broke into our car right in front of our house. Don’t know what else to do! This is very frustrating…
Here’s the official Seattle Police advice on deterring car prowls.
From Michael:
We unknowingly left our minivan unlocked last night (3/20/09) and this morning the contents were strewn about our front sidewalk. It appears nothing was stolen, but they went through all the bags and glove box. Location 34th Ave SW between Andover and Charlestown [map].
ADDED SATURDAY EVENING: From Dano:
Just wanted to share that I too, just felt the sting of theft…. I live on Alki Beach, and my beautiful concrete Buddha statue was stolen right off my street side patio. It makes me sad… I guess the person who stole it needed its peaceful presence more than me…..But still, I am sad.
At this rate, we may have to set up the subtopic West Seattle Car Crime Watch. First, from Susan:
Sometime last night all four wheels and tires were stolen off my (poor grad student) niece’s Honda Civic. The car was parked on the street in front of our home near the waterfront park on Beach Drive…it was left jacked up on a car jack and a brick. The car itself was not broken into.
Next, from Ashley:
My* foolish* boyfriend parked his car on Avalon Way and what he thought was a well-hidden snowboard in the backseat. Upon returning to his car this morning he found his GMC truck broken into and the snowboard stolen. It is a K2 Electra 167 snowboard that is brown with white bindings. If anyone has seen it or seen anyone attemping to sell it, I would highly appreciate it.
The day after we reported on vandalism/arson damage at the Chief Sealth High School (permanent) campus, which is closed till summer of next year for major renovations, we have some followup information from Seattle Public Schools. We asked how security would be beefed up – SPS spokesperson Tom Redman‘s reply: “The general contractor for the Sealth renovation project has contracted with a professional security firm for guard services to patrol the Sealth building and grounds.” We also asked how much the damage would cost to repair – no dollar figure provided; Redman said, “Most of the damage is limited to broken glass and a small fire in one classroom, in addition to possible smoke damage. The general contractor’s insurance company’s risk adjusters are assessing the extent and cost of the damage.”
2 more notes that trace back to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, although one is a new development just within the past few hours:
CAR-STRIPPING SUSPECT NABBED: Lt. Steve Paulsen told the group last night that officers hoped to make an arrest shortly in a case featured in the Washington’s Most Wanted reports on channel 13 – a restored 1967 Mustang was ravaged by someone who broke into the the South Park trailer where it was stored. (Read the original story here.) Southwest Precinct officers tracked down a suspect in Renton and Lt. Paulsen just confirmed to WSB that they arrested him this morning.
WANT TO KNOW IF A SEX OFFENDER LIVES NEAR YOU? We have mentioned this before, and the link has been in the “resources” section at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page for months, but it came up at last night’s Crime Prevention Council meeting so we want to share it again: To find out whether a registered sex offender – someone convicted of a serious sex crime – lives near you, there’s a great statewide search website you can use: Here’s the link. (There are three “levels” of sex offender – 2 and 3 are the most serious, and those are the ones you can search for by using that site.)
Back from three-plus hours at the Southwest Precinct, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, then moving on to review the latest reports. From the WSCPC meeting – the February crime stats, announced by Lt. Steve Paulsen: 
2 armed robberies, down from 5 in January; strong-armed robberies were up to 7 for February, described by Lt. Paulsen as largely “afterschool stuff” – youths getting iPods and money stolen, and he says they’re “working with the schools on that issue” – residential burglaries down to 37 in February (usually averaging about 50/month); 26 car thefts in February, down from 33; car prowls down dramatically in February, 83, from January’s 127. More from the Crime Prevention Council meeting in a separate story; first, on to some of the latest reports from the precinct, including more than a few car crimes, starting with a theft that ended in arson and a store clerk scaring away a would-be robber – plus a burglary from today, reported by a local Block Watch — read on:Read More
Just got word that vandal(s) hit the Chief Sealth High School – permanent campus – project overnight. According to a report provided by the Southwest Precinct, the construction crew arrived first thing this morning “to discover someone(s) broke into the secured school … set fire to a cabinet / cork boards, and broke multiple skylights and other interior windows.” The report elaborates:
They set a wood cabinet on fire, which caught nearby corkboards on fire. Numerous interior windows as well as skylights were extensively damaged. Several beer cans were left behind, as well as blood smears from where (the) suspect may have been cut. The fire alarm had been disabled due to reconstruction.
The report also says construction workers had reported graffiti vandalism and a “trash-can fire” the day before, which might have been the work of the same vandal(s). Detectives are doing followup work now, and the blood smears provided potential DNA evidence. We will check with Seattle Public Schools regarding damage estimate from this vandalism and what’s going to be done to step up security. 7:04 PM UPDATE: A district spokesperson says that information won’t be available till tomorrow.
Top o’ the mornin’ … St. Patrick’s Day events around West Seattle include corned beef, cabbage, and fiddle music at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights today (call 938-3964 to check if there’s still room) and Shamrock ‘n’ Roll at Skylark (WSB sponsor) tonight, including open turntables at 6 pm and karaoke at 9. Between 6:30 am and 7 pm, drop by Hotwire (WSB sponsor) for a FREE 12-OUNCE PEPPERMINT MOCHA for some green caffeine. And this evening – not holiday-related, but fighting crime is always worth celebrating, so be at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct — hear about the latest crime trends, bring your crime concerns, and see Sgt. Jeff Durden explain the Community Police Team.
Read on for two reports that came in Friday but involved break-ins earlier in the week:Read More
Two break-in reports this afternoon. First, from longtime WSBer Pelicans:
Got a call yesterday afternoon from Public Storage on Avalon. My unit and at least about 29 others were broken into overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday. From the info I received, the theives got into the building by breaking through an outside door and into a stairwell. The went up the 4th floor and started jimmy-ing storage unit doors. In many of them, including mine, nothing was taken. The police told the managers it was as if they were looking for something. There were boxes labeled ‘clothes’, so that was probably not what they wanted.
We are checking with police on that one; Pelicans says the culprits were reportedly caught on camera. Meantime, a note from the south end of Beach Drive:
My cars were broken into last night. Unusual for my location. I live on Beach Drive SW, north of Lincoln Park. Nothing valuable stolen (except my treasured flashlight)
ADDED 6:03 PM: Thanks to the WSBers who let us know about police activity in Seaview this afternoon, around 45th and Raymond (map). It cleared out before we got there to check it out but this evening police say it was a reported residential burglary – nobody in custody so far.
ADDED 6:12 PM: And word of more car break-ins – this report from Gary Dawson in Fauntleroy:
Someone got into two different cars of two different addresses on SW Henderson between Fauntleroy Way SW and 45th Ave SW last night. Classic homeowner mistake, neither had locked the car doors. Two cars that we know of so far. We are talking to the neighbors. A Garmin portable GPS was taken from one of the cars, which is parked in a driveway next to the house with a very bright motion activated light over it. Nothing taken from the other as far as is known. Reported to SPD.
Just in from Detective Brian Ballew at the Southwest Precinct: “Could you please post the attached photos … and see if anyone recognizes the property. The items were recovered during a burglary investigation in the West Seattle area.” Here are the photos:
If you have any idea whose these are/where they are from, please call Detective Ballew at 206-233-7836.
As was reiterated again last night by Lt. Steve Paulsen in the crime update at the JuNO meeting (WSB report here), car-related crime is one of the worst West Seattle problems at the moment, even with crime down overall. That photo came from Scott, who says:
This morning I woke up to discover that thieves had stolen the front of my Honda Civic. I live on 37th between Dakota and Andover [map] and the car was parked in the alley behind our house. They took the hood, lights, front bumper and the front side panels. They also broke a small triangular window towards the back of the car for some reason. It didn’t seem like got inside the car, there was nothing in there to take. Whoever did this knew what they were doing – other than the window there wasn’t any other damage.
We also have a short note from yesterday regarding a window-smash situation – this report was from Michale, who saw it while driving by:
I just wanted to report a car break=in (Tuesday) morning on the corner of 40th Ave SW and Holly [map]. I live just a block away and on my way to work, I noticed a car with a smashed-out window and glass all over the street. From what I could tell, the thieves only hit the one vehicle. This is the first time I have seen a smash and grab in the neighborhood. I would like to just put the word out there for people in the area to be on the lookout.
(2/1/09 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
An update on the unsolved murder of Steve Bushaw was part of what the Junction Neighborhood Organization heard during tonight’s lightly attended meeting – the many who have voiced concern about recent Junction crime, but didn’t attend the meeting, missed a chance for candid Q/A with the #2 boss from the Southwest Precinct, Lt. Steve Paulsen. One big question came from JuNO president Erica Karlovits: What if anything could he say about the Bushaw case, 5 1/2 weeks after the 26-year-old was shot and killed on Super Bowl night? Lt. Paulsen said, “This was not a random attack … homicide detectives have a lot of good leads and it’s progressing. Sometimes these take a lot of time, even if you know who a suspect is, to develop probable cause …” And he reiterated that there’s no evidence it was random: “Every indication is that these people knew each other.” The absence of stranger-on-stranger violence was a theme in his general discussion, and the Q/A, about Junction-area crime. Car prowls continue to be the top problem, but he said they were down in February – just under 90, compared to just under 130 in January, and the March rate is even lower so far, with just two reported to police in the past few weeks. He mentioned a couple of recent arrests may have played a part in getting the worst offenders off the street.
He also was asked about trouble with “night establishments” and drunk driving, especially given what happened last night:
(Monday evening photo by Mark Ammann)
Lt. Paulsen reiterated that DUI is suspected in last night’s crash, in which the 35-year-old driver of that pickup hit 13 other cars (mostly parked) along the east side of California SW in the heart of The Junction’s business district (previous WSB coverage here). It was also mentioned that a suspected drunk driver hit a pole on that same side of California just north of Oregon several hours later (911 logs confirm a motor-vehicle accident call at that location at 1:52 am today). More of tonight’s discussion about Junction crime, just ahead:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from Amy:
We live on 37th Ave SW near the Hanford St intersection [map] and wanted to alert other West Seattle residences that our car was broken into, sometime early this morning, we believe. They stole our Garmin unit as well as an MP3 player.
As we hear time and time again at West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meetings (next one, 3/17, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct), these thieves are particularly keen on GPS’s, so even if you take yours inside at night but leave suction cups visible in the car, your car may be an attractive target.
We usually don’t publish exact addresses of crime victims, but in this case, the address matters because it’s part of what was stolen: At 8424 46th SW near Lincoln Park, someone made off with the address sign you see at left AND the mailbox. Chris e-mailed the photo along with the report that the theft happened sometime between noon Saturday and 9 am today, and is most concerned about getting back the mail. The sign is lettered in stainless steel and matches a nearby trellis.
Received the alert from Shelley via Facebook, police searching for suspected prowlers right now in the 37th/Thistle vicinity (map) – she subsequently talked to one of the officers; read on for what she reports:Read More
(Toplines: Rite-Aid pharmacy robbed 8:35ish pm, robber thought to have fled into nearby apt., SWAT team called out, determined after 11 pm he wasn’t there and is still at large)
(photo added 9:48 pm)
ORIGINAL 9:10 PM REPORT: Thanks to Manuel for the first tip – and the phone’s just started ringing too – we’re en route to check out the “heavy police presence” around Rite-Aid south of The Junction (map). One report says it’s a search for a robbery suspect, and police may soon be stopping traffic in the area. A “command post” is being set up in the area to manage the operation – scanner says police are going to route traffic “around the Rite-Aid.” 9:17 PM UPDATE: 42nd SW also is blocked at Dawson, a block east of Rite-Aid. 9:21 PM UPDATE: Talked to police at the scene – they confirm a robbery attempt at the Rite-Aid pharmacy, and the robber may be holed up in a nearby apartment building – that’s why police are bringing in reinforcements. Again, avoid the area. Just received a note from Nick, who was there just after it happened:
I just got back from filling a prescription at Rite Aid on Calif. The place had been held up just seconds before I got there. Probably around 845 pm. I first heard the store manager on the phone with 911 telling the police about the robbery, saying the suspect had ducked into some apartment buildings across the street.. When I went into the back to the pharmacy, the young pharmacist was on the phone talking to 911, clearly shaken up. When she got off, she told me a man had jumped over the counter, surprising her. “you can’t be back here,” she said she told him. He then brandished a gun, took some medicine and fled. I heard the store manager then say that he had given chase, thinking the guy was a garden variety shoplifter and not knowing he had a weapon. i walked out of the riteaid to see about 4 or five police cars. the cops were putting on their flack jackets, all carrying shotguns or semiautos. one guy in assault gear (helmet, etc) was walking around an apartment building with his weapon drawn. scary stuff.
The SWAT team has arrived. Photos shortly. Information as it develops. Again, California and 42nd are both blocked at Dawson – don’t know about points west (let us know if you are seeing anything over there). (short video clip added 9:53 pm, SWAT team members gearing up)
9:39 PM UPDATE: We just checked the extent of where traffic is blocked off. California/Brandon on the south (by West Seattle Nursery) – over to 45th on the west, 42nd on the east, and then up to Dawson on the north. So if you need to get between north and south West Seattle, you’re going to have to veer either all the way west toward the water or east toward 35th or Delridge.
10:01 PM UPDATE: Police have moved the roadblock another block north, to Hudson, so that’s the new northern edge. Here are the boundaries, roughly (the red triangle marks the Rite-Aid):
10:21 PM: No play-by-play to report because what we’re hearing on the scanner is all tactical stuff that “live” media don’t report in case it gives something away to the person who’s being sought. But it’s still a very “active” scene, and co-publisher Patrick is there with the rest of the media while your editor here monitors the scanner and posts updates as they are heard, or called in by P., or e-mailed by WSB’ers.
10:33 PM UPDATE: There’s activity at the scene – a chopper was there for a while – and police are coming out of the apartment building, heading toward the Rite-Aid across the street. Patrick is with the TV crews at the scene and there’s no clear information yet exactly what has happened. He’s seen two women in handcuffs – the robber was reported to have been a man, but there also was scanner traffic at one point an hour or so ago indicating a “separate incident” that police were handling inside the building.
10:55 PM UPDATE: There’s reportedly been an arrest — Patrick is trying to confirm the circumstances and that this is believed to be the robbery suspect — and California should reopen shortly.
11:01 PM UPDATE: Traffic back to normal and police leaving. Still working on confirmation of exactly who they have and whether nobody else is believed to be at large.
11:06 PM UPDATE: A captain at the scene tells us the robber IS NOT in custody. Two people who were detained have been released. This may explain why we heard scanner traffic earlier asking how much of a lag there had been between the actual robbery and the call to police. Have seen this happen before, where a suspect is believed to be holed up somewhere – then turns out not to be. We have a call out to the on-call media officer to try to double-verify this, given that it conflicts with what one other media organization reported.
11:17 PM UPDATE: SPD media unit Officer Renee Witt just called. She confirms: The suspect IS NOT IN CUSTODY – so he was not in the apartment after all. We don’t have a description to share, at this point.
11:37 PM UPDATE: Lt. Ron Smith at Southwest Precinct also confirms the robber was NOT in the apartment, when the SWAT team finally got in. He also confirms the account published above of what happened — pharmacy was robbed, robber showed a gun. So at this point, the search hits a dead end for now — robber still on the loose.
12:12 AM: Adding a few photos before we close this out: First two are from WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
Co-publisher Patrick took this next one – the bus at right was brought in for potential use if residents had to be evacuated from the apartment building the robber was thought to be holed up in.
Just out of the WSB inbox, Shay explains why she woke up to a 3-wheeled car, and wonders if anyone else in the area got hit – read on:Read More
21-year-old Dion (aka Deon) Fillmore, charged with murdering his 70-year-old grandmother Lavon Barrett in her Fauntleroy/Dawson apartment February 13th, appeared in court this morning to answer the second-degree murder charge against him. Dan Donohoe of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says Fillmore pleaded not guilty and is due back in court March 19 for a “case-setting hearing.” Fillmore remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. As we reported when the charges were filed, investigators say Barrett died after having been beaten, strangled, stabbed, and “stomped on.”
If you haven’t seen this on the WSB Crime Watch page, which includes the direct feed from the Seattle Police SPDBlotter site, SPD is reporting an early-morning “home invasion” type break-in in the 3000 block of Harbor Ave (map) early today – for starters, here’s the SPDBlotter report:
On 3-5-09 at 1:13 a.m., three people entered a residence in the 3000 block of Harbor Av SW., stating they had a gun. They then took multiple items including a laptop, flat screen tv, a purse and a set of vehicle keys. The suspects fled in a black Nissan with a temporary plate in the rear window. Officers quickly spotted the vehicle and followed it southbound on I-5 until eventually stopping it at exit 154. All three suspects were taken into custody and the property was recovered from the vehicle. The suspects were transported to the Southwest Precinct and later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery.
We checked with police for more details – turns out this was NOT random: One of the three people arrested is the victim’s son, who’s in juvenile custody, according to Officer Renee Witt in the media unit, so his status isn’t available, but the other two were adults, a man and a woman, and both are still in jail, according to current listings on the King County Jail Register.
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