West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
It is almost unimaginable to think of having to stand just feet away from a murderer – let alone a murderer who took someone precious away from you and your family forever. But that is what West Seattleites Pam Reside Leach (first photo, left), her husband Jeff Leach (second photo, left), and their teenage son Joey Leach did, with quiet but firm bravery, as they spoke during an emotional hearing before King County Superior Court Judge Michael Fox a short time ago. 
This was the first part of the sentencing hearing for Brian Walsh (at right in both photos above), who pleaded guilty in August (WSB coverage here) to second-degree murder in the beating/stabbing death of Pam’s developmentally and physically disabled brother “Benny” Reside (photo right) in April 2007 at Cal-Mor Circle in Morgan Junction. The hearing had to be split into two sessions because of a medical emergency for a member of the defense team; Pam and her family asked that today’s date be kept, rather than entirely postponed till later, because other family and friends had flown in to be present. We will add details from this afternoon’s testimony to this story a bit later; the second half of the hearing is set for December 5th, and it was reiterated today that the prosecution is asking for the longest sentence possible, 18 years and 4 months, while the defense is seeking the low end of the scale, 14 years and 2 months. ADDED SATURDAY MORNING: Excerpts from what Jeff, Joey, and Pam Leach told the judge – and the killer – in court, and what the judge wanted them to know as the day’s proceedings concluded:Read More
A few weeks after Vera from Village Green Perennial Nursery told us someone had stolen one of her streetfront signboards (from 26th/Roxbury) by sawing it away from its tether, she e-mailed to say it’s happened again: “Another Village Green sign has been stolen! This time they cut off 2 legs.” And apparently hers wasn’t the only business whose sign was taken — Vera says someone from e-green landscaping (WSB sponsor) “found (the sign) at Home Depot on Delridge – the store employee said they found several business signs dumped in their dumpster! This is apparently a fun hobby for someone!”
This is the only West Seattle murder case from 2007 to go to trial – and that trial started this week with jury selection. WSB is covering the trial of the Alki 18-year-old charged with second-degree murder for the 10/13/2007 deadly shooting in a car at 59th/Admiral; we have not published his name since it emerged last fall that his defense focuses on a contention he was a longtime victim of sexual abuse. Here’s the update from our reporter on what happened at the courthouse today:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from Deb:
Our house (near the intersection of 38th Ave SW & SW Dakota St; map) has no off-street parking, so we park on the street. Sometime last night my car was egged, and I’m curious about whether anyone else’s cars were egged last night. I took a quick look at my neighbors’ cars and didn’t see any obvious evidence of egging, but I didn’t look too closely because I was running late after trying (unsuccessfully!) to clean the dried, cold egg off of my car. I hope no one else’s cars or houses were egged, but I’d be curious to hear about it if they were. I’m not sure if I should report this to the police. On one hand, I don’t want to waste their time and resources on something that’s relatively minor (albeit annoying and frustrating). On the other hand, I haven’t been able to get all of the egg off of my car, so I don’t know yet whether there’s any actual property damage. Now I’m off to search the interwebs for information about how to get dried egg off of my car without causing (more?) damage to the paint.
Yes, report it to the police. Coincidentally, the P-I’s 911 blog just took up this topic.
Two more car-burglary reports came in tonight, this time from car owners who want you to know what happened to them in the Beach Drive and Admiral areas:Read More
Got a call tonight from Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel suggesting an alert about a scam that is particularly cruel in its choice of targets: Owners of missing pets. Some of those who have posted e-mail addresses online have received notes from people claiming they have the missing pet and are demanding ransom. Some are particularly obvious, not just because of the text – they sound like a spam e-mail – but also because if you put an excerpt of the text into Google or another favorite search engine, you’ll turn up other warnings that it’s a scam. If you do think you have gotten a note or call that might be a legitimate claim of pet-napping and/or ransom, of course, McDaniel stresses, call police (the non-emergency number is 206/625-5011).
Another mini-wave of reports has come in – this time, car break-ins, from two neighborhoods in eastern West Seattle: Read More
While at the county courthouse for the Satterlee House arguments (see previous report), we checked on the trial of the 18-year-old accused of second-degree murder in the 59th/Admiral shooting that happened exactly one year ago today. The judge’s staff told us that motions were heard today and jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. The suspect contends that he was sexually abused for years by the man he is on trial for shooting dead in a car that day; his lawyer told WSB last month that he had no intention of plea-bargaining this case (as was done in West Seattle’s other two 2007 murder cases, the beating death of Benny Reside at Cal-Mor Circle and the fatal shooting of Dewayne West at 37th/Findlay). The 59th/Admiral suspect has been jailed, in lieu of $200,000 bail, since his surrender within a few days of last year’s shooting.
Three short reader reports to share – if you live in the Seaview or Admiral areas in particular, you might want to be aware:Read More
A Westwood resident who wants to remain anonymous believes someone stole her missing chocolate Labrador/pointer mix (shown at left), just 16 months old, and wants to ask you to be on the lookout. She says the thief or thieves removed “panels from a wooden fence” to get onto the property and “poorly patched up the fence in an attempt to hide their robbery.” They say they’ve reported this to Seattle Police as well as the Seattle Animal Shelter and they have reason to suspect the culprits might be in the neighborhood, so they are asking fellow West Seattleites to watch for their dog. She has a chip and was wearing its tags when taken. If you have any information, they have an e-mailbox set up via CL; click here to launch a mail window.
That photo comes from Helen, who wonders if anybody happens to be “missing” this abandoned car, which turned up overnight (open trunk and all):
I live in the 5900 block of 18th Avenue SW (map), and as I set out to go to work, I saw a car in front of my house this morning. Turns out that my neighbor across the street and 3 or 4 houses south of me had his van stolen around 5 am today. A police officer was there taking a report, and told me he’d run the plates on the car in front of my house, but we all felt it was highly likely that it was stolen.
No word on that yet, but we thought we’d run the pic in case you or somebody you know is looking for that car.
If you see a two-piece tile artwork that resembles what’s shown above – you may be able to solve the mystery of a ripoff at West Seattle’s newest dining/drinking establishment, The Bohemian. Proprietors Jason and Eirik Rice‘s mom Terri wrote us with the details:
I was so upset that a person stole our beautiful tiles from the front of our Ladies Room door on Saturday night. We have tried so hard to make everything nice & comfortable for our guests and to be treated like this it is a real disappointment. Our neighborhood friends are also upset that this has happened in their place. Please put something in the blog that will let this “person” know that they should be ashamed of themselves. And their Mother would be also.
She says there’s a bottle-of-wine reward for anyone who returns the stolen tiles (not taken during a break-in, but during hours when The Bohemian was open, “on a busy Saturday night”).
We’ve had several reports of car break-ins in recent days, and here’s another one: Don e-mails to report, “My truck was also broken into on the night of the 3rd. It was on 42nd near Blockbuster on Fauntleroy. Radio and some change is all that is missing. Damaged the locks on both doors to gain entry.”
Back in June, we covered a regional briefing in SeaTac by King County Sheriff Sue Rahr (left), sounding the alarm about how the county’s budget crisis might affect public-safety services — services that affect Seattle residents (and other cities) as well as those in unincorporated areas like White Center, including the Prosecuting Attorney‘s office and the courts. Now, as budget-decision time approaches, the sheriff has just announced another series of public meetings at which she, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, and two presiding judges will appear; one is October 29th in White Center – details are on our partner site, White Center Now. (Another meeting that’s not too far away from West Seattle will be at Town Hall downtown, 7 pm on November 3rd.)
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Jane:
I’m writing to report another car break-in, on the night of Friday, October 3rd, to my Honda Civic. The car was parked in front of the house. The location was 42nd Avenue SW between Brandon and Findlay. I reported the break in to the police.
The items stolen from the car were my teenage son’s backpack, which he left on the back seat, and his orthodontic retainers, stored in the front car compartment. The backpack is black with grey trim and contains papers and books belonging to a West Seattle High School student named Ben. The retainers are clear. If anyone notices these items dumped in their alley or yard, please contact me at lewis_ja@msn.com.
I thought this story could serve as another reminder of the importance of emptying our vehicles of valuable items – especially to teenagers who don’t always get why their parents tell them to leave nothing visible in the car.
Out of the WSB inbox, from Karen:
I wanted to report that our car was broken into overnight near the corner of 46th and Genesee (map). They took the change, emergency road kit and tire chains. This is the 6th time that car has been broken into at that location over the past few years. Nothing of much value has every been stolen but it is a nuisance and, just like tagging, increases if left unchecked. I would remind everyone to report any crime no matter how small. It allows the police to track activity and will increase patrols in effected areas.
FROM THE “YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST” FILE: It’s been a few days since we reported this, in response to this, so we’re mentioning it again today in case you read this. BlueStar told WSB back on Tuesday that the West Seattle Whole Foods store is “all systems go” despite the Interbay Whole Foods woes. WF itself hadn’t responded to inquiries all week till this e-mail received by Slog, which says the same thing.
SEX OFFENDER JAILED AGAIN: After seeing this story, we looked for the suspect’s West Seattle link. Finally turned one up in the sex-offender search engine which is linked from the “resources” list at the end of our Crime Watch page – he’s in jail now, but his last-reported address was on 16th SW.
Seattle Police just put out a citywide call for public help in identifying the man shown in the sketch at left. The news release says: “On September 25th 2008, at approximately 11:00 p.m., the below-described suspect sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in the yard of her home in the 2200 block of Northeast 143rd Street. The suspect is described as a white male, 55-60 years old, 5’07-5’10 very skinny build. Hair/beard possibly blondish/gray. Last seen wearing, a navy blue knit cap (recovered at scene). Gray hooded sweatshirt. Dark jeans. Alcohol on breath, dirty. Knife or sharp object in pocket of sweatshirt. ‘Holes’ on forehead/cheeks. (Possibly pock marks, large pores or bumps) Light scar below right eye. Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to call the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5573.”
Just out of the WSB inbox from “T and T,” near Lincoln Park:
Our cable internet and phone service were both down Monday night (9/29). The following evening when I returned from work, I called Comcast and Qwest to troubleshoot. When we were told by both companies that there were no known issues causing the outage, my husband and I went outside to check our wiring entering our home. We were surprised to find that someone had cleanly cut our phone line (i.e. with a wire cutter or similar) and two of our three cable wires. We figure that someone must have tried to break into our home via our basement door, but either got spooked by the giant dog next door or was unsuccessful getting in to our well-secured door. This happened on Kenyon just across the street from Lincoln Park (map).
By the time we called the police, the damage was more than 24 hrs old (since we had assumed initially that this was just a simple cable outage). We have spoken to police and are filing a police report, but wanted to make everyone aware. Two teenage youth were reportedly “looking out of place” and walking up our dead-end street that day, but we have also had neighbors call the police recently for “meth heads” (as they were described to us) who were stealing metal from our neighbor.
Look closely and you’ll see the broken window glass around the edges of that photo, e-mailed to WSB by Paul, who wanted to warn people in the area about what happened to him:
My vehicle was broken into at the corner of Fauntleroy Way SW and 35th Ave. The thieves broke my front passenger window and stole a portable GPS that was installed in the car.
10:06 PM ADDITION: Shortly after we posted this, we got a separate short note about a different wave of car-window attacks: “9/28 around 3 am, 4 vehicles had windshields broken on 13th Ave between Holden & Kenyon.” TUESDAY MORNING ADDITION: And one more report, this one from Melody: “On Sat, 9/27 between the hours of 12 am-3 am my neighbors on 13th Ave SW (between Holden and Barton) had a brick thrown at the back of their car. It dented the exterior (they missed the windows).”
Just three weeks after the plaza dedication, we’ve received a couple reports of vandalism on the new Alki Statue of Liberty pedestal – a missing plaque – but David Hutchinson of the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project Committee reports it’s not exactly what it seems: What’s missing off the pedestal is a placeholder plaque, with the real thing scheduled to be installed sometime soon. He adds that he “noticed over the past 3 weeks as the corners of the fake plaque were gradually peeled back and finally someone simply ripped the whole outer layer off. There have also been a few other acts of minor vandalism – scratching graffiti on an armrest and on some of the blank bricks.” (Thanks to David for the pedestal photo; he also sent photos of the armrest and bricks but since we don’t want to publicize the actual tags, we’re not using them.) MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: More information from Libby Carr of the plaza committee:
The plaque on the street side of the Statue was a temporary until
the new bronze plaque, containing the background story of our Statue, was
cast. It’s now done and will be permanently mounted very soon on the street
side of the pedestal.
We also wanted to let folks now about our concerns about some of the
bricks in the plaza floor. We are having a meeting this week with the brick
engraving company to determine what the problem is with about 100 of the
bricks having what looks like faded lettering. We are not sure what the
cause is, so we are having a meeting to discuss it and find an acceptable
solution. We want brick owners (and potential brick buyers for the
remaining) to know that we are addressing this problem and will be fixing
it.
Also, since many people didn’t have a chance to see Ken Burns
documentary “The Statue of Liberty” on the day of the Celebration event, we
are showing it again at the Log House Museum (61st & Stevens) on Saturday
October 11 (at 1:00 & 3:00 PM) and again on Sunday at 2:00 PM. We will send
in more info as the time approaches, but people may want to put that on
their calendar. People who have seen this thought provoking and informative
historical film have been very impressed with it.
From the “when bad things happen to good people” file: We last heard from massage/aromatherapy purveyors Chill, in Gatewood/south Morgan Junction, when they were raising money this summer to help Jan’s Salon next door recover from this eyepopping crash. Now, Nicole at Chill just e-mailed bad news of their own:
Last night 9/27/2008, someone stole the bench (wrought iron and wood) from out front of Chill at 6969 California Ave SW. It’s a shame – people in the neighborhood really seemed to like having it there. Any sight of it, contact Nicole at Chill 206-724-9555 – thanks.
12:02 PM ADDITION: We asked Nicole for a photo of the bench:
Out of the WSB inbox from Lisa:
I just wanted to report witnessing a very brazen mail thief in West Seattle; we are on 42nd Ave. SW between Dawson & Hudson (just south of the Alaska Junction). On Monday, Sept. 22nd around 11 am we looked out the window to see a young man walking up to our neighbor’s door. Our dogs barked and he appeared to hesitate and walk back towards the gate, then after a few moments returned to the door. We then saw him leave the yard and cross the street. He walked a few doors down, then sat down and proceeded to open the outgoing mail he had taken from our neighbor’s mail slot. Apparently he didn’t find anything good because he dropped the mail on the ground and eventually made his way down the street. We called police and filed a report, including a description: white male, early 20’s, around 5’8” medium build, dressed like a normal young kid (black Easy Street Records t-shirt, white baseball cap, black backpack, jeans). Unfortunately, there were much more tragic things occurring yesterday, and the police were not able to respond until an hour or so later.
Our street does not have mailboxes, all of the houses use mail slots, so it was especially bold of this thief to walk all the way up to the house in full daylight to steal the outgoing mail, not to mention examining his loot just across the street. Either bold or dumb, we’re not sure which. We just wanted to send out a heads up in case our neighbors are in the habit of using their mail slots for outgoing mail. Going forward we will most likely be dropping ours at the Post Office.
Here’s the official US Postal Service advice on preventing mail theft. (That link can be found anytime in the Crime Watch page‘s resources section.)
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