West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
More stolen items to watch for – reported by BJ:
My truck window was smashed in last night, 48th SW and Lander St. Stolen was a black and white Dynamic Disc paratrooper bag (picture attached). Bag was full of discs. Name and number on most of them.
BJ filed a police report but is still awaiting the incident #. If you find the bag and/or discs, let us know and we’ll connect you.
4:47 PM SATURDAY: The photo and report are from Jessica:
I’m the manager at Loretta’s in South Park. We are a bar which happens to have a great burger. We had a signature vintage airstream in the back of the bar for years, and had moved it off premises to another location, still in South Park. Last night 2/24 it was stolen from us … we deeply loved her and want her back. She can be recognized by the many stickers she has on her door.
The SPD incident number is 23-053690.
12:42 PM SUNDAY: We heard a brief police-radio mention about a found stolen Airstream, and confirmed with Jessica that this one has been found.
Two more reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
BURGLARY SUSPECT ARRESTED: A 45-year-old man is in the King County Jail right now, accused of unlawfully entering a North Delridge home last night. The victim sent a report and security video:
I live (in the 4300 block of) 26th SW. A homeless man rang the Nest doorbell to my house, then when nobody answered, walked into the home with his belongings. I was asleep but woke up to see the Ring footage of him entering, thinking he was here to see my roommate (as I just saw him enter, I didn’t get a great look at him before he entered).
As we weren’t expecting anyone, I put some clothes on to make sure everything was okay and checked my 2nd-floor camera to see him walking around by himself. I got suspicious and pulled out my 9mm and loaded it and put it in my back pocket just in case. When I opened the door, however, I could hear him on the stairs to the fourth floor which is definitely not something my roommate would do as she lives on the first floor. I cocked the gun and pointed it at the guy, who I could clearly see was homeless. He was wearing a massive coat and was mumbling something about thinking this was his house. I told him he needed to get the f— out immediately. and he said okay. I followed him with the gun pointed at his back down three flights of stairs, made sure he exited the building and walked off. I then proceeded to wake up my roommate, who was sleeping with earplugs in so she was completely unaware of what transpired. We called the police; they found him by Youngstown apartments on 26th, arrested him and took him to jail.
A police officer came by this morning returning a stolen package from my front porch, said they found a bunch more taken from people’s porches, and that it was lucky I had my 9mm as he also was carrying a gun.
According to online records, the suspect – who is not yet charged, as that will be up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office after they get SPD documents – has robbery and theft convictions from 2006 and a malicious-mischief conviction from 2021.
STOLEN PICKUP: Texted by Linda:
My husband’s beloved truck was stolen from our driveway near 16th and Myrtle. It’s a 2004 silver birch Chevy Silverado short-box single-cab. He heard it being stolen at about 3 am. WA plate B99375U. Incident # 23-051510.
Callers to 911 reported hearing gunfire and a speeding-away vehicle around 18th/Dawson on Puget Ridge just after 5 pm last night. Police were gone before we could get there but we finally have confirmation today that responding officers did find “evidence of a shooting” (in other words, casings) but did not find property damage or injured people, The police-report summary says one witness saw “shots being fired into the air from a moving vehicle (and a) second vehicle was also seen following the first and believed to be related.” The summary, however, does not include a description of either vehicle.
9:14 PM: Avoid Delridge between Myrtle and Graham – police are blocking it off after a crash involving a suspected stolen car. According to police-radio communication we’d been monitoring, the car matched the description of one taken in an armed carjacking elsewhere in the city, It came to police attention in West Seattle tonight when someone reported suspicious behavior involving its occupants outside a convenience store on 35th SW. (Officers told dispatch the store clerk locked the doors so the people who seemed suspicious couldn’t get inside.)
9:31 PM: Commenter Kathryn confirms the car crashed into a building – the dispatch address indicates it’s an apartment building near Delridge/Willow.
9:50 PM: Kathryn sent that photo taken by neighbor Aimee, who she says reports that “the car is wedged between the apartments and the rock ledge.” Police have detained the three people who were inside the car when it crashed. They’re all “juvenile males,” according to what officers just told dispatch.
9:56 PM: Delridge is reopening.
11:47 PM: Thanks to the texter who sent that photo of the wrecked car being pulled out. Radio communication suggests at least one of the teenagers was arrested; we’ll update this story with whatever followup info we get from police later.
ADDED 3:21 PM THURSDAY: SPD has finally provided that followup info, and posted to SPD Blotter. First, confirmation that the crash followed a pursuit:
… SPD officers later located the vehicle, which had previously been stolen at gunpoint during a carjacking and attempted to detain it but the suspect drove away. After receiving authorization to pursue, police followed the suspect vehicle briefly until it collided with a fence, which caused it to fall down an embankment, and strike an exterior wall of an apartment building.
Here’s the SPD photo of how it got wedged:
Meantime, police also say the registered owner of the car told them he was carjacked by an “armed man” Tuesday night on Beacon Hill, They don’t know if the three people involved in that – the carjacker and two people who joined him in driving away the 2010 Toyota Corolla – were the same three found after the Delridge crash. But police say they recovered a “realistic-looking BB gun in the car” after the crash. Here’s their photo:
The 15-year-old driver was arrested and booked into the Youth Services Center; the other two found in the car last night, 13- and 14-year-old boys, were released to their families.
The report and photo are from Lindsey:
2001 Toyota Tundra. Plate B12114G. Stolen Sunday night from 44th Ave SW between Dakota and Genesee – I would love help getting it back! I saw them drive it away and it was really aggravating. I have had it over 20 years and I earned those 245K miles on it. If you see it, let me know. lindsandsasquatch (at) gmail (dot) com
SPD incident # is 23-048590.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
We often hear from people upset about RV encampments. We seldom hear from the people who live in them. Tonight we talked with an RV resident because of this:
Last night, that note was called to our attention on Twitter by local “mutual aid” volunteers. They said the note was found last night by vehicle residents on Puget Ridge. “We have been asked by our friends to help call attention to this, hoping that putting a spotlight on this will grant them some small level of protection should the author of this letter attack them or their homes,” the volunteers tweeted. When we asked a followup question, they offered to put us in touch with a recipient. This morning, they provided a name and number, and tonight we spoke by phone with Michelle.
She and her husband recently moved their vehicles (including a truck) to 16th SW alongside South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), where earlier today we counted three RVs and two trucks. Michelle says they found a copy of the note on their windshield; another woman who lives in a vehicle on the block found a copy stuck in her door. It’s not the first time they’ve been harassed, Michelle says, citing incidents of people throwing things at them, from rocks to dog poop.
They aren’t longtime vehicle residents, she says, but they are longtime West Seattle residents – 17 years. Her husband is a 33-year longshore worker who suffered a stroke last fall. They’re looking for an apartment, she says, and thought they’d found one recently, but the landlord changed their mind. So they’ve been moving from parking site to parking site – Westwood and Highland Park before the current stop in Puget Ridge.
For people like her who live in vehicles, Michelle says, what would really help is a place to park. Even a space they’d have to pay rent for. (The City Council budgeted money for a “safe lot” and the Regional Homelessness Authority has awarded a nonprofit a $1.9 million contract to get one going – LIHI, the same nonprofit that runs tiny-house villages including West Seattle’s Camp Second Chance – but they haven’t set one up yet, saying they’re still seeking a site.) A place to park where they wouldn’t get harassed.
Which brings us back to the note. If you could talk to the anonymous note-writer, we asked Michelle, what would you tell them? That their allegations are wrong, she says. Nobody there currently is a sex offender, drug dealer, or addict, as the note alleges, Michelle insists. In fact, she suggests, if they’re worried about sex offenders, they should be more concerned about a “halfway house” she says is somewhere nearby. (For the record, the sex-offender-search website shows 4 within a mile radius of that location, but nothing suggesting a cluster.) She does acknowledge that sometimes they “make a mess” – she and her husband have three dogs – but “we pick it up.”
As of our conversation tonight, nobody had yet to carry out the note’s threats. And she says it’s apparently on police’s radar, as officers came by earlier to check in. (Making threats like those in the note is a crime.) But for now, she asks for a little tolerance: “We’re not trying to be out here – we just have nowhere else to go.”
ADDED 2:38 PM TUESDAY: Just saw this in the SPD report summaries:
On 02-20-2023 in the early morning hours, a victim heard a noise outside his RV and observed an unidentified subject placing something on vehicle windshields. The victim was able to obtain some evidence but could not identify the subject. The victim later discovered the item was a note which referenced the RV owners’ housing status. The letter continued with threats to damage the vehicles, among other threats. The victim called 911 to report the incident. A total of four victims were identified and had all received the same letter. Patrol attempted to contact a suspect at his home but did not receive an answer. Bias crimes notifications were made.
The incident # is 23-048910.
A gunfire investigation starts West Seattle Crime Watch:
GUNFIRE INVESTIGATION: Thanks for the tips about police activity at the West Duwamish Greenbelt trailhead off Highland Park Way, just uphill from West Marginal Way. Officers were investigating reports of a man seen firing a gun “into the treeline” just after 3:30 pm. Police told dispatch they found casings on the trail, in multiple locations. One possible suspect was reported detained but we don’t know yet whether they were subsequently arrested. No injuries reported. (Tuesday update: The person was not arrested; he told police he “drove a friend to that location and the friend had brought and fired a gun in the woods,” and no witnesses had seen the detained person firing the gun. Others reported seeing a second person in the area but he was not found.)
Also in Crime Watch, three reader reports – two car prowls and one mailbox prowl:
PICKUP BREAK-IN: From Creighton:
This morning someone broke into my late-model Dodge Ram truck that was parked deep in my driveway in front of my house. I live near Beach Dr & Jacobsen (south of Me Kwa Mooks). They took: the radio, a set of white twin bed sheets (??), and a few hand tools. They left the spare change, other hand tools, and didn’t take the registration. My neighbor’s camera picked up a suspicious video at 5:49 am of an older American (Ranger or Chevy S10?) truck exiting a nearby alley and approaching my house turning off its headlights.
The stealth mode sorta worked, but the truck had a loud untuned engine and bad muffler and squeaky suspension that was noticeable. It had a large box in its bed, and the tailgate down. Earlier this month a 6-foot aluminum ladder I kept near my truck disappeared, but I thought I loaned it to someone…but now suspect it was also stolen and wouldn’t surprise me if this was the same person again. I wanted others to be on the lookout for this rattle-trap bad-guy truck searching for things to steal in the early morning hours. Police report filed, and all things pawn-able or scrap worthy removed from outside my house.
TWO CARS PROWLED: From Peter, also in South Alki: “Car prowl last night, 2-19, between 9:00 PM and 7:00A M this morning. Two cars rifled through, coins taken. Cars were parked on 57th Place SW, just north of SW Orleans St.”
MAILBOX PROWLER: From Kevin in the 3800 block of 34th SW:
At about 12:30 am (Sunday) this prowler opens my mailbox to see if there’s anything in there he can grab. Maybe in light of all the other crime in our area this may be a tip that leads to something else.
The car he’s walking toward is my tan sedan, but the car behind me has been parked there for the last five days and we reported it to police. That car behind me is a white Odyssey minivan with license plates, AWL to start, Washington.
9:14 PM: Police are investigating an armed robbery reported at the strip mall on the northeast corner of 35th and Roxbury less than half an hour ago. We haven’t heard the business name mentioned over police radio, but a texter says it was the smoke shop. So far officers have told dispatch that the robbers were described as two Black men in black jogging suits, at least one armed with a black handgun, who got away in a white 4-door Hyundai Elantra, apparently with a third person. No injuries reported.
9:30 PM: This may be related to at least two subsequent robberies mentioned by dispatchers, both south of Seattle, in White Center and North Burien, both with similar suspect/vehicle descriptions.
The report and photo are from Alexandra:
My friend’s blue truck (corrected – F-350) was parked at our house overnight and it was stolen between 930pm and 530am. Parked on Webster St by 7505 32nd Ave SW. It’s more royal blue in color and has a big fuel tank in the bed. License plate C85364V.
SPD incident number is 23-047033.
A police-report summary made available this afternoon says reports of gunfire early this morning in Arbor Heights were confirmed. 911 callers reported suspected gunfire around 3:30 am. SPD says the reports were of “hearing numerous shots being fired (between 5-8) with one describing it as ‘automatic’ gunfire.” They found “evidence of a shooting” (which usually means casings) in the 3300 block of SW 106th, in the middle of the road. No injuries or property damage reported.
(WSB photo, Tuesday morning)
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged the man accused of setting the two-alarm fire Sunday that damaged at least six apartments including his own in South Delridge. 35-year-old Ermiyas N. Woldearegay is charged with one count of first-degree arson. The charging documents confirm for the first time that he indeed was questioned one day earlier about a smaller fire outside his own unit. From the charging documents:
On 02.11.2023, Seattle Fire personnel responded to 1725 SW Barton St. regarding a fire on a porch of unit 104. When SFD arrived, Woldearegay was standing on the porch, “poking” at the fire with a stick. SFD put the fire out and summoned Seattle Police Department personnel, as well as Seattle Fire Investigators, to the scene. Following the interview with Woldearegay, and after unsuccessfully attempting to locate any witnesses or video of the incident, the fire cause was preliminarily determined to be “undetermined” by Seattle Fire Investigators. A Seattle Police report was written for this case (2023-040055).
On 02.12.223, at approximately 7:42 AM, Seattle Fire requested Seattle Police respond and provide traffic control at a large apartment fire at 1725 SW Barton St. Once officers arrived on scene, it was determined that Woldearegay was in a Seattle Fire Medic unit, suffering from burns related to the fire. As he was being treated, witnesses … contacted officers and stated that they had seen Woldearegay light his porch, unit 104, and their porch, unit 103, on fire. They described Woldearegay as holding a torch, manufactured from what appeared to be a wooden stick with cloth wrapped around the top. The top of the torch was on fire, and, according to (witness), appeared to be covered with some sort of accelerant, allowing the torch to burn. Woldearegay put this open flame torch to the porch of unit 103, the porch of unit 104, and the wall in-between. As this was done, the building quickly became engulfed in flames, necessitating the evacuation of the entire building. The fire grew in size and quickly spread through a large portion of the building, completely destroying a number of units.
The charging documents also say Woldearegay suffered “severe burns to his head, torso, arms, and legs.” No one else was reported injured, though as reported the day of the fire, a cat was found dead (the charging documents do not say anything about the parakeet also mentioned that day). The court papers say 11 of the building’s 14 units were occupied at the time. In discussion following our Sunday report, a commenter claimed the building is managed by supportive-housing provider DESC; we followed up and DESC spokesperson Claire Tuohy-Morgan said the organization does not manage the building but does have some tenants there. She would not comment on how many, nor whether Woldearegay is among them, citing “privacy concerns.” Woldearegay, meantime, has apparently been transferred from the hospital to jail, as he is on the King County Jail register as of just before 9 pm last night, with bail set at $250,000, which is what prosecutors say they requested. He has no felony criminal record.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
POLICE AT LINCOLN PARK: We took that photo late this morning in the park’s north parking lot, having gone there to check out a reader report of police looking for a man reported to be armed with a knife. They told us only that they hadn’t found anyone and were leaving. The call was classified “disturbance, miscellaneous.” Another reader has since told us the call was a report of “a male in Lincoln Park who pulled a knife on several adult males and threatened others.” SPD’s communications team confirms, “It appears he was threatening people in the park while waving the knife around he held in his hand. There was no assault involving the knife.”
STOLEN CAR: Linda‘s Civic was stolen in a Junction parking lot:
My green 1999 Honda Civic was stolen on Wednesday 2/15/23 at the Diamond Parking lot on 42nd SW and Oregon SW near the West Seattle Senior Center. License plate 404 XKZ. Police incident #23-044393.
TRUCK STOLEN, THEN FOUND: From Jonathan:
I live in the Westernair Apartments, 4201 SW Graham, and had my Ford F-350 stolen either last night or sometime this morning. I was able to recover it due to a Apple Air Tag I hid in the truck though the thieves did tear my truck apart probably looking for it. I recovered it on the 22100 block of 98th Pl S in Kent. I called Kent PD and requested they do a drive-by to see if my truck was there and although it took a long time to get ahold of non-emergency Seattle PD, I was able to get the car marked as stolen. Kent Police sat on the vehicle for 1 hour while I zoomed down to get it back. I had an alarm they were able to defeat and disable and had a back window broken out. This is the 6th time my car’s been broken into since Covid started in 2020 when I purchased the truck and the 1st time they successfully stole it. Happy to have it back and maybe my success with having an Air Tag hidden will be something others can copy and gain a small amount of oversight over their vehicles.
More West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
ANOTHER AUTO SHOP BURGLARIZED: This time, Swedish Automotive (35th/Kenyon; WSB sponsor) was hit. Swedish’s Todd Ainsworth sent the photo and report:
We came in this morning to find a very large rock had been thrown through one of our windows – on the north side of the building, along Kenyon St. It appears they may have grabbed a couple of easy-to-reach flashlights from one of our tech’s toolboxes and the rock itself appears to have damaged a car that was inside the shop.
Hopefully, someone out there may have seen something? We’d love to hear from them if they did!
Contact the shop with tips. We don’t have the SPD incident # yet but will add when we do.
KEEPSAKES TAKEN IN GARAGE THEFT: We’re getting an increasing number of reader reports about apartment/condo garage break-ins. This one is from Rachel:
I live in the WS Junction area on California Ave and we’ve had our condo-complex garage broken into multiple nights in a row over the last weekend (2/10-2/13).
The intruders stole my high-school letterman’s jacket (as well as my childhood stuffed animals, music boxes from my grandmother, and my mom’s flag-corps uniform). The jacket is from Kentridge High School (2006-2010) and will have the last name “SOLEY” on the back.
If you find any items that might be Rachel’s, let us know and we’ll connect you.
SAME GARAGE, 3RD VISIT: Rachel’s garage is the same one where Corey reported repeat burglars/thieves two days ago. Now Corey sends word they returned for a third time – here are new photos:
Corey says, “Perhaps someone will recognize the couple and can report them to the SPD. Case # 23-40539.”
P.S. Another reminder – tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7 pm, the Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council community meeting happens at the precinct (2300 SW Webster), with a guest from the city Unified Care Team to talk about the encampment by the 1st Ave. S. Bridge.
1:36 PM: For those who thought they heard gunfire last night near California/Hanford – police say they confirmed it. 911 calls came in around 11:40 pm; officers were dispatched, and the report summary says they found “evidence of a shooting at the intersection of California Ave SW and SW Hanford St in the roadway,” adding that “No victims or property damage were located.” The summary also says that a witness reported seeing “a 2000s-model Jeep Cherokee speed off northbound on California Ave SW” around that time.
ADDED WEDNESDAY EVENING: A reader sent this security video in which you can hear (but not see) the gunshots:
Two reader reports about transportation thefts:
GOLF CAR STOLEN FROM CHURCH: The report and photo are from Phil:
Places of worship are not exempt from theft. Sometime early morning Valentine’s Day, the storage shed at Fauntleroy Church UCC was broken into and the golf car taken. The golf car is used to help people going from the parking lot to the sanctuary, and for groundskeeping. This golf car is a 1995 Club Car – old but fulfilling the tasks asked of it. If you have any information about its whereabouts, please contact the police (incident number 23-043252) or Fauntleroy Church UCC at 206-932-5600.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Here’s a security-camera photo of the golf car being driven away, toward Barton, with the date/time stamp:
E-BIKE STOLEN AT SCHOOL: This report and photo are from Heather:
Wanted to share that my son’s yellow, REI Co-Op e-bike, which was locked in front of CSIHS, was stolen today during school hours. We will file a police report next, but wanted to put this out there in case anyone comes across it. The battery won’t last forever and without it, it’s quite heavy. People can reach out to me if it’s spotted. 206-698-3051
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
HERE’S WHY DENNY IMS SHELTERED IN PLACE BRIEFLY: Denny International Middle School sent parents a note saying they sheltered in place for a few minutes this morning because of “an incident in the community.” Here’s the police summary of the incident:
Officers responded to 24 Ave. SW and SW Kenyon St. The victim, a construction site worker, stated that the subject had entered the fenced worksite. The victim contacted the subject and asked if they needed something, The subject did not respond, therefore the victim told the subject that they needed to leave the site. The subject then pulled out a gun and asked the victim if they were scared. The victim walked away and called 911. The subject was last seen northbound on 24 Av SW.
Officers searched with a K9 team but couldn’t find the person.
KAYAK THEFT: The report and photos are from Amar:
Stolen at 6:15 am 2/13/23 (Monday) 18th Ave and Roxbury near White Center. Please be on the lookout for a very long yellow kayak (2022 Eddyline Fathom Sea Kayak, Yellow), either in your neighborhoods or online. This thing would be very hard to fit inside a standard car, so this has to be transported on top of a standard car. FYI it’s as long as a Toyota Sienna.
Also stolen with the kayak were some Original 2019 Mazda MX-5 Wheels. They are gloss black with dull old tires.
I have also filed an incident report with Seattle PD – 23-042390
GARAGE THEFT: Another reported garage theft, this one just a few blocks north of the one reported here Monday. Received from Sanwal late last night:
Would like to report a theft from my secured apartment garage at 3703 California Avenue SW.
The thieves took about $1500 worth of gear that included motorcycle helmets, cameras, motorcycle repair tools, winter riding gear and gloves, and stuff like the rear-view mirrors from the motorcycle itself.
This is the second time garage theft has happened within the last year in the same garage.
REMINDER: Questions for police? Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council meets 7 pm Thursday (February 16th) at the precinct (2300 SW Webster) and online.
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
STOLEN ACCORD: The report and photo are from Tim:
My 1996 Honda 4-door Accord was stolen from my driveway (Corner of Charlestown Street & 52nd) between the hours of 5 am-3:30 pm today 2/13. License plate BEZ9764.
Car is very straight and clean. Has a baby blue sticker on the rear driver-side window, and a yellow sticker on the rear driver door window in a Japanese font. Dog collar hanging from rear-view mirror. Headlights have been changed to a bright white LED bulb along with all corner lights so it’s pretty distinctive at night. Small hole/crack in the driver side front blinker. All 4 doors have rain visors.
CONDO-GARAGE BURGLARS: From Corey:
On 2/10, someone broke the exterior lock on the pedestrian garage door of the Osborn condos on California Avenue, then sprayed paint over the security cameras. There is some video of them taking things from parking spaces. They came back the second night and stole more owners’ belongings.
Does anyone recognize either of these two? If so, please report to Seattle Police at spdgiu@seattle.gov. Incident number 23-40539.
(WSB photo)
4:57 PM: For the third time in less than three weeks, police are investigating a reported robbery at a West Seattle Junction bank/credit union. Police are at Sound Credit Union (4730 California SW). So far the robber has been described by dispatch as a (updated 5:35 pm) white man, late 20s, 5’6″ tall, black clothing including a hoodie over an off-white beanie, black sweatshirt with white Air Jordan-type logo, black and white tennis shoes. He’s believed to have left on foot, southbound on California. “No weapon involved and no mention of a weapon,” an officer has just told dispatch.
The previous two robberies were at HomeStreet Bank (41st/Alaska; WSB sponsor) on January 26th and at Washington Federal (California/Dakota) on January 27th. The FBI told us at the time that those two robberies were believed to have been committed by different people.
5:21 PM: Added photos. No additional information so far.
We asked SPD about an 8 am call to apartments in the 5900 block of Delridge Way SW – SFD had quickly downsized their response, but it was described as “a 38-year-old man with a single gunshot wound to the buttocks” and that it “happened last night.” SPD says they first responded to the complex around midnight: “A 911 caller said he saw the shooter chasing another man before firing at him (and that) several subjects had fled the scene in a pickup truck immediately after the shooting.” Police say they found nothing when they showed up, so they left the scene after talking with the witness. Then the victim called 911 just after 8 am to say he needed medical attention. He confirmed he had been shot overnight “after an altercation with three suspects” who all had handguns. Since his wound wasn’t life-threatening, he was taken to the hospital by private ambulance, in stable condition.
(WSB photo, February 3)
Nine days ago, we reported on an incident at LA Fitness in The Junction. The two suspects who were arrested are now each charged with three felonies.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Peter M. Rodrigue Jr. and Javier E. Garcia, both 18-year-old West Seattle residents, with two counts of felony harassment and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun. The charging documents offer a few more details on what allegedly happened at the gym that Friday afternoon:
Rodrigue and Garcia are reported to have gone in and asked for guess passes. An employee told them that without a member accompanying them, they needed to become gym members or they needed to leave. The employee said, according to the charging documents, they “got upset and asked him what time he got off work and what kind of car he drove. (Then) Rodrigue told him, ‘We’re gonna smoke you!’ which made (him) believe and fear that Rodrigue intended to hurt or kill him.” The club manager then confronted Garcia and Rodrigue and reiterated that they needed to leave; prosecutors say “she began filming them and felt threatened by their actions. … On the video, officers observed Garcia and Rodrigue walking toward the exit. Rodrigue walked outside the business. However, Garcia stops, places a ski mask over his face, turns back around, and walks back toward the front desk. Garcia then flips off (the manager), turns back around and starts walking toward the front door. As Garcia walked out the front door he turned back around and moved toward (the manager, who) screamed at Garcia asking him if he now wanted to touch her. Garcia then starts slowly backing away but reaches his left hand into his jacket pocket and starts to pull out a handgun from the pocket while threatening (the manager).” Investigators say the two then headed for the garage, and police stopped them a short time later after blocking the entrance/exit. The car they were in belonged to and was driven by a third man who police determined was not involved, so he was released. Inside the car, though, they found the modified handgun reported in previous coverage – described in the charging papers as having “an uncommon protrusion from the rear of the slide of the firearm that was discovered to be an auto sear modification. This auto sear is a small plastic or metal device that can make any handgun a fully automatic weapon – in essence, a machine gun. Auto sears are illegal at the city, state, and federal levels.”
The charging documents reveal a twist, though – police say the modified gun is not the one they allege Garcia was pulling out of his pocket. The images above are from the manager’s video and included with the police-written narrative in the charging documents, which goes on to say:
It was clear on the video footage that Garcia produced a firearm while threatening (the manager). However, the video footage was reviewed further and it was discovered that the firearm that Garcia used to threaten (her) was NOT the firearm that was recovered in the vehicle floorboard where Rodrigue was seated. The firearm in the video footage clearly does not show an auto sear device attached to it. By the time this discovery was made, (the driver) had long left the area with his vehicle. It is believed that Garcia hid the gun he was carrying within the suspect vehicle prior to being removed from the car by police. Officers at the time believed that the gun recovered from the front passenger side floorboard was the gun used by Garcia in this incident. The vehicle was not searched during the investigation before (its owner) was released with it.
Rodrigue has been in jail ever since his arrest that day, initially held on warrants from a robbery case in Auburn and a juvenile burglary case; his bail now totals $110,000. Garcia’s bail was set at $5,000 the day after the incident and he got out on bond; that remains his bail amount and he remains out of custody. He has no known criminal-conviction record, while Rodrigue has a harassment conviction. Both are scheduled for arraignment February 22nd.
Two notes:
PACKAGE GRABBER: Around 8 am today, this package thief struck in Highland Park:
Mike, who sent the video and report, says this happened near 12th SW and SW Kenyon.
MEETING REMINDER: You’re invited to hear from and talk with police at the Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council meeting this Thursday, in person or online. The featured guest will be from the city’s Unified Care Team, which deals with encampments. The meeting’s at 7 pm Thursday (February 16) at the precinct (2300 SW Webster); online and phone attendance info is in our calendar listing.
One incident of note so far from today’s police summaries: A street robbery early this morning. Police say a woman was returning home from work just before 4:30 am near 29th/Bataan. While walking from her car to her home, she was approached by someone who “poked her” with a pistol. The robber then, according to police, “demanded jewelry, and stole the victim’s purse, which contained cash, a cell phone, and other items.” Police say the robber then walked/ran away “and possibly entered a vehicle.” Officers tried to get search assistance from K9 and/or the Guardian One helicopter, but neither were available. The summary did not include descriptive information for the robber but we followed up with SPD and they say the full report describes him only as Black, male, about 5’6″-5’9″, with a medium build and dark clothing.
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