West Seattle, Washington
14 Sunday
Info-packed meeting Thursday night for the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition, one of West Seattle’s two crime-and-safety-focused groups (the other is the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council). From crime trends in the area (southeast West Seattle plus north White Center) — including a crime police are hoping more victims will report — to what can be done about problem properties, here are the highlights —Read More
Topping this afternoon’s West Seattle Crime Watch roundup – police confirm that a house at 17th/Barton [map] was shot at, describing it as “random vandalism,” not a case of someone being targeted. We got a text about shots heard in that area early yesterday but had no confirmation until we checked with police following a note from Adrienne, who says her neighbor’s townhome was shot at. Police say no one was hurt. Ahead, several more reports, starting with the case of the huge, now-missing tire:Read More
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen calls this to our attention – and yours: The elimination — scheduled to take effect today — of four particular positions in the state Department of Corrections has him and his colleagues worried about the effect on local crime/safety. 
If you think that department only works with the state prison system, think again: For just one example, there are DOC officers who partner with local police, hitting the street to track down wanted criminals with arrest warrants. (So many times, when we receive “what are police doing on my street?” questions, the answer turns out to be “warrant service.”) In this specific case, according to a letter signed by the Seattle City Council as well as Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and leaders of other cities around the county (plus other law-enforcement agencies, while none of the four positions to be cut in the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative is West Seattle-specific, the cuts do include one position assigned to the King County Sheriff’s Office and created specifically after the murder in White Center of KCSO Deputy Steve Cox (whose killer was under DOC supervision at the time). Here’s an excerpt of the letter:
The cuts would adversely impact our region’s ability to capture wanted felons, to monitor offenders in our communities on DOC-supervised release, and to provide hands-on personal assistance to DOC-supervised individuals who require housing, detoxification services, medical care, social services, and crisis intervention and support in order to stay out of trouble and risk reoffending.
Many DOC-supervised individuals engage in stranger-on-stranger violence to maintain their drug and alcohol addictions; they significantly contribute to social disorder in more densely populated areas due to aggressive panhandling and anti-social behavior associated with mental illness and chemical dependency. As a result, residents are rightly worried about their personal safety. They seek our help to protect them.
Read the full letter here; read more about state DOC budget-cut implementation here. Councilmember Rasmussen says he and Councilmember Tim Burgess, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, developed the letter and believe, “For the sake of the safety of our communities whether they are Bellevue, Shoreline, Seattle or White Center, we need these positions to be able to capture suspects and to ensure that offenders are being effectively supervised by the Department of Corrections.” We are checking with the governor’s office to get reaction to the city leaders’ letter and to see if there is any chance the positions will be restored. If you want to share a comment with the governor (on this issue or anything else), here’s how. 12:55 PM UPDATE: A spokesperson for the governor says she’s been out of town and they’re not sure if she’s seen the letter yet but they’re checking.
The latest West Seattle Crime Watch reports we’ve received involve three cars, three neighborhoods around the peninsula, from Admiral all the way south almost to White Center — one broken into, one tagged, and one stolen while its owner was moving, with a precious family keepsake now gone – read on for details (and prevention info, too):Read More
Many West Seattle neighborhood/community groups skip August meetings because it’s such a busy time for vacations, back-to-school prep, you name it, but now they’re about to rev up again. Here’s some of what’s coming up:
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Tomorrow night, 7 pm, HPAC meets at the Highland Park Improvement Club building (address/map – Google Street View above). On the agenda, from the preview sent out by HPAC chair Dan Mullins today, “a presentation from a local youth group that has been cleaning up Westcrest Park and the greenbelt, AND, former HPAC Chair and Seattle City Council candidate, Dorsol Plants will tell us about his election campaign experience and answer your questions …” This is also the only regular neighborhood-group meeting with a business spotlight (Cafe Rozella this month) AND a raffle.
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: This Thursday is the grand finale in its first-ever series of six Summer Concerts at Hiawatha – and they’re meant to be a neighborhood-building opportunity as well as good old-fashioned outdoor fun. Come enjoy the West Seattle Big Band, free, at 6:30 pm Thursday, east lawn of Hiawatha Community Center, meet the ANA reps who’ll be on hand (and then join them at the regular September meeting, 7 pm 9/9 in the basement meeting room at Admiral Church).
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Next regular meeting is Wednesday 9/2 (6:30 pm, Delridge Library) but we’re reminding you again about the Ice Cream Social THIS Thursday, all neighbors invited, with games as well as treats (here’s the invite). 6:30 pm Thursday, Cottage Grove Park (address/map).
SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: Crime and safety news for southeastern West Seattle and beyond, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map), 6 pm Thursday (free dinner).
Looking a couple weeks into the future, this meeting was just announced today:
HIGH POINT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION’S QUARTERLY MEETING: 6 pm September 10th, Commons Park Amphitheater. Topic, according to Jennifer Cobb – how to be a good neighbor(hood), by getting involved, pitching in, etc. Refreshments! RSVP via Facebook.
Luckily, nobody is hurt. But it was a close call for the driver of that car — she got sideswiped earlier this evening at California/Charlestown (map). WSB’er Diane called to let us know as others summoned police. The driver says she was heading north on California when a silver 4-door BMW, maybe a year or two old, sideswiped her while turning left onto eastbound Charlestown, from southbound California, before she was out of the intersection. Witnesses say the driver stopped briefly a half-block or so away, looked at his car – which would have front-end damage – then got back in and kept driving. The Seattle Municipal Code is very clear (as you can see here) about a driver’s duty to stop after a crash. 11:11 PM: Check the comments – where Larry says a similar-sounding car hit his in the same time frame.
One, a business break-in attempt – the other targeted a car (whose owner is puzzled why the thief/thieves took what they did) – read on for both reports (one includes a photo):Read More
Two more reports to share – first, the break-in; a quick report from Shelley in Gatewood, just a few blocks from the one in the “broad daylight” report from earlier – she says a neighbor on Thistle near 37th SW (map) was broken into today – no other details yet. Meantime, David reports this from further southeast:
3:15 am last Friday two fellahs tried to steal a neighbor’s car. They got about fifty feet before being confronted by some interested neighbors. One perp fled and the other, who advanced menacingly on the neighbors but was talked out of anything rash, was arrested by SPD who arrived en masse a few minutes later. Owner and somewhat mangled car were reunited a short time later – all things considered, a happy ending. Since one of the neighbors fears retribution, as she was also a victim of the “multiple burglaries solved” robber, the exact address should not be referred to but it happened west of Westwood Village. Since happy endings are rare in crimes, I thought to report this.
Great point – as we were discussing with Southwest Precinct leadership last week while working on the “multiple burglaries” story to which David alludes, it IS important to get out the word about arrests as well as about the crimes themselves.
From Michael in Gatewood:
Would like to spread the word on this one. On the 3900 block of Southern [map] our neighbor’s home was burglarized. Burglar used an ax to go through a secured back door in the middle of the day, Friday, August 21. Seattle Police were dispatched and came to house. No one hurt. No one saw or heard a thing, unfortunately. What concerns us is the violent nature of this break-in.
Those are portions of three photos sent by Mark – we’re not showing or publishing the entire three-letter tag on the fence, or the spray-paint vandalism on the van (a face on the hood and a splotch over the gas cap), but he’s wondering if anyone else had anything similar happen to them:
I live at the corner of 39th/Stevens [map], in the Admiral district. (Saturday) night someone tagged my fence and my neighbors’ van. Seattle police were called and the officer mentioned another incident with the “T(-)X” tag being used. Needless to say I am quite pissed and if anyone else has seen the same tag please notify Seattle PD.
Mark says it’s all been “removed” now, and while his neighborhood has not had a tagging problem before, a recent break-in has neighbors “on edge” and now they’re stepping up their vigilance even further.
19-year-old Skyelar Hailey, arrested after a foot chase in Admiral this past Tuesday (first story here, followup here), is now charged with two counts of residential burglary – the first one involving the West Seattle High School purse theft in the original report, second one involving a home nearby. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed the charges today and is requesting that bail for Hailey remain set at $25,000 because: “The defendant has a prior conviction for Criminal Trespass in the First Degree (2008) as an adult and juvenile adjudications for Theft in the First Degree (2008); Theft in the Second Degree (2008); and Harassment (2007, 2007). The defendant is only nineteen years old and has five misdemeanor or felony resolutions in the past two years. The defendant is likely to fail to appear in response to a summons.” We also have the documents detailing the case against him; we are not uploading the documents themselves because they include victims/witnesses’ names, as well as that of a juvenile who so far is not charged in the case, but we have cut-and-pasted the “probable cause” text (with omissions noted either parenthetically or with ellipses). Read for yourself, just ahead (photo credit, Christopher Boffoli, April 2009):Read More
The Southwest Precinct says two recent arrests appear to have solved a lot of burglaries — at least eight, and potentially more. We’ve spoken with both Detective Nick Bauer and Sgt. Jeff Durden to get the details you’re about to read: It started with a burglary on August 7th, 3400 block of 47th SW (map) – the resident(s) left the house for just 15 minutes, with a window unlocked or cracked open, and that’s all it took for burglars to get in. With some description information from neighbors, and a GPS-equipped BlackBerry stolen in the break-in, police tracked two suspects – one adult, one juvenile. That led to a search warrant for a house in the 1800 block of SW Brandon (map), where police found stolen property – “tons of it,” as Det. Bauer put it. Read on for the rest of the story:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Blake:
We had our jogging stroller stolen out front of our yard in broad daylight this afternoon at 34th and Othello [map]. We were standing 30 feet away when it happened but didn’t notice. We purchased it this Monday to exercise with our 13 month old child. If anybody sees a green jogging stroller for sale in the West Seattle area, please contact me at bjs210bjs@gmail.com.
Blake says they don’t have a photo. Which leads us to a point police made when we were talking with them this afternoon (working on a story about a burglary bust, which you’ll see here tomorrow) – be sure to keep identifying information so that if your stolen property is found, it can be returned to you more easily – that means serial numbers, photos, or etch an identifier into the item.
Reports this afternoon from Sunrise Heights and Gatewood – read on:Read More
Update on the arrest of repeat offender Skyelar Hailey after a foot chase in Admiral yesterday: Our first information from police (reported here) indicated that he is accused of stealing a purse from a West Seattle High School teacher. Then when he was booked into jail last night, the register showed he is facing three burglary charges (the decision on actual charges is up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which has three days to decide). We asked police about that this morning; Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen says the other two potential charges have to do with “two residential burglaries.” Hailey, who turned 19 last week, remains in jail as of last check; checking online court records, we found he also has a case pending from late July in Seattle Municipal Court, with charges including reckless endangerment, refusal to stop, no valid driver’s license, obstructing a public officer, and 1st degree property destruction – we are checking to see if that incident actually happened in late July or whether the charges stem from something earlier. 5:32 PM UPDATE: No answer on that yet but we can tell you that his bail’s now been set at $25,000, according to the King County Jail Register (he’s still there right now). THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office expects to file charges against Hailey tomorrow. FRIDAY MORNING: He is formally charged now with two counts of burglary. We are working on the story, which includes the full tale of what preceded his arrest this week.
One home break-in and one car break-in, and both victims e-mailed WSB to make sure you were aware of what happened – read on:Read More
ORIGINAL 10:58 AM REPORT: Thanks to those who’ve called and e-mailed – we have just confirmed with police that a foot chase in the Admiral area (near West Seattle High School) has ended with an arrest, so that’s why you’re seeing major police activity in the area. We expect to have more details shortly on what happened. 11:16 AM UPDATE: One of our tipsters had told us the suspect was believed to be Skyelar Hailey, a repeat offender who we have 
reported on here before, most recently in May, when police found him in a stolen car, weeks after he was sentenced on reduced charges related to an Admiral burglary case. Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen confirms to WSB that Hailey is in custody, under arrest for investigation of theft, along with a “female” who was with him, and has these additional details of what happened: Lt. Paulsen says Hailey is suspected of stealing a teacher’s purse this morning at WSHS, where summer school is under way; apparently a custodian originally gave chase. Police were called and a foot pursuit ensued, with Hailey taken into custody (the female’s involvement is not clear at this point). (Photo by Christopher Boffoli, from Hailey’s April 24 sentencing) 4:47 PM UPDATE: Hailey has finally shown up on the King County Jail register, booked about an hour ago. The potential charges are listed as three counts of investigation of burglary. 6:16 PM: His entry now has been updated to “bail denied.”
Eight days after we brought you first word of the gorilla-napping (involving an animatronic creation using the suit shown in the photo above) from Youngstown Arts Center (original WSB report here), the gorilla is back, according to a note tonight from Gina, who first reported its disappearance:
Thanks for your help in spreading the word! Our gorilla was safely returned to us today thanks to the good work of SPD. … We’re not pressing charges but would like to invite the kidnapper to wear the gorilla suit to attract attention at our next event.
That’s Nicole‘s window, near 37th/Edmunds, south of The Mount. And this is what did the damage:
Nicole shared those photos along with the story of what happened:
I have a frightening and very disappointing incident to inform you about. Last night around 10 pm, I was sitting in my front living room when a rock was thrown through my front window. Unfortunately I was not able to see the suspects, it was too dark. I’m thankful I was not struck by the rock or the glass that was littered across the living room but it certainly could have been a lot worse. Whoever threw the rock did it from 100-150 feet away, as our house sits high up off the street. It was clearly deliberate and not an accident. The rock was the size of a baseball and shattered the big window which is quite large, 12’x5′.
The police combed the area but came up with nothing. I’m not sure how something like this can be prevented but it certainly has my attention. I’m going to add additional motion sensor lights on that side of the house and possibly add a video camera and surveillance sign, we have had a lot of car break-ins and burglaries in the area.
Got that photo this afternoon from the FBI, taken during a robbery today at the Alaska USA Credit Union on 3rd in Renton. Looked a lot like the robber from the KeyBank holdup in The Junction on August 5th (note he’s even wearing the same T-shirt):
The same robber was linked to at least one of two robberies in North Seattle a week ago Saturday. So we pinged the FBI to ask if this is believed to be the same guy. Agent Frederick Gutt says, “Yes, the suspect today is believed to be associated with each of these robberies.” Here’s the description from today:
The suspect is described as a black male, mid 30’s, approximately 6′ tall, mustache, wearing a tan baseball cap and blue jeans, and departed on foot. The suspect displayed a handgun and should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information regarding the suspect is asked to call the FBI at (206) 622-0460
We’ve received two West Seattle Crime Watch reports this morning to share with you – one vehicle break-in, one home break-in. Both victims have advice for you based on what they’ve learned about what happened to them – read on:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from John, who says this happened between noon and 1 pm today:
Just a warning to other West Seattleites. My wife and I were both home (Oregon & 39th) [map] with the front door open letting the sun in. Someone walked into our house and stole my wife’s purse from a chair close to the front door. Didn’t see anyone suspicious around. Everyone be on the lookout for weirdos.
John, of course, called the police, and says they “mentioned an incident yesterday in the same area.”
Out of the WSB inbox, from Jon:
Our car stolen from our garage, 5400 block of 40th Ave. SW [map], sometime b/t ~5:00 pm 8/14/08 & 10:00 am 8/15/09. 1997 Honda Civic LX 4-door sedan, green, 624-XKD (WA). A guy near I-405 in Kirkland called me @ 10:15 this morning saying he found glovebox papers in the middle of his street, included owners’ manual, registration. I’ve filed report w/ SPD.
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