3 jailed in West Seattle Senior Center break-in – and 100+ others?
A big break in a case we first told you about last week: 
Three Everett men arrested in Snohomish County on Sunday are suspected in the Senior Center of West Seattle break-in two weeks ago – and may be linked more than 100 other commercial burglaries in the region, according to the Marysville detective with whom we just spoke, even another senior-center break-in (in Arlington). Marysville Detective Vinson says the suspects are a 49-year-old man, a 44-year-old man, and that man’s 22-year-old son. We’ll be looking up their criminal histories shortly. The Senior Center burglary two weeks ago not only cost the facility in The Junction hundreds of dollars in cash and gift cards, it also left behind thousands of dollars in damage, including holes kicked in walls. Detective Vinson says the multiple agencies now working on potential cases against these three are hoping to be able to develop more leads from the public “putting these (suspects) at the scene” of the various crimes; in the Senior Center case, there’s surveillance video, as seen in our original report. According to Detective Vinson, by the way, these are the same arrests mentioned in this brief Everett Herald report this morning; he says the suspects are believed to have primarily taken cash in most of the break-ins, and items seized after the arrest included their “tools of the trade.” We just checked the Snohomish County Jail register. All three are still behind bars, with bail set at $100,000 for the oldest and youngest suspects; the other man’s bail is listed as $300,000 for each of two potential burglary counts, so far. Checking online court records, we found that all three have lengthy criminal histories.
ADDED 11:48 AM: If you thought breaking into a Senior Center was outrageous, check this KIRO TV report – same suspects, though it doesn’t mention the West Seattle break-in. It includes surveillance video of a pub burglary in which the loot was $4,500 in donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. And it notes that the three apparently were caught because one of the suspects bragged about their prolific criminal activities.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Child left in car; store robbed; more
From our review of the past week’s reports at the Southwest Precinct:
A 41-year-old Highland Park woman got a warning from police after leaving her two-year-old daughter alone in the family car while she shopped at Westwood Village Target. Police were called after passersby saw the little girl alone in a Nissan Frontier, strapped into a rear-facing booster seat, car doors locked, all windows rolled up except for one cracked open half an inch. While one officer went in to ask the store to put out a page, another stayed at the car to figure out how to get the child out. The mother answered the page and told police, according to the report, “She was asleep and I didn’t want to wake her up”; meantime, another officer set off the vehicle alarm and noted that the child got out of her seat, crawled across the cab, played with the gear shift, and opened a door for the officer. After police explained to the mother “in great detail how much danger she put her child in by leaving her unattended in a vehicle … (and) explained the exceptionally high levels of auto theft that occur in the area,” they let her go with a warning, but said the report would be forwarded to CPS. In fact, five auto-theft cases were among the other West Seattle reports we reviewed, as was a 7-11 robbery, and more – read on:Read More
Chief Sealth break-in/vandalism: Help solve a $200,000 crime
We usually do not publish complete “tags” on WSB, as it’s believed publicity may further encourage tagging vandals, but this time, police actually are asking us to show you these two photos in hopes you might be able to solve a costly crime: One month after we first told you about a break-in and vandalism spree at the permanent Chief Sealth High School site (WSB coverage here and here), currently closed for renovation work, Southwest Precinct Detective Nick Bauer tells WSB the damage now totals $200,000; much of that damage was from a fire set by the burglar(s), but they also broke windows, skylights, and even some equipment in the library. Believed to be linked to the break-in: Graffiti vandalism on the roof, as seen above and below:
What police are asking is this: If you have seen graffiti/tagging in a style resembling either of these photos – or if even better, you have any idea who the “writer(s)” might be – please give them a call. CrimeStoppers of Puget Sound is a good place to start, since you can tip anonymously: 206-343-2020 or 800-222-TIPS. SPD also has a non-emergency line, 206-625-5011. Just one of the ways in which your tip could help: Police can check their databases for known taggers, and if it turns out that something you have seen has already been linked to a certain offender, that may help them make the connection that cracks this case. Side note: The white blob in the top photo is our edit to block a profanity; investigators wonder if “f— the merger ” might be a reference to the end result of the work that is under way now, not only renovating CSHS but also building a new Denny Middle School on the same campus.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Another burglary on 42nd SW
Just out of the WSB inbox:
This is Sean and Matthew from the 5200 block of 42nd Ave SW. [map] Our home was burglarized at about 11 AM on 4/16. The thieves kicked in the back door and stole a 52″ flat screen, laptop, Playstation, DVDs, games, and some jewelry.
That’s one day after Dan in the 4400 block of 42nd reported a break-in (part of this roundup). Reminder – if you’re concerned about crime in your neighborhood, this Tuesday night is your chance to talk with police leadership and community advocates at the next meeting of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (35th/Webster).
Sunrise Heights meeting: Hughes School; sex offenders; more
From Thursday night’s quarterly meeting of the Sunrise Heights Neighborhood Association (this area is roughly between High Point and Westwood, between 35th and Delridge):
E.C. HUGHES SCHOOL’S FUTURE: Sage Wilson of the SHNA board has been talking with Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association about applying for a city Department of Neighborhoods grant to study community interest in the closed Hughes school. (After temporarily housing South Lake High School the past two years, it’s vacant again this year.) The grant would facilitate open houses for public input on the site, to figure out if there’s enough interest to look into buying it, since it’s on the Seattle Public Schools surplus-property list. Neighbors’ general consensus was that it’s a good idea to talk about this before a development proposal comes in from outside the neighborhood. Sage will head up the grant-writing effort, to meet a July deadline.
SEX OFFENDERS: Detective Bob Shilling from the Seattle Police Sex Offender Detail briefed the neighborhood about how to find information online, as well as what families really need to know about sex crimes: Long story short, very few involve “strangers.” As for sex offenders in local neighborhoods, you can use this website to see if any level-1 or level-2 offenders are living near you (it’s linked from the bottom of our Crime Watch page if you ever need to find it again); the West Seattle overview is that the Southwest Precinct area has 163 right now, fewer than any other precinct in the city (the largest number is 343 in the North Precinct). Statewide, there are 20,178 registered sex offenders.
POKER TOURNAMENT FUNDRAISER: This Saturday night is SHNA’s 4th annual Texas Hold’em Poker Night at the social hall of Our Lady of Guadalupe, $15/person or $120/table of 9. Must be 21 or older. More info on the SNHA website.
Followup: Guilty plea in Admiral neighborhood burglary case
(November 2008 photo by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Five months after police swarmed that North Admiral neighborhood when neighbors noticed a break-in (original WSB coverage here), the case is almost closed on the only adult suspect arrested that day, 18-year-old Skyelar Hailey. As we noted in a followup when he got out of jail 10 days later, he has a lengthy record, which, according to court documents, includes convictions for harassment, theft, vehicle prowling, reckless burning, and trespass. In the November break-in case, Hailey has pleaded guilty to criminal trespass, with prosecutors recommending a month in jail “converted to 240 community-service hours” in addition to a 12-month sentence suspended if 2 years of probation go well; he is scheduled to be sentenced a week from Friday. Court documents say he and the two other suspects were seen running from the house, after a neighbor noticed someone was inside at a time when the homeowner was away, but he wasn’t caught with any loot. (Hailey also has been in jail once since the November arrest, according to county records showing a day behind bars in late February; the charge, filed in Seattle Municipal Court, was described as violating a domestic-violence protection order.) Information is harder to find on the other two suspects’ status, since they were juveniles, but what little information is publicly accessible online indicates that both of them have been prosecuted.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Thieves hit Nature Consortium
We were working on this story before the Fairmount School break-in happened – now that that incident is over, we need to let you know about this:
First the American Legion hall was burglarized – then the Senior Center of West Seattle was broken into and vandalized – now, crooks have hit the Nature Consortium, a WS nonprofit whose major mission is marshaling volunteers to help restore the West Duwamish Greenbelt. This comes from the NC’s newsletter, which arrived in the WSB inbox late today:
We are sad to report that our Restoration Project storage container was vandalized last week and all of the tools stolen. The thieves broke in by damaging the padlock and hasp and emptied out all of the container’s contents. We lost a multitude of tools used for large work parties, including pruners, machetes, a brush cutter, a chainsaw, extra blades, and a pop-up tent used for shelter and sign-in purposes. We calculated the loss to be $1,324.30 worth of materials. The Restoration team is currently working to secure the container and to replace the equipment. If you would like to help us replace these items, donate here.
We followed up with Nature Consortium executive director Nancy Whitlock, who confirms the storage container is the structure that the group maintains along the West Duwamish Greenbelt trail often used for their monthly hikes.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Break-in, arrests at closed school
(thanks to Stephanie for the photo)
Dorcas sent first word of major police activity near Fairmount Playfield (map), and then Stephanie provided a the follow-up report (also confirmed via scanner) that an apparent break-in at closed (though opening soon for summer school) Fairmount Park Elementary is involved, and arrests are reported. We’re on the way to find out more in person. UPDATE: On site, we’ve counted nine cruisers and at least one Seattle Public Schools vehicle – good area to avoid till things settle down.
From the scanner, sounds like four suspects are in custody and one more is being sought. 5:50 PM UPDATE: Two more suspects in custody, per both the scanner and what we’re seeing on scene. Officers are still checking inside the school for more. We’re told at the scene that an alarm was tripped, leading to the successful response.
8:17 PM UPDATE: SPDBlotter has a little more information – all six suspects are described as male, 2 “young adults” and 4 “juveniles.” Looks like no property damage in the building, the report says.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Two burglaries; sideswipe hit-and-run
First, a West Seattle Crime Watch update – if you saw our first report this morning about the Senior Center burglary, take another look – we added a surveillance-cam screengrab later, provided by police. Now, two even newer burglaries – Rob and Naomi e-mailed to say it happened to their home in Sunrise Heights this afternoon:
Our home in the 7500 block of 32nd Avenue SW [map] was broken into today sometime between Noon and 4 PM. They stole a TV and other items like jewelry that’s more of a sentimental value than monetary. If anyone saw anything or if anyone seems stuff dumped on the road, please post! Thanks and keep watch on yourselves and neighbors!
And from Richard and Brenda:
Our neighbor in the 3400 block of 47th (along the west side of Madison Middle School) [map] had a break-in today. A wedding ring, lap top, and electronics were stolen. The police said that there have been a series of break-ins in the area.
Also, from the WSB Forums, another hit-and-run sideswipe – this time near 50th and Edmunds [map].
West Seattle Crime Watch: Costly burglary at Senior Center
We first got a tip about this last week but couldn’t get it confirmed until today; now we’ve talked with both Southwest Precinct Detective Nick Bauer and Senior Center of West Seattle director Karen Sisson, and here’s what we can tell you: Police are investigating a costly break-in that also left behind some serious damage at the Senior Center HQ in The Junction. It happened sometime last Sunday night/early Monday. Sisson told WSB this morning that the burglars got into the center’s 1950s era safe and stole the equivalent of $5,000, including $2,500 in Safeway gift cards and $400 in postage stamps. But that’s not the Senior Center’s only loss – at least $3,000 in repairs are needed to office doors and walls damaged by the burglar/s, including what the police report described as two 2-foot holes in plasterboard in corridor walls. Locked file cabinets were broken into as well, even one, according to the police report, related to the Meals on Wheels program. No arrests so far; it’s the second prominent Junction nonprofit hit recently — the American Legion hall was broken into a week earlier. Police don’t know at this point if the two burglaries are related. (P.S. We are following up to see whether there’s anything specifically the Senior Center needs to have donated because of this – will add to the story, but in the meantime, they take donations year-round, and there’s even an online-donation link from this SC of WS page.) ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: Police have provided a surveillance-camera framegrab – see above left – they hope might help solve the break-in. Call 911 if you have any idea who it might be.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car extensively “keyed”
Another crime report to share today – out of the WSB inbox, from Nick:
Sometime early Friday morning (4/10) our car was vandalized on the street side by someone gouging a key completely from front to back in the neighborhood off Delridge near the West Seattle Bridge on 26th St SW. There has been a lot of extra activity in this area in the past year or so and has been escalating. If anyone has any information or saw anything suspicious in the area around that time please let us know. It’s kind of sad when things like this happen unprovoked and just goes to show that you always have to be on your guard…
Side note for everybody: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; in addition to making sure there’s a Block Watch in your area, we highly recommend attending the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, to bring concerns to local police leaders (and the volunteers who run the group), and to hear firsthand about local trends. 7 pm April 21, Southwest Precinct meeting room.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Anyone witness this hit-and-run?
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Dunsany:
While I was in Caffe Ladro this morning, someone backed into the side of my car smashing in the section in front of driver-side door. The car was parked down on Frontenac street [map] from 10:30 am until 12:30. Driver took off – no note and no witnesses to be found. I’m pretty disgusted with the complete lack of responsibility of people right now.
See anything? Let police know: 206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number. Frontenac, by the way, is the cross-street north of Caffe Ladro, as seen here on Google Street View:
View Larger Map
West Seattle Crime Watch: Delridge harassment; hydrant vandalism
First, from seattlepi.com, a Delridge man has told police he’s being harassed – with his truck repeatedly egged, and a swastika drawn on it. Second, a vandalism report from the WSB inbox tonight, sent by Shannon:
I wanted to report some new activity in our area. When we woke up this morning we noticed that someone had spray-painted some type of graffiti on the fire hydrants in bright orange paint. On the way to work, I realized the graffiti was on all the hydrants along 48th Avenue between Brandon and Raymond [map]. We made a police report – hope this isn’t signs of more to come. I park on that street and will definitely be bringing everything in from my car tonight – CD player, CDs, etc.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car-prowl encore in Arbor Heights
Out of the WSB inbox, from KEM … of particular interest if you think “not on OUR street”:
For the second time in as many months, our unlocked cars (shame on us, I know) have been prowled. We woke two months ago to my car doors left open, and a few items had been pilfered – a Polar heart rate monitor, and a few other inconsequential items. I assume I left my car door unlocked the night before, though I’m not totally sure. This morning we woke to my husband’s car having been rifled-through. We think his car was unlocked, too, and, as I said, shame on us for doing it twice. This time they stole a pair of iPhone earbuds, but nothing else. Risking getting caught for some iPhone ear buds? Seems sort of silly, really. Not a big deal in terms of loss of property, but we live on a quiet, dead-end street around 36th and 110th and it’s a little unsettling to think that prowlers are lurking around in the middle of the night and rifling through our stuff. Neighbors, beware! And keep your doors locked. (Duh.)
From the resource list at the bottom of our Crime Watch page, here’s the official advice on deterring car prowlers.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Clerk hit during Bartell Drugs robbery
We got a note about this last night but couldn’t confirm it with Seattle Police till today: A clerk at Bartell Drugs in Jefferson Square was hurt during a strong-arm robbery Saturday afternoon. According to Officer Mark Jamieson from the SPD media unit, it happened just before 4 pm yesterday – the robber hit the clerk in the face, reached into the till and grabbed money, and ran away, last seen running onto 41st SW on the east side of Jefferson Square. Jamieson didn’t have information on whether the clerk had to be taken to the hospital (Fire Department medics did treat him at the scene), but he does say no one has been arrested; there are conflicting descriptions of the robber/attacker — white or Hispanic male, 5-6 or 5-7, wearing a blue plaid shirt and jeans. This was a “strong-arm robbery” instead of an “armed robbery,” Jamieson explains, because no weapon was seen or implied, but force was used. (Thanks to Elise and Mary for sending notes asking about this – both had family members who were at the store right after it happened.)
MONDAY UPDATE: A little more info from SPD – the clerk’s injuries were NOT severe enough to require hospitalization, though according to Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, the report says she was punched in the face and “pushed.”
What a Bellevue SWAT team was doing in West Seattle
Thanks to the folks who called earlier this afternoon to say they saw a SWAT team around Delridge/Holden. We actually saw the vehicle go by (although not in any particular hurry) at the start of the aforementioned problem-properties tour – and noticed the vehicle quite clearly marked “Bellevue.” Checked with the media liaison at Bellevue Police, who would only say they were “serving a warrant” as part of an “ongoing investigation.” ADDED 8:23 PM: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli points out it’s the same house from the second part of this recent story he covered.
ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: Another photo, from Tony Bradley:
West Seattle Crime Watch: Which crimes are up, which are down
Beyond the incident-by-incident crime reports, we work to bring you “big picture” context whenever it’s available. When we saw Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen at a meeting the other night, he mentioned he was about to brief the SWP Advisory Council on March crime stats for the area, so we asked for the same overview, to share with you:
Car prowls are up over February. Items stolen are purses, iPods, GPS, wallets, laptops … items that could easily be taken out of vehicles to lessen the probability of being prowled. Suspects are teenagers and drug addicts. We have seen a trend that teenage females are also being involved in this crime. It only takes a few seconds to enter a vehicle and take the items. Some vehicles have been left unlocked as well. The suspects are looking for opportunities and easy pickings.
Auto thefts continue to go downward. The flavor of the month for March is Honda Civics.
Residential burglaries are down from February – mid 40s [total number for the area], which is less then our normal average, 50 or so. Items taken are the same as in car prowls. Weekdays, between 10 am and 1:30 pm, is the hot time. We made 5 arrests in March which cleared several cases.
You can also get the latest on West Seattle crime trends in person — and ask key precinct personnel about concerns in your neighborhood – by attending the next WS Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm April 21 at the precinct (Delridge and Webster).
From partner site White Center Now: Annexation; Amanda Knox
Two links of interest to share from our partner site White Center Now:
ANNEXATION: Burien’s proposal to annex part of the White Center/North Highline area is one step closer to reality tonight after a preliminary approval recommendation from the King County Boundary Review Board, following a public hearing in Tukwila. Burien’s city manager noted during the hearing that Seattle, which might annex the rest of the area – or might not – didn’t send a representative to comment. Read detailed notes from the hearing, as it happened, here.
AMANDA KNOX: Some people are so interested in the case of the young woman from West Seattle who’s on trial for murder in Italy, they could tell you the entire story in intricate detail. If you, on the other hand, feel like you came into the story in the middle, you might be interested in this WCN analysis/opinion piece retracing the case.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car ransacked, knife taken
From longtime WSB’er “timeslid“:
Well, it happened to our car last night. Some really fabulous human rifled through our car last night. Nothing is missing other than the car cheese knife. It was really fun to come out to all the contents of the glove box strewn up the street. This was between Lander and Stevens on 38th (map). I thought I locked the door, but I guess I didn’t.
Update: Payton the stolen schnoodle is back home
This already has been pointed out on the comment thread following the Sunday story, but here’s the official announcement early this morning from the family of Payton, the West Seattle schnoodle stolen during a visit to Capitol Hill (original report here) – he’s back home safe:
I don’t even know how to describe what happened in the last 28 hours or so but my wife and I are in total disbelief. We just got our beloved Payton back. Apparently sometime around 9am this morning the thieves dropped him on a busy 4 lane road in Federal Way. 2 ladies on their way to church saw him and picked him up. They posted some ads around Federal Way but saw the clip on KOMO and called it in.
We learned a lot over the last day plus. One, as many people have suggested – don’t leave your dog in your car unattended. It’s simply not safe or worth the risk. We also learned how powerful a group of united friends and can be when called upon. We’re forever grateful to everyone who worked very hard today to help us get the word out. Within moments of getting home last night, our friends and family went to work and gave us the support we needed. Also, if it wasn’t for the West Seattle Blog I’m not sure we would have him back right now. Many thanks to you and your readers for your comments which ultimately led to KOMO reaching out to us about the story.
Lastly, the owner’s of Piecora’s were so helpful and caring and deserve a lot business their way. The owner came in (Sunday) just to get me the footage that SPD decided to ignore (as it was just a theft of “personal property”) so we could get it on air and out to people.
Thanks a million to everyone who showed their support.
Dan
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