Crime 6993 results

Where’s Payton? West Seattle schnoodle stolen on Capitol Hill

That’s Payton the schnoodle — whose person Dan Nicholson hopes everybody to be on the lookout citywide, after Payton was stolen from Dan’s car on Capitol Hill last night. Here’s his report on what happened:

Our 10 month old puppy, Payton (named after the Glove. In honor of my lost and beloved Sonics), was stolen from our car (last night) while we were dining at Piecora’s. He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and weighs 13.5 lbs. We were parked in their back lot and planned to go to the Beveridge Place in W. Seattle afterward as they allow dogs. I had to talk my wife into letting him come as I felt bad locking him back up after working all day. The camera photage literally shows them pull up, throw a boulder through our window, grabbed him and go. Fortunately they left our other dog. He’s our little buddy and basically we’re desperate to get him back. We’ll pay a reward to have him safely returned.

We’ve also pointed Dan toward our fellow neighborhood-news sites closer to the scene of the crime, including Capitol Hill Seattle. Call police if you’ve seen Payton.

Why a Tennessee arrest has meaning for a West Seattle church

March 29, 2009 7:02 am
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 |   Crime | West Seattle religion

An arrest in Tennessee will be welcome news for the congregation of Gatewood’s Peace Lutheran Church. Pastor Erik Kindem e-mailed the other day to call our attention to this seattlepi.com story about a woman mourning her murdered son, unable to leave the Tukwila motel where he was killed because she had nowhere else to go. Kindem knew the family and officiated at 24-year-old Kevin Camacho‘s funeral a week ago, in addition to seeking help for the family. Now there’s word from Tennessee that the suspected killer is in custody, awaiting an extradition hearing so he can be returned here to face charges.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 4 wheels gone; 1 sighting; 1 break-in

Amanda sent that photo and this report:

On Friday morning, 3/27 I went outside to walk my dog at around 5:30 a.m. and noticed that all four wheels and tires had been stolen from my car, which was parked in front of my house on 44th Ave SW, between Oregon and Genesee (map). My husband and I parked the car in that location at approximately 8:30 p.m. last night, so the incident occurred overnight. The vandals were kind enough to leave the car sitting on a tire jack and a spare tire. My car is a 2005 Honda Civic and it did have alloy wheels. … I’ve rarely seen this level of damage on our street and, frankly, I don’t know how you police this sort of thing. But, just a word of caution to other folks in the area.

Less than a mile away, we just got a phoned-in report about a possible car-prowl suspect spotted in the 50th/Edmunds vicinity (map) – the caller had phoned 911 but also wanted to alert people in the area to a man seen looking in at least one car window, and then walking away very quickly when spotted by a passerby. She described him as “Asian, 18-23, about 5-9, red baseball cap, hoodie-type sweatshirt, and jeans. last seen heading south on 50th. She noted that two of her friends had their cars broken into in the past week in the Admiral District, so she’s got her radar up.

Last but not least, a report received earlier today from Steve:

Just wanted to get the word out that my car was broken into out in front of our house last night.This is in the 8700 block of 16th ave sw, at SW Trenton (map). They broke the passenger side window right at the lock button, got in and rifled through everything. Luckily there was nothing of value in the car (learned that the last time they did this a couple of years ago). In fact, the only thing that was missing was a couple of packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee that were in the space between the seats. Luckily, we have a regular speed trap in front of our house too, in the school zone, so Officer Sue took the report & all this morning.

John’s Corner Deli robbery update: The latest from police

The first question on everyone’s mind this morning was obviously – has anyone been caught yet, in connection with the robbery last night at John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster (original WSB coverage here)? We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit. The answer: No, no one in custody. Beyond that, two things: First, the media unit has just filed its summary of the situation on SPDBlotter, moments ago (see it here)- it mentions three details we didn’t have before: First, police say the robbers grabbed the entire cash register; second, they apparently got away in a vehicle, from a spot half a block away where the track followed by K-9 officers came to an end; third, the robbers were believed to be in their 30s. As for how the clerk is doing, we know he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, but information on his condition is not publicly available right now. Police are not saying whether the store got the incident on surveillance video but promise that if there are images to release to help in the search, we will get them so that they can be publicized. 10:14 AM UPDATE: We just went to the store to see if we could find out how the victim is doing. The shop is open again for business; the woman we spoke with didn’t want to say much more than, “My brother … is fine” and that they will be “OK.”

Update: John’s Corner Deli robbed, clerk hurt, robbers on loose

ORIGINAL 10:03 PM REPORT: The city’s 9-1-1 logs show a police and fire callout to the 7500 block of 35th to investigate an assault with weapons call. Text messages we’ve received say the search is working its way down Myrtle and some of the other side streets off that block of 35th. A helicopter is in the air over that area. Details will follow as we get them.

10:34 PM UPDATE: Police are still combing the area for two robbers who grabbed the cash till at John’s Corner Deli at 7500 35th SW. Police say two males wearing ski masks entered the store, one carrying a knife and the other carrying a firearm. A struggle ensued; a worker at the store received injuries which have not yet been disclosed.

Here’s a shot of what the floor inside looked like as seen from across the street.

1:29 AM UPDATE: The most recent update from police says the robbers are still on the loose and that the clerk suffered “facial injuries.” The descriptions of the robbers aren’t very detailed, but here’s exactly what police said in that update: One Hispanic male with a face mask and a shotgun; one “unknown race” male, mask, with a knife. If you have ANY information, call 911.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 items from SPDBlotter

Just in case you haven’t already seen these items on the WSB Crime Watch page, which instantly picks up whatever Seattle Police publish to their SPDBlotter site: First, early this morning at a Roxhill-area home (the address is not mentioned), police went to a house whose resident reported the second break-in in two weeks; the alleged burglar was found in another house nearby, and police say they found “property” from both burglaries. Full SPDBlotter writeup here.

Then, late this morning, police went to a house in the 3800 block of 19th SW (map) to check out a report of people in what was supposed to be a vacant building; while talking to people they found inside, according to the police report, they were “charged” by a pit bull. One officer shot and wounded the dog. Full SPDBlotter writeup on that one here. (We also have received a note from a nearby resident who says police activity continued at the house through the afternoon.)

Today/tonight: WSDW lunch; crime prevention; Water Taxi

March 26, 2009 7:43 am
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 |   Crime | King County Water Taxi | West Seattle politics

From the WSB Events calendar:

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN LUNCHEON: 11:30 am at the West Seattle Golf Course. Guest speakers include 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse and West Seattle’s School Board rep Steve Sundquist; registration starts Registration will begin at 11:15 A.M. with the lunch/program beginning at 11:30 A.M. Cost is $10 for members; $12 for non-members. But call for reservations first: (206) 935-3216.

PARKS BOARD VOTE ON WATER TAXI DOCK: 7 pm at Parks Department HQ downtown (map). Tonight’s agenda includes a vote on whether to recommend that Parks support the plan to expand the dock at Seacrest so that the (newly renamed) King County Water Taxi can start year-round operations next year.

SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map). Tonight’s agenda includes the continued discussion of a possible “alcohol impact zone” on both sides of the city/county line.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Three stories to share

First: From seattlepi.com – Six people have been indicted in connection with a prostitution ring, and they allegedly are affiliated with what’s described as a West Seattle-based gang. Read the story here.

Second, Derek P sent this photo, and the report that follows:

Just another FYI for West Seattle residents who believe that they may live on a quiet street. I returned back from work today passing my girlfriend’s vehicle parallel parked at SW Raymond St. & 30th Ave SW [map] What do I find? Gold paint running along the bottom of the drivers side (see photo). Reported to the SPD. No witnesses. Her vehicle happened to be one of two parked along the street at the time (4:30pm). Fortunately, the paint was still somewhat soft so I managed to remove most of it with some bug / tar remover plus some elbow grease. At first I assumed it was spray paint but I’m not so sure. I will probably go back out later to ask neighbors who may have been parked on the street earlier to see if their cars were hit.

Finally, Susan in Upper Fauntleroy sent this after reading about the stolen Buddha on Alki earlier this week:

Within the past week we had a large (4 foot) carving of a fisherman with a large fish stolen from our front poarch. I would love to get it back, it was rather unique, but I don’t have much hope. However, I wanted to let you know because there may be a trend and I want others in the West Seattle community to learn from our experience.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Gatewood hit-run, carjacking attempt


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Bizarre “series of events,” as Officer Jeff Kappel described it, late last night in Gatewood. Here’s how Kappel, who’s with the Seattle Police media unit, tells the story: It started around 41st and SW Monroe (blue marker in map above) just after 10 pm with a report of a hit-and-run crash. The car responsible for that crash, a silver 1999 Honda Civic, went on to California/Ida, five blocks away (red marker in map above), where the woman driving that car — which turns out to have been stolen — abandoned it and tried to carjack another woman. She didn’t succeed, and ran away. Police seached the area, but as of Kappel’s official report, filed around midnight, hadn’t found her. He describes her as “an Asian female in her 20s, in a gray and red sweatsuit, wearing a whistle,” apparently around her neck. The victim of the carjacking attempt was not reported to have been hurt; no word if the would-be carjacker had a weapon. We’re checking with police this morning for any more followup on this.

Highland Park Action Committee: A “banner night”

March 23, 2009 11:28 pm
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 |   Crime | Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

The debut of that new banner (designed by Dina Johnson) was just one of the reasons why tonight could have been called a “banner night” for the Highland Park Action Committee, with highlights including:

**Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio said crime’s trended downward in the Highland Park area in the past 30 days; hearing complaints about late-night door-knockers, he advised calling 911.

**HPAC chair Dan Mullins said he’s been in touch with a Shoreline neighborhood group that, like HPAC, has been working to keep the possible future regional misdemeanor jail out of proximity to residential neighborhoods, and said they agree the jail belongs downtown. He also read a quote attributed to City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, saying the city should be building “castles for education,” not jails.

**Mullins also had an update on the Westcrest Park reservoir’s future park project; he says the Parks Department doesn’t plan anything definitive for the site until after the Seattle Public Utilities work to bury the reservoir is done next year – then public meetings will ensue. Rory Denovan suggested a neighborhood summit be held BEFORE then, so neighbors can create a plan for what they’d like to see.

**Highland Park Improvement Club – whose building houses HPAC meetings and much, much more — is celebrating its 90th anniversary this November, and planning fundraisers and work parties before then, starting with a wine-tasting event April 23rd.

HPAC meets the fourth Monday of each month; its info- and photo-laden website can be browsed at highlandpk.net.

From the WSB Forums: What that helicopter was up to

helicopterwatch.pngGot a few notes very early Sunday about the area’s law-enforcement helicopter, Guardian One, spending some time over the Delridge Triangle area. WSB Forum members launched a discussion and we have added a little more information this morning – the call started with King County Sheriff’s Deputies who say it involved a report of a “fight in progress” – here’s the entire WSBF thread, in case you haven’t already read it there.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Repeat car-prowl victim hit again

Out of the WSB inbox, from Lindsay — this happened just a few blocks from the one reported here Saturday, but it packs an extra frustration factor:

Our car (Mitsubishi) was broken into on the 3700 block of 34th Ave SW again! This is the 3rd or 4th time our car has been broken into in less than a year and a half. All other times it was done when our car was parked in the alley behind our house in a parking spot so we got a bright light that is always on over the parking spot. That didn’t stop them so we stopped parking out back. Now they broke into our car right in front of our house. Don’t know what else to do! This is very frustrating…

Here’s the official Seattle Police advice on deterring car prowls.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Minivan prowl; stolen Buddha

From Michael:

We unknowingly left our minivan unlocked last night (3/20/09) and this morning the contents were strewn about our front sidewalk. It appears nothing was stolen, but they went through all the bags and glove box. Location 34th Ave SW between Andover and Charlestown [map].

ADDED SATURDAY EVENING: From Dano:

Just wanted to share that I too, just felt the sting of theft…. I live on Alki Beach, and my beautiful concrete Buddha statue was stolen right off my street side patio. It makes me sad… I guess the person who stole it needed its peaceful presence more than me…..But still, I am sad.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 more cases of crooks vs. cars

At this rate, we may have to set up the subtopic West Seattle Car Crime Watch. First, from Susan:

Sometime last night all four wheels and tires were stolen off my (poor grad student) niece’s Honda Civic. The car was parked on the street in front of our home near the waterfront park on Beach Drive…it was left jacked up on a car jack and a brick. The car itself was not broken into.

Next, from Ashley:

My* foolish* boyfriend parked his car on Avalon Way and what he thought was a well-hidden snowboard in the backseat. Upon returning to his car this morning he found his GMC truck broken into and the snowboard stolen. It is a K2 Electra 167 snowboard that is brown with white bindings. If anyone has seen it or seen anyone attemping to sell it, I would highly appreciate it.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Sealth site security beefed up

The day after we reported on vandalism/arson damage at the Chief Sealth High School (permanent) campus, which is closed till summer of next year for major renovations, we have some followup information from Seattle Public Schools. We asked how security would be beefed up – SPS spokesperson Tom Redman‘s reply: “The general contractor for the Sealth renovation project has contracted with a professional security firm for guard services to patrol the Sealth building and grounds.” We also asked how much the damage would cost to repair – no dollar figure provided; Redman said, “Most of the damage is limited to broken glass and a small fire in one classroom, in addition to possible smoke damage. The general contractor’s insurance company’s risk adjusters are assessing the extent and cost of the damage.”

More Crime Watch notes: Car-strip suspect nabbed; search site

March 18, 2009 9:27 am
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 |   Crime | South Park | West Seattle news

2 more notes that trace back to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, although one is a new development just within the past few hours:

CAR-STRIPPING SUSPECT NABBED: Lt. Steve Paulsen told the group last night that officers hoped to make an arrest shortly in a case featured in the Washington’s Most Wanted reports on channel 13 – a restored 1967 Mustang was ravaged by someone who broke into the the South Park trailer where it was stored. (Read the original story here.) Southwest Precinct officers tracked down a suspect in Renton and Lt. Paulsen just confirmed to WSB that they arrested him this morning.

WANT TO KNOW IF A SEX OFFENDER LIVES NEAR YOU? We have mentioned this before, and the link has been in the “resources” section at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page for months, but it came up at last night’s Crime Prevention Council meeting so we want to share it again: To find out whether a registered sex offender – someone convicted of a serious sex crime – lives near you, there’s a great statewide search website you can use: Here’s the link. (There are three “levels” of sex offender – 2 and 3 are the most serious, and those are the ones you can search for by using that site.)

West Seattle Crime Watch: The big picture; the latest incidents

Back from three-plus hours at the Southwest Precinct, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, then moving on to review the latest reports. From the WSCPC meeting – the February crime stats, announced by Lt. Steve Paulsen: 2 armed robberies, down from 5 in January; strong-armed robberies were up to 7 for February, described by Lt. Paulsen as largely “afterschool stuff” – youths getting iPods and money stolen, and he says they’re “working with the schools on that issue” – residential burglaries down to 37 in February (usually averaging about 50/month); 26 car thefts in February, down from 33; car prowls down dramatically in February, 83, from January’s 127. More from the Crime Prevention Council meeting in a separate story; first, on to some of the latest reports from the precinct, including more than a few car crimes, starting with a theft that ended in arson and a store clerk scaring away a would-be robber – plus a burglary from today, reported by a local Block Watch — read on:Read More

West Seattle Crime Watch: Chief Sealth HS project vandalism

Just got word that vandal(s) hit the Chief Sealth High School – permanent campus – project overnight. According to a report provided by the Southwest Precinct, the construction crew arrived first thing this morning “to discover someone(s) broke into the secured school … set fire to a cabinet / cork boards, and broke multiple skylights and other interior windows.” The report elaborates:

They set a wood cabinet on fire, which caught nearby corkboards on fire. Numerous interior windows as well as skylights were extensively damaged. Several beer cans were left behind, as well as blood smears from where (the) suspect may have been cut. The fire alarm had been disabled due to reconstruction.

The report also says construction workers had reported graffiti vandalism and a “trash-can fire” the day before, which might have been the work of the same vandal(s). Detectives are doing followup work now, and the blood smears provided potential DNA evidence. We will check with Seattle Public Schools regarding damage estimate from this vandalism and what’s going to be done to step up security. 7:04 PM UPDATE: A district spokesperson says that information won’t be available till tomorrow.

What’s up: St. Patrick’s Day; Crime Prevention Council night

March 17, 2009 6:30 am
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 |   Crime | Fun stuff to do | Holidays

Top o’ the mornin’ … St. Patrick’s Day events around West Seattle include corned beef, cabbage, and fiddle music at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights today (call 938-3964 to check if there’s still room) and Shamrock ‘n’ Roll at Skylark (WSB sponsor) tonight, including open turntables at 6 pm and karaoke at 9. Between 6:30 am and 7 pm, drop by Hotwire (WSB sponsor) for a FREE 12-OUNCE PEPPERMINT MOCHA for some green caffeine. And this evening – not holiday-related, but fighting crime is always worth celebrating, so be at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct — hear about the latest crime trends, bring your crime concerns, and see Sgt. Jeff Durden explain the Community Police Team.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 burglary reports

Read on for two reports that came in Friday but involved break-ins earlier in the week:Read More

West Seattle Crime Watch: Storage unit, cars broken into

Two break-in reports this afternoon. First, from longtime WSBer Pelicans:

Got a call yesterday afternoon from Public Storage on Avalon. My unit and at least about 29 others were broken into overnight on Tuesday/Wednesday. From the info I received, the theives got into the building by breaking through an outside door and into a stairwell. The went up the 4th floor and started jimmy-ing storage unit doors. In many of them, including mine, nothing was taken. The police told the managers it was as if they were looking for something. There were boxes labeled ‘clothes’, so that was probably not what they wanted.

We are checking with police on that one; Pelicans says the culprits were reportedly caught on camera. Meantime, a note from the south end of Beach Drive:

My cars were broken into last night. Unusual for my location. I live on Beach Drive SW, north of Lincoln Park. Nothing valuable stolen (except my treasured flashlight)

ADDED 6:03 PM: Thanks to the WSBers who let us know about police activity in Seaview this afternoon, around 45th and Raymond (map). It cleared out before we got there to check it out but this evening police say it was a reported residential burglary – nobody in custody so far.

ADDED 6:12 PM: And word of more car break-ins – this report from Gary Dawson in Fauntleroy:

Someone got into two different cars of two different addresses on SW Henderson between Fauntleroy Way SW and 45th Ave SW last night. Classic homeowner mistake, neither had locked the car doors. Two cars that we know of so far. We are talking to the neighbors. A Garmin portable GPS was taken from one of the cars, which is parked in a driveway next to the house with a very bright motion activated light over it. Nothing taken from the other as far as is known. Reported to SPD.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Recognize this loot? Call police

Just in from Detective Brian Ballew at the Southwest Precinct: “Could you please post the attached photos … and see if anyone recognizes the property. The items were recovered during a burglary investigation in the West Seattle area.” Here are the photos:

If you have any idea whose these are/where they are from, please call Detective Ballew at 206-233-7836.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Cars targeted, again

As was reiterated again last night by Lt. Steve Paulsen in the crime update at the JuNO meeting (WSB report here), car-related crime is one of the worst West Seattle problems at the moment, even with crime down overall. That photo came from Scott, who says:

This morning I woke up to discover that thieves had stolen the front of my Honda Civic. I live on 37th between Dakota and Andover [map] and the car was parked in the alley behind our house. They took the hood, lights, front bumper and the front side panels. They also broke a small triangular window towards the back of the car for some reason. It didn’t seem like got inside the car, there was nothing in there to take. Whoever did this knew what they were doing – other than the window there wasn’t any other damage.

We also have a short note from yesterday regarding a window-smash situation – this report was from Michale, who saw it while driving by:

I just wanted to report a car break=in (Tuesday) morning on the corner of 40th Ave SW and Holly [map]. I live just a block away and on my way to work, I noticed a car with a smashed-out window and glass all over the street. From what I could tell, the thieves only hit the one vehicle. This is the first time I have seen a smash and grab in the neighborhood. I would like to just put the word out there for people in the area to be on the lookout.