West Seattle, Washington
24 Sunday
Sent by Susan:
Was stolen overnight in Gatewood. Ford F-350 white King Ranch special Edition truck. W (University of Washington) sticker on back canopy window and also on trailer hitch. License plate B67087N, SPD incident # 23-232975.
Two stolen vehicles to watch for, as stolen vehicles have turned up in many different neighborhoods lately:
STOLEN GREEN YUKON: Michael sent this report:
I’m reporting my neighbor Linda‘s stolen vehicle. It’s a 2002 GMC YukonXL K1500. WA plate BPB8585. Dark green. Stolen last night at 11:07 PM from Dawson Street between California and Erskine. Police report # 23-231236.
8/18 UPDATE – Per comment, this was found in Burien.
STOLEN WHITE SIERRA: This report was sent by Ashley:
My niece lives in Port Orchard with her family, but her husband goes to South Seattle College. Their family truck was stolen out of the parking lot. The case number is 23-219742. Their truck is a 1994 GMC Sierra. Diesel. Automatic. Cloth seats, pink & blue lines that fade into droplets going down the sides. WA plate number B54865S.
Sent this morning by Seth:
We woke up this morning to find our car had been broken into and rifled through. Nothing of value was in there, so more just a pain to replace a window (and the general offense of someone messing with your stuff). It appears the prowlers hit multiple cars parked along the same side of the street – 34th Ave SW, between Holly and Willow. This is along the fence of West Seattle Elementary, so not directly in front of homes. The school site is still under construction so maintains a security guard there overnight, but I couldn’t find them to ask if they saw anything. I filed an online police report just to add it to their stats. Just sending as a heads-up since ours wasn’t the only car hit.
11:52 PM: Police have reported finding at least two shell casings so far while checking out 911 calls about gunfire north of Lincoln Park. One caller near 47th and Othello reported seeing shots fired, dispatch told officers. No reports of any injuries so far, and we haven’t heard a description of vehicle(s)/person(s) involved.
12:02 AM: Police just told dispatch they’ve found nine 9mm casings.
4:15 PM: SPD summary adds the detail that a witness reported seeing “a speeding white ‘boxy’ SUV.” If you have any information for police, the case number is 23-228204.
6:46 PM WEDNESDAY: Police are asking for help finding that car. They say it was stolen from a man found shot to death near 1st/Walker in SODO around 3:30 am Tuesday. They said little about circumstances initially, but now say the 52-year-old victim was a ride-share driver, apparently killed in the process of a carjacking. And they said tonight that the car was seen in West Seattle shortly afterward (where in WS, they didn’t say, but we’re asking). The SPD update tonight says, “The vehicle is a light blue 2014 Toyota Prius with Washington license plates BEP3940. Also, the vehicle has one mismatched rim. All other rims are silver in color.” Call 911 if you see it.
ADDED FRIDAY: SPD has arrested a suspect, an 18-year-old woman taken into custody in South Lake Union on Thursday afternoon. We don’t yet know if she has a West Seattle link but will watch for documents in the case.
Both of these incidents happened around midnight and we followed up with police today:
ADMIRAL SAFEWAY ATTACK: Two employees of Admiral Safeway were assaulted by a group of people, and one – a 36-year-old man – was taken to the hospital. Police say the two were attacked when they “interrupted suspects who were trying to push a motorized handicap scooter down an upper-level stairwell.” The attackers left in “multiple vehicles” before officers arrived. If you have any information, call the SPD Violent Crime Tip Line at 206-233-5000 and refer to incident 23-227148.
EXPLOSION: This was reported a few blocks west of The Junction, in the 4400 block of 48th SW. SPD says officers “found evidence of a fireworks explosion” as well as “minor property damage.” A reader says it happened in the alley behind a neighbor’s house: “The explosion put a hole in the bottom of the garbage can and blew the lid into the yard of the neighbor to the South and damaged the house next to the cans.”
Three reports:
GUNFIRE DAMAGES SCHOOL: From Seattle Police report summaries, this Monday discovery on the Highland Park Elementary campus:
At 10:32 [am], staff observed two children handling a spent casing in the playground area. The staff member then observed bullet damage on the building. Police responded and noted ballistic damage to a floodlight and on the exterior of the building where the floodlight was located. Staff indicated the light was functioning Thursday (8/3) and found damaged Friday (8/4).
If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 23-225299.
STOLEN SPORTAGE: From Molly: “We unfortunately woke up to our 2022 white Kia Sportage stolen from our driveway this morning in Gatewood. With the string of people joyriding and swapping Kia/Hyundais, we are really hoping it is still in the neighborhood.” License plate CAC0282.
ANOTHER BROKEN-WINDOW CAR PROWL: From Brigid:
Woke up to our driver’s-side door smashed Friday, August 4th. Parked on 29th Street SW in front of our house, between Cloverdale and Trenton. Nothing inside to steal, pure vandalism entertainment. Rash of cars’ windows being broken in our Westwood neighborhood :( Neighbors think it could have been between 530 am-700 am? Submitted police report.
First, from the inbox this morning:
BROKEN-WINDOW CAR PROWL: Sent by Donnie:
Neighbor on SW Barton/ 31st Pl, reporting to warn others of what’s been reported a few weeks back in the spree of car windows being broken. At some point during the night, my car window was broken — car seemed to be rummaged through but nothing was stolen, including an iPad I forgot to bring in that was clearly visible. It was noticed this morning around 4:30 as I was leaving for work. Police report has been filed and I’ve attached a photo to warn others and if anyone has any suspects in mind.
Two more reader reports:
DUMPED ITEMS: Sent by Tom:
These items were dumped on 12th Ave SW just north of the intersection of SW Webster. These were from a stolen car because the ignition switch was lying on a WeatherTech floor mat. Seen on Sunday around 5:30 pm.
He wasn’t able to take possession of them so if they might be yours, check that area.
FOUND LAPTOP: This turned up on Chris‘s mailbox in the Delridge area:
Chris says the side not shown has “identifying marks” – if you think it might be your lost/stolen laptop, contact us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – and we’ll connect you.
One case of confirmed weekend gunfire:
ARREST NEAR ROXBURY LANES: As reported briefly on our partner site White Center Now, the King County Sheriff’s Office says it arrested a suspect after responding to a report of someone “shooting into the air” near Roxbury Lanes early Sunday. No injuries.
And a report from last week that we just found:
PRIDE FLAG ARSON: According to a brief SPD summary, this happened just after 11 pm last Wednesday (August 2nd):
Officers responded to a report of a bias crime in the 4600 block of Southwest Stevens Street. Unknown suspect(s) set a victim’s Pride flag on fire. The victim extinguished the flag and reported to police seeing several subjects in the area. The flag was damaged and a small section of an exterior wall singed.
We just checked the SFD 911 log and did not find an accompanying response. If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 23-220377.
SIDE NOTE: If you have used our Crime Watch page, you’ve probably noticed the absence of SPD “Tweets by Beat” incident categorizations, locations, and case numbers. It’s been down now for going on three weeks; SPD says the problem is known but they have no ETA for restoration. Prior to the full outage, some sectors around the city, including the F (eastern) ones in West Seattle, hadn’t been showing data for a while. SPD has a few other options for finding case numbers/classifications, but none are as thorough as Tweets by Beat was. You can find our archived crime reports here but as for current events, many calls aren’t dispatched by radio so your texts are more important than ever when you see a significant response – 206-293-6302 – thank you.
(Reader photo, July 16th)
Three weeks ago tonight, a speeding driver on Alki Avenue smashed into another car so hard, it was pushed over the seawall and into Elliott Bay, with passersby jumping into the water to rescue that car’s driver, 24-year-old Madison Kelly. Harborview Medical Center is no longer able to answer media questions about her condition, due to her medical-privacy status. The most recent update on the crowdfunding page for Ms. Kelly and her family is from two weeks ago, at which time she was described as “breathing on her own (and) discharged from the ICU (but) in a comatose state.” The update says her recovery could take months or years. Meantime, the driver who hit her, a 23-year-old North Seattle man who was driving his brother’s car, has not yet been charged. He was arrested the night of the crash on suspicion of DUI but taken to the hospital rather than jail; he is no longer at Harborview Medical Center but we don’t know whether he was transferred to another medical facility from there. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told WSB late Friday that the case had not yet been referred to them by Seattle Police detectives; as discussed at the most-recent Alki Community Council meeting, discussions were under way regarding whether charges could be filed before the state lab’s toxicology report came in. Meantime, the City Council has since passed a bill that would enable speed-enforcement cameras in that area, but it’s up to SDOT to come up with a plan for installing them; that’s also the agency still mulling whether more speed humps should be added on Alki/Harbor Avenues.
(WSB photo, June)
In hopes that fewer Hyundais and Kias will wind up like that one – stolen and pushed down a slope at Westcrest Park – SPD is giving away more steering-wheel locks. After two giveaways in April, two more dates have just been announced for late August and early September. Sent today by Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite:
In response to a rise in vehicle thefts involving certain Kia and Hyundai models, SPD’s Crime Prevention Coordinators will be giving away steering wheel locks at each of its five precincts this summer.
Dates & Times:
Tuesday August 29th : 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Saturday September 2nd : 9:30 am – 11:30 amLocations:
East Precinct – 1519 12th Avenue
West Precinct – 810 Virginia Street
North Precinct – 10049 College Way N
South Precinct – 3001 S Myrtle Street
Southwest Precinct – 2300 SW Webster StreetThe devices are available at no charge to people who live or work in the City of Seattle, with a focus on those who own or lease a Kia or Hyundai vehicle. Due to limited availability, locks cannot be set aside or held. Only one lock allowed per person. Please go to the pickup event scheduled for the precinct where you live or work.
We just received this report from Chelsea:
This morning between the hours of 6-10 am, my husband’s shaved-ice stand that he runs through his non-profit, Enigma ASD Services, was vandalized and demolished. The shaved-ice stand is located next to Colman Pool in Lincoln Park. The stand provides first job opportunities for people with disabilities. It has been damaged beyond being able to reopen this season.
It was undamaged when he went on his morning run at 6 this morning. We are surprised by the amount of damage considering the beach/park/path are crowded with people fishing this morning.
This is the third incident involving the stand and theft/destruction.
It is a sad day for the employees who won’t have a job to go to this afternoon and this summer.
We asked Chelsea what people could do to help. First, if you were in the park early and saw anything, this has been reported to police, though so far they just have a tracking number (T23017099) pending the official incident number. You can also donate to Enigma.
Thanks to a reader who asked us about this incident; we asked SPD and they in turn have just posted about it on SPD Blotter:
Yesterday, police responded to an attempted luring of a minor in the 1100 block of Southwest Cloverdale Street within Highland Park playground.
Officers arrived just before 5:00 p.m. and spoke with the victim’s mother, who reported a man grabbed hold of her four-year-old son near the bathrooms of the park.
The male suspect was described to be a White male, who was approximately 70-80 years old, wearing a red shirt, black shorts, and black tennis shoes. He was also clean-shaven and bald with sunspots on his head. The suspect had left the area prior to police arriving at the location.
If anyone has information about this incident, please call 911 and reference incident #2023-220035.
One week ago tonight, we reported on two incidents of confirmed gunfire in West Seattle. Turns out there was a third gunfire incident that night, and charges are filed against the suspect, who is jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.
39-year-old Daren Atwood is charged with firing a rifle he wasn’t supposed to have, shooting twice into a neighbor’s home near Fairmount Ravine. Police found a bullet that had pierced that house’s walls just feet from where the residents were sleeping. Court documents say Atwood is not supposed to have guns because of a protection order resulting from a conviction for fourth-degree domestic violence; he signed a declaration of non-surrender, saying he didn’t have any guns, though the new court documents say he apparently has owned the rifle since at least 2015. When police made contact with Atwood last Tuesday morning, after the neighbor had called about the gunfire, Atwood reportedly told them someone had tried to shoot him. He consented to a “security sweep” of his house, police say, and that’s when officers found a bolt-action rifle that had been recently fired.
The circumstances of the case are reminiscent of a previous gunfire-related arrest of Atwood on which we reported in 2014, when a SWAT team was called in and five schools sheltered in place because of gunfire in the same neighborhood. Eventually police found Atwood, who claimed he had fired shots because someone was after him; no one was injured, but cars had bullet damage. Atwood was then charged with a misdemeanor that eventually was dismissed. Now after last week’s incident, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged him with second-degree unlawful firearm possession, unlawful firearm discharge, and reckless endangerment. He is scheduled to answer the charges at an arraignment hearing August 9th.
Almost two months after the City Council rejected a proposal to match city law with the new state law about public drug use, Mayor Bruce Harrell is out with his plan. It’s the result of the committee he formed after that vote (the members are listed here). At the heart of it is city legislation that the mayor’s announcement says would:
-Codify state law and make public consumption of illegal drugs a gross misdemeanor in the city of Seattle.
-For the first time in the City’s history, designate diversion and treatment as the preferred approach to addressing substance use issues – connecting people with care and responding to a public health crisis with evidence-based health solutions.
-Define a new threat of harm standard – differentiating between drug use that threatens others versus the individual alone, recognizing the real and perceived danger of consumption of illegal drugs in public places, and aiming to support safe and welcoming neighborhoods by reducing public use.
The aim is not to jail drug users, according to Harrell, who is quoted in the announcement as saying, “Success will not – and cannot – be measured on how many people cycle through jail; instead, our focus is on improving connections to lifesaving treatment and expanding program options to better meet the needs of those with substance use issues.” So what would the mayor’s proposal mean for law enforcement? The announcement says he’ll issue an Executive Order next week “providing guidance to Seattle Police Department officers on how the law should be applied, further detailing threat of harm standards, and defining tools to collect and analyze data to measure success.”
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN GRAY RIO: From Alyssa:
Hoping to get the word out that my boyfriend’s gray Kia Rio hatchback was stolen in front of my house on 42nd Ave SW near SW Graham. Last had eyes on it around 7 pm Friday night and found it missing right before noon Saturday. There was glass and the ignition box lying in the road. If anyone has any information, please call SPD and reference case no. 23-216571.
Car (similar to this) has a faded RockyMounts two-bike bike rack on the back (similar to this).
SEEKING HIT-RUN WITNESSES/SUSPECT: From Jon:
On Friday, my parked car was sideswiped at 4:14 pm while parked on the 2700 block of 49th Ave SW, resulting in a large scratch from the rear quarter panel to the driver’s door.
After reviewing security camera footage, I am particularly interested in talking to the driver of the silver Ford Fusion (2010 era), which passed my car then, and the two cyclists who witnessed the event. I am willing to return the side mirror cap which fell off the other vehicle to the driver of said car in exchange for insurance info!
My email is jonowen@hotmail.com
Colin‘s boat and trailer were stolen Friday afternoon in North Admiral:
It is a 19.5-foot Glasply, 1982, WN8999jr, with blue stripes and a Yamaha 9.9 gray extra motor. It was stolen from the 1900 block of Sunset Avenue. It was taken with the trailer, which is an EZ Loader plate number AM8397. Police report number 23-214615.
We’re told Colin and his grandfather had just finished fixing up the boat – and then it was stolen. Any info, email ellenzoffel (at) gmail.com.
UPDATE: Found in South Park.
1:20 AM: Seattle Fire is sending a “scenes of violence” response to the 7700 block of 34th SW, where a man is reported to have stab wounds. We haven’t heard much about circumstances. Police are already on scene.
1:22 AM: They’re downsizing the response and canceling the medic unit, indicating the injuries aren’t major.
4:18 PM: We followed up today with SPD to ask for details on what happened. The reply: “Officers responded to a ‘stabbing’ but when officers arrived the injury was minor, and it could not be confirmed to be a stabbing. Neither party wanted to be a victim. Officers documented the disturbance and cleared the scene. Based on the investigation, no arrests were made.” (“Wanting to be a victim” is roughly another way of saying “wanting to press charges.”)
(November 2020 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
The longest-running criminal case we’ve been watching is ending with a plea bargain after more than 2 1/2 years. Three days after a man was shot while driving in an Alki alley, a nearby resident, 38-year-old Garrett Heinemann, was charged with first-degree assault and first-degree burglary. Heinemann was arrested shortly after the shooting and has been in jail ever since. This happened in the middle of the day, 12:35 pm on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 29, 2020. The case was a head-scratcher; the victim told police that while he had recently moved to the area, he had never met Heinemann, who was reported to have stepped out into the alley in front of the victim’s car, told him to put his hands up, and opened fire. The victim was hit in both arms, neck, and one shoulder, according to court documents. The defendant had no criminal history and had legally owned the pistol for eight years, with a concealed-weapon permit; he had discarded it into the water at Alki shortly after the shooting, before police caught up with him. We’ve read court documents off and on for the entire 2 1/2 years that this case has taken to resolution and have never seen any mention of Heinemann offering an explanation for why he shot the victim.
Court documents say Heinemann pleaded guilty Wednesday to the two original charges – the burglary count is for barging into another neighbor’s residence after the shooting and trying to pistol-whip him. In the agreement, prosecutors are dismissing the “firearms enhancement” that would have added years to the sentence. They are recommending a 9 1/2-year sentence, toward the low end of the “standard” range; the final decision will be up to King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee on September 1st.
That photo of a mostly-stripped beach bench was sent by Stephanie, who told us after an Alki walk this morning: “One of the Honey Buckets is tipped over this morning. Another regular morning walker told me he saw older kids push it over then take off in a car, laughing. Two benches are also ripped up. This is around 59th and Alki.” The other “ripped up” bench was not stripped of most of its wood, but instead left with one board on the ground and two rearranged as sides of a triangle. We checked in with Seattle Parks to ask about repair plans; spokesperson Rachel Schulkin tells WSB, “We will make those repairs in the next couple weeks (hopefully less).”
Sent by Lisa:
Stolen 2013 Nissan Altima, license plate BFK3128, champagne color, in the Gatewood area on 7/25 (today) between 4:30-5:30 pm. Police report # 23-211051. Please email lenclistads@gmail.com if you have any information.
11:29 PM: Police are blocking off the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW after discovering shell casings following 911 calls about gunfire. This is the same area in which a deadly shooting happened last night. Early descriptions of two vehicles possibly involved tonight include one – a white Charger or Chrysler 300 – that police told dispatch sounded similar to one involved last night.
11:53 PM: Officers told dispatch they’re reopening southbound Delridge. No reports of anyone injured, so far.
12:50 AM: Now police are investigating gunfire reported in the 6400 block of 31st SW, where they’ve found casings in an alley – from a handgun, they told dispatch, plus “rifle rounds.”
We asked police for followup information today on two incidents we reported last night as possibly linked – gunfire at a Delridge gas station, with blood found around a car, and a shooting victim found after a crash toward the east end of the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s what police have just released:
Around 10:45 p.m., police responded to multiple reports of a shooting in the 5400 block of Delridge Way Southwest. Upon arrival, officers observed evidence of a shooting but did not locate any victims.
Shortly after the shooting, police responded to a collision on the West Seattle Bridge. When officers arrived, they discovered the driver had multiple gunshot wounds.
Officers attempted life-saving measures until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. The 26-year-old man succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased early Monday morning.
Homicide Detectives are leading the investigation. If anyone has information, please call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
The shooting happened at the gas station recently rebranded as Shree’s, at 5445 Delridge Way SW; the crash happened at the eastbound bridge’s 4th Avenue exit.
ADDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office identifies the 26-year-old victim as Rayshawn Parker, killed by “multiple gunshot wounds.”
10:52 PM: Second gunfire incident in six hours – this time, after numerous reports to 911, police have found shell casings at a gas station near Delridge/Findlay, as well as a car “with blood around it,” though no word of victims so far. There’s also a report of bullets hitting a nearby residence and car. This is still developing.
11:04 PM: Police are investigating whether the Delridge shooting is linked to a driver found with a gunshot wound after a crash at the eastbound West Seattle Bridge’s 4th Avenue exit.
11:11 PM: Back to the West Seattle scene, an officer just told dispatch they’ve recovered “about 50 casings” so far. Whether that’s all at the gas station or elsewhere, they didn’t say.
11:30 PM: After being flagged down by someone, police have found more shell casings – “at least five so far” – in the 3100 block of SW Myrtle.
11:47 PM: As shown on the traffic-camera frame grab above, part of Delridge is still blocked off near the original gunfire scene.
12:14 AM: Northbound Delridge has reopened, officers just told dispatch.
1:33 AM: Many unanswered questions in all this – we hope to be able to add followup information later this morning.
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