10:14 AM: Melissa says this happened early today in Highland Park:

My car was stolen from our driveway on 6/20/2023 @ 12:54 am. It is a 2016 red Hyundai Elantra with license plate number AWH5605. Police report # 23-171492.

Melissa says video shows 3 people getting into the car by breaking the back passenger-side window (we’ll add the clip if/when available).

2:15 PM: Here are two images from the video – one showing the other car associated with the thieves, one with the thieves:

WEDNESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Melissa says her car was found just blocks away – where commenter Jkm reported it.

3:02 PM: From John, who lives in Highland Park and (corrected) works at the KAVU store in South Delridge:

Our KAVU Company truck was stolen from outside an employee’s house last night in Burien. It is a 2013 Ford F-150 Pickup. License plate: KAVU

We’ll add the report number – which will be a KCSO/Burien PD case – when we get it.

5:42 PM: John says the truck’s been found – in Federal Way.

(WSB photos)

Thanks for the tips. The latest West Seattle business hit by crash-and-grab burglars is Tulip’s Nail Salon in Jefferson Square. According to archived police-radio audio, it happened just after 4 am, with the burglars using two vehicles to back into the storefront – a black SUV and tan pickup, last seen headed south on 42nd SW.

When we went over this morning after readers told us about seeing the damage, we found a police officer back for a followup, though store owner/staffers weren’t there. The officer said they’d been told the burglars stole “a small statue of Buddha” (its former spot is in our second photo) and a “small amount of cash.” If you have any information, the SPD case # is 23-167367.

Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:

ROBBER SEARCH: If you’re in the Westwood Village area and wondering about the police response, officers are looking for a robber right now. We don’t have full details but a female victim told police she was robbed at gunpoint by the dumpsters between McDonald’s and the future Five Guys. The robber may have gotten away on foot southbound on 26th SW. A K9 was called in to help search. The robber is described as an Asian man in his early 20s, 5’6″ thin, beanie, black sweatshirt and pants, armed with a “small compact semi-automatic handgun.”

ARRAIGNMENT POSTPONED: We reported last week on the charges filed against 36-year-old Delfino Lopez-Morales in the West Seattle Bridge crash that killed Khalea Thoeuk and Riley Danard, both 18, in March. He was due in court for arraignment today to answer the charges, but the hearing was postponed until June 26th, with the explanation that he is still in a hospital but expected to be discharged by then. A warrant remains in effect and police have said he would be booked into jail upon release from the hospital.

3:59 PM: Seattle Police published this statement this afternoon:

Late yesterday afternoon, SPD received an order from a US District Court judge that enjoined, in full, enforcement of SMC 12A.080.020 – the City’s misdemeanor property destruction law. This means that until further order of the Court, SPD cannot take action on damage to property under this law. This is not a matter within SPD or City discretion; we are bound by the court order as it is written.

We understand and share the concerns that are being relayed to us by our community, businesses and residents alike. We know, as evidenced by the thousands of calls for service we receive each year reporting acts of vandalism and other forms of property damage that property damage is, in fact, a crime that is of significance to community members. SPD is working closely with the Mayor’s Office and City Attorney’s Office to assess next steps with the Court.

We hadn’t heard about this case before. It challenges graffiti-vandalism arrests under a city law that specifically targets graffiti vandalism, but does NOT mention other forms of “property destruction::

A.A person is guilty of property destruction if he or she:
1.Intentionally damages the property of another; or
2.Writes, paints, or draws any inscription, figure, or mark of any type on any public or private building or other structure or any real or personal property owned by any other person.

The order by federal Judge Marsha Pechman is a preliminary injunction – meaning it could be temporary. Here it is, as linked in a news release from City Attorney Ann Davison‘s office. In the ruling, Judge Pechman writes in part that the law:

“… targets speech (and) poses a real and substantial threat of censorship. … On its face, the Ordinance sweeps so broadly that it criminalizes innocuous drawings (from a child’s drawing of a mermaid to pro-police messages written by the Seattle Police Foundation … The Court agrees with Defendants that the public benefits from preventing property damage and visual blight. But the criminalization of free speech significantly harms the public interest in far greater measure than the public might benefit from criminalizing property damage.”

Meantime, the City Attorney’s Office said that today it would ‘file a motion asking Judge Pechman for expedited reconsideration of the order. The Criminal Division of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office will not be filing property destruction charges under this law for the time being.”

6:34 PM: The City Attorney’s Office has since sent this statement clarifying that the injunction only sought to target graffiti vandalism, not other kinds of property damage:

At the direction of the Court, counsel for the City and the plaintiffs conferred this afternoon to determine whether they agreed that the Preliminary Injunction should enjoin enforcement of both SMC 12A.08.020(A)(1) and (A)(2) or just SMC 12A.03.020(A)(2). After conferring, the parties submitted a stipulated notice to the Court stating their agreement that the Preliminary Injunction enjoins only SMC 12A.08.020(A)(2). We anticipate the Court will issue an order confirming the stipulation and narrowed scope of the Preliminary Injunction Order. The effect of this change is significant because it permits the City to continue enforcing violations involving property damage, a gross misdemeanor, under SMC 12.08.020(A)(1). Subsection (A)(2) of the ordinance remains enjoined, pending further order of the Court.

The aforementioned “stipulated notice” can be read here.

Two robberies in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning:

SUSPECT ARRESTED: If you noticed a police response in the Jefferson Square area this past hour, police were called after a reported robbery, and arrested a suspect. We’re still working to get specifics on what happened beyond “robbery at knifepoint” with the robber demanding the victim’s (corrected) wallet and phone; the suspect was arrested near the north side of the shopping center and some items were found in a subsequent search with a K-9. Thursday update: Police say the circumstances were as follows: “An employee was outside on his phone when a guy approached him and told him to hand over his phone and wallet. When the employee refused, the suspect pulled out a knife and repeated his demands.” The 35-year-old suspect is likely to have a bail/probable-cause hearing this afternoon.

STORE HOLDUP: Thanks for the tip on this – someone driving by the 35th/Barton 7-11 around 6 am noticed police cars and crime tape. According to archived dispatch audio, a store staffer called 911 around 4 am to report a robbery at gunpoint about half an hour earlier. The robbers were described as white, male, masked, about 18 years old, and in a black 4-door car. Police were working to get access to security video.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

WOULD-BE BURGLARS ON VIDEO: Aaron emailed to report;

I live in West Seattle over by Thriftway on California, and Sunday morning at 3:30 am two guys tried to break-in my house with a crowbar. Luckily the deadbolt held and they couldn’t get it open and left.

My camera was able to get good footage of them and their attempt.

Here’s a framegrab of the other person involved:

Aaron says his home might have been targeted because of personal items stolen in a car prowl recently. If you have any information, the SPD report # is 23-909805.

ASSAULT ARREST: SPD reports an arrest in the heart of The Junction late Sunday night. Just before midnight, officers “responded to the area of California Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street for an altercation.” They arrested a 32-year-old woman who they say “had accosted two men and threatened one of them with a knife.” She remains in King County Jail, held for investigation of assault and harassment, pending a probable-cause hearing later today.

10:58 AM: Thanks for the tips. That was the scene at Shorewood Grocery, just south of West Seattle at 26th/106th, around 7:30 this morning, six hours after crash-and-grab burglars heavily damaged the store while stealing its ATM. King County Sheriff’s Office will only confirm that deputies found “the side of the building … smashed in and the ATM taken” when they arrived after getting word of a burglary alarm going off at 1:25 am. This KING report shows store-security video of the thieves using a pickup truck, which they quote “a friend of the store owner” as saying was stolen and has been found. A store employee who was there when we went over said they weren’t sure whether they’d be able to reopen today; we’ll be going back at midday to check.

2:42 PM: We went back early this afternoon and they’re open for business.

Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

YARD THIEF: This report and security-camera image are from Andi:

Last night, June 10th, 2023, from 11:29 pm to 11:41 pm, there was a person in our yard who stole our bird feeder (most of it as he couldn’t get the post out of the ground). He also stole our potted tree but it was found across the street the next morning hidden under a tree.

Lastly, he moved our bird bath outside of our fence. He might have been coming back for the tree and the bird bath with transportation as they are both heavy. He was in our yard for a long time and appeared to be tracking our movements in the house and also tried looking in our windows. We are in the Morgan Junction south of Thriftway. We are waiting on a case number from SPD.

UPDATE: 23-909750.

CAR PROWL: Not far from there, Christian reports a car prowl early today:

4:30 am car prowlers in the Gatewood area near the elementary school. Got into my neighbor’s car that was unlocked. They were driving a black Jaguar SUV that police mentioned may be stolen.

STORE THEFT: From Christine:

My husband and I are West Seattle locals and frequent patrons of the Super Deli Mart (Barton + 35th). Recently there have been a group of 3+ teenagers who have been stealing from the store on multiple occasions (specifically handfuls of vape cartridges that cost $20 apiece). They seem to have an adult, or two, lurking half a block away (a man and a middle-aged blonde woman, one of which appeared to board the C bus concurrently to evade questioning), and we are concerned that this group may be stealing from other local businesses.

Christine says they also are reported to have harassed the store owner and customers. On behalf of the store owner, she sent this video of one theft incident.

(We’ll add police-report #’s for these incidents when we get them. Update: Added the # for the first one Monday.)

Reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN COMPUTER: From Gershon:

I am just grasping at straws on how to get my computer back. It was my work computer with over 2 years of data that I am not able to replace. This hits me pretty hard. My vehicle was broken into in the parking lot behind the Skylark last night. My gray Dakine backpack was snatched, which had my computer and some other personal items in it. Send me a message if you see it ditched somewhere or have an idea on best way to retrieve it (buy it back) or something. The computer inside was a Samsung Galaxy book2, midnight blue.

Police report # is 23-909691. If you’ve found the computer and/or backpack, we can relay a message to Gershon (westseattleblog@gmail.com).

PRIDE FLAG STOLEN AGAIN: The Community School of West Seattle‘s Pride flag was stolen for the second time in less than two weeks. You’ll recall it was taken on May 27th, and replaced courtesy of White Center Pride. Then this past Thursday morning, it was taken, and the flagpole damaged, again:

Police report # is 23-909576. Whitney at CSWS says, “WC Pride is going to stock us up on poles and flags so that the thieves won’t win.”

CAR VANDALIZED: The reader who emailed us is hoping to find witness(es) to this:

It happened on Dawson, between California and 42nd SW, Friday between 5:30 am and 2:30 pm. The victim says, “Maybe someone has info or maybe saw something or has any surveillance cam footage.” It’s been reported to police, though we don’t have a report # yet.

(SDOT camera image from shortly after crash)

Two and a half months after two 18-year-olds died when a wrong-way driver hit them on the West Seattle Bridge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges. 36-year-old West Seattle resident Delfino Lopez-Morales is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving. We have been watching court files closely ever since the crash, and just found the charging documents. In them, investigators say he had a blood-alcohol level of .14, almost twice the legal limit, three hours after the crash, and a THC level suggesting he had used cannabis within a few hours of the crash. Court documents add that an empty beer bottle was found in the truck he was driving. The two victims, Khalea Thoeuk and Riley Danard, both from Snohomish County and on their way to Alki to celebrate Riley’s birthday, were killed instantly. The charging documents say Lopez-Morales, driving a friend’s truck, was going 100 mph when he hit them. He was seriously injured and has been under medical care since the crash, at Harborview Medical Center until sometime in the first half of May, when he moved to rehab. Here’s the investigator’s narrative from the charging documents:

Read More

Two thefts in West Seattle Crime Watch:

STOLEN BLACK ELANTRA: From Ryan:

Reporting stolen 2012 black Hyundai Elantra. License plate AKU4990. Police report # 23-158866. Stolen from (3400 block of) 40th Ave SW between 2:12 am and 3:12 am this morning, Thursday 6/8.

FRIDAY UPDATE: Via text, we’ve just been told the car was found in Toppenish (near Yakima).

STOLEN PRIDE FLAG: From Travis: “I wanted to report to you this that someone stole our Pride flag this morning from off our front porch. It happened a few minutes before I get up for work. We live near Delridge Way and Thistle.” This security video shows the thief walking up and pulling down the flag (it’s not embeddable/downloadable but you can see it if you click the link). It’s been reported to police; we’ll add the number when available.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports today – both the results of multiple tips (thank you!):

EARLY-MORNING GUNFIRE: In the 3 am hour today, multiple 911 callers reported hearing gunfire, from Westwood to north Arbor Heights. In one case, police were able to confirm gunfire, by finding shell casings. Officers reported finding six 9mm casings at 34th and Trenton. No injuries or property damage reported, so far. Neighbors reported hearing vehicles speeding off, but police were still looking for any home security video that might have caught one or more associated vehicles on camera.

STOLEN BOAT RECOVERED: This started out mysteriously – a boat on the rocks at Don Armeni Boat Ramp on Tuesday, as the tide went out. Readers sent photos starting with this one from Jeff:

Police were having trouble finding information for us, though it was clear from one photo from Stewart L. that officers had responded at some point:

SPD spokesperson Officer Shawn Weismiller found the report today, and tells WSB: “Boat was stolen out of a marina in Lake Washington. Officers responded to an abandoned boat at the ramp, but the tide was out, so they had to wait for high tide to recover the boat. While waiting to recover the boat, officers learned someone was in the boat. Officers responded and arrested a 58-year-old-male for possession of stolen property. The boat was recovered,”

From Conrad:

My Ride1Up 700 Series ebike was stolen next to Morgan Junction Park around 7am today. Police report number is 23-156523. The medium-set white male in a pink shirt rode south on California Ave SW before turning right. This has also been reported to the local Bike Index.

Here’s a stock photo of what Conrad’s bike looks like.

The report and photo were sent by local arborist Michael Oxman:

Sad to report my pickup was stolen last nite from Delridge/Findlay St. sometime between 10 PM Sunday nite-10 AM Monday morning. Blue 1997 Chevy 3/4 ton with camper shell. Chainsaws, weedeater, blower were inside. SPD Incident # 23-155797. License plate TREEDR

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Found.

(WSB photo, May 27)

Last week we reported on the arrest of 21-year-old Omar Upham, Jr., in the shootings that killed one person and seriously wounded two others at Roxy’s Casino. Today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Upham with first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of first-degree unlawful firearm possession. As we reported last week, Upham is a convicted felon, having served time for a 2019 holdup at a West Seattle mini-mart.

The charging documents tell much the same story we reported last week, that Upham went to the casino with the intent to kill security guard John Leota, a former friend and ex-accomplice in another 2019 robbery case. The charging documents reveal this may have been the third time since Upham got out of prison last October that he went after Leota – the other two were West Seattle gunfire incidents covered here. Also new in the charging documents, the casino patron who was killed is identified as Hung Q. Nguyen. Upham is alleged to have walked into the casino at about quarter till 11 Saturday night, May 27th, and shot at Leota, who started running, as Upham continued shooting at him. Also shot and seriously wounded was casino employee Chheng “CJ” Oung. In the casino, police found what the charging papers describe as “four .40 caliber casings and two bullet projectiles.” Subsequent investigation, prosecutors write, revealed this:

During the on-scene investigation, the manager of Roxbury Lanes … stated Leota was hired as a security guard less than a month ago (and he) noted Leota told him he had recently been released from prison, and there were rumors that people were after Leota for being a “snitch.” (At the hospital, Leota’s girlfriend) told (a Detective) that there are a lot of people that have problems with Leota and people call him a “snitch.” … Leota’s brother … also advised several months ago, an unknown suspect shot up Leota’s mother’s house, and in a separate incident, Leota’s vehicle was also shot up. Andrew believed those shootings were related and that Leota was being targeted. Those incidents were confirmed through Seattle PD crime reports, Seattle PD 2022-298318, and 2023-080520. The shooting at the vehicle (2022-298318) occurred on November 5, 2022; a bullet projectile was recovered and four shell casings were recovered from that scene. The shooting at the house (2023-080520), located (in the 6400 block of) 29 Av SW in Seattle, occurred on March 24, 2023. Five 9mm shell casings, a live 9mm round, and a bullet projectile were recovered from that scene.

We had reported on both the incidents mentioned in the documents – November 5 here, March 24 here. The court documents say Leota’s mother no longer lives there. They also mention a warrant search of Upham’s residence, which the arrest form says is in Renton; there, police report finding items including an AR-15 rifle, a 9mm extended magazine, and, in the trunk of Upham’s car, “a stolen .40 caliber Ruger P94 handgun and a .45 caliber Glock-type handgun with an extended loaded magazine.” Both were test-fired by police; subsequent testing revealed a “presumptive match” between the .40 caliber gun and casings found at the casino shooting scene. Upham remains held without bail and will answer the charges at arraignment later this month.

Four West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

STUDENT ATTACKED: From B, parent of a Denny International Middle School student:

My child is a 7th grade student @ Denny and was walking home after school today on 24th Ave SW (between Thistle & Trenton) when a car pulled over and someone jumped out and physically attacked them.

It was an older car (couldn’t get make – possibly early 2000’s), dark colored, 4-door. The attacker was Caucasian, blond hair. Driver was of Asian descent, hair in a bun, purple hoody. All possibly in their late teens/early 20’s. The attacker swung on my child app. 5 times to the head before getting back in the car and taking off. Something of note – one of the people in the car threw a sandal/slipper out of the car while driving away too.

I’ve reported this to (non-emergency) SPD, Incident # 23-155932.

B says their child is shaken up but otherwise OK.

TWO ATTACKED ON MYERS WAY: A police summary says this happened around 9:20 pm last night at or near the encampment on the east side of Myers Way: “Officers responded to a report of an assault call which involved a large number of motorcycle riders. Two assault victims were located with significant, non-life-threatening injuries and transported to HMC.” Around the same time, we received a report of what looked like a memorial gathering at the scene, where 35-year-old Reginald Moore was shot to death last Tuesday; we don’t know if that was related to the attack.

BURGLARY THWARTED: Last night a suspect was taken into custody after a reported home burglary in the 5600 block of SW Admiral Way. We obtained the report narrative. It says a neighbor called police after seeing an intruder in the house. They saw the intruder filling a backpack and carrying items to a nearby bus stop. Police arrived and found a suspect matching a description given by both the neighbor and the homeowner, who saw him on security video. The items they found included a wallet, speaker, iPhone, camera, glasses, clothes, and guitar. Police say they tried to get him into a parked car but he resisted and eventually an ambulance was called. He eventually was taken to Harborview.

Two more small local businesses hit by crime:

TONY’S MARKET BURGLARIZED: We just heard from Tony’s Market proprietor Joey Genzale about this by phone. Overnight, someone broke into his business at 35th/Barton and got away with thousands of dollars in produce. Nothing else stolen, he told us – only the produce. The display boxes were left in disarray. He’s hoping somebody saw something – maybe a vehicle there late last night (he left around 9 pm) or early today? We’ll be following up on this tomorrow.

BUSINESS VAN STOLEN: This 1995 Ford Econoline van belonging to the proprietor of 9th & Hennepin Donuts was taken while he was at the commissary kitchen, a friend tells us on his behalf:

My friend Justin Newstrum is the owner of beloved 9th and Hennepin Donuts. His van, which is outfitted as a camper, was stolen while he was working at 5604 Delridge Way SW today. He’s currently making a police report.

Plate # is C14296S. (added) Police report # is 23-154959. Here’s an interior photo:

TUESDAY UPDATE: Thanks to a tip, the van’s been found.

Court documents reveal that revenge related to a West Seattle robbery case is the alleged motive in the Roxy’s Casino shootings that left one casino patron dead and two employees wounded. The suspect – whose arrest we reported last night – is not yet charged but we are identifying him as he is still in Department of Corrections community custody – our state’s version of parole – for a different West Seattle robbery case. He is 21-year-old Omar A. Upham Jr.; we reported on the charges filed against him in 2019 for a holdup at the 35th/Henderson gas station/mini-mart then known as Lucky 5. He was eventually sentenced to just under four years in prison and was released into community custody last October, according to information we obtained this afternoon from Corrections (which also provided the photo at right).

Now, Upham is being held without bail after a hearing this afternoon. The probable-cause documents provided by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office say his alleged target Saturday night was actually one of the shooting survivors, a casino security guard. From the court documents:

… Witnesses and associates of (the guard) were interviewed, and several of them stated (he) was being sought after (because) he “snitched” on someone involved in a robbery. (The guard) later provided a recorded statement identifying Omar Upham as the person who shot him. (He) and Upham were once friends, but their friendship ended when (he) informed on Upham when they were arrested for robbery. When Upham entered the casino on 5/27/23, (the guard) immediately recognized Upham by his eyes and ran. When asked why Upham was after (him), he replied, “I told on him four years ago.” A search of … criminal history showed an arrest by Seattle PD in 2019, where (he) had identified Upham as an accomplice in a robbery (Seattle PD case no. 2019-441721).

We cross-referenced that to a street robbery in The Junction early Thanksgiving morning 2019, days before the Lucky 5 holdup. His arrest and that of another suspect in December 2019 had numerous West Seattle links, as explained here. Upham pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery in 2021 and was sentenced to 46 months, the low end of the standard sentencing range, though he had prior convictions – as a juvenile – for robbery and assault. His current community-custody supervision was scheduled to run until March 2024. The court documents say he was most recently living in Renton and was arrested early Thursday morning at a Georgetown business described in the documents as his employer.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes:

(WSB photo, Tuesday night)

MYERS WAY VICTIM ID’D: In addition to releasing the Don Armeni shooting victim’s name (reported here Thursday), the King County Medical Examiner’s Office also has publicly identified the man killed at a Myers Way encampment Tuesday. He was 35-year-old Reginald Moore. The Medical Examiner says his cause of death was “gunshot wound to the chest” and that the case is officially ruled homicide – police initially weren’t sure when Moore was found dead with “signs of trauma.” No additional info on the investigation so far. This is now the fifth unsolved shooting death in our area in less than two months.

JUNCTION BUSINESS BURGLARY: Thanks for the tip. The West Seattle Smoke Shop in The Junction had a smash-and-grab burglary overnight:

We went to the shop to find out what happened. They tell us somebody broke the glass to get in around 6 am and stole just one specific item – dozens of disposable vape pens. Security video is under review.

HOME GARAGE BREAK-IN: Reader report from Kira:

We live on 12th Ave SW near SW Henderson in Highland Park and had our garage broken into. A black and red backpack with tools was stolen and a couple of moving boxes with clothes and fabric. There may have been more stolen, we are still reconciling.

SPD report # is 23-909224.