Update: Burglary suspects arrested in Admiral neighborhood
(photos by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Thanks to everyone who’s e-mailed us with a tip about this – major police activity in the Belvidere/Admiral area (map). Police there tell us there’s a possible burglary suspect in a house there. More to come. P.S. That’s also why you are hearing/seeing helicopters – there’s at least one news chopper in the area. 11:43 AM UPDATE: This is breaking up now – two suspects have just been arrested. ADDED 12:28 PM: Here’s Christopher’s photo of one suspect – we are not showing his face because at this point, he is not formally charged (that would come later and be up to prosecutors):
Click ahead for one more photo PLUS a brief update on the Sunday morning burglary arrest in Fauntleroy (Southwest Precinct police have been busy!!!!):Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Arrest update; Admiral break-in
2 reports tonight: First, SPD Blotter has posted more details on the incident that sparked the helicopter-assisted search and arrest we reported early this morning (previous WSB coverage here). Seems the 41-year-old man eventually arrested for burglarizing a home in the 4300 block of Cloverdale (map) also is suspected of trying to break into another house near Lincoln Park first. Read the details here. ADDED 8:17 PM: Just posted as a comment on our original early-morning report, Kelly tells the story firsthand:
Hi All: I was the victim in this incident. A white male broke into my house in Fauntleroy last night around 12:30. I’m a single mom, home alone with two young kids (5 and 3). The guy tried kicking in my side door and then walked around up front and kicked in my front door. That noise woke me up and I went downstairs to see what was going on… and froze on my landing as I looked down and saw this jack ass standing in my doorway. I backtracked upstairs, had a complete and total moral dilemma about what to do next: cell phone and interior lock were in my bedroom, to the right but to the left were my kids’ rooms. I headed into my bedroom, locked the door, and called 911 from my balcony. The burglar juggled on the bedroom door handle and… I don’t remember much then. The police arrived within probably 5 minutes. They had been in the neighborhood because the same person had tried to break into Colman Pool (earlier) and they were just winding up their search for him in Lincoln Park. I was lucky. The police had already identified the suspect from his truck and apparently was a level one sex offender. The guy ran with a few of my household items and the police found him a few blocks away. I was taken to that scene and identified him. It was awful and scary and shattering considering the fact I thought this neighborhood was so safe. The police were excellent and gave me a lot of good pointers for security on my house. At least next time, if it happens, I’ll be more prepared.
Thanks to Kelly for sharing her story. (continuing with original 7 pm post) Meantime, we’ve just received e-mail about an Admiral break-in this weekend, including a plea for neighbors everywhere to be more watchful — read on:Read More
Helicopter watch: Burglary suspect sought, then arrested
It’s pretty much right over our house in Upper Fauntleroy. Nothing on 911 in terms of medic call. Listening to the scanner to see if we can pick up anything about who they’re looking for and why – they’re focused on a house (where, we don’t know) where radio traffic indicates they are following footprints, plus a canine is involved in the search. 8400 block has been mentioned, on or near Tillicum (east of Lincoln Park; map). 12:43 AM UPDATE: Per scanner, it was a burglary, and there is a suspect now in custody. Helicopter has just moved on.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Party turns “disarming”
Last night at the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting (full report on main topics coming up later), some attendees (good crowd BTW!) were abuzz about e-mail from a neighbor detailing a Halloween night scare. Before reporting it, we checked this morning with Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct to confirm the basics of what happened: Just before 3 am Saturday, “officers responded to a disturbance in the 5600 blk of 26th Ave SW (map). An unwanted guest came to the party with a rifle. Party guests wrestled the gun away and secured the subject. Police took the suspect into custody.” According to the neighbor’s e-mail, it was an assault rifle (police don’t dispute this, though we haven’t yet seen the full report), and “securing” the suspect involved duct tape. 4 PM UPDATE: MB just left this as a comment – wanted to add it here too for those who don’t usually read comments:
I can’t help but comment since I was at the party and grew up just down the street, so I know the neighborhood well. My mom mentioned it to a neighbor, who then brought it up at the recent Delridge meeting. I had already gone home when this went down, but it was my brave husband who took the rifle away from this idiot…and it was an AK47. I can’t thank him and his friends enough for literally saving the day. My husband initiated, but his amazing and brave group of friends were right behind him to help. They showed GREAT restraint in not doing serious physical harm to this guy. Thanks to them the night ended with no one hurt. I want to stress that this was not a party full of drunk teenagers or bad people who brought this on in any way. We had a great night with no problems until this happened. For whatever reason this guy didn’t like being told the party was about over. Thank god for people like my husband who aren’t willing to stand by and watch a tragedy unfold without trying to stop it. I am shaking with pride as I type! I guess he learned a thing or two during his two deployments (2005 in Iraq and 2007 in Afghanistan, he just got home in May). I am a lucky lady
West Seattle Crime Watch: Arrest after bizarre break-in
From Joe at 45th/Andover (map):
This morning after I left for work (5:30), my wife was investigating a sound she heard in the kitchen. There stood an unknown black male. Asked to identify himself and his intentions he said he “was there to take anything he wanted.” Someone had told him he could have whatever caught his eye. My wife had him wait outside while my son was summoned to speak with him. During this period my wife called 911. After speaking with my son the man left heading north through the alleys. In minutes 4 SPD units responded. Police caught him 2 blocks away; he was brought back for identification as the intruder. Long story short he is now a guest downtown. Hopefully this will help other local burglary investigations. Maybe the return of missing property.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Possible serial thief nabbed
Several Crime Watch updates just arrived in the inbox — first, Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen says a lot of great teamwork involving police and alert businesspeople may have solved a series of eyeglasses thefts:
On 11/04/08 at about 1230 hrs, SW Officer Bruce Wind observed an occupied suspicious vehicle at Westwood Village. Officer Wind checked the license plate of the vehicle. About a half hour later, Highline Eye Care Center (Westwood Village) called 911 when the employees recognized a possible suspect who robbed them last April. Highline employees provided Officer Wind with crime bulletins from Bellevue PD regarding a string of eyeglass thefts.
As Officer Wind was speaking with the Highline Eye Care employees, SW Officer Phil Rees on-viewed a complaint of an incident at West Seattle Optical (4500 blk of California SW).
Officer Wind recognized the incident and provided vehicle information to other officers. A Traffic officer spotted the vehicle in the 2600 blk of SW Genesee. Both male and female suspect were arrested. Suspected stolen property was also recovered.
Robbery detectives are following up on the case which may be tied to over 55 eyeglass theft cases in Bellevue and Auburn.
Update: Verdict in 59th/Admiral shooting case: “Not guilty”
BULLETIN: Verdict for the 18-year-old defendant: Not guilty, not of murder, not of manslaughter, not of anything. His mother cried, “Oh my God,” sitting in the front row. More shortly. 4:15 PM UPDATE: Took extra time to get to “shortly” — we talked with defense lawyer Robert Perez after he went down a floor to handle paperwork for his client’s immediate release. The trial is not completely over — on Monday, jurors will return in order to decide another matter: Perez filed a motion for the state to pay his client’s legal costs if he was cleared. We’ll be there for that part of the case too. Separate full report later recapping the case and today’s developments. (Again, full archive of trial coverage is at the bottom of last night’s story.)
ORIGINAL 2:37 PM POST: There’s word the jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial that only WSB has been covering, with an Alki 18-year-old claiming self-defense in the deadly shooting of 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz inside a car at 59th/Admiral on 10/13/07. I am now standing by in the downtown courtroom of Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie, with reporter Rachel Gabrielle – who’s been covering the trial – on the way here, and I will post the verdict as soon as it’s read. (To catch up on the story, follow the links at the bottom of Rachel’s latest report.) – TR
59th/Admiral shooting trial: Jury deliberations begin
Jury deliberations have begun in the trial of the Alki 18-year-old charged with murdering the 33-year-old man he says sexually abused him for years. This is the third week of the trial that WSB is covering, start to finish, as followup to our initial coverage of the 10/13/07 shooting (and updates in the ensuing months); read on for the latest report from our courtroom correspondent:Read More
Crime Watch: Credit-card scammer followup; another break-in
Two West Seattle Crime Watch updates for you right now: First, a followup on yesterday’s arrest of the woman accused of using stolen credit cards for $2,000 worth of purchases at local businesses. Southwest Precinct Officer Brian Ballew tells WSB that the item involved in the biggest of those purchases — a $700 fountain from West Seattle Nursery (WSB sponsor) — has been returned to the nursery today. The 53-year-old woman was booked into jail last night; as for how she got caught — Officer Ballew says she had pre-purchased some items at a local business, and before she returned for them yesterday, they and police had matched her to the investigation. Meantime, in separate Crime Watch news, we just got word of another break-in with the “method of entry” involving a BB gun – for those details and what police are saying about this apparent burglary wave, read on:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Credit-card fraud suspect arrested
Just in from Sgt. Jeff Durden at Southwest Precinct: He says they have just arrested the woman they believe to be behind the fraudulent credit-card use we told you about two days ago; she’s being interviewed at the precinct right now and expected to be booked on felony charges later. Sgt. Durden wasn’t ready to share details of the arrest’s circumstances – but when those can be made public, we’ll bring you an updated report. He adds, “We got all the credit cards back.”
West Seattle Crime Watch: Help find stabbing suspect
Seattle Police have just released that photo of the man they’re looking for in connection with the stabbing at the Stewart Manor apartment complex in High Point on October 17th. (Original WSB coverage here.) Here’s the information they sent along with the photo: “On October 17th, 2008 Daniel P. Ward (DOB 2/6/57) and his 42-year-old girlfriend were in her apartment in the 6300 block of 34th Avenue SW. After a brief verbal argument, Ward attacked his girlfriend. Ward stabbed her several times with a box cutter causing severe injuries to her neck, arm, and face. Ward told her that he would kill her and then kill himself. The victim was able to get away from him and seek help. Ward fled the scene and remains at large. The King County Prosecutor’s Office has since charged Ward with Assault 1st degree – Domestic Violence. Anyone with information regarding Ward’s whereabouts is asked to contact 911.”
59th/Admiral shooting trial update: Defendant’s family testifies
As WSB continues covering the trial of the Alki 18-year-old charged with murdering the 33-year-old man he says sexually abused him for years, the defendant has concluded his testimony, and members of his family have taken the stand. Read on for today’s report from our courtroom correspondent:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch: Fighting crime, by intervening early
Out driving around to check on a few things this morning, we noticed what looked like a particularly prolific graffiti-vandalism spree in recent days – one particular tag (which we will not name or show) in dozens of spots, from safety signs to real-estate signs to concrete construction blockades, where it hadn’t been just days earlier. Can’t say for sure if the vandal is a teenager, but in most cases, graffiti vandalism is done by young offenders. That reminded us we’d been meaning to write about a discussion at last week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting — an update on the mayor’s proposed youth-violence-prevention program, and what local police are seeing and doing:Read More
59th/Admiral shooting trial update: Prosecution rests its case
We’re continuing to cover the trial of the Alki 18-year-old charged with murder in the 10/13/07 shooting death of 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz, killed inside a car at 59th/Admiral. The week’s proceedings concluded (the trial’s not in session Fridays) with prosecutors resting their case. Ahead, our courtroom correspondent’s full report:Read More
Just got word from
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