(WSB photo, February 3)

Nine days ago, we reported on an incident at LA Fitness in The Junction. The two suspects who were arrested are now each charged with three felonies.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Peter M. Rodrigue Jr. and Javier E. Garcia, both 18-year-old West Seattle residents, with two counts of felony harassment and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun. The charging documents offer a few more details on what allegedly happened at the gym that Friday afternoon:

Rodrigue and Garcia are reported to have gone in and asked for guess passes. An employee told them that without a member accompanying them, they needed to become gym members or they needed to leave. The employee said, according to the charging documents, they “got upset and asked him what time he got off work and what kind of car he drove. (Then) Rodrigue told him, ‘We’re gonna smoke you!’ which made (him) believe and fear that Rodrigue intended to hurt or kill him.” The club manager then confronted Garcia and Rodrigue and reiterated that they needed to leave; prosecutors say “she began filming them and felt threatened by their actions. … On the video, officers observed Garcia and Rodrigue walking toward the exit. Rodrigue walked outside the business. However, Garcia stops, places a ski mask over his face, turns back around, and walks back toward the front desk. Garcia then flips off (the manager), turns back around and starts walking toward the front door. As Garcia walked out the front door he turned back around and moved toward (the manager, who) screamed at Garcia asking him if he now wanted to touch her. Garcia then starts slowly backing away but reaches his left hand into his jacket pocket and starts to pull out a handgun from the pocket while threatening (the manager).” Investigators say the two then headed for the garage, and police stopped them a short time later after blocking the entrance/exit. The car they were in belonged to and was driven by a third man who police determined was not involved, so he was released. Inside the car, though, they found the modified handgun reported in previous coverage – described in the charging papers as having “an uncommon protrusion from the rear of the slide of the firearm that was discovered to be an auto sear modification. This auto sear is a small plastic or metal device that can make any handgun a fully automatic weapon – in essence, a machine gun. Auto sears are illegal at the city, state, and federal levels.”

The charging documents reveal a twist, though – police say the modified gun is not the one they allege Garcia was pulling out of his pocket. The images above are from the manager’s video and included with the police-written narrative in the charging documents, which goes on to say:

It was clear on the video footage that Garcia produced a firearm while threatening (the manager). However, the video footage was reviewed further and it was discovered that the firearm that Garcia used to threaten (her) was NOT the firearm that was recovered in the vehicle floorboard where Rodrigue was seated. The firearm in the video footage clearly does not show an auto sear device attached to it. By the time this discovery was made, (the driver) had long left the area with his vehicle. It is believed that Garcia hid the gun he was carrying within the suspect vehicle prior to being removed from the car by police. Officers at the time believed that the gun recovered from the front passenger side floorboard was the gun used by Garcia in this incident. The vehicle was not searched during the investigation before (its owner) was released with it.

Rodrigue has been in jail ever since his arrest that day, initially held on warrants from a robbery case in Auburn and a juvenile burglary case; his bail now totals $110,000. Garcia’s bail was set at $5,000 the day after the incident and he got out on bond; that remains his bail amount and he remains out of custody. He has no known criminal-conviction record, while Rodrigue has a harassment conviction. Both are scheduled for arraignment February 22nd.

One incident of note so far from today’s police summaries: A street robbery early this morning. Police say a woman was returning home from work just before 4:30 am near 29th/Bataan. While walking from her car to her home, she was approached by someone who “poked her” with a pistol. The robber then, according to police, “demanded jewelry, and stole the victim’s purse, which contained cash, a cell phone, and other items.” Police say the robber then walked/ran away “and possibly entered a vehicle.” Officers tried to get search assistance from K9 and/or the Guardian One helicopter, but neither were available. The summary did not include descriptive information for the robber but we followed up with SPD and they say the full report describes him only as Black, male, about 5’6″-5’9″, with a medium build and dark clothing.

A reader hopes telling her story will keep others from falling for the same scam. She says this happened to her in the lot at Metropolitan Market in Admiral this past Saturday:

There is a guy riding around in a brand-new white Ford pickup truck approaching women at supermarket parking lots. He says he’s a mobile dent and ding repair business but I have tracked another victim and the m.o. is the same. He “repairs” your car and then covers the “repair” with something that you cannot remove for 24 to 48 hours so you pay him before you realize you are scammed. He’s super-convincing and I don’t want anyone else falling for it.

He actually made the dent worse by sinking something like tap screws in and then pulling it but he pulled the paint and primer off! Yes, I could not see that until I got home and realized what the scam was. He represented that he was a mobile business. I should have known better but there is (another victim) who was also scammed at the Whole Foods in Bellevue. Her repair had tape on it.

We asked her for a description of the man: “He’s probably close to 6 feet tall, brown hair, brown eyes, ponytail. Olive complexion. Late 50s, early 60s.” In researching the scam, she found this story about similar cases from 2013 and believes – because of cross-referencing two kinds of information she got from the man – this could involve one of those people. She has filed a report with SPD so if you have any information – or have also been victimized – you can refer to incident # 23-037964.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

STOLEN DIRT BIKE: Maranda is looking for that 1993 Kawasaki dirt bike – described as a KX125 engine and KX250 frame – after a sale turned into a theft last Saturday. The buyer paid with what Maranda says turned out to be nine counterfeit $100 bills. The transaction happened at Maranda’s apartment complex near Westwood Village, around noon on February 4th. The incident number is 23-033673.

CAR PROWL: From Lori:

Our car was parked in our carport near the intersection of 46th Ave. SW and Erskine Way SW, and some time overnight someone went through it. We must have forgotten to lock it, as there were no signs of forced entry. Luckily they didn’t take much – the only thing I can tell is missing is a blue plastic paperwork folio. They didn’t take things like a decent pair of sunglasses or a Garmin unit, so we assume they were looking for cash or phones. It’s a good reminder for others to do better than us and double-check that your car doors stay locked, to avoid crimes of opportunity.

(added) PACKAGE THEFT: This afternoon in Gatewood, a package theft was recorded on security video. The victim says this is the clearest view of the thief, and in the background, the getaway car:

The victim says this happened just before 4:30 pm today; the getaway car, in which a driver was waiting, looked like “a black Subaru with a rear bike rack.” A police report is being filed but we don’t have the number yet.

Jake‘s car was stolen tonight. Maybe you’ll be the one who finds it (like Joe found Noah‘s stolen car):

Silver 2011 Subaru Forester. Texas plate LBW 2657. Last seen 3800 block 33rd SW.

That’s the best photo Jake has, but he says it looks just like this stock photo.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon:

WEEKEND GUNFIRE: From the SPD weekend summaries, one incident of confirmed gunfire. Police went to Hamilton Viewpoint Park at 12:23 am Sunday after a report that someone had fired shots near the park entrance. Witnesses also mentioned a black sedan and/or silver SUV leaving the scene. Officers found evidence of gunfire but no victims or property damage.

LA FITNESS SUSPECTS: One more followup in the case of two 18-year-old men arrested Friday for allegedly threatening staff at the LA Fitness front desk in The Junction, with one of the suspects allegedly brandishing with what police say was a handgun modified to be fully automatic. Bail was set on Saturday for the allegedly armed suspect; prosecutors asked for $5,000 and that’s what a judge granted, with the suspect, who has no prior record, subsequently released after posting bond. The other suspect remains in jail in connection with unrelated cases, in which he is charged, so we are identifying him, 18-year-old Peter M. Rodrigue Jr. One of the prior cases is a juvenile burglary case but we were able to obtain the court documents for the other one, for which his bail is set for $100,000: He and another man are accused of trying to rob three people at gunpoint after following them off a bus in Auburn in August 2021; Rodrigue was 17 years old but was charged as an adult. The charge was filed in February 2022 after detectives identified Rodrigue and the other suspect via Metro security video. He failed to appear at a hearing last May and that’s when the warrant was issued. Court documents show both he and the LA Fitness incident suspect who has posted bond are West Seattle residents.

HIT-AND-RUN SEARCH: Reader report/request via email:

$100 reward for any information on a hit and run in West Seattle at Fauntleroy and 35th intersection.
(Collision) involved 2 cars. Friday Feb 3rd approximately 6:55 P.M. Rear-ended in the left lane while stopped at intersection, traveling toward West Seattle Bridge.

Car fled the scene turning right on a red light onto 35th headed south. Blue Toyota Prius with temporary license tag in back right corner of rear window and Dealership insert. Year between 2008-2013? The Prius is missing a large chunk of its front right bumper and its grill. Please email me at westseattlehitnrun@gmail.com. Police Report has been filed with the Seattle PD.

We’ll add that number when we get it. (Update: 23-032756.)

ORIGINAL SUNDAY REPORT: Just received from Noah:

My 1991 Subaru Justy was stolen this morning at 7 am from 5624 California Ave SW. License plate BZR 7617.

The SPD incident # is 23-034332.

MONDAY EVENING UPDATE: The car’s been found – see comments below.

On Friday, we reported on a police response at LA Fitness in The Junction, with two people detained after reports that at least one had brandished a gun at the front desk of the gym. We had several followup questions out to SPD and some are answered by an SPD Blotter post just published. SPD confirms that the two people detained – both described as 18-year-old men – were both eventually arrested and booked into jail. The police post includes this photo and says officers (corrected) seized “a handgun from the car (that) had an extended magazine and appeared to have been modified to make it fully automatic”:

According to SPD, “(LA Fitness) employees said when they asked the two suspects to leave because they didn’t have memberships, one of the men pulled a gun from his jacket pocket and the other verbally threatened to kill an employee.” Then they reportedly “fled toward the parking garage (where) officers stopped the suspects’ car at the garage exit as they attempted to leave … (officers also) identified and released a third subject in the car who was determined to not be involved.” Police say the man suspected of brandishing the gun was arrested for investigation of felony harassment, unlawful possession of a firearm (under the age of 21), possession of an unlawful weapon, and displaying a weapon to intimidate, while the other was arrested for investigation of felony harassment and obstruction. SPD says the latter is because that suspect kept giving them a false name; once they learned his real name, they discovered he had warrants for burglary and robbery. The jail docket indicates both remain in custody today; we’ll be following up with prosecutors in the coming week regarding possible charges.

On Monday morning, we published Scott‘s report about his stolen Subaru. Tonight, he says it’s been found, and he has advice for others:

This car was recovered. Police notified me of the location at 8th Ave SW & SW Trenton, next to Westcrest Park. It had a lock between the clutch and steering wheel as if the thief intended to return and continue driving it. The lock had wear that makes me believe this isn’t the first time it has been used. The ignition and door locks were undamaged. Please let others know, if their car is stolen, to look around Westcrest Park area, I did not do that when I looked for this car.

Some vehicles stolen in West Seattle stay here; others turn up many miles away. Police said recently that more than 100 have been found at the notorious 2nd/Michigan encampment; Harbor Avenue SW seems to be a popular place lately too, with four auto-recovery calls logged in the past day and a half.

Four reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

(Reader photo via text)

THEFT-TURNED-ROBBERY: Thanks for the tips/questions about police at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle around 5:30 pm. Officers were gone by the time we got there, but this was dispatched as a theft-turned-robbery – dispatch told officers that someone was trying to steal from lockers, and when confronted, pulled a knife and made threats. Description given over police radio: Unknown (race) male, 30s, 5’10”, medium to heavy build, black backpack, black sweatpants, dark Jordans (shoes) with orange highlights. No injuries, the Y staff told us. SPD incident # is 23-028726.

Three more reader reports received today (in addition to the two published this morning):

HOME/CAR BREAK-IN ATTEMPT: The report and security video are from Chaucey:

Last night (Jan-29-23) at 11:30 pm, a man approached our home on Roxbury (between Roxbury Lanes and 35th) and attempted to break in through our front door. He then proceeded to attempt to break into my car through the passenger side door. This was bold as we have a flood light pointed toward the front of our house, a full security system and have a working streetlight directly in front of our home.

We captured this event on camera, but unfortunately the motion detection only kicked in to catch him from the backside; however, what we did get is clear and may have a few distinguishing features that may be identifiable to the broader community. I have attached a video and am hoping that you can post it with this incident report, in the hopes that someone may be able to identify this person and at the very least so others can be aware and on the lookout for this person attempting to break in on their property.

CONSTRUCTION SITE BREAK-IN: From Scott:

We are the owners of a lot on the corner of 60th Ave SW and SW Charlestown St, where we are slowly building a new house (started in spring/summer of 2021). We were (burglarized) several times in the first 18 months but (not) since we had our windows and doors installed in late fall 2022.

My son and I had brought a large spool of copper wire on site for wiring the panels and subpanels on Sunday 1/22, but didn’t end up getting to that work and left the spool in the garage. On Wednesday early morning, my neighbor confronted someone leaving our house with a bicycle with saddlebags.

They eventually realized Saturday that “the spool for our wire had been taken apart, and the wire was missing, along with other things that we’ve been figuring out are gone over the weekend. I put the full list of what was missing in the police report … if anyone has information about who was coming and going from our lot, sure would be nice to either get some stuff back or at least not get (burglarized) again any time soon.” SPD incident # is 23-901796.

CAR VANDALISM/PROWL ATTEMPT: From management at City Watch Apartments in The Junction:

The (above) individual followed behind someone to get into our garage this morning and broke out a window of a car parked here at CW between 8:45-9 am. He was startled when someone approached close to him after he shattered the window and left in a hurry. Fairly clear images of the suspect and his car. Looks to be early to mid-40’s, goatee, balding with eye glasses, Caucasian with a tan coat and baggy pants. The vehicle looks like an older-model Toyota Tercel with rear L back door severely damaged with a broken rear qtr window that has a white cloth covering it up. We can’t make out the license plate.

SPD incident # is 23-028454.

Two reader reports this morning:

STOLEN SUBARU: From Scott:

Sometime after sundown last night and before 6 am this morning, my old Subaru was stolen. The plate is / was CCL0595. The car was parked at the 2100 block of 42nd SW. SPD incident # 23-028214.

DUMPED-LIKELY-STOLEN TOOLS: From Anita:

Found tools at the bus stop at 35th & Henderson Shell station.

The report and photo are from Steve:

I was robbed at knifepoint about 11 am in the front yard of my N Admiral home, a couple blocks north of Met Market on 41st. I had listed a used 9-year-old MacBook Pro laptop on OfferUp and Craigslist earlier this morning, and a person who is registered on OfferUp under the name Abukar responded via the OU app that he urgently needed a replacement for his broken laptop for school, and asked if it was available immediately, saying he was a few minutes away in downtown Seattle. I considered setting up a meet at Starbucks or Safeway but decided to give my address and meet him outside … big mistake, although what happened later could have occurred anywhere.

He drove up in a late-model black Honda Accord Sport with red dealer ad card (Toyota of Renton) in the license plate area instead of a license plate; also a black license frame showed the same dealer. The man came up to my yard and I showed him the laptop, took it out and booted it up, put it back in box and said he (5’10” or so, thin, late 20s, wearing black mask, white sweat band, long black hooded winter coat, black sweats, white high-top basketball shoes) wanted to use his CashApp to pay. I replied “sorry, cash only” and told him there are 3-4 ATMs a few blocks away. He then said he wanted to show it to his girlfriend in the car, and when I said no, asked for the box so he could photograph the label underneath the box containing model and serial #. Next thing I knew I was looking at his 8” knife a few inches from my stomach with blade extended as he backed away with laptop in hand. I got 3-4 pictures as he was leaving, filed a nonemergency report with SPD and am waiting for officer to drop by because there was a threat of physical violence and I have a good description of the “suspect,” for whatever good that will do.

Lesson learned about giving anyone my address in the future, although as said above, if we’d met outside Starbucks or in a nearby parking lot, I’m not sure the outcome would have been much different.

We’ve reported other OfferUp-related holdups – like this one from last fall, and the two West Seattle robberies that are among three noted in this SPD post from 2021. Today’s incident # is 23-026746.

ORIGINAL FRIDAY REPORT: Police are investigating the second West Seattle bank robbery in two days. This time, Washington Federal at California/Dakota. Police tell us at the scene that they believe the robber – so far described only as a white male – got away on foot. Yesterday’s holdup was at HomeStreet Bank (41st/Alaska; WSB sponsor).

ADDED MONDAY: The only additional detail from police available so far is, “Suspect passed a note to staff demanding money with a threat of harm. Suspect obtained cash and fled the scene on foot SB.” We are also following up on both robberies with the FBI.

UPDATE: One added detail from the FBI – they believe the two robberies were committed by two different robbers.

From Laura: “My vehicle was stolen from West Seattle on Henderson St. last night 1/25, gray 2018 Kia Sportage, license plate BRK6105.” (Here’s a stock photo.) Call 911 if you see it. (As noted by City Attorney Ann Davison, Kias are such a theft target these days, along with Hyundais, she’s suing over it.)

The most common reason for auto theft is to use the vehicle to get to another crime scene. That’s what police have long said, and that’s what we’ve seen in practice so many times – a vehicle caught in security video turns out to have been stolen somewhere else. Such was the case with this pickup:

A texter sent that photo early Wednesday morning, noting “Dumped and stolen. Police and tow truck have come and gone.” It had been abandoned on SW Trenton near Westwood Village. Turns out the pickup, a 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel, had been spotted just before noon Tuesday by someone else near Lincoln Park, casing and then breaking the window of a van parked on Fauntleroy:

They gave the plate number to police, who confirmed that checked to a stolen pickup. Through social media, the car-prowl witness later found out it was stolen in Normandy Park, and eventually connected with the owner. After getting word of the truck’s recovery, the owner told the witness that the truck was trashed inside and that a locked toolbox in the back had been drilled open. Missing items include new Milwaukee tools and $1,500 in blinds that had been picked up for a customer – so please speak up if you happen to see items like those dumped anywhere. (The car-prowl witness also has made contact with the van’s owner, so they know what happened.)

Another stolen vehicle to watch for. The report and photo were sent by Liz:

Between 1 am and 6 am this morning our truck, a 1996 Chevy K1500, was stolen from in front of our house on the 8400 block of 22nd Ave SW. Plate D63246B. Police incident # 2023-023543. Currently checking with neighbors for security camera images.