(WSB photo, January 9)

When West Seattleite Leesa Manion was sworn in as King County Prosecuting Attorney two weeks ago, she promised to make policy announcements before month’s end. Today she made good on that promise. She said she hopes the changes will bring “focused attention to some of King County’s greatest areas of concern.” Quoting from the announcement, they are:

*A new Gun Violence Prevention Unit “to identify and prosecute the individuals perpetuating the most harm in our communities, and also to connect individuals who are close to gun violence to meaningful community-based resources before they become victims or perpetrators of violence. This includes expanding coordination with our Extreme Risk Protection Order team.”

*A new division of criminal practice “focused on gender-based violence and prevention.” Manion notes, “Cases involving rape, sexual assault and domestic violence often share some common evidentiary issues, and a focused approach will improve the prosecution of these serious crimes.” The division includes the Domestic Violence Unit, the Sexually Violent Predator Unit, Special Assault Units that handle sex crimes, prosecutors handling commercial sexual exploitation (trafficking), and Hate Crimes, among other practices.

*A new Economic Crimes and Wage Theft Division to “include organized retail theft, economic crimes, identity theft, multiple types of fraud, elder abuse, and wage theft.” Manion noted, “In 2022, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed more than double the number of organized retail theft charges than it did in 2021. Many of those cases were filed in collaboration with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.”

*A new Felony Traffic Unit is being created “to underscore the importance and seriousness of vehicular homicide and assault cases and their devastating impacts on victims and survivors.”

The announcement adds:

The volume of felony criminal cases is not expected to decrease with today’s announcements of new divisions and units. Violent crimes and repeat property crimes remain a priority. Prior to today’s announcements of new divisions and units, the mainstream Criminal Division typically filed between 20-30 felony cases each day. (Here’s a summary for December.)

The announcement also shared the org chart that results from all this, with the last org chart under Manion’s predecessor Dan Satterberg (for whom she served as Chief of Staff).

Three more reader reports, two with security images:

STOLEN KIA: Nelson in North Shorewood says that amid multiple car break-ins, this one was stolen:

It’s a 2013 Kia Rio Hatchback, color black, with a sticker on the back right that reads “Not today Satan.” The neighbors reported seeing five armed men in two cars and called the cops. License plate BQR4838. (KCSO) case number C-23021370

BURGLARS ON CAMERA: From Mary:

We’re mid-renovation and had our home broken into last night. Mostly tools stolen and a laptop, front door left open etc. 11:20-11:50 pm Mon Jan 23. Cops have been gathering evidence but wanted to see if anyone sees anything on their cameras, etc. We’re in Fauntleroy right by Original Bakery off 44th coming down the hill. Sounds like very large white box truck [as seen by a neighbor].

PACKAGE TAKEN: Diane is looking for a stolen package:

She reports, “It happened today at 1:42, Myrtle and 31st. I just noticed around 3 pm on my camera. I drove around the neighborhood looking for a discarded package.” No luck yet.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports this morning:

(One of the broken car windows in the neighborhood)

CAR-WINDOW RAMPAGE: We’ve heard from multiple people about this. Here’s what Marcus and Chantell reported:

We along with many of our neighbors in the Fairmount Park neighborhood (we’re on the 5400 block of 37th Ave SW specifically) woke up to smashed car windows this morning. From talking with other neighbors out to survey the damage, it sounds like at least a couple dozen cars may have been hit.

They’ve talked with an officer who told them the report number for all the incidents is 23-022558. Another reader who emailed us said it was believed to have happened around 1 am.

BUSINESS BREAK-IN: Thanks to Mary for the tip. Burglar(s) hit another business overnight – this time, Dough Joy Donuts in The Junction. We went to the shop to ask about it.

Dough Joy is usually closed Tuesdays – but they’re there today cleaning up and expect to be ready to open on their next regular day, Thursday. They told us the burglar(s) took two iPads. This is at least the fifth Junction business burglary/burglary attempt in the past month – after By and By, Cherry Consignment, Junction True Value, and Menashe & Sons Jewelers. The West Seattle Junction Association tells WSB they’re talking about ways to improve business-district-wide security.

VIDEO OF FIRST WEST SEATTLE AUTOWORKS BREAK-IN: Last weekend we reported on two break-ins at West Seattle Autoworks (7501 35th SW; WSB sponsor), Friday night and Saturday morning. We included video of the second burglary, in which a white van was backed into the garage door twice, Today WSAW has shared video of the first burglary, in which a red Honda was driven up in front of the office and the burglars got out to smash their way in:

Just after a minute into the next clip, you’ll see the safe thrown out the window before one of the burglars struggles to get it into the vehicle:

In part of the security video, the vehicle’s plate is shown – CEK7902. One other number of note – if you have any information, the SPD incident number is 23-019442.

(October 7th photo by WSB reader Mel)

Three and a half months after the discovery of a 16-year-old girl’s body along Highway 509 south of West Seattle, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has released results of her autopsy. The most recent media-information list released by the KCME says Keyaleas Brewer died of “asphyxia due to strangulation” and ruled her death a homicide. When we last checked with the King County Sheriff’s Office a few weeks ago, they repeated only that it remained an “open and active case.” Back in October, as reported here, they asked for video from anyone driving on southbound 509 between the 1st Avenue South Bridge and South 112th between 5 am and 7 am on Friday, October 7th – the morning Ms. Brewer was found dead – and welcomed anonymous tips via p3tips,com or info via email at mcutips@kingcounty.gov – refer to case #C22033455.

From Nico, who says this happened in North Admiral:

We had a car stolen overnight last night. 2000 Honda CR-V, WA Plate # AJZ2148. Antisocial sticker on back window and has a roof rack. Police report has been filed. Contact me or SPD if you happen to see it.

From Jonathan:

1989 Land Cruiser
Plate BJL4073

Stolen from SW Myrtle Street near (Myrtle Reservoir) park.

Incident # 2023-020722

Around 7 am today, my vehicle was stolen. I saw the thieves driving off and jumped in another car to follow. I lost them around Roxbury Safeway. If seen, please report to Police.

(Note that this is the same general area from which we received a stolen-car report Saturday.)

West Seattle Autoworks (7501 35th SW; WSB sponsor) is cleaning up after two break-ins overnight, one of which was a crash-and-grab.

(WSB photos)

First, their office was broken into around 7 pm. The burglar(s) took an empty safe. According to their security cameras, they were in a red Honda CR-V. Then after 6 am, a white van rammed the garage door on the south side of the building. The door was damaged and a battery charger and a diagnostic tool were taken.

Security video shows the van being backed into the building twice, and three burglars getting out, with one also hitting the building with some kind of tool:

West Seattle Autoworks wants customers with vehicles at the shop this weekend to know that all of their keys are safe – and they are now being kept off-site; no customers’ vehicles were damaged or otherwise touched. If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 23-019442.

SATURDAY: Sent by John:

Our blue 2018 Hyundai Elantra was stolen from in front of our house on 35th Ave between Holly and Willow. WA Plate #BIH3868. Please call SPD if you see it. Thank you.

This happened Thursday night/Friday morning.

SUNDAY: See comments – John’s car was spotted by a reader. However, his Seal Sitters equipment inside is missing – if you see cones or signs dumped somewhere, let us know!

Charges are now filed in two cases on which we reported previously:

HATE-CRIME, BURGLARY CHARGES: On Tuesday we followed up on the weekend arrests of a husband and wife accused of attacking, threatening, and using racial slurs against a neighbor in his own apartment. Today the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against the two. 38-year-old Rosalyn J. Gearhart and 40-year-old Joshua J. Kramer are each charged with one count of residential burglary and one count of hate crime, in which the court documents allege they “maliciously and intentionally and because of their perception of the color and race of (the victim), did cause physical injury to (him).” These court documents include the same narrative we summarized extensively in Tuesday’s report, with the added detail that the victim’s “5-year-old daughter was inside the apartment during the entire incident, witnessing the assault.” The charging papers say Kramer “has out of state convictions for felony-level assault and terroristic threats” while Gearhart has no known criminal record. Both remain in jail, her bail set at $15,000, his at $50,000.

ASSAULT CHARGES IN GUNFIRE CASE: A gunfire incident in November that put a school campus into shelter-in-place has led to felony assault charges. We reported on the incident November 7; it happened around 10:30 that morning. Now 19-year-old Kenneth M. Haggith is charged with two counts of second-degree assault. The charging documents allege he shot at a car containing two people – a 16-year-old boy who is charged with shooting at Haggith in an earlier incident, and that teenager’s mother. Prosecutors say mother and son were sitting in a car at Roxhill Park that morning when a car pulled up behind them and they saw someone they identified as Haggith hanging out of the passenger window with a shotgun. They heard gunfire and decided to leave; prosecutors say the car containing Haggith followed them and that he shot at them repeatedly; police reported finding six shotgun shells in the Roxhill Park parking lot. No one was hurt but the victims’ car was damaged and the multi-program campus at 30th/Roxbury went into shelter-in-place. Witnesses provided police with a photo, phone video, and a license-plate number that led them to Haggith, a Renton resident. They finally heard from the mother late that night; she identified Haggith as the shooter. According to court documents, the dispute between her son and the defendant is apparently “over a female.” Haggith pleaded not guilty at arraignment and was ordered into electronic home detention.

Two Crime Watch reports this morning:

CARJACKING: This one is classified as a robbery/carjacking because the victim said the thief pointed a gun at him when he tried to stop him. It happened in the 4000 block of 45th SW around quarter past 7 last night. The victim told police that he was working nearby when a co-worker asked whether he had started his vehicle – he hadn’t, and he had the keys, but someone was in the vehicle and had started it. The victim approached and the thief started driving the vehicle away. The victim told police he ran after it, managed to pull open the driver-side door, and then the thief pointed what was described as a silver handgun at him. The thief then got away, last seen eastbound on SW Andover. The police summary doesn’t describe the stolen vehicle, but archived police-radio audio describes it as a red 1998 Ford Ranger with a white canopy and a St. Jude’s sticker on the back. Plate D04481A. No description of the thief. The incident # is 23-017429; any tips can be called in to the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.

ANOTHER TRUCK THEFT: A reader sent this report of a pickup truck stolen in South Park:

Our 1992 Ford F-250 was stolen last night from 12th and Dallas. It’s blue and gray with big aluminum running boards. WA Plate #C86448U. Please call SPD if you see it. Thank you.

(Afternoon update – the pickup taken in South Park was found in Bellevue.)

Tuesday afternoon, we reported on the theft – and recovery – of two U.S. Postal Service carriers’ trucks in West Seattle. The initial response was from Seattle Police, but as commenters noted, this is a federal crime. So we followed up with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service today. Regional spokesperson John Wiegand said he couldn’t comment extensively because: “There is follow up on this investigation going on right now, with some active leads … We have a possible suspect vehicle identified and are following up on that right now.” As for who investigates from here, “We are the primary agency investigating these, SPD responded as it happened in their jurisdiction and are usually always in the loop on things happening in the city limits. That allows us to amplify our reach and investigation with resources.” They don’t have specifics to share regarding exactly whose mail was stolen, but if you learn that yours is missing – such as, via use of a stolen credit card – they want to hear from you, and Wiegand says the best way is by phone: 877-876-2455. He added: “We are working with the postal service to help prevent these from happening more. And we encourage members of the community to be on the lookout, if they see unknown individuals removing mail from a mail truck and placing it in another vehicle to please call police asap and preserve any video of they have it. Yesterday we were able to recover multiple videos from the community that will be very helpful.”

3:22 PM: Two more USPS carriers’ mail trucks were stolen in West Seattle this afternoon; one has since been recovered, minus its contents. Both thefts were reported in the greater Alki area; the one that was found was missing its mail and packages, officers told dispatch. A home security camera from one scene is reported to have recorded a vehicle linked to the thieves, a purple early-’90s two-door Ford Ranger with a black canopy. No other details at the moment; the thefts were reported in the 5600 block of 57th SW (incident # 23-016226) and the 3300 block of Beach Drive (incident # 23-016223).

4:54 PM: According to police radio, the other one’s been found.

1:48 PM: This time, burglars hit By and By, the skateboarding/apparel shop that opened a little over a year ago on the ground floor of the Senior Center of West Seattle. Proprietor Tony emailed us to report:

Around 3 am, 3 intruders were able to smash their way into the store and steal our cash register along with clothing and skateboards.

We have since gotten our door fixed and in progress of securing the store even more.

Police have the footage from our cameras of the theft in action.

We believe we will be able to open up for regular business hours tomorrow.

We’ve asked if he can share any image(s) from the security video. This is on the same block where Menashe & Sons Jewelers was damaged by a crash-and-grab burglary attempt on Christmas Eve morning. Also in The Junction, the door at Cherry Consignment – about two blocks north – was damaged in a break-in attempt overnight Saturday/Sunday. (Added: And as we’re reminded in comments, Junction True Value was burglarized New Year’s Eve.)

6 PM: Tony has since sent these security-camera images:

We asked if there were any particular items people might look for, whether dumped or put up for sale somewhere: “They stole a lot of our store-branded clothing as well as jackets and women’s clothing. Nothing that could really be that specific or different. There was a skateboard with a Le Petite Prince graphic on it.”

Since this morning’s report on a West Seattle business break-in, we’ve heard from another business, hit by an apparent burglary attempt:

That’s the door at Cherry Consignment (4142 California SW), whose proprietor Nyla says it happened sometime last night or this morning. Whoever broke the door glass didn’t make it all the way through, as the photo shows. She’s hoping someone nearby might have caught something on a security camera or might otherwise have seen something.

Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

STOLEN CAR: West Seattle resident Dan‘s car was stolen in Burien and he’s getting the word out regionally to watch for it:

My car, a white 1997 Subaru Legacy GT wagon, was stolen this afternoon (around 1-1:30 pm) in Burien on SW 157th in the parking lot between Azteca and Value Village. License plate #2869 LEM. Video footage from Azteca shows two men pull up in a green Ford Ranger, steal the car within a few minutes. Both sped out of the parking lot after stealing the car.

It’s been reported to police/sheriffs in Burien; we’ll add the number when we get it. (Added: C23001615)

STOLEN TRUCK: This was posted via a comment, so we’re following up to get the location: “My 15-foot truck U-HAUL was stolen today around 1:00 pm. License plate AG30561 – if you see the truck, please call 911 or contact me by email: Mrgpuckett@outlook.com”

ARRESTS AFTER NEIGHBORS’ FIGHT: A post on SPD Blotter this afternoon recaps an incident to which police responded Friday evening around 5:30 pm in the 8400 block of Delridge Way SW. Police say it started with a report of a fight between neighbors and ended with a 38-year-old woman and 40-year-old man arrested for investigation of burglary, assault, and hate crime; details are here.

(Photo courtesy Molly’s Bottle Shop)

If you’ve been in the 3200 block of California SW today, you might have noticed that startling sight – the “parklet” structure out front of Molly’s Bottle Shop is now in pieces. Shop manager Sebastiano says a hit-run driver destroyed it just after 3 am – the collision was caught, though not clearly, on a neighbor’s security camera:

(Choose YT’s “full screen” option for a slightly better view)
If you have any information – especially if you’re the driver right behind the hit-run vehicle – please contact the shop, which is awaiting a police-report number.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports this evening:

(Reader photo)

THIEVES SHUT DOWN ANOTHER CHARGER: Thanks for the tips. Seattle City Light confirms that both of its electric-vehicle chargers on 39th SW are out of service because of theft. One charger’s cable was cut/stolen in November; now the same thing has happened to the other charger. And SCL’s Jenn Strang told WSB today the charger hit first was hit again last month: “The cables on the northern station at Alaska Junction were stolen in November and December and cables on the southern station were stolen between January 9th and 10th. Given that all cables have been lost at the Alaska Junction location, City Light was unfortunately forced to set these stations to unavailable.” So what’s the plan now? we asked: “In November, we submitted a request for a full contingent of replacement parts for both stations and still await delivery from the manufacturer. We are looking at solutions to help mitigate this issue moving forward, while also attempting to source replacement and back up parts to minimize downtime impacting our customers.” We also asked how widespread the problem is; Strang replied, “City Light has had cables stolen from 8 chargers in the last year, and we are seeing similar impacts to other public charging providers.”

One item from today’s police reports:

THWARTED ESCAPE IN STOLEN CAR: Around quarter past 10 this morning in the 7700 block of Detroit SW in southeast West Seattle, police say, they spotted what turned out to be a stolen Ford Escape. As they drove up to the front of the parked car, its driver threw it in reverse – crashing into an SPD vehicle behind it – then, trying to go forward, crashed into the SPD vehicle in front. Police say this cycle repeated until the driver, a 33-year-old woman, finally surrendered. According to their report, they found – either on her or in the vehicle – “multiple credit cards, checks, IDs, and more than 200 pieces of mail, which did not appear to belong to the suspect (and) a ballistic vest … that had been stolen from a law enforcement agency.” She was booked into King County Jail.

Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:

SERIAL-ROBBERY CHARGES: On Friday night, we reported that police announced an arrest in the December 4th robbery of the 35th/Barton 7-11. Today, 22-year-old Ricardo F. Valencia-Alvarez was charged in that holdup and 10 others, and an alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Cesar Sandoval, was charged too; another alleged accomplice, Daniel A. Recinos, is already in jail and charged with multiple robberies. In the 95-page charging document filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, investigators detail a string of robberies, mostly at gas stations, in October, November, and December, in communities including Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kent, Renton, Redmond, and Maple Valley, as well as West Seattle, White Center, and Burien. The night we reported the 35th/Barton holdup, we noted that a Burien gas station had been held up a short time later by robbers who matched the description; that robbery yielded some key evidence – the clerk fired 11 shots at the robbers as they fled, and detectives say Valencia-Alvarez posted photos of the shot-up white BMW on social media, where he added, “We had just robbed the gas station too.”

The BMW had been carjacked in Federal Way days earlier and was found a day after the West Seattle/Burien robberies, on I-90 in Kittitas County, where the suspects are accused of abandoning it and carjacking another driver to get their next getaway car. About a week earlier, on November 29th, prosecutors and police allege, the robbery rampage included Little Caesar’s Pizza restaurants in White Center and Burien. The charging documents say Valencia-Alvarez has a record with juvenile assault and theft convictions as well as a current warrant in a malicious-mischief case, while Sandoval has a record including robbery and burglary, and had just gotten out of state prison a month before the robberies started. He’s being held in lieu of $2.2 million bail, while bail for Valencia-Alvarez is set at $750,000. (Bail was set at $900,000 for the other alleged accomplice, Recinos, who’s 20.)

Also in Crime Watch, one reader report:

REPEAT VISITOR: A resident near Lincoln Park says their security camera has caught this person repeatedly prowling his property, once to steal electricity to charge a phone, another time to try to break in, and a third time to vandalize:

(updated) The incidents have been reported to police.

And a reminder …

TALK WITH POLICE THURSDAY: The next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – your chance to hear from and ask questions of local police – is Thursday (January 12th), 7 pm, at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).

At a short King County Superior Court hearing this morning, the West Seattle man charged in the July hit-run death of bicyclist Robb Mason pleaded not guilty.

The judge agreed to prosecutors’ request for electronic home monitoring of 20-year-old defendant Mohamed A. Yusuf, and the defense did not object. He is charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-run, accused of hitting Mr. Mason at a speed past 50 mph on Spokane Street while the 63-year-old victim was riding his bike home just east of the low bridge. Yusuf did not address the court; Mr. Mason’s widow Claudia Mason was in the courtroom and did speak to Judge Karen Donohue during the hearing – here’s what she told media outside the courtroom afterward:

Before she spoke to reporters, a sobbing supporter hugged her in the hallway, lamenting that “the law is not fair,” allowing the defendant to remain out of custody. The judge, in response to Ms. Mason, had contended that being under electronic home monitoring means he is in custody. In the charging documents, as we first reported last Wednesday, police say they identified Yusuf as the suspect through “scrupulous detective work” including evidence such as car debris at the scene and video from a Metro bus, and evidence gathered once he was charged included his online/phone activity, some of which involved searches, links, and messages related to the case. He is due back in court next month.