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.

Three items in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:

HIT-RUN HOMICIDE ARRAIGNMENT MONDAY: As reported here Wednesday, a suspect is now charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-run in last July’s death of Robb Mason. 20-year-old Mohamed A. Yusuf will be arraigned tomorrow morning at 8:30 am in courtroom E-955 at the King County Courthouse. His family and friends sent a statement that they “would like to let the West Seattle community know that the arraignment is open to the public for anyone who can be present as a show of support for Claudia Mason and her beloved husband Robb.” The courthouse is at 516 Third Avenue.

35TH/AVALON ARRESTS: Several people asked about a sizable police response around 10 pm last night at the 35th/Avalon – including Evan, who sent this photo:

Research today yielded information that this was a stolen-vehicle recovery, with people in the vehicle when police found it – two were reported to have been taken into custody.

GARAGE BURGLARY: Karen reports from Hansen View (the neighborhood just south of The Mount) that someone broke into a neighbor’s garage Friday afternoon by smashing out a glass panel:

This happened while someone was home; the burglar(s) stole items including three bicycles, one of which Karen found a few doors down. SPD incident # is 23-005507.

Two items in West Seattle Crime Watch this evening:

ROBBERY SUSPECT ARRESTED: Seattle Police just announced an arrest in the early-morning holdup at the 35th/Barton 7-11 on December 4th. They say the 22-year-old man was identified through evidence gathered by detectives and arrested Thursday in Auburn. He is in the King County Jail, bail set at $750,000. No word on other suspects’ status in the case; when the robbery happened, police said three people were involved, and that they also were likely suspects in a holdup a short time later in Burien.

JTF BURGLARY REPORTED: Police were dispatched today to investigate a reported burglary at the Seattle Fire Joint Training Facility on Myers Way in southeast West Seattle. Dispatchers told officers that the burglar(s) were reported to have taken $5,000 in training equipment. We asked SFD for comment, but they said information would have to come from SPD, so we’re now awaiting that.

Look closely at the top half of that photo and you’ll see bolts that formerly held the Admiral Way/Belvidere USPS mailbox. We got a tip this morning that the big blue collection box was missing again, more than 11 years after its previous theft. A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirms to WSB that the mailbox was indeed stolen – and says it’s just been recovered this past hour “in the Burien area.” We have followup questions out including when it happened (we recall seeing the box in place just a few days ago) and what you should do if you might have had mail in the box; we’ll add whatever we hear back.

The photos and report are from management at City Watch Apartments (4744 41st SW) in The Junction:

They report this happened between 7 and 8 am this morning: “This couple was caught on camera wandering around our lobby this morning and stole 2 boxes of food and a package that was left for a resident near our mailboxes.” The two are believed to be associated with a dark-blue PT Cruiser that has been seen in the neighborhood before. No police report # yet.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Five and a half months after a hit-run driver killed Robb Mason as he bicycled home from his West Seattle job, police have identified a suspect, and prosecutors have charged him.

After a reader tip, we obtained the charging documents this morning. 20-year-old Mohamed A. Yusuf of High Point is charged with vehicular homicide and felony hit-run.

According to the charging documents, he was identified through “scrupulous detective work” with evidence including car debris at the scene, security video from a Metro bus and neighborhood cameras, and the suspect’s online/phone activity, including searches, links, and messages related to the case. The charging documents say the crash video showed distinctive pre-existing damage to the Hyundai Elantra that struck Mr. Mason and that police cross-referenced a list of all similar vehicles with a database of incidents, zeroed in on this car, found it outside Yusuf’s residence, and impounded it.

He is accused of driving that Elantra faster than 50 mph the evening of July 15th, 2022, when Mr. Mason was hit and killed east of the low bridge. Here’s the narrative written by prosecutors:

63-year-old Robert Mason was on his way home from work. He was riding an electric bicycle and wearing a yellow safety vest. He was riding eastbound in the eastbound lanes and had just entered the eastern marked crosswalk and was turning left to cross the westbound lanes presumedly to rejoin the bike lane on the north side of the street. The road has two lanes in each direction divided by double yellow painted lines. The crosswalks at the intersection are marked and painted with white hash marks.

20-year-old Mohamed Yusuf was driving eastbound in his sedan. He was speeding over 50 mph on the 25 mph-posted street. He crossed the double yellow centerline and plowed into Mr. Mason. Mr. Mason suffered catastrophic injuries and was killed immediately. … The collision was captured on several road cameras and significantly a Metro bus’s forward-facing camera.

The defendant had initially braked but accelerated away. He never checked on Mr. Mason or contacted the police or called 911. He was identified through a scrupulous investigation that included Ring camera video and audio which captured him behind his house telling someone he was driving “55mph,” several admissions he made in his social media feeds, including searches for “hit and run death of cyclist,” “how long does marijuana (weed) stay in your system?” and links to news articles on this specific event … He sent video of the police knocking on his door and shared that his lawyer told him not to answer.

Yusuf has no criminal record and has not been arrested; the case was filed on a “summons” basis, and he is under orders to appear for arraignment next Monday (January 9th) morning in King County Superior Court. We asked King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney about the decision to file this way; he replied, “The State Constitution and court rules significantly limit the situations in which the Court will issue warrants or hold defendants in jail pending trial,” adding that the decision was “based on judges’ rulings over years in previous unrelated vehicular homicide cases with similar circumstances – particularly noting the defendant’s lack of criminal history or warrant history, even with this serious vehicular homicide charge.”

(WSB photo, July)

Mr. Mason’s death stirred an outcry, particularly in the cycling community, which first placed a “ghost bike” at the scene and then organized two memorial rides, with gatherings addressed by the victim’s widow, in July and in September.

(WSB photo, September)

Prosecutors are asking the arraignment judge to order Yusuf into electronic home monitoring while awaiting trial. According to KCPAO’s McNerthney: “If the defendant violates any terms imposed by the Court or does not appear at a required court date, prosecutors can make a motion for a warrant with a bail request.”

ADDED 6:57 PM: We reached out this morning to ask if Claudia Mason wanted to comment. Tonight we’ve received this:

It means a lot to me that so many people remember and care about Robb.

His death has hit our community very hard and for those of us in the cycling community it’s been a painful reminder of how precarious our commutes can be when we are required to travel through areas that are inherently dangerous.

My own life was stolen when Robb was so brutally killed and I am relieved that the defendant will be arraigned in a few days. It has been a very long and agonizing wait to get to this point and I know that the process is far from over but this news is a big step in the right direction towards getting some justice for my beloved husband Robb Mason.

Two car-related notes this morning:

STOLEN CR-V: From Kerry: “My 1999 red Honda CR-V was stolen this morning between 6 and 8 am. License plate number AOZ7418. Taken from 4800 block of 50th Ave SW. text if you spot it – 206-245-8720.” SPD case number is 23-002115.

MYSTERY CAR: Nancy says this car “has been sitting on Cambridge SW between 25th and 26th for many weeks. The license plate has been removed and so have the four wheels. Perhaps, someone is missing this car.”

She says it’s locked and that no VIN number was visible.

Three more West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

GUN POINTED FROM PASSING CAR: Just sent by Tony:

I was walking the dog at the corner of Glenn Way and 46th Ave SW at 11.30 am. Two vehicles – a black sedan and a sliver sedan – drove by; the person in the silver sedan pointed his gun at me. The silver sedan had orange plastic covering the rear passenger window. Minutes later I saw them speeding up Genesee and headed north on 51st. I have the sense they were looking for someone. I called 911 immediately. If anyone sees the vehicles, call 911 right away.

Police radio indicates the vehicles in question are possibly both Hyundais and were subsequently seen in the Morgan Junction area. (12:32 PM UPDATE: Police have confirmed both are stolen cars.)

JUNCTION TRUE VALUE BREAK-IN: The latest business hit with a broken-door break-in is Junction True Value.

We went over to the store after a reader tip. Management told us this happened early today; someone smashed the glass with a piece of concrete. So far, all they’ve confirmed missing is some of the candy kept near the door.

STOLEN FORD PICKUP: Sent by Rosa:

Firefighter husband’s truck was stolen last night. 2006 Ford F-250 Super Duty, Super Cab (4 doors), short bed, dark green and brown, license plate on front dash, one on the back of truck, C89366U, firefighter stickers on rear window. Incident number 22-348635.

The pickup was taken near Myrtle Reservoir Park. (SUNDAY UPDATE: It’s been found.)

King County Sheriff’s Deputies have fanned into the West Seattle neighborhoods north of Roxbury, searching for a man reported to have robbed the Roxbury Safeway at knifepoint. We don’t know whether this was a shoplift-turned-robbery or a different type of holdup, but the robber is reported to be armed with a knife that he used to “threaten employees.” Initial description is that he’s Black, in his 20s, about 5’9″, in a green puffy jacket and gray sweatpants.

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, charges have been filed in two incidents at Westwood Village stores:

BIG 5 BREAK-IN: The man arrested early Tuesday after a burglary at the Big 5 Sporting Goods store, 37-year-old Nicky R. Taylor Jr. of Tacoma, is charged with first-degree burglary. Charging documents tell the same story we reported that day – mall security called police after seeing someone use a shopping cart to break into Big 5 by smashing a window. Police say Taylor had grabbed what appeared to be a rifle – and later turned out to be an airsoft gun – and pointed it at an officer, before fleeing out a side exit. They caught up with him just south of the mall, on SW Barton. The charging document say police who went into the store after the arrest “observed the airsoft and ammunition section was in disarray. Several guns appeared pulled off the wall and there was ammunition scattered on a counter.” Taylor is accused of taking bullets, boots, two coats, and a baseball bat, plus the airsoft rifle, all of which was recovered. The charging documents say he was wanted on a misdemeanor DUI warrant from Federal Way and that he has had 22 failure-to-appear warrants since 2007; all his prior convictions are driving-related, including three other DUIs. He remains in jail, bail set at $80,000.

ROSS SHOPLIFT-TURNED-ROBBERY: 27-year-old Issac R. Alejandro is charged with first-degree robbery, accused of pointing a gun at Ross Dress For Less store security and management while getting away with shoplifted merchandise. The incident happened October 4th; the charge was just filed last week, but Alejandro has been in jail since October 12th in connection with a different case. In the robbery case, prosecutors say, Alejandro went into the store, gathered up more than $300 in clothing, and when employees tried to stop him, pulled the gun and told them repeatedly “Back off.” This security image is in the charging documents:

He then, investigators say, fled with two accomplices in what turned out to be a stolen Chevrolet Silverado, found by police less than five hours later in the 2500 block of Harbor Avenue SW. (It had been taken from a light-rail park-and-ride in Tukwila hours before the robbery.) Meantime, a detective investigating the robbery got security-camera images from the store, circulated them to officers, and had the stolen Silverado processed for fingerprints. The charging documents say he soon heard from an officer who believed he knew the identity of the main robber; one of the accomplices was identified through a tip that he was in Renton. SPD subsequently heard from Renton Police that Alejandro was in their custody for an incident in which he allegedly shot at them. They also learned that Alejandro had a million-dollar warrant for a King County Sheriff’s Office robbery/assault case and that he has criminal history in California and Arkansas. The jail register shows he’s being held in lieu of $700,000 bail.

Three more auto-theft-related West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

STOLEN PICKUP: The report and photos are from Sam:

My car, a 1996 black Ford Ranger XLT, was stolen near Alki on 12/28. The phone number for tips would be (updated) 206-625-5011 and the police case number is 22-346724.

(added) The plates on the truck when taken are C53926Y.

CHARGES FILED IN STOLEN-VAN CASE: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed charges in a case we covered last week, in which a 39-year-old man is accused of abandoning a stolen van on West Seattle railroad tracks after hitting a police car while trying to get away from officers in SODO. The suspect, Jesse R. Volk of Burien, is charged with two felonies, possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude police. Court documents say Volk has one felony conviction on his record but four others filed and not yet resolved – three of which are also related to stolen vehicles. He remains in the King County Jail, where he’s been since his arrest eight days ago, in lieu of $25,000 bail.

CHARGE FILED IN STOLEN-CAR CASE: 43-year-old Nicholas V. Renion is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle – a car in which police say they found him early the morning of December 19th in West Seattle, shortly after the car was stolen in White Center. The owner of the Chevrolet Aveo had started it up outside his home in the 10000 block of 17th SW to warm it up; he left it running and went inside, and it was taken. He was able to track it via an Apple AirTag on his keychain, and within an hour, he and his parents found it parked in a lot in the 9000 block of Delridge Way SW. They notified Seattle Police, who found Renion in the car, and arrested him. He’s been in jail ever since, bail set at $15,000. Inside the recovered car, the victim found a bag that did not belong to him, and the documents say:

Inside the bag, officers found five access devices in the names of three different people. A Keybank debit card and a Bank of America debit card were located in (one person’s name). A Seattle Credit Union card was located in (another name). A BECU debit card was located in the name of (the car’s owner).

Renion has a criminal history dating back 29 years, with prior convictions including stolen-vehicle possession, burglary, and assault, plus another auto-theft case currently pending. He’s been in the King County Jail for 10 days, his third booking this fall; the previous two totaled 43 days.

From Johanna:

My silver 2001 Honda CR-V was stolen last night, approximately between 10 PM and 7 AM this morning. I need it to drive my dad back-and-forth in hospital. I am at a huge loss without it. Here’s a picture of it if you could post it on the blog so people know to keep their eye out for it. My license plate is BHH 8282. It was stolen in front of my house on 15th Ave between Kenyon and Elmgrove.

We’ll add the police-report number when we get it. (Added: It’s 22-346619.)

Josette is hoping someone might spot this stolen statue:

(Early Tuesday) around 1.00 AM, my front-yard statue was stolen. It is a bronze statue with 2 children holding a flower basket. It was located on 47th Ave SW and Findlay SW. The thieves were able to carry the statue, which is more than 300 lbs. I was able to see 2 men carrying my statue into a dark-colored car. If you do see it, please let me know. This statue is dear to me.

Any leads, let us know and we’ll connect you. UPDATE: Police reprt # 22-344596.

Another West Seattle business was hit by burglars over the Christmas weekend. This time, Delridge Deli Mart (in the strip mall at Delridge/Andover). We went over to ask after a tip from Steve. The store confirms they were broken into before midnight last night, by burglars who popped this lock out of the door:

They told us the burglars got away with lottery scratch tickets, cigarettes, and change – some rolls as well as loose. This is the same store whose owner was seriously hurt trying to stop a shoplifter three months ago. If you have any information on last night’s break-in, the SPD incident number is 22-343643.

Aaron reports, “35th Ave SW by SW 102nd St, two bikes stolen from carport over the last week, one Redline big BMX dark blue, 26” wheels, and one mountain bike, white and teal with 24” wheels.” If you think you’ve found either, let us know and we’ll connect you.

8:33 AM: The business run by the local family that’s almost synonymous with Christmas in West Seattle has been hit by crime on Christmas Eve. Crash-and-grab burglars hit the Menashe and Sons Jewelers store at 4532 California SW in The Junction early this morning. The store’s been run for decades by the family that’s well-known for West Seattle’s brightest display of Christmas lights. We just talked to members of the family at the store, as police investigated. Josh Menashe says they think it happened around 5 am. The gated front of the store is bashed in and vehicle debris is visible:

The Menashes believe the burglar(s) also used a mallet to try to get in by breaking a window. What if anything was taken is still being determined, but the store won’t be open today. We’re still on scene and will add whatever more we find out. This is at least the third crash-and-grab in West Seattle in the past three weeks, after Westwood Village Big 5 on December 5th and El Quetzal at Arrowhead Gardens on December 10th.

8:50 AM: We’ve also talked with Jack Menashe, who says so far they don’t believe the burglars got in or took anything, but they’re reviewing video to be sure – so what they primarily have to do is clean up the damage and secure the store.

Police have recovered more of what the burglar(s) left behind, including the aforementioned mallet:

10:57 AM: As a comment points out, the Menashes have announced the store will be open today after all, 11 am-4 pm – go to the back door off the alley and ring the bell.

11:16 AM: We’ve seen video from a nearby security camera that has not yet been released but does show what happened, in a corner of its field of view. The burglars were in a light-colored pickup truck. At 5:02 they backed into the front of the door three times, took off, came back a couple minutes later, pulled up in front of the store and someone got out (too distant to describe), then took off again, and came back a third time within a few minutes, backing into the storefront again twice, then took off. Here’s the clearest screenshot of the pickup:

Two West Seattle Crime Watch items before we get back to weather coverage:

GUNFIRE DAMAGES HOME: Multiple texters mentioned hearing suspected gunfire in North Delridge around quarter till 5 this morning. Seattle Police confirmed it was gunfire – they found bullet damage to a home in the 5200 block of Delridge Way SW, and “numerous casings” outside. No one was injured. At least one witness told police the shots were fired by someone in a black Honda Civic that then took off southbound.

NEW INFO IN STOLEN-VAN-ON-TRACKS CASE: On Thursday we reported on the previous night’s arrest of a 40-year-old man accused of driving a stolen van, backing into a police car with it while trying to get away from officers in SODO, then abandoning it on railroad tracks in West Seattle. Today we’ve obtained documents from his bail hearing, and learned more about the case. First, the van was stolen in West Seattle, from Sunrise Heights, four weeks ago. Second, while we mentioned he had been in jail six previous times this year, we didn’t have specifics. The hearing documents note that he and another man were arrested four nights earlier – last Saturday – for what was described as a similar incident, involving eluding police. This happened outside West Seattle, on East Marginal Way. However, there’s no booking on the jail roster related to it. At Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors asked for $30,000 bail; a judge set it at $25,000. Because of the holiday, Tuesday is the deadline for rush-filing charges.

Police have arrested another stolen-car suspect in West Seattle. This time it started on the other side of the Duwamish River. Police say they were trying to pull the 40-year-old man over in SODO after discovering the white van he was driving had a stolen license plate. In his attempt to get away, they say, he “rammed the van through a business’s chain link fence, then backed into an SPD patrol vehicle before fleeing with at least one flat tire.”

(Image via SPD Blotter)

He made it all the way to West Marginal Way SW and SW Alaska [map], where he ditched the van on the railroad tracks. It was empty when police got to it but footprints in the snow led them to the suspect, sitting on a park bench nearby. According to police, mail in the suspect’s name was left in the van. They arrested him; he’s currently in the King County Jail for the sixth time this year, most recently a six-week stay in July and August, related to burglary and auto-theft-related charges for which he’s awaiting trial.

Auto theft is a category of crime that’s been on the rise for three years in Seattle. It’s what this Crime Watch roundup is all about:

APPARENTLY DUMPED: Two people sent photos (the one above is from Kay) of that gray Hyundai Tucson, left in the back of Riverview Playfield, clearly hotwired. It’s been reported to police.

Next – three auto-theft cases in which charges have been filed, starting with one involving a theft reported here:

RED-TRUCK THEFT: You might recall Brooke‘s report last week about the theft of the red 1986 Chevrolet truck shown above. Two days later, we updated the report when she told us it had been found and that someone had been arrested. The suspect, 40-year-old Daryl B. Allen of SeaTac, was charged today with possession of a stolen vehicle. Charging documents say Allen has a long record, including eight felony convictions on auto-theft-related charges dating back to 2006. The documents also show the WSB post from Thursday and note that a 911 tip reported seeing it near California/Graham; police spotted it a short distance north and followed it until the driver parked it in the 4000 block of California. After a man and woman got out, police tried to intercept them, and they ran, but were quickly caught. The man was Allen, police say, who claimed the truck had been given to him. They also say he had dropped a backpack in which they found a knife the truck’s owner had left in its cab, as well as “multiple shaved keys, a roll of window tint, a small number of narcotics and paraphernalia, and some bank cards and driver’s licenses that did not belong to him.” In the truck they found a screwdriver that they were able to use to start the truck’s punched-out ignition, and they found a witness who said they saw Allen use a screwdriver to turn off the ignition when he parked; the same witness has security video showing him getting out of the truck. He was arrested and booked into jail, where he remains in lieu of $15,000 bail; the woman was questioned and released.

BLUE-TRUCK THEFT: Bail was also set at $15,000 for the suspect just charged with stealing a blue F-150 truck in West Seattle in May; at the moment that’s somewhat irrelevant because the suspect has been in jail in Pierce County since September on five charges there. 22-year-old Nathan J. Adrian of Puyallup is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle in the West Seattle case. Court documents say he was found, passed out, in the stolen truck at 26th and Juneau while police were on the way to the owner’s house in Gatewood to take the report. Apparently the truck’s owner had tracked it there – the charging documents don’t say how – as had a victim of another crime, a gas-can theft. That person parked his own vehicle so this one wouldn’t be able to leave before police arrived. The court documents say police found “multiple vehicle keys” and drug paraphernalia in Adrian’s pockets. Though he has no conviction record yet, he has three other King County cases pending trial – two burglaries and one stolen-vehicle case.

STOLEN ACCORD: This case involves a suspect who prosecutors say was found in Highland Park on December 3rd with a Honda Accord stolen in Kirkland, 45-year-old K-Deane H. Fenner of Capitol Hill was arrested when officers pulled him over after running the plate on the car he was driving and discovering it had been stolen. They then noticed the car was running with a screwdriver stuck in the ignition instead of a key. The charging document includes this photo:

Fenner is described as having a four-state criminal history, but the first-appearance judge, who is not named in the documents, set bail at $500, so that’s what it was even after the charge was filed, and he is now out of custody.