West Seattle, Washington
25 Monday
ORIGINAL TUESDAY REPORT: Police are currently on the lookout for a gold 2014 Nissan Murano, plates BKY3697, reported as stolen in a carjacking from the Lighthouse Apartments at 7901 Delridge Way SW. Officers have told dispatch that the victim described the two carjackers as female, white or Hispanic, in their 20s, one with light hair and a hoodie, one with dark hair, both in blue jeans. A gun was implied but not seen, they say. If you see this (or any other reported) stolen car, call 911.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Just got word that the car was recovered in Kent, possibly linked to other robberies. We’re checking to see if we can find out more.
Three incidents in West Seattle Crime Watch:
ROXBURY INCIDENT: This response is unfolding right now – it started with a report of an “aggressive man in the street,” then as police responded, the man is reported to have gone inside the gas-station mini-mart at 30th/Roxbury and started breaking glass and throwing things. Officers told dispatch they deployed a Taser and have the suspect in custody; we confirmed that on scene:
Medics were called to check out the suspect. This is King County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction and they were reported to be on the way. (ADDED 9:31 PM) We’re not likely to get additional information until tomorrow, but we do have a short video clip from Ted Huetter, who was at the nearby stoplight when he noticed the police response:
ADDED WEDNESDAY: SPD’s preliminary summary adds details:
Officers responded to a 911 hazard call regarding a subject lying in the roadway in the 2100 block of SW Roxbury St. Officers arrived and located the subject walking in the roadway in the 3400 block of SW Roxbury St. Officers attempted to persuade the subject out of the roadway, but he refused. While officers waited for additional units to arrive for an emergent detention, the subject ran in the road several blocks before entering a nearby gas station, located in the 2800 block SW Roxbury St. The subject proceeded to damage and/or throw most items in the store, shatter a window, and threw items at officers. One officer was struck by flying glass but uninjured. The subject eventually exited the store and a taser was deployed … The subject was taken into custody and Seattle Fire was requested for his injuries. The subject was transported to Harborview Medical Center via SFD, and a hospital guard was established until the subject could be booked into King County Jail for investigation of Malicious Mischief and Assault 3. The amount of loss suffered by the gas station was undetermined due to the extent of the damage.
Also in Crime Watch, the next two incidents both happened Saturday at Admiral Safeway, according to police summaries:
SHOPLIFT TURNED ROBBERY: This was reported at 8:45 am – a man was “placing items inside his cart, backpack, and duffel bag.” The store manager, the summary continues, “approached the suspect and offered to assist the suspect with checking out all the items he was concealing. The suspect became agitated and pulled out a hypodermic needle, and aggressively held the needle in his hand as a weapon. The manager placed a shopping cart between him and the suspect. The suspect walked out of the store with the stolen items inside his backpack and duffel bag.” Police searched but did not find him; the summary does not include a description.
ARMED MAN THREATENS CUSTOMERS: This was reported at 11:22 pm, and it did result in an arrest. The summary says “multiple 911 calls” reported a man “armed with an axe and knife, threatening customers.” No injuries were reported. Police found the man hiding in a stairwell. He was booked into jail for investigation of felony harassment.
11:59 PM: Police are investigating gunfire near 47th/Charlestown. They’ve just told dispatch that they’ve found “a couple of shell casings.” No reports of any injuries, though. This happened in an area where gunfire has been investigated before, including twice in one week last October. According to what officers have told dispatchers, they’ve gotten various descriptions of possible vehicles involved – no description of the armed person(s) so far.
ADDED 3:43 PM TUESDAY: We’ve requested the full-report narrative but haven’t received it yet. Here’s the preliminary summary made public by SPD:
Neighbors in the 4700 block of SW Charlestown called to report shots fired from a vehicle after a loud argument. When officers arrived, they located evidence of a shooting in front of an apartment building in the area. A female in the building was contacted who reported a burglary and hinted that her boyfriend may have fired his weapon while confronting the suspects who were driving a Gold or Silver Subaru Forester with tinted windows. However, her story changed repeatedly, she admitted lying initially to officers, and her boyfriend had fled the scene in a White BMW prior to officers’ arrival.
Be on the lookout for Andrea‘s car:
Stolen from our garage last night:
License ANJ2559
2014 white Subaru Forester
With golden retriever decal on back
Stolen between 1am and 6am Monday the 17th on 36th Ave SW near SW Hanford.
If you see it, call 911.
Heads up if this afternoon’s sunshine has you planning on driving to a local park. Just sent by Franki:
We wanted to share that sometime from 11:40 to 12:40 this morning our car was broken into while we were strolling in Lincoln Park. We parked our car in upper parking lot along Fauntleroy. The right side window was smashed and my mom’s purse was stolen. We are a bit befuddled on how this happened because there were so many people around in the parking lot! Just remember to stay safe and don’t leave belongings visible in your car.
General advice is not to leave anything in your car, visible or not – thieves have been known to break in on spec.
Sent to us via text this weekend:
Just wanted our neighbors and community to know that our 2006 Toyota Highlander’s catalytic converter was stolen some time between last Sunday, Jan. 9th and Friday, Jan. 14th. We don’t use the car much as my son takes the Metro to school and I’m within walking distance to my job. We live within a few blocks of Lafayette Elementary.
Not sure what people can do to deter this from happening to their car. Nonetheless, I thought people might want and need to know to be a bit more aware.
Deterrence advice is on this National Insurance Crime Bureau webpage, along with national stats showing how catalytic-converter theft grew dramatically between 2019 and 2020.
As shown in that security video from early this morning, one minute is all it took for a burglar to enter Hotwire Coffee in The Junction, load a container with items, and leave. The video was sent by Hotwire’s general manager, Nicole, who says the burglar got away with their cash drawer, petty cash, and keys. It happened around 4:25 am and she’s hoping someone may have seen something or recognize the burglar. We don’t have the incident number yet but will add it when we do.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
BUILDING BURGLARY: Brandon reports another condo-building break-in, this time in the 3200 block of Harbor Avenue SW reporting that a man first broke a door to get into the building, then broke into a car in a secure garage, and tried to burglarize other areas of the building. Plus: “Around the same time, someone (perhaps the same person) attempted to break into an office suite that provides mental health therapy to the community in the same building. Brandon says there’s video from the break-in; we’ve requested an image and will add it if we get it. Police incident # is 22-010698.
CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFT: We just got word this week of one that happened December 29th. Paul reports, “The catalytic converter was sawed off my Honda Element on December 28th. I was parked outside the Chelan while eating lunch. I was one space from the bar door. … We sure could use some political action to stop buyers from abetting this crime.” We checked the Washington State Legislature database and so far for this year’s session, four bills have been introduced related to catalytic-converter theft, including one co-sponsored by West Seattle-residing State House Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, HB1815, which would establish a “pilot project” and task force focusing on ways to make it easier to track stolen catalytic converters, including a free ID-etching program.
WARRANT ARREST: We got a tip Thursday afternoon about a large police presence at 24th/Holden. Police were gone when we arrived, but we learned today that it was a warrant arrest. 20-year-old Kevon J. Givens was arrested on warrants from two 2020 cases in which he had been charged, second-degree robbery in a backpack theft at a Kirkland youth-activities center, attempted first-degree robbery in a backpack theft in South Seattle. The jail roster shows he is also under investigation for an alleged firearms violation. Court documents from the 2020 cases list Givens as a Beacon Hill resident.
As noted in our update on last night’s cannabis-store robbery, police said on of the suspects matched the description of a West Seattle carjacking 20 minutes earlier. We’ve obtained the police-report narrative on that incident. Police say an Uber Eats driver told them he was picking up an order at a restaurant in the 6500 block of 35th SW around 7:50 pm when two men approached him “walking toward his vehicle very fast.” One pulled out a “black Glock-style handgun and held it at waist level, aiming it directly at” the victim and telling him “give me your keys.” The keys were already in the car, which was running, so the victim gave the robbers his money clip. They got into the car and drove away southbound on 35th SW. Three things missing in the information we obtained: The report does not identify the restaurant (Grillbird is the only one in that area). The report also does not describe the car – we heard it mentioned on police radio as a white Acura – nor the robbers, aside from the possible link to the store holdup 20 minutes later. If you have any tips, the police incident # to refer to is 22-009805.
(Added: WSB photo, police @ robbery scene)
8:23 PM: Police have converged on the Origins cannabis store in The Junction to investigate a report the store was held up at gunpoint. Here’s what we’re hearing from officers and dispatch: The store was robbed by three men in their 20s, who got away with some merchandise and two registers. The early description information is that the robbers were Black, all thin-to-medium build, wearing face masks, one taller than 6′ and carrying what was described to police as an “Uzi,” another shorter than 6′, no clothing description so far. They were last seen headed westbound on Edmunds from 40th (the store is at that corner). A K9 team (from the King County Sheriff’s Office, as no SPD K9 team was available) is on the way to join the search.
8:30 PM: More detailed descriptions of two of the robbers – the one with the “Uzi” wore a blue coat, black beanie, and dark pants, and is about 6’2″ and slender; another about 5’6″ and 180 pounds, carrying a tan “Glock-type” gun, wearing a red hoodie and dark pants. Only one added detail for the third robber – wearing a “paintball mask.”
10:10 PM: No further updates since then; we’ll be requesting the report in the morning.
10 AM THURSDAY: Only one additional detail in the preliminary summary – that one description matched that of a suspect in a carjacking 20 minutes earlier near 35th/Morgan. W4’re requesting the report on that and will publish separately when we have details.
Three cases in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
BREWERY PROWLER: From Best of Hands Barrelhouse proprietor Nicholas Marianetti:
Last night/this morning between 4 & 5 am we caught … a prowler on our outdoor cameras.
Looks to be white male in his 40s-50s. Blue Seahawks beanie, gray puffy coat, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He broke parts of our fence in order to gain access to our back deck where our outdoor walk-in sits.
No further damage was caused as we believe he was deterred by the bar-lock on our walk-in. We’ve had our walkin broken into, and product stolen before. We’d like to ask our neighbors to help us in remaining vigilant.
If you have any tips – or new suspicious activity to report (Best of Hands is at 35th/Webster, in the building with a cow on the roof), you can refer to SDOT incident 22-900827.
BUSINESS-DISTRICT VANDALISM: Michelle sent the photos this morning after noticing this scene outside businesses on the east side of the 2300 block of California SW:
This was “mid-cleanup,” she explained, adding that she reported it to police and described it as including planters, trash, and excrement. One business in that block has reported a chronic problem with the latter. We don’t have a police report number on this but will add it if we get one.
CAR DAMAGED BY GUNFIRE: This is from a preliminary police summary: A car was damaged by gunfire while parked for a week in the 6300 block of 16th SW (the report doesn’t specify whether it was on the street or in a private driveway). The car was parked on January 2nd or 3rd; a friend of its owner reported seeing the damage on January 4th. The owner returned to her car late last night and reported the damage. The police summary says, “The vehicle sustained numerous bullet impacts to the driver-side rear passenger window and door.”
Heads up if you’re expecting a delivery. A resident in Belvidere emailed with porch-camera video of a package thief (frame-grab above): “This package was dropped off 30 minutes before it was stolen… 12:48 pm today.” Note the video also shows the getaway car.
Sent by Shawn a short time ago:
(Photo altered to blur out the tagging)
I saw these 2 clowns painting graffiti on the wall this evening at 11:10 pm. It is on 42nd Ave SW on the wall of the Jefferson square parking lot. I called them out and one ran, the other took off toward the QFC on skateboard. There has been a lot of graffiti in the area lately.
Call 911 if you see this or any other crime in progress.
A week and a half ago, we reported on the arrest of a 31-year-old man found in a damaged stolen Chevy Suburban partly blocking traffic at California/Fauntleroy. The suspect, Aaron E. McCord, is still in jail, and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed a felony charge of stolen-vehicle possession against him. He was already awaiting trial on another case with the same charge, involving an auto theft from a Ballard apartment complex; the stolen car in which he was found here was taken in Southeast Seattle. In both arrests, police say they found McCord in possession of “shaved keys” he’s believed to have used to start the cars. In this case, police say he claimed he had bought the car from someone; in the previous case, he is reported to have told officers he borrowed the stolen car from a friend. Court documents say he has one felony conviction, also on a charge related to auto theft. His bail is set at $5,000.
Earlier this week, we reported on a burglary at Pathfinder K-8 on Pigeon Point – someone broke into the school music room during winter break. Today, Pathfinder parent Lisa Stencel emailed us to say they’re looking for instrument donations so the students can keep making music: “Most of the instruments were taken, so we are hoping that our West Seattle community can help us out. If anyone has any instruments that are not being used, we would gladly take them.” We asked if any specific types were most needed; her reply, “It was mostly wind and horn instruments, but we’ll take anything.” Donations can be picked up if necessary. If you have an instrument to offer – and/or questions – email Lisa at lisastencel (at) gmail.com.
The case of the “Halloween shooter” remains unsolved, and the victim asked us to republish the photo in another attempt to see if someone can identify him:
We first reported on the case in early November. It happened on 34th SW in Sunrise Heights; the victim and a neighbor spotted the man prowling their street and called 911 while the man was walking away. An hour later, he was back again, this time with a gun in his hand. The victim yelled at him – then, he says, his wife opened the door of their home, thinking her husband was in trouble, and the man fired at her. Bullets were found lodged in their house, and a casing and unspent bullet outside their house.
The victim tells WSB, “We met with the detective researching the case just prior to Christmas and he thought it would be helpful to see if the story could be posted again since 1) the shooter has yet to be identified and 2) the original story did generate a lot of tips. Any tips should be sent to the detective at spd6864@seattle.gov and the incident number should be referenced — 21-290133.”
1:43 AM: SPD and SFD have sent a sizable response to the gas station/mini-mart in the 7800 block of Detroit SW [map] after a reported stabbing. No word yet on the severity of the victim’s injuries. Dispatch told officers the suspect claimed it was a self-defense situation; they’ve radioed in that they are talking with him now.
9:27 AM: No additional details from police yet, but SFD reports treating a 56-year-old man who was in stable condition and then is reported to have gone to a hospital in a “private vehicle.”
12:31 PM: From SPD:
One man was stabbed early Tuesday following a dispute between a landlord and tenant in a rented motorhome … Around 1:30 AM, the landlord called police and said he’d been stabbed near Detroit Ave Southwest & 1st Ave Southwest.
The tenant had also called 911 and claimed he had stabbed the victim in self-defense during a dispute.
Officers found the victim, who was bleeding from his abdomen, and learned he had gone to the motorhome to contact the tenant, who had allegedly changed the locks and stopped paying rent.
The victim had asked to be let inside, had asked to use the bathroom, and then emerged to find the suspect armed with a knife. The tenant then stabbed him.
The tenant told police he believed the victim had previously stolen several hundred dollars worth of items from the motorhome and thrown water on his bed.
Officers arrested the tenant and booked him into the King County Jail.
In West Seattle Crime Watch, we have information on four incidents, starting with two school burglaries that are likely related:
SCHOOL BREAK-INS, WITH A LIKELY LINK: A Pathfinder K-8 parent forwarded us a note sent to families from the school’s music teacher, announcing that the school’s music room was burglarized over winter break:
… Items stolen include a majority of our woodwind, brass, and string instruments stored in the room, audio equipment, internet connectivity servers/devices, percussion instruments and equipment, and our student-device charging stations. …
I ask that you have a conversation with your students about this event. Music, for all grade levels and subjects, is often a safe space for students to come to explore their creativity, build community, and engage in deep and rich learning about the arts and themselves. I imagine some students will be distraught to learn about this violation of our space, as I am. This challenge is a setback, but one we can bounce back from. It shows us what we need to improve to make the Pathfinder music program even greater than it already is. …
You can read the entire message here. It also says the school is “organizing this week to determine how to replace the stolen equipment and how to protect it moving forward.”
We learned about the Pathfinder burglary hours after obtaining a report from SPD about a weekend burglary that seems likely related because the recovered items included what the report described as “several band instruments/equipment … labeled with Seattle Public Schools stickers.” Those items were found inside a stolen car near where police arrested a burglary suspect at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) early Sunday.
The report says officers were sent early Sunday after a call from a campus security guard who saw a person she had kicked off the property earlier in the night. When police arrived, they found a vehicle she reported having seen the person driving, parked in the “back maintenance area” of the campus. It had been reported stolen in Renton. Inside were the aforementioned stolen instruments (no further description except that they included a tuba) as well as “various power tools, several axes/machetes, a bucket full of keys, several burglary tools, and a full-faced plastic mask,” plus “suspected heroin.” The power tools and keys were identified as SSC property; the other items were taken to the Southwest Precinct as evidence. Meantime, officers searching the area discovered the 28-year-old suspect hiding in a storage closet. He was arrested and booked into King County Jail, from which the jail roster shows he was released tonight, after a day and a half.
TWO OTHER BREAK-IN ATTEMPTS: We also obtained police reports today on two other weekend incidents logged as “commercial burglaries,” though in both cases the would-be burglar(s) apparently were unsuccessful in gaining entry. Both happened at businesses on California Avenue SW, neither of which is identified by name in the reports. In the 5200 block of California SW, an employee arriving at work Sunday morning found “a front window broken out … to the right of the front sliding glass doors,” but there was no indication anyone got inside. In the 6500 block of California SW, also on Sunday morning, another front window was found broken at a business, with no indication of entry. In this case, the report says, security video recorded someone breaking the window by “using a lighter and unknown ‘accelerant/ to possibly burn a hole” in it.
Two incidents in West Seattle Crime Watch – first, a reader report:
BUILDING-BURGLARY ATTEMPT: The report and image were sent by Timothy:
Writing to report an attempted burglary resulting in property damage early this morning (3:50 am, 12/30). This happened on the 3700 block of Beach Dr SW.
There was a driver and at least one other person involved. The passenger, and attempted burglar, was wearing baggy, intentionally-torn, jeans with embroidered back pockets and a bright yellow, construction-style jacket. They were not wearing a mask, so clear pictures of this face are attached. Upon entering our vestibule, they begin yanking at our locked entry doors, resulting in the security glass shattering. This sent the burglar running. They were driving a white, 1998-2005 Mercedes ML class, with black aftermarket wheels. The vehicle has front-end damage including a strap holding the driver fender in place. There is a license plate attached, but it did not come through legibly on camera.
The damage to the glass, door, and locking mechanism is likely to cost $1000-2000 for repair or replacement.
STORE SECURITY GUARD SPRAYED BY SHOPLIFTER: We obtained this report from SPD today after a question from someone who saw the police response outside Jefferson Square Safeway last night, and someone getting their eyes flushed with milk. That was a store-security person, according to the report, who had been pepper-sprayed by someone that store management described as a “known shoplifter.” He sprayed the security person who approached him “with the intention of telling (him) to put back unpaid merchandise he had taken.” The victim was in pain and getting treated by SFD while the officer was investigating, so the report has no information on what was taken, but says the shoplifter was described as a “Black man, 30-35 years old, 5’7″, very thin, wearing a green jacket, green pants, a black backpack, and a plastic Safeway bag over his head.”
Three notes in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
AUTO-THEFT ARREST: Somebody called police late last night about what appeared to be an unoccupied car with major front-end damage, left on the northwest corner of California and Fauntleroy, jutting into the westbound lane of the latter. When officers arrived, they found a 31-year-old man in the car, which turned out to be stolen. The man, who refused to identify himself, claimed the car had broken down and he was waiting for help; when told the car was stolen, he claimed he had bought it from someone in the U-District, though he didn’t know their full name. Police arrested him and found he was carrying ammunition including a loaded 9mm magazine, which as a convicted felon he wasn’t allowed to possess. They also discovered in the suspect’s possession “a large amount of vehicle keys and other miscellaneous keys of various makes,” plus “a small amount of suspected crystal methamphetamine.” The car was impounded and the suspect was taken into jail, where, the report adds, he “made threats to harm officers … after he is released.” The report also notes that the suspect is on probation. Records show his record includes assault, auto theft, and burglary cases.
STOLEN CAR FOUND ABANDONED: Jeph sent this video of a car reported crashed and abandoned in Highland Park early Tuesday morning, engine running and airbags deployed:
In addition to reporting it to 911, Jeph called the phone number stenciled on the car and was told the car had been stolen Friday night from the Westwood Village Target parking lot.
ABANDONED BICYCLE: The photo and report are from Bolo:
Possible dumped bicycle?
Found near 5700 block Fauntleroy Way SW.
Bolo has already checked bike databases – no luck. If this might be yours, contact us and we’ll connect you.
You would think this snowy weather would make it a memorable week for Mountain to Sound Outfitters, a West Seattle business that specializes in part in snow gear. But instead, for proprietor Greg Whittaker, it’s memorable in a bad way.
His shop at 3602 SW Alaska was broken into early today for the third time in a week. We heard about it from a reader who was passing by early this morning and saw SFD on the scene cleaning up broken glass. We then obtained the police report and followed up with Whittaker. The police-report narrative says officers arrived to find what the photo above shows, as well as a “large amount of ski equipment lying on the ground outside of the business along with several display hangers.” An audible alarm was sounding. The burglar(s) were gone; SFD was called for help “to secure the damaged door.”
When we contacted Whittaker by email, he said this was the third burglary this week at the shop, and added: “This is completely disheartening. We buy the gear to help West Seattle enjoy the winter and now key items are gone from our store. Keep an eye out for kids’ jackets, skateboards, sunglasses, gloves, goggles. I’d like to ask the community to keep watch in our block, as it seems like they are getting bolder.” If you have any information, the SPD incident number is 21-340896.
These photos, sent to WSB anonymously, were circulated among Lafayette Elementary staff after burglar(s) vandalized the school over the long holiday weekend. We confirmed the burglary today with Seattle Police and obtained the report narrative. Police were called Sunday morning and were told it happened sometime between Thursday and Sunday. The school custodian discovered the damage and showed it to officers, who described it as “a lot of vandalism … open cartons of milk spilled on the floor, food strewn all over the floor, and someone had thrown paint all over the room.” These photos and others show damage in multiple areas inside the school.
The report also notes “some of the electronic equipment was also destroyed” and that the officers were unable to determine how the burglar(s) got in. School is out for one more week; we are seeking more information from Seattle Public Schools on the damage and what’s needed for repairs.
2:42 PM: No holiday for vehicle thieves. Karin sent the photo and report:
My friend is a hard-working gardener and this truck is critical to his work, plus all his tools were in the truck. My friend’s truck was stolen (last night) from 14th Ave SW and SW Webster St. Please keep your eyes open for this Chevy S-10, 2003 with extended cab.License #C90201L.
Call 911 if you see it.
4:12 PM: Karin says the truck’s been found.
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