(January 2016 WSB photo – SFD responders to rescue callout after trench collapse)

ORIGINAL FRIDAY NIGHT REPORT: Six years after 36-year-old Harold Felton died in a trench collapse at a West Seattle worksite, his then-employer was sentenced today to 45 days in jail. We last reported on the case in 2018, when Phillip Numrich, owner of Burien-headquartered Alki Construction LLC, became what the state described at the time as ““the first … Washington employer (who) has faced felony charges for a workplace fatality.” He was charged with manslaughter. Earlier this year, in a plea agreement, Numrich pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor. The charge carried a maximum sentence of three months in jail; prosecutors agreed to recommend one month. The court file for this afternoon’s hearing includes this letter from state Labor and Industries supporting jail time, which L&I called unprecedented, detailing what its investigation found:

After several days of heavy rainfall, (Numrich) allowed Mr. Felton to enter an eight- to ten-foot deep trench to work on the sewer replacement. It had been raining heavily, but Mr. Numrich had only brought enough shoring (safety equipment) to protect two of the four sides of the trench from a cave-in. It’s common knowledge that soil becomes less stable following heavy rains. While Mr. Felton was working inside the trench, the sides collapsed, burying him under a massive amount of dirt and killing him. The requirements to protect an excavation such as this one have been in place since the 1970s, and are well known to everyone in the industry.

The defense filed a document quoting Mr. Felton’s co-worker at the site as suggesting insufficient shoring was not at fault, but rather “tunneling” done by the victim. Today’s hour-plus-long hearing also incorporated sentencing for a charge to which Numrich’s company agreed to plead guilty, “violation of labor-safety regulation with death resulting.” King County Superior Court Judge Michael Diaz ordered the 45-day sentence for Numrich on the attempted-reckless-endangerment charge; the sentencing minutes don’t show whether a fine was ordered for the company charge, but the plea bargain included a state recommendation that he be fined $100,000. (We’ll follow up Monday for additional details.)

ADDED MONDAY: Court documents that weren’t available until today show that the judge ordered a $25,000 fine.

11:08 AM: Back in October, we reported on the theft of this 1997 red Nissan pickup. Now it’s been stolen again:

The theft of the pickup with door signage for Harold’s Fitness (WSB sponsor) was just reported by Deborah, who says not only is it a repeat theft for this vehicle, it’s the third auto theft by Murray Wet Weather Facility and Lowman Beach Park in two weeks – the area’s even been hit during the daytime. The pickup now has the license plate C11469Y. If you see it – last time it turned up in southeast West Seattle – call 911.

9:04 PM: Deborah reports that a WSB reader found the truck – not far from home – and notified Harold, so they have it back.

Jessica sent the photo and report:

I parked my car at the 3400 block of California. I went to my car to discover that someone attempted to break in (I’m assuming anyway). The front window on the driver side was smashed in. Even with insurance, it’s a costly fix. Wondering if anyone saw anything. Happened in the late hours of the first to early hours of the 2nd.

Another West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Four weeks ago, we reported on the arrest of a man who tried to deny he was involved with a stolen car – until he told police he needed to get his cigarettes out of it. At the time, we weren’t able to get the 29-year-old suspect’s name, so we couldn’t track the case. But today we learned from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that they filed two felony charges against the suspect, Jordan W. George. He is charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful gun possession. As we mentioned in our previous report, police found a gun inside the car; the gun, like the car, turned out to be stolen. George is not allowed to be in possession of firearms, because he has felony convictions – five in the past 13 years, including robbery, burglary, and auto theft. He remains in jail, bail set at $15,000, and is to be arraigned tomorrow.

(WSB photo, February 2020)

Two years after two men were shot at Alki Beach, the man who did it is about to be sentenced. Checking back on various case files today, we discovered that 23-year-old Allan D. Hawley will be sentenced this Friday (March 4th) after pleading guilty in the February 2, 2020, shootings. Court documents say he was at the beach with the victims, both 21 years old at the time, early that morning, and that he lied to police, saying a stranger shot them while trying to rob them; video from a security camera nearby showed that he was actually the shooter, though the motive remains unknown. One man was shot in the head; the other, who left the scene before police arrived, turned up at a Federal Way hospital with a gunshot wound to his ankle. Hawley was arrested days later and charged with two counts of first-degree assault; earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to those charges, but the plea agreement calls for one count to be dismissed at his sentencing. The court documents also says prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 7 years and 9 months in prison, with credit for the two years he’s already been incarcerated. For someone with a minimal record (one juvenile felony conviction, for burglary), that’s the low end of the “standard” range. Hawley, previously a Marysville resident, will also be on probation (which our state calls “community custody”) for three years after getting out.

For the second time in less than a week, police are investigating a reported case of gunfire on the road. This happened after 7 pm last night. The victim said she was driving northbound on West Marginal Way – somewhere between the 4700 and 6800 blocks – when another driver began swerving and tailgating her. That driver then turned off its headlights, sped up to get closer to the victim’s vehicle, and someone in the car fired what the victim said were eight to nine shots. She drove home and called police. Officers counted “four fresh bullet holes” in her car and noted its rear tire had gone flat. The report says she “could not provide any details of the suspect vehicle, suspect(s), or motive.” If you saw anything, the case number is 22-047828.

Sent by Kathy:

I want to report the theft of a 2018 Radwagon Electric Cargo Bike that was stolen from a storage area in my 6-foot fenced-in and locked backyard area on the alley between California and 42 Ave SW, between Dawson and Brandon. The only real distinguishing aspect to the bike is that it has has 2 hand-made saddle bags attached. We would appreciate any help in getting the bike back. Thank you!

Here’s what it looks like. The SPD case number is 22-904528.

One Crime Watch reader report so far today, from Laurie:

I just wanted to reach out so other people are aware in my area; sometime between 9 pm last night and 10 am this morning someone broke into our vehicle and stole my fiancé’s cleaning supplies. Luckily it was only that. I live near the PCC Market on California. They used something to get the door unlocked through the keyhole but didn’t damage it.

Two reports tonight:

EARLY-MORNING CARJACKING: From a Seattle Police preliminary summary: Around 6:40 am, near Delridge/Barton, a person “was driving and saw a male standing in the roadway. The victim stopped to see if the male needed assistance. The contact turned into a fight.” Police say the person who was standing in the road then pulled out a gun and robbed the victim. Another person described only as female then “jumped into the victim’s car and drove away,” while the robber jumped into his own car and followed her. Police spotted those two cars in the Roxbury Safeway parking lot; the robber’s car, a Mercedes, left, while the carjacking victim’s vehicle was left behind, unoccupied. Shortly afterward, another officer saw the Mercedes on 35th SW; he followed it a ways and saw a man and woman dropped off. They were taken into custody. Eventually the woman was arrested and booked into jail; the man was released, after it was determined that the person who dropped them off was the person they were looking for. He was still at large at last report and may be linked to other robberies.

CAR PROWLER: Reader report – “Last night around 11:30 pm we had a prowler trying car doors on 41st Ave SW, just south of Jefferson Square. He was walking a small white dog, I’m guessing taking the dog for walkies was to avoid suspicion. After the street prowl, it looked like he then walked down the SW Hudson steps and prowled the alley between 40th SW and 41st SW. Trying doors, etc. He was wearing what looked like an outdoor coat (sleeves may be a secondary color) and the dog was small, maybe a Pekingese or small Spaniel mix, mostly white fur with fluffy tail and what looked like brown areas on the face.”

Two reader reports:

STOLEN VEHICLE: Just in from Bryan:

Someone just stole my car at the Home Depot on Delridge. It’s a ’98 4Runner, brown, with license plate number BZN5686. Please call police if you see it! Turned out to be a pretty expensive doorknob I had to buy :)

If you see it, call 911.

DUMPED BICYCLE: From Michael:

We found this kids’ bicycle in front of our house several days ago. It’s not in great shape and may have been abandoned earlier before being left in front of our house. If it’s yours, it’s on 42nd Ave SW between Barton and Donovan, next to the large blue dumpster.

Twp reader reports:

STOLEN GEAR: Amanda reports a car break-in Sunday night/early Monday:

My 2015 Subaru Forester was broken into on the 2800 block of SW Adams. The hood release latch was ripped out and stolen, and my rock-climbing gear (shoes, harness, chalk) and tire chains were taken.

PACKAGE-THEFT AFTERMATH: From Greg:

I found a couple of Amazon deliveries on the side of SW Charlestown St that had been evidently “porch pirated.” There were actually 2 different packages – one addressed to someone on the 3800 block of 51st Ave SW (shipped on 2/13 based on the label) and the other addressed to someone in the 3000 block of 60th Ave SW (shipped on 2/12 based on the label). Both of the boxes were opened and empty and stuffed into the plastic Amazon delivery envelope. I have pictures of the 2 labels with names and exact addresses, but since the contents were emptied, through the envelope in the trash and the boxes in the recycle bin.

If you’re in that area and missing a package, contact us and we’ll connect you.

Two reader reports:

VAN STOLEN OVERNIGHT: From Chris:

My white 2007 Ford E350 passenger van was stolen off the street in the 9200 block of 36th Ave SW, sometime between 11 pm last night and 8 am this morning. License number is WA-B34733L. SPD incident report is 22-37516.

Call 911 if you find it.

DUMPED-AND-LIKELY-STOLEN ITEMS: The photo and report are from Ray:

while walking my dog, I saw this pile of belongings at the corner of 17th and Elmgrove in Highland Park. Seems to be some camping supplies in the backpack. The belongings were moved to the side.

SATURDAY: Maybe you’ll find Scott‘s pickup truck, stolen overnight:

My white 1997 Ford F-250 pickup truck was stolen off the street in the 1900 block of Sunset Ave SW in North Admiral sometime between the night of February 10 and the afternoon of February 11. The license number is WA-B39751V. The police incident report is 22-036712.

Call 911 if you see it.

MONDAY UPDATE: Thanks to the reader who commented below, Scott has the truck back.

Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

7-11 ROBBERY: For the third time in two weeks, a West Seattle 7-11 has been robbed. The latest was just after 5 am today, at the 7-11 in the 9000 block of Delridge Way SW. The preliminary police summary says the robber walked in, “waited for customers to leave … then approached the counter (and) acted like he was going to buy an item.” When the clerk opened the cash drawer, police say, the robber “pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the victim,” then grabbed the till and left. A K-9 search ensued but the robber wasn’t found. No description in the summary. The two other recent 7-11 robberies were January 28th at 35th/Avalon and January 30th at 35th/Barton.

BURGLARS STEAL CAR: A tracking system led to the recovery of a car stolen in the 8000 block of 18th SW. We heard radio traffic on some of this as it happened last night around 8 pm; the victim called 911 to say someone was in their garage trying to steal their car. The ensuing police summary says officers “learned the suspect entered through the front door of the residence, walked past the occupants inside, grabbed a set of car keys, went into the garage, and stole their vehicle.” It had a tracking system and police finally caught up with it in South Seattle, where two people got out and ran as officers approached. One was arrested and booked into King County Jail; the other wasn’t found.