West Seattle, Washington
27 Wednesday
From Kathleen:
My 17′ Vision (Current Designs) sea kayak was stolen in West Seattle (on Delridge Way SW near SW Andover St). It has a light blue faded top with a navy blue stripe above the white hull. I noticed it missing when I came home from lunch (Thursday).
The SPD report # is 2020-902478.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
GYM THEFT: CrossFit Loft in The Junction reports a member’s wallet was stolen yesterday afternoon and within an hour, what was in it was used to buy gift cards and a variety of other things. The two suspects were recorded. If you have any idea about who they are, the SPD case # is 2020-063954.
DUMPED BICYCLE: This photo and report are from RLS:
This bike has been dumped in the alley between 25th and 26th SW at Cloverdale.
Thanks to David for tipping us to this by sharing an email discussion he’s been having with Seattle City Light and others. As the utility continues to deal with increased wire theft – as noted by The Seattle Times recently – it’s working to fix the resulting lights-out situations on, under, and around the West Seattle Bridge (among other places). Part of David’s exchange with SCL included this reply from a utility employee:
On the West Seattle Bridge, the streetlight crew attempted to splice together the wire that is left in an attempt to restore power to the control cabinet. That attempt failed and the only option left is to replace the entire run. This would restore the two separate circuits that feed the control cabinet. This requires coordination with SDOT because they have some control wires in the same conduit which have also been cut.
In the meantime, we have a traffic control plan and a permit to make a repair to the undermount lights, this is scheduled for the overnight Wednesday, 2/19/2020. The bike path has three sections, east, Harbor Island, and west, that will be handled separately. The plan is to start on that after the bridge upper deck lighting is completed.
The update also noted that crews have been working “7 days a week since October to address theft-related outages.” We followed up with SCL spokesperson Julie Moore to find out more about what’s planned tonight. She tells us the main work is actually planned this weekend:
We’re working to energize the undermounts along the lower deck of the bridge, though may be able to energize some on the upper level as well. Work will generally occur between 26th Avenue Southwest and Delridge Way. We’re doing prep work over the next couple days, but the actual work and any necessary no parking/lane closures will occur between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
A wider look at the wire-theft problem is under way as part of a city-budget action last November by District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who wrote about it here.
We could only stay for the first half-hour of tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting because we had to move on to the basketball playoffs – here’s what we heard:
Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis reiterated that auto theft is up as the year begins – that and shoplifting are two big issues the local police are working to address, Auto theft is “29 or 30 incidents up over this time last year.” No especially hard-hit area – thefts are literally all over the map. But they’re making arrests, like the one we reported Monday afternoon.
A tactic in both categories: Capt. Davis says they’re “bird-dogging … prolific offenders.” The precinct gave away Club anti-theft devices recently, and they’re hoping to order more for another giveaway. Regarding shoplifting, they’re working with various stores’ corporate headquarters as part of a multipronged attack on the problem.
As always, there was an opportunity for Q&A and community concerns, but there were none. One reminder – Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner reminded everyone that another Women’s Personal Safety Class – actually open to everyone, not just women, and recommended for ages 14 and up. It’s a “mental” class, not a “physical” class, as Danner explained it. 6 pm March 3rd, free – our calendar listing has more info and the RSVP link.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch items:
WESTWOOD SEARCH: As we write this, police are searching for an auto-theft suspect near 26th/Barton. The stolen car was apparently found at Westwood Village; the suspect took off running toward the east side of Roxhill Park. The description we’ve heard via radio is a white man in his 20s/30s, blue ball cap, blue jacket, tan pants. (2:34 PM UPDATE) They have a suspect in custody. You might still see some searching – per radio exchange, they’re looking for items the suspect might have discarded.
Also:
STOLEN SKI GEAR? Lose your ski gear in a car prowl or burglary? Tessa might have found it: “Looks like someone lost their ski gear among other things on 35th and Findlay. Put the boot, goggles, helmet and poles at the 21 bus stop.”
P.S. When lost/found items seem more like simple “lost/found,” you can post in the Lost/Found (Non-Pets) section of the WSB Community Forums.
12:18 AM: Police checking out 911 calls about suspected gunfire have confirmed it. Officers radioed in that they have found at least one shell casing at Delridge/Trenton. So far, no reports of any injuries.
12:22 AM: Officers have also told dispatch that they’re blocking Delridge for now while they look for more evidence.
12:37 AM: Delridge has reopened.
Just in from Marcinmaps:
Earlier this evening around 7pm someone broke into my garage off my alley on the 4400 block of 47th Ave SW by opening an unlocked window. Luckily my neighbor was in her kitchen and must have scared them off quickly. The cops took a look around the house and didn’t see anything else amiss, but still best for people around to keep an eye out.
Last night at the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council‘s meeting (full story to come), Southwest Precinct operations commander Lt. Steve Strand was asked how to prevent package theft. His reply: “Don’t have them delivered to your home!” The video above, sent by Chris, shows one more reason why: “Caught a porch pirate on video (Monday) stealing an Amazon package off my doorstep, around 15 minutes before I got home.” This happened in Gatewood, near 35th/Thistle; report # is 20-051869.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges today in three cases we’re tracking:
(WSB photo February 2)
ALKI SHOOTING: 21-year-old Allan D. Hawley is charged with 2 counts of first-degree assault in the incident that injured two men, both also 21, early February 2nd. The charging document recaps the same narrative as we reported back in our Friday followup – alleging that Hawley shot at the victims and others for reasons unknown, after a brief bout of fighting that at first appeared to have been resolved amicably. Prosecutors say Hawley does not have an adult felony record and appears to have one juvenile felony, but the record is sealed. Hawley remains in jail in lieu of $400,000 bail.
JUNCTION ROBBERY: 38-year-old Monique S. Anderson is charged with second-degree robbery for last Wednesday’s shoplift-turned-robbery at West Seattle Optix; one staffer there was hurt by glass shards sent flying when she kicked out a window to get away. The charging documents recap that store employees say Anderson had come into the shop on the preceding Saturday but left when she became aware she was being watched; then on Wednesday, she grabbed four pairs of sunglasses worth $1600 and tried to leave, but staffers stopped her, in what was described as quite a struggle. Aside from the theft case for which she had a warrant when arrested, prosecutors say her past convictions were 15+ years ago. She remains in jail, bail still at $10,000.
TOOL-BUYBACK CASE – AND MORE: This case turns out to be far more complicated than first reported in an SPD Blotter summary that we mentioned on Saturday. 31-year-old Jared M. Bruce is now charged wth unlawful second-degree firearm possession and first-degree attempted stolen-property trafficking. The police narrative say this started with $5,000 in tools stolen from a home-construction site in the 4800 block of Puget Way SW on January 26th. The victim found two items, a table saw and generator, for sale on OfferUp. The account offering the items was in Bruce’s name. The victim worked with police, who set up an undercover buyback sting. It happened last Wednesday night at Westwood Village; the suspect showed up in what turned out to be a stolen truck. That was impounded, and he was arrested.
The next day, though, Bruce was released on personal recognizance, and, the charging papers say, prosecutors did not object: “Given the facts known at the time, a personal-recognizance release appeared appropriate, given that probable cause was only found for trafficking in stolen property.” But police had warned, in their report, that the suspect might be linked to a stolen handgun in a storage unit, and “Any release prior to a full and lawful search of the truck would give opportunity for the suspect to arm himself with the outstanding stolen firearm …” (The suspect’s record includes a conviction for unlawful gun possession.)
ss it turned out, when a search warrant was obtained for the truck last Friday – one day after Bruce was released – police found what is believed to be the stolen handgun, linked to a Kittitas County burglary in which Bruce is a suspect. Bruce’s bail was set today at $75,000, but he remains out of custody, so far.
Two stolen cars to watch for – call 911 if you see either one:
STOLEN RED EXPLORER: From Natalie: “My 1996 Ford Explorer Sport was stolen from in front of our house on 51st PL SW sometime between 5 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. It is red. License plate is 319 HID. The Incident # is 20-50345.”
STOLEN BLUE CAVALIER: This report is more complicated – the blue Chevrolet Cavalier was stolen in Portland, and the owner says it was taken by her son, who recently moved there from here. She says he and the vehicle were seen in the 4000 block of 39th SW around 5 pm yesterday. The car has Oregon plates 579 DLY.
Three property-crime-related reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
MAIL THEFT: Mark reports, “Mail theft early am of 2-7-2020. 10000 block of 26th Avenue SW. Locking box forced open, neighbors’ mail missing also.”
CAR PROWL, PACKAGE THEFT: Christopher reports:
My immediate area was hit by a car prowler early this morning around 2am. (3200 California Ave. SW. Mid-block. Alley between Cali and 44th, Hanford and Hinds).There was an attempt on my next-door neighbor’s car with no loss or damage. And then the neighbors to the west and south both had windows broken. The thief took an odd assortment of things. Passed up tools and loose change in plain view but took an orange and white umbrella from one car and a paper registration from another.
His cameras caught multiple angles – this is the clearest:
Then:
In the process of looking through security clips I found footage of a package thief stealing two Amazon packages off my neighbor’s doorstep. That theft happened on 2/4 around 5:11 pm while it was still light so the footage is better.
Notice the person appears to go in for scoping, then emerges, then pulls up a hood and goes in again,
STOLEN TOOLS RECOVERED: Missed this on SPD Blotter Friday afternoon while we were in court – an undercover buy-back sting recovered tools stolen in a West Seattle burglary. Details are here.
(WSB photo, Alki, early Sunday)
At a jailhouse-court hearing this afternoon, bail was set at $400,000 for the 21-year-old suspect in last Sunday morning’s Alki Beach shooting, and new details emerged. According to the full police narrative in the probable-cause documentation, the man found with non-gunshot injuries at the scene turned out to be the shooting suspect, and the person who showed up at a Federal Way hospital (as mentioned in our original report) was indeed a second shooting victim.
Here’s the story the narrative tells:
(WSB photo: Defendants in red, left and right)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 2:46 PM: Just ordered by King County Superior Court Judge Kristin Richardson: 25 years in prison each for Anna Kasparova and Abel Linares-Montejo in the murder of 25-year-old Edixon Velasquez outside his Westwood home in 2017, “a completely senseless act,” as prosecutor Wyman Yip described the deadly shooting. A full courtroom was there for the hour-and-a-half-long hearing, two months after the verdict that both were guilty of first-degree murder (WSB coverage here). In the emotional hearing, the judge heard from people including the victim’s longtime foster mother as well as the mothers and pastors of both defendants, who also spoke for themselves.
Defense lawyers had requested 15-year sentences, a little more than half what prosecutors asked for; neither defendant had a record. Judge Richardson noted neither expressed remorse, and while both had “terrible upbringings,” she noted, so did the victim, “and he managed to overcome that.” Still, what she ordered was at the low end of the Legislature-defined “standard range” – 20 years, plus 5 more that are required because the crime involved a gun. Kasparova is 23; Linares-Montejo is 21. Details after we get back to HQ.
ADDED 6:55 PM: Our video of the entire hearing:
Ahead, the rest of our report on how it unfolded:
(WSB photo, Wednesday)
Just got the documents from the bail hearing for the 38-year-old woman arrested after the Wednesday shoplift-turned-robbery that injured an employee at West Seattle Optix in The Junction, hit by broken glass when she kicked out a window, trying to get away. Court documents say she has “an extensive arrest record with at least 6 (failure-to-appear warrants),” including the current one for another shoplift-turned-violent three years ago, so prosecutors requested that bail be set at $80,000. But Judge Marcine Anderson set her bail at $10,000. The court documents also reveal one thing we hadn’t heard when we covered this incident Wednesday: West Seattle Optix told police the same woman tried to steal from them last Saturday, but left after being confronted. Her next hearing is set for Monday afternoon.
(WSB photo, Sunday)
10:30 AM: Seattle Police have arrested a suspect in last Sunday morning’s Alki Beach shooting. Gang Unit detectives arrested the 21-year-old suspect in Snohomish County on Wednesday, according to this morning’s announcement, which says he was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault. The shooting early Sunday sent a 21-year-old man to the hospital with a gunshot wound. Another man, who tried to help the victim after what was described as a robbery attempt, also was taken to the hospital with other injuries. We’ll update when we find out more about the suspect.
12:14 PM: Looks like the suspect’s bail hearing won’t be until tomorrow. He does not appear to have a felony record, at least according to what public records are showing so far.
New information tonight in one of the ongoing criminal cases we updated in this Sunday night story: 48-year-old Michael J. Mullen is out of jail tonight, after his bail was halved to $25,000. Mullen had been in jail for three and a half months, after police arrested him for allegedly threatening his roommate. That case was dismissed but he stayed in jail because of the original case that brought him to public attention last June, involving a “heavily altered” shotgun he allegedly brandished in a Junction alley. Since the October arrest, he’s gone through an evaluation that led to him being ruled competent to stand trial. As part of his conditions for release on bail, he’s under orders to stay away from guns. His trial-readiness hearing is set for March 6th.
(WSB photos)
ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY REPORT: One woman was arrested after what police described as a robbery attempt that left an employee injured at West Seattle Optix in The Junction this afternoon. Police say the woman tried to grab merchandise from the shop and broke a window in an attempt to escape.
One employee suffered minor injuries from the broken glass. Police arrested a suspect and were taking her to the King County Jail.
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: The suspect is 38 years old. In addition to this, she’s being held on a misdemeanor warrant issued two years ago after she failed to appear for a hearing in another shoplift-turned-violent case, not in West Seattle. That case, initiated n 2017, was her most-recent arrest, according to public records. She’ll likely have a bail hearing today and we’ll update when we have that information.
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: The suspect remains in jail. We won’t have access to documents from the hearing until tomorrow, so look for a followup then.
From Kristin:
Our car was broken into some time Tuesday night/Wednesday morning between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am. We were parked in front of the Salvation Army White Center Corps on 16th Ave between Henderson & Barton. Our passenger-side window was smashed and a backpack was stolen containing various electronics worth over $400.
The photo and report are just in from Reese: “We had our U-Haul, with our car attached, stolen this morning. Possibly around 3 am. It was parked at Willow St. and 35th Ave SW. Black Kia Forte, California License Plate 7TUN117; 15-foot U-Haul, Arizona License Plate AH01818.” If you see either, call 911.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes as the week gets going:
BACKYARD SURPRISE: From the “likely stolen/dumped” file, reported by Terry:
Found Sunday, in our Admiral District backyard (!): a gray, plastic, Plano-brand storage container. If it’s yours, call 206-932-8051, identify the contents, and it’s yours again.
CAR PROWL: Clayton reports, “In case anyone else had a car broken into (like we did) in the vicinity of 38th and Hinds. We caught the thief on our Nest Cam, though the video isn’t good enough to see his face. It looks like he was just walking up the street checking doors, and somehow got into our other vehicle, which was parked further up on the street.”
Quick updates on four of the many cases we’re continuing to watch but haven’t updated in a while:
MURDER SENTENCING: Anna Kasparova and Abel Linares-Montejo, found guilty two months ago in the 2017 murder of Edixon Velasquez, are scheduled for sentencing this Friday (February 7), 1 pm, before King County Superior Court Judge Kristin Richardson.
ATTEMPTED-BURGLARY-WITH-KNIFE SUSPECT: This Friday is also the next date for Gabriel Putnam, who you might remember as the suspected would-be burglar shown on porch video with a large knife. He subsequently skipped a court appearance; a warrant was issued, and he was arrested in October in Idaho and extradited back here. He’s been in the King County Jail ever since, in lieu of $25,000 bail; on Friday, a trial-readiness hearing (aka omnibus) is scheduled.
SAWED-OFF SHOTGUN SUSPECT: Michael Mullen, originally arrested for an incident last June in a Junction alley in which he was found in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, has been back in jail since mid-October. He was recently found competent to stand trial and has a bail hearing tomorrow afternoon.
FORMER COACH PLEA BARGAIN? Court documents indicate a plea hearing is tentatively scheduled Wednesday for Michael Gutierrez, the former West Seattle High School JV-girls basketball coach charged with inappropriate sexual communication with two players. No details, though, of the potential plea agreement or recommended sentence.
(Added: WSB photos)
2:48 AM: Thanks for the texts. SFD is at 58th/Alki on a “scenes of violence” call, and texters say they heard shots – we’re working to find out more.
2:52 AM: Via emergency radio, we’ve heard that one patient has been taken to the hospital.
3:01 AM: SFD is also being called in to treat someone who’s been “punched in the head.” Meantime, the main incident is being described as a “shots call.” Our crew should be there shortly to try to find out more.
3:21 AM: At the scene, our crew says casing markers are visible on the water side of Alki Avenue, across from the Wheel Fun Rentals lot, in the grass and on the path. We haven’t yet been able to talk to police to find out more about the patient taken to the hospital.
3:28 AM: Dispatcher has just reported that another gunshot victim, possibly related to this, has just shown up at a hospital in Federal Way.
3:52 AM: Just talked with a lieutenant at the scene. He says they’re still trying to piece together what happened, but he confirmed that the person taken to the hospital was shot. No one reported in custody so far. They’ll be clearing out of the scene soon.
4:23 AM: Added more photos. Still awaiting info on the condition of the victim taken to Harborview, and the status of the investigation, so we’ll be updating this story later this morning. Meantime, our archives indicate this is the first time a person has been shot on Alki since the still-unsolved shooting that killed 23-year-old Jordan Thomas in 2017.
9:14 AM: Just in via SPD Blotter:
Detectives are investigating after a 21-year-old man was shot and injured in the Alki neighborhood early Sunday morning.
Police were dispatched to reports of someone shot in the 2600 block of Alki Avenue Southwest. Officers spoke with witnesses who stated the victim was sitting at one of the fire pits when he was approached by a group of unidentified men. The witnesses said there was some type of fight disturbance and then shots were fired. They said the group scattered leaving behind the victim with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the head.
Seattle Fire Department Medics took the victim to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment.
Gang unit detectives are now investigating and are asking anyone with information to please call the tip line at 206-233-5000.
MONDAY NOTE: We’re still trying to get the full report; SPD told us it’s not releasable yet. No arrests; the investigation remains active. What additional information we received today clarified that robbery was the apparent motive; from SPD, “It appears two victims were at Alki beach having a bonfire. While walking back to get the car, one victim was confronted by a group of four. At one point, someone said ‘what do you have in your pockets?’ The victim said a cell phone and wallet. At that point the group of four began assaulting the first victim. The second victim arrived and jumped in to assist in the fight. A moment later gunshots sounded and one of the two victims was stuck by gunfire. Both victims were transported to HMC, one for the gunshot wound and one for the injuries from the assault.” No description of the attackers, nor is there any more information about whether the gunshot victim who turned up in Federal Way was related to this.
From Emily:
Our car was “broken” into sometime Friday night/Saturday morning between midnight and 10 AM on 47th Ave between Hudson and Dawson. I put the word broken in quotation marks because there were no signs of forced entry and I can’t be 100% sure I didn’t accidentally leave the car unlocked. The contents of the glove compartment and the center console were strewn about the front seats, but nothing appeared to be missing. We’re happy no windows were smashed, but a good reminder to be mindful of what we leave in the car.
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