West Seattle, Washington
27 Wednesday
(WSB photo)
Police are investigating a robbery that happened a short time ago at the Lucky 5 ga station/mini-mart (35th/Henderson). Officers have told the dispatcher that witnesses say the robbers, wearing masks or bandanas, got away in a gray or tan SUV, possibly an early 2000s Toyota Camry, last seen eastbound on Henderson, with the passenger-side taillight turned out. The vehicle is believed to have four people inside.
The report and photo are from Peter:
Last night my 1987 Toyota 4Runner was stolen from the front of my house near the intersection of Woodside and Myrtle. It is black with a black fabric top on the rear. WA plates BBC2458. A police report has been filed.
If you see it, call 911.
UPDATE: Peter reports it was found, abandoned in White Center.
The SPD log shows another burglary reported in Gatewood today – and this time we’ve heard from the victim. Mark reports:
While work(ing) on my security cameras this afternoon (!!!) , I stepped inside and left my garage doors open for several minutes. A guy drove by, stopped, and came into the garage. Fortunately he only stole a bike pump. Attached are pictures of the guy and his truck.
I literally was out of the garage for 90 seconds at the time of the theft.
This was in an alley behind the 6700 block of 38th SW. If you have any information about the person in Mark’s images, the SPD case # is 2019-443068.
Crime Watch miscellany to report tonight:
DELRIDGE RESPONSE: Thanks for the text on this. King County Sheriff’s Office Transit Police responded to a report of a phone-robbery attempt aboard a bus late this afternoon. We found deputies at Delridge/Orchard (above); that’s all they could tell us.
SOUTH OF THE JUNCTION: Earlier in the afternoon, we were asked about a response at 5001 California SW. The call designation for this was “commercial burglary.”
HOME BURGLARIES: Two notes as we continue tracking a recent spike in these. First, Tweets by Beat shows two more reported late today, in the 6700 block of Fauntleroy Way SW and in the 4400 block of 42nd SW. Meantime, we obtained one report from the recent incidents we’ve mentioned, for the 8200 block of Northrop. The report says burglar(s) entered by kicking in a door to the house accessible from a carport. They ransacked most of the house, stealing items including jewelry boxes and an antique sword.
STOLEN-SUBARU FOLLOWUP: On Sunday, we published Ben and Jennifer‘s report that their green Subaru Outback had been stolen. Then in another Crime Watch thread on Monday, Ben commented that Bellevue Police had found it “with a car chase and everything.” So we asked BPD for more details:
Our officers responded to a parking lot to check for a stolen vehicle at 5:14 pm on 11/25/19. The car was not there, but was located southbound on 148th Ave to WB I-90. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled to a dead end where he abandoned the car. Our officers were able to recover the vehicle and have leads on the suspect.
No further details about items Ben said were in the car, though.
8:49 PM: This past week, we have reported (here and here) on an increase in burglaries, primarily on the south end of the peninsula. Since last night, four more have been reported – 8200 block of Northrop (above) reported this afternoon, 8500 block of 39th SW reported this evening, and two on Delridge Way (8100 and 8400 blocks) late last night. We don’t have details of any as we haven’t heard directly from the victims, and we won’t be able to request report narratives until tomorrow, but it’s a reminder to be extra-watchful for any suspicious activity in your neighborhood, especially in the daytime, which is when most burglaries happen.
ADDED 9:06 PM: Just in from John – “We had multiple mailboxes broken into up in Arbor Heights in the 100xx block of 39th Ave SW on Monday sometime between 5:00 and 8:30 PM.” It’s been reported to police and the Postal Inspection Service, John adds.
Ben and Jennifer hope someone will see their metallic green 2017 Subaru Outback, stolen from in front of their house overnight in the 3200 block of 47th SW. Plates are National Park 10222. If you see it, call 911.
MONDAY NIGHT: Ben says the car’s been found – by Bellevue Police.
Back on Wednesday, we reported on a spike in residential burglaries in West Seattle. After a comment on that story tonight, reporting another break-in, we checked back with the Tweets by Beat log, and note that it’s continuing, with at least six residential break-ins in the past two days, all on the south half of the peninsula:
-8100 block 29th SW
-8800 block 16th SW
-7700 block 28th SW
-7800 block 39th SW (as reported in the aforementioned comment)
-7500 block California SW
-4000 block Othello
After the last story, Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner asked that we remind you she offers “free residential safety/security assessments, as well as burglary follow-ups” – she’s at jennifer.danner@seattle.gov – in case you’re not sure your home is as burglary-resistant as it could be.
Logged police calls indicate a burglary spike in West Seattle. So does what Erin was told after her home was broken into:
Our home in Gatewood (39th and Southern Street) was burglarized in the middle of the day (Tuesday). The burglars entered through an unlocked kitchen window and took jewelry, computers, a wallet, and rifled through our entire house. The police officers who responded said the area has seen increased burglaries in the past couple days.
We checked Tweets by Beat and found these West Seattle residential burglaries logged so far this week:
-3700 block of SW Tillman
-2200 block of SW Myrtle
-5600 block of 38h SW
-5400 block of 37th SW
-10100 block of 31st SW
-3800 block of 45th SW
Report details aren’t routinely posted so that’s why we appreciate reader reports so we can share information – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you.
P.S. Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner reminds us that she offers “free residential safety/security assessments, as well as burglary follow-ups” – jennifer.danner@seattle.gov is how to reach her.
(WSB photo, September 2017)
Two years after 25-year-old Edixon Velasquez was shot dead in the street outside his Westwood home, the two people charged in his murder are on trial.
After multiple questions about how the trial was going, we were finally able to go to court today, the only way to get that answer.
King County Superior Court Judge Kristin Richardson, a former prosecutor, is presiding over the trial of 23-year-old Anna Kasparova and 21-year-old Abel Linares-Montejo. Kasparova is the victim’s former girlfriend; Linares-Montejo is a subsequent boyfriend of hers, and described in court documents as believed to be the father of the baby she delivered in May of last year, eight months after the murder.
Prosecutors allege that they went to Velasquez’s house on September 19th, 2017, with the intent of robbing him; after Kasparova lured the victim outside, they say, Linares shot him twice. She was arrested the next day; he was arrested two weeks later.
The trial started in late October with jury selection. The prosecution called three witnesses while we were there today. The first was a records custodian from Facebook/Instagram, verifying records the company turned over from social-media messaging allegedly related to the case. The other two were a close friend of Linares and the friend’s cousin, both now 21 years old; they were both residents of an Auburn mobile-home park at the time of the murder. They spoke about visiting Alki earlier on the day of the shooting – not with Linares – but then catching up with him much later, after the shooting, and being present when police arrested him two weeks later. Questioning also centered on whether the alleged robbery attempt was planned, all the way down to a slang term used in messaging that might have indicated a plan.
The trial is expected to last at least through next week, Judge Richardson noted this afternoon. Testimony continues tomorrow morning but it will be a half-day, she also said. The trial briefs filed by both sides show a very short list of possible defense witnesses, including potentially the defendants themselves.
Early Saturday, we reported on a police investigation following 911 calls about gunfire in the 1900 block of Harbor Avenue SW. Officers found shell casings and blood near an empty vehicle – but no victim – in a parking lot. Today we followed up with SPD. Spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson tells WSB that “A short time later, a male victim arrived at Swedish Hospital stating that he was in a physical fight, got pistol whipped, and suffered a large laceration to the back of the head. According to the victim, during the fight an unknown subject fired several rounds into the air.”
In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
WESTWOOD VILLAGE CAR PROWL: Reader report received this evening:
I was the victim of a car prowl outside 24 Hour Fitness last night (11/16) between 7:30pm-8:50pm. It was disappointing because it was my first real visit to the gym after starting a membership earlier in the week.
When I left the gym, I found the driver-side window of my car smashed in, and some Seattle Public Library CD’s and personal CD’s in the passenger seat that were taken. Nothing of real value, but now I’m stuck with cost of replacing the broken window, which is money I don’t have.
When I went back inside the gym to report the incident to employees behind the front desk, one of them asked, “Did you park on the Marshall’s side?”. I said yes, and he said there had been at least 4 recent car break-ins in that same area of the parking lot.
We checked Tweets by Beat – which, it should be noted, does have gaps – and found four car-prowl calls logged to WWV addresses since Oct. 1st.
CAR PROWL/THEFT PREVENTION: This month’s educational bulletin from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner focuses on those two crimes – read it here (PDF) or below:
SHOTGUN SUSPECT FOLLOWUP: One update in a case we’ve been following – that of 48-year-old Michael J. Mullen, who originally made news in a June incident involving a “heavily altered” shotgun. Four weeks ago, we reported that he was back in jail, charged with misdemeanor domestic-violence harassment after an incident involving a roommate. Checking online court records, we see that case has since been dismissed but he was kept in custody on a “remand” in the gun case. Now he’s been found incompetent to stand trial and ordered to spend up to 45 days at Western State Hospital for attempted competency restoration.
3:25 AM: Police investigating reports of suspected gunfire along Harbor Avenue SW have found at least four shell casings, according to radio communication. We haven’t heard exactly where; their search had included the Salty’s/Seacrest vicinity.
3:35 AM: Officers also have reported finding an unoccupied vehicle that might be related, and blood nearby, but so far no victim.
Two items in West Seattle Crime Watch:
HIT-RUN: Anybody know who might have done that to Rebecca’s car in Seaview?
She says, “Came out (Thursday) morning to find my car had been hit while parked overnight in front of my house on 45th between Juneau and Findlay. I think I heard something (Wednesday night) around 9:30 pm. I’m interested if anyone has any information or saw / heard anything.” It’s been reported to police.
SUSPECTED GUNFIRE: We received multiple questions this morning about possible gunshots heard around quarter to 4 this morning near 40th/Edmunds, so we checked with police. They tell us they got multiple calls: “Officers searched the area, no damage, no evidence located.”
The photo is from Steve, who hopes you will be on the lookout for his car, stolen overnight from Arrowhead Gardens in southeast West Seattle. It’s a Subaru Legacy Wagon, plates ARP2064, gray with cracked windshield and scrapes and dents, and he discovered it missing just as he needed to leave for work this morning. He adds, “Just got my Good to Go sticker and it has an SHAG Arrowhead Gardens sticker on the back window.” If you see it, call 911.
Phil reports his 2017 gray Kia Sorento SXL was stolen from his driveway on Wright Avenue SW north of Lincoln Park last night. License #KJF9263, “matching scratches on middle passenger doors on left and right sides.” If you see it, call 911.
(WSB photo, Sunday night)
Busy weekend in West Seattle Crime Watch coverage. We followed up today on a Sunday night case in which two suspects were arrested, the burglary at an under-construction home in the 5600 block of Beach Drive. The 36-year-old male suspect tracked down by a K-9 team remains in jail, bail set at $2,000. The jail register shows it’s his fifth booking this year; the others were related to warrants. The 53-year-old female suspect does not have recent bookings but does have a decade-plus record of arrests. Both are facing burglary charges; she also is facing a possible drug charge, as police found a baggie of suspected meth in her purse. The police report reveals that a major factor in their inability to make a getaway was that their pickup truck was stuck in the “wet, deep, slippery mud” at the construction site. One other note: The report also explains why SFD was called to the scene – the male suspect claimed he had “overdosed,” but he was eventually cleared for jail booking. The report indicates the burglary was interrupted before anything was removed from the construction site.
8:59 PM: Police are investigating a shooting reported at 15th SW/SW Holden, and they’re closing Holden after finding at least two shell casings. One person is reported to be injured, but she’s not at the scene – she either was in, or got into, a car, and is at 4th/Michigan, just off the north end of the 1st Avenue S. Bridge.
9:09 PM: Police are searching the area near the shooting scene, with a K9 team. Meantime, the victim, reported to have been shot in the hip, is being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
9:32 PM: Police say the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening. They expect to reopen Holden shortly.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING: SFD tells us the victim is a 20-year-old woman, assessed as being in stable condition when taken to the hospital.
7:26 PM: Busy night for police. Now they’re on a reported hit-run at 35th/Morgan, with a possible suspect/vehicle located a few blocks east, according to radio communication. Avoid that stretch of Morgan for a while.
7:58 PM: Police have 1 person in custody.
(Added: WSB photos)
5:35 PM: Here’s why police, with K9, are searching along Beach Drive just south of Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook: They have one person in custody but are still looking for another after a reported burglary. We don’t know exactly where that happened but police were centered around Beach Dr/Angeline.
5:50 PM: A second person is now reported in custody near the burglary location, 5600 block of Beach Drive. We were nearby when we got word so we’re confirming firsthand.
5:59 PM: At the scene we have also learned the break-in was at an under-construction house on the east slope. A vehicle apparently associated with the incident will be impounded.
1:03 PM: If you’re seeing/hearing a big police response near Riverview Playfield – police were trying to catch two suspects in a reported auto theft and it turned into an on-foot chase.
One person was caught by police, another by a bystander. (updated) A vehicle related to this was abandoned nearby on SW Austin.
1:21 PM: 2 juveniles have been arrested. This turns out to be a somewhat complicated case related to the theft of a car that has been reported ditched near 11th/Kenyon. (added) Here’s that car, a Jetta:
Two other suspects reportedly were in it so now there’s a search for them, with a K9 team involved.
2:16 PM: The other car, abandoned on SW Austin, was being sought by Tukwila Police, apparently also stolen. The two people who left the stolen Jetta on 11th SW are at last report still not in custody. We’ll request the report on Monday if no further details emerge sooner.
ADDED SUNDAY: SPD Blotter has a few additional details:
Police arrested two teens after they carjacked a woman in the High Point neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.
A woman was driving through the High Point neighborhood in the 7100 block of 32 Ave Southwest at 12:50 pm Saturday when two teenage boys got into her running vehicle. The two teens then assaulted the woman before pushing her out of the car and driving away.
Officers flooded the area and spotted the car fleeing. The suspects ditched the car near Riverview Playfield. The two suspects ran across the field where a youth soccer game was taking place. Officers caught one of the suspects and the second was stopped by two parents and held until officers could take control of the situation.
Officers booked the 14 and 15-year old boys into the Youth services center for investigation of robbery.
No mention of the other car and the other 2 suspects, so we’ll still be requesting the report tomorrow.
6:48 PM: SPD and SFD are heading to the 8600 block of 18th SW for a reported shooting. More to come.
6:55 PM: At least one person’s been shot. Police are searching with K9 and the Guardian One helicopter – but no one is reported in custody. The shooting is now reported to have happened in an alley west of 18th/Thistle.
7:05 PM: The victim is female, we’ve learned at the scene, and is being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
7:11 PM: We’ve also learned at the scene that the victim is 19 years old. An area resident says the first they heard of this was a group of young people on the run, yelling that someone had been shot.
7:18 PM: SPD says the victim’s injury is not life-threatening. Gang Unit detectives have joined the officers investigating.
8:05 PM: No further updates, nor word of anyone in custody. Our crew’s back and we’ve added two photos above.
ADDED SATURDAY: Here’s what SPD Blotter has today. Not much beyond what we reported last night:
Gang Unit detectives are handling the investigation following a shooting that occurred Friday evening in the South Delridge neighborhood. The victim, a 19-year-old female, was transported to the hospital with a non life-threatening gunshot wound.
At approximately 6:40 pm, Southwest Precinct officers were dispatched to a reported shooting in the 8600 block of 18th Avenue SW. Officers arrived and located the female victim. Officers performed first aid until Seattle Fire took over primary care and transported the victim to the hospital. Fortunately her injuries are not life-threatening.
Officers learned from witnesses that the victim was with a group of other people in the alley just west of 18th Avenue SW and SW Thistle Street. The witnesses stated that an unknown male who was with another group fired a shot toward the victim and her group, striking her.
Officers searched the area for the suspect, including the King County Sheriff’s helicopter Guardian One and an SPD K-9 team, but the suspect or people he was with was not located. Gang detectives responded and will conduct the follow up.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch incidents:
STOLEN CAR: From Joey:
Our black 2015 Honda CRV (license # AXZ7036) was stolen last night from in front of our home on the 1700 block of Alki Ave SW.
If you see it, call 911.
CAR BREAK-INS IN APARTMENT GARAGE: Thanks for the tips on this. At least four vehicles were broken into in the garage at The Huxley (4754 Fauntleroy Way SW) Wednesday night/Thursday morning. We obtained the police report today. It says windows were broken on three victims’ cars. While police were there, the report says, building maintenance told them about damage to an exterior door that leads to the bicycle-storage area, from which the garage is accessible. They believe that’s how the burglar(s) got in. No description in the report, but it says security video was expected to be available for followup.
From Carolyn:
My son’s car was stolen from our gated parking garage at our apartment Sunday night south of The Junction near RiteAid on Sunday night or early Monday morning. It is a charcoal 2016 MAZDA6 iSport. License plate: BAY 5124. A police report has been filed. Please keep your eyes out for it. Hope to get it back soon!!
Call 911 if you see it.
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