West Seattle, Washington
27 Wednesday
Early Sunday, someone fired a gun outside a home in South Park. A man in his 50s who had lived there for 19 years was hit and killed. He lived there with his wife, daughter, son, and 13-year-old grandson. Your South Park neighbors are circulating word of crowdfunding to help the family. If you would consider helping, the page is here.
In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight:
GUNFIRE INVESTIGATION: 911 calls about suspected gunfire along SW Roxbury – one report was near 35th, one near 23rd – have police out investigating right now. They told dispatchers they’ve found at least one shell casing, near 26th/Roxbury. No reports so far of any injuries.
Two reader reports:
STOLEN ART: From Flóra:
Sometime last week a Swiss Gear suitcase was lifted from my minivan parked in front of our house on 46th Ave SW. I thought the car was locked but apparently only the driver’s door was. I am a textile artist, and the suitcase was full of my work: hand-felted scarves, some vests and the dress in the picture:
I am hoping to get my suitcase and my inventory back as I have some shows coming soon. Any leads are appreciated!
You can reach Flóra at flora@florafelts.com.
MORE VANDALISM: In this morning’s Crime Watch, we had two reader reports of car glass deliberately smashed. Here’s another, from Kathleen:
My windshield was a victim last night as well (we live at 49th/Charlestown.) Our neighbor heard it happen at 4am – a loud smash, followed by tires screeching as the perpetrators sped away. Pretty lousy thing to wake up to on a Monday morning! Sorry to hear it happened to others as well.
Comments following the earlier report mentioned damage to two schools as well.
We start West Seattle Crime Watch with the incident that led to a police search late last night:
AWAKENED BY A BURGLAR: We got a couple texts about a K9 search near Delridge/Juneau late last night and have now obtained the incident report with details. Around quarter to midnight, a woman called 911 to say she woke up to find an intruder standing over her bed. She told police she screamed and the burglar fled. She locked herself in her room and called 911. The burglar was described only as “an unknown-race male in dark hooded clothing.” He apparently entered through an unlocked sliding door; nothing was taken. A K9 team joined the search but didn’t find anyone.
One reader report so far today:
CAR VANDALIZED: Emailed by Mary, “Reporting property destruction – smashed car windshield, rock thrown through (it). Found damage this am, cross street 41st Ave SW & SW Hinds.” Police report filed.
(added 12:46 pm) Just received a similar report:
MORE CAR VANDALISM: Adrianne reports, “Parked car on Oregon and 48th Ave sw windshield was smashed with a brick. Car alarm and noise from driving vehicle woke us out of bed.” She sent this photo:
(back to original report) And a reminder:
PAWS ON PATROL: Second informational meeting for this new SPD program is tomorrow (Tuesday, November 5th), 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster). From crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner:
You can help prevent crime while you are walking your dog! Paws on Patrol encourages dog walkers to serve as extra eyes and ears for the Seattle Police Department. This program trains pet owners to prevent crime, as well as recognize and report suspicious activity.
Well-behaved dogs welcome. Meeting includes brief training and Q&A. No RSVP required. Free dog tags while they last. (Here’s our coverage of the first meeting in September.)
(WSB photo from last Sunday)
Last Sunday, we had a brief report on a big police response at The Huxley apartments (Fauntleroy/Edmunds), explained at the time as a “possible burglary.” The full report wasn’t available when we followed up with police the next day. But today, the King County Prosecuting Attorney‘s Office filed a drug charge against the man arrested on Sunday, so those documents provide details on what happened:
The police report says the initial call was that two men and one woman were in an elevator with bicycle frames stolen from a storage area. Officers spotted the three trying to leave the building. One of them, 49-year-old Mark J. Fleck, fled back into the building; officers pursued him. (The document doesn’t say what happened to the other two.) Fleck was armed with what the report describes as a fixed-blade knife in a sheath hanging from his hip. He also had 3 grams of meth in a baggie in his pocket. And he had an arrest warrant for a probation violation. The charging papers say he has “a significant history of drug offenses.” He remains in jail, held without bail because of the warrant.
Two more reader reports since this morning:
STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK: The photo and report are from Justin:
My truck was stolen last night around 3 am from right outside my home in Delridge (12th Ave x Thistle). It’s a tan ’97 Nissan pickup truck with Maryland license plates (license #: 7DD0397). There’s a cap on the bed of the truck, so it should look just like the picture. If you see this truck please let me know!! I really need it for work. If you come across it please call me @ (443) 865-2022! Filed a police report (#2019-406982) this morning that you can reference as well. Thank you!!!
(MONDAY UPDATE: Justin reports in comments that his truck has been found.)
SHOP DECORATIONS STOLEN: Alonzo at Our Secret Garden (4723 42nd SW, on the breezeway) says these decorations were stolen around 6 am:
The theft was recorded on video:
We will add the police-report number when we get it.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
NORTH ADMIRAL E-BIKE THEFT: The video and report are from Mandy in the 4100 block of SW Hill:
Our W bike was stolen from our side yard (Thursday). Locked to our deck. Broad daylight. 8 am … walked it out our front gate. We’ve filed a police report and have video on our neighbor’s camera.
The bike looks like this one.
DUMPED MAIL: A texter reports finding “a ton of other people’s mail near my mailbox” this morning, on 20th SW near SW Trenton. The mail was “from houses between Thistle and Cloverdale”; the texter dropped it off at a Post Office this morning.
(Screen capture from security video last June)
Three months ago, we reported that a warrant was out for Gabriel Putnam, the 39-year-old man arrested and charged after this video-recorded Beach Drive burglary attempt in June. Tonight, in a routine check of the King County Jail register, we noticed he’s back in custody. Two and a half weeks after his June arrest, Putnam was released into the CCAP program, but stopped making the mandatory check-ins, so a warrant was issued. The jail register and court documents show he was arrested in Idaho and was extradited here, booked into jail last Thursday and held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
(WSB photo, September 2017)
Two years after the murder of 25-year-old Edixon Velasquez outside his home in Westwood, his accused killers are on trial. The victim’s former girlfriend, 23-year-old Anna Kasparova, and 21-year-old Abel Linares-Montejo are charged with murder in the deadly shooting. He is accused of pulling the trigger, after she allegedly lured him outside his house. Kasparova was arrested less than a week after the murder; Linares-Montejo was arrested the following month. Recently revised charging documents accuse the two of first-degree murder committed in the course of attempted robbery. The trial is currently in the first phase, jury selection.
Manager Chris at the Westview Plaza Apartments in Morgan Junction wants to alert others to what happened at his building:
At some point late (Saturday) night or early (Sunday) morning, someone pried open all of our mailboxes (see attached – they had all been pried open, but when I took the photo some tenants had re-locked theirs)).
The building is in between Morgan Junction Park and The Bridge pub. Just thought others in this area might want to be made aware of that. A police report has been filed online but has not yet been assigned a case number.
ORIGINAL REPORT, SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Thanks for the texted tip about the big police response at The Huxley (4754 Fauntleroy Way SW). We went over to ask. Police told us they got a report of a possible burglary in the building, and the suspect may still be in the building, so they are searching with a K(. No other details.
ADDED MONDAY AFTERNOON: Still some details we haven’t been able to get, but we did confirm with SPD that one man was arrested. The 49-year-old suspect is in jail right now, held for investigation of drug violations as well as on a warrant related to a prior case.
From Kate:
My friend’s 1999 Honda CRV was stolen last night in front of his house 3200 block of 44th Ave SW between midnight and 10 am. WA License BMA6382. Police report was made. These are pictures of the year/model/color of his car (but not his actual car.) Please call police if you see it. It has this decal on the driver’s side rear window.
Took a while to get the details on this but for everyone who asked why the Guardian One helicopter was looping over White Center and South Delridge for a while – it was part of a search for someone who robbed an employee of Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th SW) in the alley behind the business, says King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Abbott. He says a robber armed with a handgun took the employee’s wallet and cell phone “and fled northbound into Seattle on a bike.”
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight, starting with a followup on last night’s Admiral incident:
ADMIRAL INVESTIGATION: The police photo above shows the gun found in a trash bin, mentioned in our coverage last night. Here’s what else SPD is now saying:
A plainclothes officer working in the 2300 block of California Avenue SW witnessed a fight in an alley and attempted to intervene. At least one of the participants in the fight drew a handgun and reportedly pointed it at the officer. The officer drew his own weapon and fired multiple rounds at the armed suspect. The group of assailants then fled the scene.
Officers detained several people at the scene, and continue to search for additional suspects. The CSI Unit recovered a firearm at the scene, believed to be dropped by one of the suspects. Detectives believe no one was struck by gunfire in the incident. The 45-year-old officer, a 5-year veteran of the department, has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
The officer was working a plainclothes assignment and was not equipped with a body-worn camera during the incident. However, detectives are canvassing businesses in the area to recover any surveillance video that may have captured the incident, and are asking anyone with footage or information about this case to please call 206-233-5000.
And from the inbox:
TWO BICYCLES STOLEN: Lauren sent the photos and report:
I wanted to write in to report the theft of two bikes from our apartment complex, Upton Flats. My husband had two bikes stolen from the secure bike room in the lobby of our building. We don’t know exactly when they were taken, as my husband hasn’t been riding recently due to injury. We think it was sometime in the last few weeks. The bikes were a Pinarello Dogma F10 and a Rodeo Trail Donkey. There were other bikes in the room that were not taken, suggesting the thief knew what they were taking (the two bikes are pretty high end). I’ve attached photos of each bike. We have filed a police report and listed on Bike Index.
Possibly of interest as well: the package room in our building was broken into on Monday. Someone gained access to the building, and then pried open the door to the room. Packages were opened, and I assume items were taken. Our items were left (not interesting enough, I guess).
(1st three photos by WSB’s Christopher Boffoli)
10:37 PM: Big emergency response headed for the area of the Admiral Pub after a gunfire report. One person is reported injured, one in custody, at least two suspects at large. Police are closing traffic in the area. Updates to come.
10:52 PM: From radio communication – the victim was shot in the head, behind the pub. K9 teams are helping search. A gun has been found in/near a trash can.
10:57 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli reports that he’s heard from witnesses that the “shooting happened in the alley behind the Admiral Pub. The shooters exited through Admiral Pub, got into a truck and tore off to the east.” Police, however, are searching on the suspicion that the suspects might still be in the area.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
11:21 PM: New information from SFD. The person injured was NOT shot: “Update: patient is a 29 year old male with minor injuries and did not require transport to a hospital. Initial reports of a shooting are incorrect. Confirmed reports of an assault,” SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo told us via email. Police aren’t commenting further, but we’re told a public-information officer is on the way.
11:48 PM: Per scanner, police are reopening California SW in the area.
12:16 AM: The newest information from SPD spokesperson Det. Patrick Michaud (whose briefing we recorded on video and will update when our crew gets back here): They’re still sorting out what happened but – An officer happened onto people getting into a fight of some kind in the alley behind Admiral Pub/Yen Wor Village. Guns were drawn. The officer fired. Part of the investigative presence is because of that. More as soon as your editor here gets to listen to the briefing.
12:38 AM: Adding to those details: All the shots fired were from the officer’s gun. The two people in the alley fight who drew theirs “did not have the opportunity” to fire them. As we reported above, one gun was found. No one is in custody; police are still talking to the injured man to try to find out more about the circumstances – there’s a possibility the “fight” might have been a robbery. Meantime, the Force Investigation Team is on the case and the officer who fired will be on paid administrative leave. (Added – the video:)
(Karen Berge, Deb Greer receiving SPD community-service award last August)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Almost a decade after launching face-to-face meetings, the founders of the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network are “thinking we need to shake it up a bit.”
Karen Berge and Deb Greer told attendees at last night’s WSBWCN meeting that they’re ceasing monthly meetings. Over all these years, there have been some memorable meetings – touring a local home with an SPD officer explaining Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design – and even some tumultuous moments, like the protester-disrupted 2015 forum with then-Chief Kathleen O’Toole. But there also have been lightly attended meetings with well-trod topics, such as yet another explanation of how 911 works.
And it’s not just about the meetings themselves.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch report with a search happening now:
DELRIDGE BURGLARY: We’re still collecting details on this but if you’re seeing/hearing the police search in Delridge – they’re looking for a burglar. We don’t have an address yet but the search, with K9, is ranging eastward from Delridge/Juneau, uphill into Puget Ridge. We’ve heard a partial description of the burglar as male, average build, blue and white striped stocking cap, black and white flowered wrap over pants, facial hair. We’ll update when we find out more.
10:43 AM UPDATE: Talked to police in the area. The burglary happened at a house being renovated near Delridge/Findlay. A work crew saw the intruder, who subsequently bolted.
10:50 AM UPDATE: A suspect is reported, via police radio, to be in custody.
LINCOLN PARK CAR PROWL: Lindsey just moved to our area from out of state a week ago. On Monday, a rude “welcome” at Lincoln Park:
My family parked at the lot across from SW Rose Street at Lincoln Park around 4 PM and left at 5:15 PM.
Around 6:45 PM my bank started notifying me of suspicious activity. I called to inquire and discovered someone was purchasing gift cards from stores at Westwood Village: Game Stop, Big Five, Marshall’s, Starbucks, Target, etc. My brother‘s credit cards we’re also stolen and used.
We were able to deduce that we left our wallets in the car during our hike and my husband probably inadvertently left the car unlocked. This person is likely a pro, they probably intentionally target park lots as patrons likely won’t be back at their cars for some time. They took only our credit and debit cards as well as cash and change. They left IDs and such. They only tried to purchase gift cards from the stores, as far as we’re currently aware.
48-year-old Michael J. Mullen is back in jail. Last June, he was arrested and charged with unlawfully possessing a “heavily altered” shotgun (photo in our coverage) that he was brandishing at people in the alley behind businesses on the west side of the 4700 block of California SW. He was released from jail two days after that arrest, and the case has continued slowly proceeding through the court system. Last Thursday morning, he was arrested for allegedly threatening his roommate at their house west of The Junction. Court documents say the roommate called police after Mullen had threatened to go get his gun, after hours of ranting about people allegedly refusing to provide him with information about a woman he was obsessed with. He’s been in jail since Thursday, charged with misdemeanor domestic-violence harassment, bail set at $50,000. He is scheduled for a mental-health evaluation and competency hearing next week, at his lawyer’s request.
We reported briefly Saturday night on a police search following a business robbery at 35th/Roxbury. Today we’ve obtained the report; here’s what police say happened at the Cheap Smokes and Beer store (9450 35th SW):
Around 9:15 pm, three people entered the store – described as males, all wearing masks and gloves. One, wearing a black jacket, black pants, and red mask, jumped over the counter and started hitting the clerk, at least eight times. The second robber, wearing a gray jacket, black pants, and white mask, also jumped over the counter and began stuffing cigarettes into a purple bag. He then took the register off the counter and gave it to the third robber. All three took off with the register, cigarettes, and the victim’s Galaxy S4 phone, in a case that also had his ID and other cards. They were last seen headed northbound; a subsequent K9 search suggested they had then gone into the alley east of the building, but the trail ended there, so it’s possible they got into a vehicle. The clerk had a “small lump on the right side of his forehead” but told officers he didn’t need medical attention
9:49 PM: Not a lot of details on this but in case you are seeing/hearing the police activity around 35th/Roxbury – a robbery was reported at the commercial building on the northeast corner. A K9 team is helping with the search. No other info so far.
12:05 AM: We haven’t heard anything further, aside from a description that this was a “strong-arm robbery” at one of the businesses; we’ll pursue the police report when available Monday.
If you happen to see a pickup truck with a Seattle Public Schools logo – take a closer look, because it might be the truck Derek has reported as stolen:
On the morning of 10-17-2019 between 4-7 AM, my work truck was stolen from the field of the Southwest Athletic Complex. The truck is a white late 1990s to early 2000s Chevy two-door with a Seattle School district logo and #319 on the back; the windshield is also smashed and the license plate number is 56489C.
Thanks all for your help in returning our work truck.
As always, police advise calling 911 ASAP if you find/see a stolen vehicle.
From Taylor Lowery, the Seattle University intern at the Southwest Precinct:
Seattle University is administering the 5th annual citywide Seattle Public Safety Survey. The purpose of the survey is to solicit feedback on public safety and security concerns from those who live and/or work in Seattle. A report on the survey results will be provided to the Seattle Police Department to assist them with making your neighborhood safer and more secure. The survey is accessible at publicsafetysurvey.org from October 15th through November 30th and is available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Korean, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya and Vietnamese.
6,500* people citywide answered last year’s survey. Results toplines are here.
Two reports from the weekend in West Seattle Crime Watch:
ROBBERY ATTEMPT: Thanks for the tips about a police response at Lincoln Park Sunday evening. Police were gone by the time we heard, but we requested and received the report today. Two 17-year-old boys were arrested for allegedly trying to rob someone just outside Lincoln Park just after 5 pm. The report says the victim was “smoking a marijuana cigarette” while walking in the park with a friend. As they walked out of the park toward a bus stop near the north parking lot, the friend told police, they were approached by the two suspects who asked if they could buy marijuana from them. The victim said he didn’t have any more, but the suspects started threatening them, saying they would beat them up if they didn’t hand over their “weed.” They refused, said they were calling police, and “sought refuge” with someone in a parked car nearby. Police arrested the two 17-year-olds nearby and said they “admitted they asked … to buy marijuana” though it would have been illegal for them to possess. They were taken to the precinct and released into parental custody.
CAR PROWL: From PK: “Our vehicle was broken into between 10 pm (Saturday night) and 12 pm (Sunday) at the corner of 35th SW and SW Ida. Police report filed, fingerprints lifted and over $1500 in lost items from trunk, major damage to center console, and glove compartment rifled through.”
1:18 PM: There’s a big police response right now in the Luna Park area after a reported robbery, and a K9 team is joining the search. We are still getting details but there was a report of a car theft as part of this. More to come …
1:25 PM: The search has expanded to include the greenbelt northwest of Avalon/Spokane. Only a partial description of the suspects – “three unknown-race males in their 20s,” one in a gray hoodie, one in a black hoodie, one with a red jacket. Multiple K9 teams are involved now.
2 PM: No one reported in custody yet. Police are talking to various people involved and still trying to sort out exactly what happened and where.
2:08 PM: In our photo above, that’s the recovered stolen vehicle (stopped by a flat tire), uphill in the Avalon/Spokane area, about to be towed. Police tell us this all began in North Delridge; it’s now being described as having started as a “home invasion” robbery, but they continue to sort out the circumstances.
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