Category Archives: Crime

Crime

Crime notes: Middle school emergency management, Police Academy XII, bad JitB

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“He called me from a school phone to tell me that he was going to stay late to finish his math test. I waited, then noticed none of the other kids were coming out.” Beacon Hill neighbor (and frequent BHB photography contributor) Bridget Christian and her son had a frightening experience yesterday, when Washington Middle School was put under a “shelter in place” (similar to a lockdown) after a man in the area called in a threat to kill kids. You can read her story on Flickr.

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DOA, CSI, I&R and more explained. The Seattle Police Department is now taking applications for the Community Police Academy, an evening class starting Thursday, March 18th, 2010 once a week for 10 weeks.

From the SPD Blotter:

The Community Police Academy is designed to provide Seattle residents with an opportunity to learn firsthand about the job of a police officer and how the Seattle Police Department works. Classes focus on patrol procedures and operations, internal investigations, the criminal justice process, crime scene investigation, bias crimes, narcotics, SWAT, use of force, defensive tactics, firearms/mock scenes, domestic violence, elder abuse, and arrest procedures.

Apply early as space is limited. Applications must be submitted by Friday, January 29th. Visit the SPD Police Academy website or call 206-684-8672 for more details.

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3am taco and jalapeno popper craving? SeattleCrime.com has a feature on our nearest Jack In The Box, “The Worst Jack In the Box In the Country”.

Crime, Uncategorized

Crime notes: Burglaries and poor pizza drivers

Yellow B's: burglaries, Orange: casing, Blue: vehicle theft
Burglary and theft “highlights” from bhnw.org:

  • 1/5, 5:30pm near 38th and Myrtle — Resident arrived home but just before going in saw a light come on inside when no one should be inside. Police caught one suspect behind the building, four more uninvited guests held within.
  • 1/7, 11:00am near 28th and Juneau — A U-Haul truck pulled up and two men went inside a house where normally the occupants are away during the day. One of the men let himself in through a window.
  • 1/8, 1pm near 24th and Walker — Beige Volvo stolen.
  • 1/8, 4:30pm near 17th and Spokane — Silent burglar alarm.
  • 1/11, 8:30pm near 19th and Lucile — Owner confronted a burglar in his backyard.
  • 1/12, 12:30pm near 18th and Bennett — Someone apparently casing homes.
  • 1/12, 1:45pm near 37th and Austin — Resident came home to apparent forced-entry burglary.
  • 1/13, 11:30am near 19th and Hanford– Burglar alarm, back window broken out. Suspects apprehended at the library.

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Pity our poor Dominos drivers: The Unluckiest Delivery Driver in Seattle — SeattleCrime.com

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Cari wrote hoping someone might be able to help track down whomever busted into their house earlier this week:

My husband David and I moved to the area in October — love the neighborhood and how quiet it seemed around here…
[Monday] between 1pm and 8pm someone threw a rock through our back door and tore the house apart looking for cash. If anyone saw anyone coming or going from our house (bright orange house on SW corner of 19th and Waite) between those hours please call me or comment back to the blog. The police said there’s been an increase in this type of crime in the area lately, so obviously we’re not the only ones with this misfortune.

Also, I work from home several days each week and walk my dog, and keep an eye on the area — if others are home during the day and want to organize a daytime blockwatch, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing people again when the weather gets better – the block party in October was fun.

As Cari said, you can leave your information here, or call her directly at 206-234-5102.

Crime

Mobile masturbator strikes again

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A man has been exposing himself from his vehicle in broad daylight, apparently targeting lone women near the light rail station.

Alice wrote to the mailing list:

Last Friday afternoon 1/8/10 around 2:30pm, I was walking my dog on the corner of 18th and Lander Street. A single male driving a dark green Ford was following me and eventually opened his car door to expose himself to me and masturbated. I turned away at first but then decided to catch his license plate but unfortunately he had it covered with a black plastic bag or cloth. I believe he’s done this before and takes measures not to get caught. I would describe him as Mexican in his mid to late 30s.

If it’s the same individual, he’s also been seen driving a blue pickup truck in November. There was also a similar report logged at bhnw.org last June.

Update: Chongsun posted a description his wife, Laura, gave of someone back in December that seems strikingly similar. In her case, the man did not actually expose himself, but it sure sounds like he was about to:

A man drove up to my wife as she was walking near the corner of Holgate and 20th. After making a right turn, he stopped in the middle of the street and surveyed the area to see if anyone else was around. He then got out of the truck, approached her and began to unzip his pants. When she spoke firmly, demanding to know what he was doing, he mumbled something and got back in his truck. As she kept walking up the hill, he circled the block twice in his truck, making eye contact each time.

The man was medium height, wearing a blue baseball cap, light skinned and a dark brown mustache. He wore a blue jacket and blue pants. The truck was a newer model, dark blue pickup truck.

And, she saw him again the same day as Alice:

At 9:15 AM last Friday (January 8th) at the corner of 20th and Holgate, I had an alarming interaction with a man in a dark green car. The man was wearing a camouflage baseball cap (sand/green spotted) and a black jacket that went past his waist. He had light-colored work boots on. He had a moustache. There was something black sticking out of the trunk near the license plate area, which sounds like it might be the plastic bag Alice mentioned the guy used to cover his license plate.

I remembered this man as the one who was about to expose himself to me back in December.

She was able to get a license plate number off the vehicle, and also has an incident number on file with the police department from the December episode. If you also have an incident number or details of a similar encounter that might be helpful, please comment here, or email us privately and we’ll put you in touch with Laura to consolidate information for the police.

Clean and Green, Crime

What do you do about graffiti?

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Graffiti
Photo by Jason
Perhaps you’ve noticed a burst of graffiti vandalism around the neighborhood lately. Hazel gives some very sound advice on dealing with it on the mailing list:

Be sure to call the graffiti hotline, especially if it is on public property. The number is 206-684-7587 and they are very responsive. The faster you get it off the more effective. If it is public property, the city will arrange to have it removed. If it is on private property, you should also take a photo of it and send to the police department and the city.

Thanks Hazel!

Crime

Car thieves strike Accords on Beacon Hill

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Photo by dailyinvention.
Do you own a Honda Accord? Is it still in your driveway? You might want to check. At least two Accords were stolen this week on Beacon Hill.

One neighbor (he didn’t sign his name) wrote to the mailing list, “Our car was stolen [January 5]. It is a four door Honda Accord, colored maroon. The license plate number is 860YZM. We already reported it to the police this morning. If anybody happens to see the car, please give us a call at 206-722-2533.”

Then we heard from Kristen, who told us:

“Our car was stolen between 1:30 am and 7:45 am Sunday, January 3 from 15th and Hanford. If you see a 1994 White 4-door Honda Accord license plate 862 SYZ, please report it!”

Crime

Crime notes: Follow-ups, pay-phones and burglaries

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Mike’s car (mentioned previously) and several others were recovered last Wednesday. It was apparently purloined by a person with a penchant for Subarus, having stolen several without damaging windows or steering locks, ditching one and taking another as-needed, and even leaving the ditched cars parked safely. Mike says:

It was left on a hill, with the tires turned towards the curb, with the brake set. Now that is a nice criminal. I could not find the note of apology though.

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Daniel Hicks, charged with the murder of his girlfriend and baby daughter, to be extradited from Santa Cruz, CA.

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The “magazine salesman” (previously) is apparently pretty well-known. His name is Darryl, and he’s been seen everywhere from Cheasty to 23rd and Horton to 18th and Plum to the Central District and Leschi, hawking subscriptions to normally-free magazines and newspapers.

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SeattleCrime.com has an account of a robbery and possible attempted rape near Columbia Drive and South Ferdinand, in the middle of the day, two days before Christmas.

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Craig Thompson reported to the mailing lists that the pay-phones outside the 76 station at Beacon and 14th, an attractant of nefariousness, have been removed, and the empty booths are soon to follow. Thanks, Craig!

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A sampling of recent burglary activity recorded by bhnw.org:

All alarms on Thursday, 12/30:

  • 2:30pm @ 16th and College
  • 2:45pm @ 15th and Massachusetts
  • 3:00pm @ 23rd and Lucile
  • 3:45pm @ 19th and Raymond

Friday, 12/31:

  • 2:15pm @ 19th and Dawson — forced entry burglary

Monday, 1/4:

  • 10:30am @ Morse, off Cheasty — attempt forced entry burglary
  • 12:10pm @ 17th and Massachusetts — suspected burglary
  • 5:00pm @ 17th and Atlantic — forced entry burglary

Thanks again to the BHNW volunteer crew.

Crime

Crime notes: Hicks extradition, purple pleasure, more break-ins

Daniel Hicks extradition hearing today. — The Seattle Times

A brand new purple vibrator was among the items stolen from a home at 19th and Massachusetts. — SeattleCrime.com

On the mailing list, Maureen wrote that her basement apartment at 14th and Winthrop was burglarized yesterday between about 1:30 and 3:30pm, with entry through a window in full view of the street. This was the only time when no one was home; was someone watching? The thieves made off with two laptops. Two weeks ago, the vacant house on the opposite corner was also broken into, by smashing the back door glass. Maureen also noted seeing some unfamiliar dog-walkers always on their cellphones in the area recently.

Update: The SPD Blotter has some additional details on the home invasion robbery mentioned last night.

Crime

Crime notes: Faux-police, Sunday strangeness, scanner updates

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Police Impersonator Robs Three Men in Beacon Hill — SeattleCrime.com

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Some items of note from the BAN and Beaconhill mailing lists:

  • Katrina noted a dark teal Toyota Corolla being driven recklessly at high speeds around the neighborhood near 20th and Brandon recently.
  • Sometime overnight on the 26th, Mike’s white 1997 Subaru station wagon was stolen from where it was parked on 13th and Judkins.
  • Sunday evening, Mahalie and others along Cheasty had a suspicious visit from a supposed door-to-door magazine salesman.
  • Lindsay mentioned seeing a man driving slowly through the neighborhood near 15th and Dawson on Sunday in a tan Crown Victoria-like sedan, taking photos of houses. Willie wondered if he saw the same guy near 20th and Hanford the same night.
  • Hazel mentioned a neighbor’s property on 20th between Hinds and Spokane had been broken into on Sunday. Maryann responded that she’d seen a couple of kids in baggy clothing acting shifty as she walked along 19th near Spokane Street around 5 or 6pm that night.

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Today’s bhnw.org’s scanner logs included reports of:

  • Houses being cased near 13th and Walker.
  • A burglary near Columbia Drive and South Pearl Street.
  • A forced-entry robbery with weapons at 24th and Graham, with a K-9 unit responding and Graham Street east and west of Beacon Avenue being closed for the search.
  • A broken window and signs of entry near 20th and Ferdinand.