A woman with poor eyesight wasn’t able to immediately see if anything was taken from her home in a burglary Friday, but the window smashed in with a pick ax was hard to miss.
Police said a burglar broke into a home in the 5200 block of Columbia Drive S. in Beacon Hill by taking a pick ax and smashing open the bedroom window. The burglar than ransacked the bedroom and office, strewing belongings across the floor.
Two people, including the woman, came home during the burglary and saw the person run out the back door.
The sight-impaired woman told police she did not immediately notice any missing belongings.
Multiple safes were stolen from houses burgled on Wednesday near 13th and Forest. Photo by squacco.On Wednesday around noon, multiple homes near 13th and Forest were burglarized. The reports we’ve received indicate that the suspects were two medium-build Asian men in a white van. They appeared to be especially interested in jewelry and safes, removing such items from at least two houses.
If you saw anything that might be helpful in tracking down these men, or if you see any further suspicious activity, please don’t hesitate to contact the police and report it. And, of course, keep your doors locked and an eye open for your neighbors.
“chanman” wrote to the mailing list and described a mugging that occurred last night at about 9pm near the Valero station on Beacon where he was attacked by one of group of three teens:
Three high-school aged young men passed me on the sidewalk when I was walking home from the light rail station and one of them ran from behind and tried to grab my bag. When I resisted, he started punching me in the face and we tussled on the ground.
He also provided a pretty good description of the group:
They are 16-18 years old. The two onlooking friends: one is African-American, about 5’11, wearing a black baseball cap, while the second friend is lighter complected, possibly Caucasian and shorter, around 5’3-5’5 with large, bushy brown hair and a black jacket. The feisty manbag-grabbing/combat enthusiast was 5’6-7, either Asian or Hispanic, had a dark baseball cap, a white or grey hoodie with a logo on the front, and jeans. While he was pummeling me on the sidewalk I scratched his back in defense, which certainly left a mark. They headed north on Beacon Ave after the incident. The police were notified by passerby (thanks neighbors!) and the incident number is 10-102895. Please let them know if you have any information.
He’s OK and still has his bag and was composed enough in the aftermath to remind everyone that positive outreach and intervention to “written-off” kids can make a difference.
I live on Beacon Hill and just had my car stolen. If anyone sees a 1991 black [Acura] Integra with license plate 750-YNW please email me at straussss@gmail.com or call 510-333-9633. The car was not in great condition, didn’t have a working stereo, and may have been ditched somewhere… I hope 🙂
V - Vehicle break-ins, B - Burglaries, R - Robberies, S - Shots firedRosie Kirby writes, hoping someone might have seen something of interest today near her home that was burgled today:
We live on the corner of 13th and Hill St. in North Beacon Hill. Our house was broken into with what looks like possibly some sort of crowbar or having kicked in the door somewhere between 7:10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today, 2/22/10. Our neighbor (these are town homes) reports that she heard the door open and shutting around 1:00 p.m. but did not think to look and see if anything was going on. Luckily, not too much was stolen; however, we would appreciate any information or if anyone saw any suspicious activity. The burglar may have left with the laptops, money, and miscellaneous in a brown QFC paper bag. We had one hanging in the kitchen for recycling and they dumped the contents onto the couch.
If you may have any information that could help track down the thieves or recovery their stolen property, please call Rosie at 701-610-4555 or Seth at 206-914-0557 or email rak711@hotmail.com.
April Jahns reported a Saturday-night smash-and-grab on the mailing list and followed up with video:
Some punk smashed the passenger side window of our minivan last night. We got it on video – it’s pretty grainy, though. When Ryan is done converting and snipping and whatever else he has to do to the footage I’ll post it on youtube and send a link to the listserv. The person had to rifle around for a minute before finding a grocery bag (hid well out of sight) to find my stash of Valentine’s Day candy conversation hearts. Maybe he’ll get a cavity as his punishment.
We did call the police and since we have the video an officer came out and he dusted the van for prints and will pick up a copy of the video tomorrow. He couldn’t stress enough how important it is for us to call when we see someone suspicious walking around – it enables the officers to talk to fishy looking people. He said the report allows them to pull suspicious looking people over to talk to them. Of course, this happened at 5:10 am – if I had seen him walking by my house I would have seen him breaking into my car. A
car around the corner from us was broken into as well. The officer said there have been lots of prowls in this area (I’m at 16th & Bayview) and they have been patrolling but the commission of the crime is so fast that its hard to catch them in the act.
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Mike Rosen wrote about another smash-and-grab Sunday night on the BAN list:
We live on the 1300 block of 13th Avenue South, close to Atlantic. Around 2 am the car alarm on our Honda went off. (I am sure some of you heard it.) One of us went down to check. No signs of break in. This morning I left for work and noticed the Eclipse that was parked behind the Honda had had its driver’s window shattered. I called 911 to report it, and they said that the owner must call it in. I left a note for the car’s owner. My older Subaru had not been broken into.
On February 22nd at approximately 7:11 p.m. officers on patrol heard shots fired near the light rail tracks at MLK Way South and South Winthrop Street. Officers searched further and discovered an adult male victim (possibly in his 30’s) who had sustained a through and through gunshot wound to the arm. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.
Officers are currently interviewing additional persons who were in the area at the time of the shooting. A possible suspect vehicle was seen fleeing the area. That vehicle is described as a green Chevy Impala with shiny chrome rims. There is no suspect description available at this time. Officers continue to actively investigate this incident. Gang Unit detectives have been notified and will be conducting the follow up investigation.
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.
Just wanted to let you know that our car was stolen last night from 14th Ave and South Hinds Street, and was hoping you could post it to the blog!
This is on the heels of a roof rack stolen off of our car last week. I don’t know what’s going on in our neighborhood, but it’s incredibly frustrating.
Please keep an eye out for a white 1998 Honda Civic 4-door with Washington plate 299 VCV.
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Chris and Amie wrote to the mailing list about a car prowl that occurred on Sunday:
Last night, someone smashed our front passenger window of our newer model car with our empty garbage can, parked on the parking pad at 19th & McClellan, an open, well lit spot. They rifled through the contents of the car, and stole my jacket in the front seat. We figured they just leaned in to look for stuff, as the alarm would have gone off if they opened a door. I would imagine it took them several tries to break a car window with an empty 24-gallon plastic garbage can. Sadly, we heard nothing. This was reported to the police.
Robbery reported at 17th and Shelton, 8:55pm yesterday
Suspicious group of 5-7 men chased from back yard near 37th and Rose, 6:55pm yesterday
Report of several shots fired near 14th and Oregon, 2:45pm yesterday
Three men door-knocking and looking in windows ran off when they saw someone at home near 32nd and Juneau, 2pm yesterday
Burglary reported near Morgan and Beacon, 1pm yesterday
Forced entry burglary reported near 13th and Austin, 3pm Saturday
Burglary reported near 14th and Hinds, 6:45pm last Thursday (very near where Dan’s car was stolen from!)
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Theresa described some suspicious activity on the mailing list last Friday:
My husband confronted two men who were scoping out houses on our block, the 2700 block of 13th Ave S, around noon today. The first man was about 6′-3″, white, blond hair, glasses, about 25-30 years old, wearing black hoodie and jeans. The second man was about 5′-6″ black, 30-35 years old, black coat, blue jeans, white shoes, carrying a duffle bag.
They walked down the street with a piece of paper in hand, stopping on the sidewalk in front of each house, sometimes going back to houses they had already looked at. They went up to some houses and looked in the front windows. My husband saw the tall man go up to one neighbor’s house look in the front window, then knock on the door, looking over his shoulder repeatedly while the other guy stayed out on the sidewalk looking up and down the street.
My husband went across the street to confront them, and the guy at the door immediately turned away from the house, mid-knock. The guys just looked at each other when he asked what they were doing, paused, then said they were “collecting information”. They departed on foot, heading north on 13th Ave S.
Photo by Mack Male.$1500-$2000 in food was stolen from the Rainier Valley Food Bank between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning when burglars broke into the food bank’s storage locker and stole potatoes, onions, canned food, peanut butter, and other food collected by local volunteers in food drives last weekend. The food was scheduled to be given out this weekend as the Thanksgiving distribution. If you would like to help, you can bring your donations to the Rainier Valley Food Bank, 4205 Rainier Avenue South, Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or donate online at rvfb.org.
Going off of the scanner activity logged at bhnw.org, there’s been a seemingly large and sudden jump in burglaries in mid-north Beacon Hill, particularly along 13th Avenue South. In just the last two days, and only counting the reports logged by the part-time volunteer staff of BHNW, there have been 6+ burglaries and several other related crimes, mainly along this stretch.
Update: From Captain Emerick via Mariana Quarnstrom via Steve Louie:
FYI, the morning shift just caught two burglars in the act around Swift Ave and Eddy. They kicked a door and ran when the homeowner confronted them. Great arrest. Suspects were 2 older white guys that appear to be homeless or living at the missions. They will be going to jail soon..
Some of the security tips from the June South Precinct Email Community Newsletter are not really applicable for this time of year, but some warrant reviewing:
Install good quality dead bolt locks with at least a 1†throw on all exterior doors.
Replace the existing screws in the strike plates with screws that are 3â€-4†long. When a door is forced open, it is the jamb that splinters and gives, not the door. By securing the strike plates with 3â€-4†long screws, you secure the jamb to the wall stud. When the deadbolt lock is engaged, the bolt goes into the jamb and the jamb is now secured to the framing of the home. This makes it much more difficult for a person to force open a properly locked door.
Secure Tools and Ladders
Secure all tools, including ladders, so they cannot be used to gain entry into your home or that of a neighbor.
If Away For An Extended Period Of Time
If you’re going to be away for an extended time, ask a friend or trusted neighbor to watch your home. If they see suspicious activity while you are gone, they will know to call 911 for you.
Have the Post Office hold your mail and hold your newspaper delivery.
Make it appear that your home is occupied. You can do this by having timers set within the home that will turn lights on and off. You may want to consider timers for your exterior lights or photocell attachments (which activate when it gets dark and go off when it becomes light).
Do Not Leave Personal Belongings Unattended
Whether they are in a shopping cart or on a picnic blanket, always maintain positive control over your belongings. Never leave personal belongings unattended in your vehicle. Seattle has an incredibly high rate of theft of personal property from vehicles, particularly at public parks.
Additionally, record the serial numbers of your more valuable electronic items and keep them in a safe place. Consider engraving identifying information on your valuables as well. Take photographs of your valuables showing the identifying information.
Keep an eye out for suspicious individuals in your neighborhood. Be wary of solicitors or people going from door to door asking to use your phone, your bathroom, or a glass of water. Solicitors must register and carry identification in the city of Seattle. Call 911 if you encounter suspicious activity. 911 calls are used to determine police staffing and patrolling.
The Beacon Hill man charged in the motel shooting death of sound engineer Tom Pfaeffle in Twisp, Kino Gomez, has apparently disappeared and is now in violation of the conditions of his release on $100,000 bail. Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Roberts told the Wenatchee World “We have no idea where he is.” King County Sheriff Sergeant John Urquhart said his department will follow any credible tip from the public. — Seattle Weekly & Seattle Times
One of our newest neighborhood businesses at Hanford and Beacon has now been victim of a burglary:
Hello Bicycle was broken into and robbed last night. We have a rear door that was completely smashed in by tremendous impact that actually ripped the door frame apart. They ran in, grabbed cash, and escaped in such a hurry that they dropped some of the money on their way out. Fortunately no other property was damaged and no bicycles were stolen.
The financial loss is not tremendous but the security concern for the neighborhood is extremely upsetting. We will be installing additional security immediately. This is our second robbery, the first one being a bicycle that was retaken from the thieves down the street.
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Another break-in occurred last night not too far away from Hello Bicycle. SNB reports on the mailing list of a break-in at a church at 16th and Forest:
Last night at 12:55 a.m. we awoke to breaking glass to see a man trying to break into the Beacon Hill First Baptist Church. We called the police then watched the man continue to try and break in. We think there was already another person inside. The man was African-American in his late 30’s/early 40’s wearing black pants, black coat and a black backpack. It seemed to take forever for the police to get there but the police saw him when they arrived but he got away.
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Also on the mailing list, Renata mentions seeing a black Honda Civic HX (plate number 673 TEX) that had been apparently stolen, stripped, and dumped this morning around 10am near top of the hill at 13th Avenue South and South Court Street:
Obviously they had some serious time to strip this particular vehicle because even the tires were all gone, yet they left the car with all spares! (At least they didn’t leave it on cinder blocks!) The taillights are completely missing, the hood was up, and the dashboard/gauge was completely removed…
An hour later, a tow truck was loading it up and taking it away.
