Sleeping burglar
While investigating a burglary at a business located ion Dexter Avenue North, a Seattle Police Department canine unit discovered a sleeping man in a back closet of the building. The burglary took place at 3:16 a.m. on Sunday, March 18th. The burglar, when discovered, appeared to be extremely intoxicated. He was lying on the closet floor, and there was camera equipment on top of him as if he had tripped and fell into the position that he was lying. He was arrested for investigation of burglary.
After further examination of the building, police found two window panes and a glass door all shattered. Police determined that the burglar had broken the glass door from outside in order to enter the building. Once inside, he threw two fire extinguishers through the windows on the north and east sides of the building, shattering the glass in both. He then climbed over a chain link fence that sectioned off a portion of the building into a storage area setting off the alarm. It was in the southwest corner of that section of the building where he was found.
The owner of the business responded and walked through the building. He said nothing from inside the building appeared to have been stolen.
Manic driving mother
A Seattle man called 911 after being hit by a car in a parking garage on Second Avenue North at about 12:34 p.m. on Saturday, April 2. When police arrived they couldn’t locate the driver of the car, but they were able to speak with the victim and two passersby who witnessed the events.
The victim said he’d just gotten out of his car, which he’d parked in a compact spot, when a woman drove up and asked if he could move his car over a little bit so she could park next to him. He told her no, because he wouldn’t be able to open his car door if he moved it over any more. The woman apparently was angered by this, as she sped her car up and quickly turned into the spot, smashing the corner of her car into a Volkswagen Golf that was parked in the adjacent spot. The woman’s right front bumper, struck the left rear wheel and door of the Golf causing some minor scratches.
The man said he was concerned the woman wouldn’t leave a note for the Golf owner, so he confronted her. She got out of her car and began taking pictures of the damage to her car.
The witnesses told police they saw the man standing in front of the woman’s 2004 Honda Civic when she accelerated, knocking him onto the hood of her car. She continued driving with the victim still on the hood of her car, driving rapidly down to the lower level of the parking lot. When she went around a corner, the victim fell off the hood and onto the ground, suffering some minor abrasions to his arm and leg.
The victim and witnesses told police they were very surprised by the driver’s violent behavior, as she had two small children in her car.
Police left the scene, and about 15 minutes later 911 operators received a second call from the victim, stating that the crazy driver was at the birthday party he was attending. The responding officers came back and spoke with the driver. They observed the damage to her car, and confirmed the stories of the victim and witnesses.
The responding officers explained to the suspect the importance of leaving a note on the vehicle she struck. She said she knew that, but she felt threatened when she was confronted by the victim, and that’s why she plowed him down with her car. This is where her story veers away from the witnesses’. She told police the victim climbed onto the hood of her car. She said she was scared because he was trying to hit her windshield.
After hearing her story, police gave the victim and the witness an incident number and let the crazy driver go.
Phone snatching
Seattle police officers responded to a reported possible purse snatch in the area of Westlake Avenue North and Denny Way on Tuesday, April 3, at about 7:45 p.m. Upon arrival officers found the victim in the intersection of Westlake Avenue North and John Street.
The victim told police she had been riding Metro Transit bus coach number 2397, Route 8. The bus was going westbound on Denny Way. The victim said she was minding her own business, checking emails on her iPhone as the bus stopped at the bus stop at Westlake Avenue North. Suddenly a man came by from behind her in the aisle and grabbed her phone as he walked by. The victim tried to hold on to the phone, but the suspect was able to forcibly yank it out of her hand. The suspect then got off the bus and ran off northbound on Terry Avenue North. The victim yelled for help and ran off after the suspect. Several citizens joined her in the chase. The suspect dropped the phone, but continued running. The victim recovered her phone and called 911 from a nearby business. The suspect was able to outrun his pursuers. He was last seen running westbound on Thomas Street from Westlake Avenue North.
The suspect was described as about six feet tall with a thin build, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Police were unable to locate the suspect in the neighborhood. Officers gave the victim a ride home, and provided her with a business card and incident number.
The wrong victim
A Seattle police officer was driving east on Denny Way when he was flagged down by a citizen just before midnight on Sunday, March 4. The citizen told the officer somebody had just tried to rob him, and that the suspect had just walked away when the police officer drove by.
The victim said he’d been walking on Denny Way when he heard someone running up behind him. He said he moved over to allow the runner to pass but instead he heard a male voice tell him to drop his backpack. The victim turned around and saw a man standing behind him pointing a gray gun at him, so he dropped the backpack. The robber than told him to drop his phone and wallet as well. The victim refused. The robber threatened to shot him, and to just drop the stuff. The victim still refused, The robber then told him he was lucky and he was letting him go. He then walked away.
Police searched the area, but could not find the robber.