Needed a Cigarette
Police responded to reports of a possible burglary in progress at a business located in the 100 block of West Mercer Street at 5:54 a.m. on July 2. The complainant followed the suspect and updated police to her location at Queen Anne Avenue North and West Republican Street.
An officer located the suspect in the 100 block of West Republican Street. Another officer responded to the burglarized business and found that the door had been forced open. There was damage to the doorframe. The neon OPEN sign in the window was on, but the door had obviously been locked.
The complainant told police that the suspect had asked him for a cigarette and then forced the business door open. She walked into the business and immediately walked back out. He followed her and was able to report her location to officers. The door had previously been damaged, so it was opened fairly easily.
The suspect was taken into custody and arrested at the scene. She was transported to the West Precinct and later booked into King County Jail.
Turf War
A woman was panhandling at the northwest corner of Mercer Street and Dexter Avenue North on July 2 at 12:53 p.m. when she was approached by two other regular panhandlers. This corner is known by police to be a common place for panhandling and drinking in public. There is a grassy area to the southwest of this corner where frequent panhandlers hang out.
The woman who was currently panhandling on this corner had a bag of food next to her on the ground. When the two other panhandlers approached her they demanded food from her. They were soon joined by two more panhandlers who also wanted the victim to give them her food.
The victim did not want to give the other panhandlers her food, and felt she was being harassed because she was using this particular corner to panhandle. She told police she believes the suspects feel entitled to use this corner, and they did not want to give up their "turf."
Feeling intimidated, the victim announced she was going to call the police. She took out her phone to call and held it up to her ear. The first suspect reached up from behind and grabbed the phone, scratching her cheek in the process. Police checked the area for the suspects to no avail.
Garage Break In
A man called police on July 4 at 6:27 p.m. to report a burglary at his apartment complex, which is located in the 1300 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. Police arrived at the scene at 7:30 p.m. The victim said sometime between 9 p.m. on July 3 and 6 p.m. on July 4 somebody gained entry to the secured basement garage of his apartment complex.
The victim said the suspect took a set of four wheels, floor mats, a vest and a bag of golf balls that had been left in the front of his car. There were no signs of forced entry to the garage.
Forth of July Break In
Employees of a business located in the 100 block of Thomas Street called police at 11:09 a.m. on July 6 to report their office had been burglarized. Sometime between 7 p.m. on July 2 and 4:55 p.m. on July 5 a suspect pried open two doors leading into the offices on the second floor of the building. The doors had been locked at the knobs, but the dead bolts were not. From analyzing the pry marks, police believe a screwdriver was used.
The suspect rifled through desktops of the multi-office non-profit business, and took a couple of valuable items. One of the employees told police she was contacted by a witness who said they had chased a suspect away from the location at 4 p.m. on July 4. The suspect appeared to be prying a window.
Upon arriving at work July 5, employees found the doors closed and locked.
Drunken Trespasser
Police responded to a report of a prowler at a woman's house at 3:23 a.m. on July 5. There was an unknown male on the caller's front porch and he had tried to open her front door. When police arrived at the house, located in the 2100 block of Dexter Avenue North, the man had left. He was last seen walking south on Dexter Avenue North.
While conducting an area search of the neighborhood, police located a man who matched the victim's description of the suspect. The man was holding a wine glass. He was detained while police went back to the scene to speak with the victim.
The woman said that she had been sleeping in her bedroom at the front of the house when she heard some banging around on her porch. (In order to get to the porch one has to open a latched gate and walk approximately 25 feet). She looked out her bedroom window and saw an unknown male standing on her porch.
The man then walked away and went south to another building into which he was apparently able to gain access. He spent a few minutes inside the building and left without anything in his hands.
The victim was able to positively identify the suspect. She was also able to identify the wine glass as belonging to her. Somebody from the other building was able to respond to the scene and verify that nothing was taken from inside. He said that he normally does not lock the door that the suspect entered through, and that it probably had not been locked that night. He did not seem to mind that somebody had trespassed into his building.
The suspect was detained and arrested. He was booked into King County Jail for trespassing and theft.
Assault with a Brick
Police responded to a report of an assault in the 100 block of Fairview Avenue North at 10:15 p.m. on July 6. The victim said a man he knew had walked toward him with a knife in one hand and a brick in the other.
The victim said he was inside a park located in the 100 block of Fairview Avenue North, just hanging out, when he was approached by the suspect, an acquaintance. The two men had been in several fistfights in the past, but have never used weapons. Tonight the suspect pulled a knife out of his pocket and, without saying anything, walked toward the victim.
When the victim started backing away, the suspect picked up a brick from the ground. The victim continued to back away until he was out of the park, then turned and ran westbound on Thomas Street. The suspect chased the victim down Fairview Avenue North and Thomas Street.
The victim said the knife was almost a foot long and had a black handle. He said he never said anything to the suspect, but was afraid for his life. Police checked the area for the suspect, but were unable to find him. The victim said he was going to go home for the night, but would call 911 if he saw the suspect.
Later police located a knife approximately seven inches long with a black handle inside the park. It was submitted to the Seattle Police Evidence Unit. After that officers located the suspect within 20 feet of where the knife had been discovered.[[In-content Ad]]
