The Old Reach Around
Seattle Police responded to an apartment building on West Republican Street at 3:21 a.m. on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 26 after receiving a 911 call stating that a young woman had been robbed on the street in front of the apartment. The caller was the victim’s mother. Police had been informed by the caller that the victim had pepper sprayed the robber.
Thinking that the suspect was probably temporarily disabled by the pepper spray, police officers immediately began searching the neighborhood for the culprit. They were able to get a description of the robber from the victim. She said she’d been out drinking with some friends at a bar in Greenwood that evening. She got a ride home from her friend, but she’d been dropped off about a half a block away from her apartment, at the intersection of Third Avenue West and West Republican Street, because she wanted to smoke a cigarette before entering the building. While walking back to the building, she had her purse over her left shoulder and a container of pepper spray in her right hand. She told police she always carries pepper spray in her hand when out walking late at night.
The victim said that when she got to the front steps of the apartment building, she felt somebody behind her, and hands on her hips. She saw a man trying to grab her purse. She began spraying the pepper spray in the direction of the man while running up the steps, but the man followed behind her still trying to get her purse. She pushed the code to get into the apartment door, and the man reached through the door behind her, still trying to get the purse. She slammed his hand in the door, and the man backed off. She last saw him running eastbound. She then noticed that a few items were missing from her purse.
Police set up a containment of the neighborhood, and a K9 unit attempted to track the robber down, but was unsuccessful.
Terrorized Tourist
A Floridian tourist called 911 after being robbed by two strange, scruffy-looking men near Denny Way and Pontius Avenue North at about 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21. Officers met the weary traveler on Yale Avenue. He said he’d been walking around looking for a place to eat when he was approached by a scruffy looking guy who said he was trying to get on a fishing boat. The man began to walk and talk with him. He said he could sense somebody was walking behind him, but didn’t think anything of it until he felt the person behind him poke him in the back with something. The victim told police it could have been the man’s finger, but he was afraid it was a gun.
The first man asked the victim what he had in his pockets, and he said $20. The robber dug through the man’s pockets until he found the $20. He also lifted up the tourist’s shirt and sleeves, and took his wristwatch and wedding band. The robbers told the victim not to turn around, and they left. The man began walking and then called 911 when he got to Yale Avenue, where he waited for police.
Armed Robbers
Several Seattle Police units, including K9 units, swarmed the neighborhood around the water treatment building located at the intersection of Warren Avenue North and Valley Street after two people were robbed at gunpoint at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20. They immediately began looking for the muggers, who had fled on foot after the robbery. One officer spoke with the victims, and was able to get a description of the suspects and their accounts of what had happened.
The victims, a male and a female, said they’d been sitting in front of the water treatment building when they saw the two male suspects walking down the stairs next to the building. One of the suspects had a visible firearm. The robbers immediately asked the victims what they had, and began patting them down. The robbers took both victims’ cell phones and one of the victim’s keys. The victims said they had been scared, so they were not able to look in the robbers’ eyes. The female victim said one of the robbers had his gun pointed at him the entire time. They were not sure if the other robber had a gun. The male victim was able to describe the gun that was displayed as a semi-automatic weapon with a silver slide.
The victims gave the following descriptions of the suspects: the first suspect wore a bandana over his face, a black coat with a black hooded sweatshirt underneath. The second suspect wore a very large hat that was as broad as his shoulders and a dark leather coat. Neither victim was able to look at the second robber in the face, so they weren’t sure if he had a bandana on his face as well. The victims also said that the suspects spoke in deep, monotone voices.
After the robbery the suspects ran back up the stairs, northbound. Despite all their efforts, police were unable to locate the suspects.
Pry Marks
After finding some unusual looking marks on the wood frame of the back door to her house, a woman called 911 and requested police come take a look at the door. An officer came to the house, located on West Olympic Place, at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23. He observed the pry marks, which were located at the deadbolt level and doorknob level on the door, and determined they were probably made with a small tool such as a flat head screwdriver.
The door is on ground level, and can be accessed from the street. The homeowner told the officer she wasn’t sure exactly when the pry marks had appeared, since she sometimes stays overnight somewhere else, and works all day. She told him it probably happened sometime between 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. She said the door was still shut and locked when she got home, and the attempted burglar didn’t get into the house.
Missing Gun
The owner of a house located on West Cramer Street called 911 to report his gun and ammunition had been stolen from his house at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17. The homeowner said he’d discovered his rifle and ammunition pouch had been hidden in spare rooms in the house, which is currently under remodel. He also informed police that he suspects one of the construction workers that is remodeling the house is responsible for taking the items. He said the suspect must have done it while working on the house, or maybe he returned after working hours to take it.
Police searched the house, but were unable to find signs of forced entry, or evidence of a burglary. The victim said he has no proof that the suspect stole the items, but said he thinks he is guilty because he disappeared and hasn’t answered his phone or returned messages.
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