The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Return to the scene
At 10:01 a.m. on Dec. 5, residents in the 3600 block of 22nd Avenue West called 911 after waking up to discover their home had been broken into while they were sleeping.
The victims told police the burglar probably entered through an unlocked sliding door.
The burglar stole two laptop computers, one of which was taken from the victim’s lap while he was sleeping; a pair of portable speakers; a wallet; and a backpack.
By the time police were called the victim’s bankcards from his wallet had been used at several stores, including a nearby mini-mart.
Officers went to the mini-mart, and the clerk remembered the suspect, stating that he bought a bandanna and a flashlight.
Around 5 p.m. the same day, the police received a follow-up 911 call stating the burglar had returned to the mini-mart. Responding police found the suspect standing in front of the store.
The suspect possessed three stolen bankcards belonging to the burglary victims and three additional bankcards with other people’s names on them. Police found the two stolen laptops in his backpack.
The portable speakers weren’t recovered, but everything else was returned to the burglary victims.
The victim was arrested and booked into King County Jail for burglary and possession of stolen property.
Madman
At 1:14 p.m. on Nov. 23, a bike oficer was flagged down in the 500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North by two people who claimed to be the victims of harassment.
They said they had just left a restaurant and were walking to their car when they walked past a homeless man who yelled, “I’m going to bash your head in. I’m going to scalp you. I’m going to kill you.”
When they turned to look at the man, he pulled out a pair of 3-foot connected extension grabber poles. Holding a pole in each hand, he began to follow the victims down the block and into the parking lot where they had parked.
Feeling they were in danger, one of the victims pulled out his handgun, which he has a permit for, and pointed it at the suspect, telling him to leave. The suspect told the victim to shoot him.
The suspect eventually walked away, and that’s when the bike officer rode by and the victims flagged him down.
There were witnesses in the parking lot who confirmed the victims’ story.
Responding police located the suspect near a restaurant in the 500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The victims positively identified him as the suspect.
He was arrested and booked into King County Jail for harassment. He had a large cart containing all of his belongings, which police seized and brought to the jail. The metal grabbers were recovered and placed into evidence.
Snatched laptop
At 7:36 p.m. on Nov. 24, the owners of a store in the 100 block of Denny Way called 911 to report a robbery. They stated the robber had pepper-sprayed employees while he was running away.
As there was only one officer available at the time of the call and he had to wait for backup, the police weren’t able to respond until 20 minutes after the call.
When officers did arrive, they didn’t look for the suspect in the area, as there had been such a long delay.
They spoke with the store employees, who stated they were co-owners of the store. One of them had a red face, which was irritated by the pepper spray.
The store owners said they inside the business doing some construction to the building when a man wearing a mask and gloves and carrying a backpack entered the store from the Second Avenue North side. He grabbed a laptop computer from the counter and walked out.
One of the store owners heard the door alarm, looked out and saw the suspect snatch the laptop and walk out. He ran out the door and started chasing the suspect, who turned around and sprayed him in the face with pepper spray.
The suspect was last seen running westbound on Denny Way toward Elliot Avenue.
The business has surveillance video of the front lobby showing the suspect taking the laptop and going out the door.
Tool heist
At 1:53 p.m. on Nov. 19, the foreman of a construction site on West Armory Way called 911 to report that someone had broken into the secured on-site shed and stole numerous tools.
The foreman stated that security video showed the burglar entering the property at 3:20 a.m. with a 10-foot panel truck. The burglar cut the lock to the shed and went in, taking what the foreman estimated to be between $5,000 and $7,000 worth of tools.
The tools stolen included a generator, a wire feeder and impact wrenches. The foreman said he hadn’t been able to inventory the shed to determine the exact loss.