The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department's West Precinct. They represent the officer's accounts of the events described.
Bike for Beer
Just before 10 p.m. on May 22, employees of a grocery store in the 2000 block of 15th Avenue West called 911 after a shoplifter choked an employee who tried to prevent him from stealing. The employee said he saw the suspect take a six-pack of beer from the case and put it in his backpack.
The employee had watched the suspect enter the store, so he knew where the suspect’s bike was parked. He stood by the bike and blocked the suspect’s access to it, telling him to give the beer back. He refused and became physically aggressive, grabbing the employee by the throat and choking him. The suspect eventually gave up his attempts to get his bike back and walked away from the store. He was last seen walking northbound on 15th Avenue West. Police confiscated the bike.
Tampered Construction Site
Just after 1:30 p.m. on May 14, workers at a construction site in the 300 block of Dexter Avenue North called 911 to report a possible burglary on the site. The project is a building that is currently being demolished, and the building is hazardous due to the old construction. The construction crew told police that almost immediately after beginning work on the building it was broken into, so the company that owns the site hired full-time security to be on site. On this day security noticed a lock on one of the gates was cut off. Due to the hazard of the building police could not go inside to investigate, but they didn’t believe the burglar was still inside.
A few days later, on May 19, police were called back to a second burglary at the site. Two electric welders were taken from inside the building. The security guards didn’t see anybody enter the site overnight, and construction workers who had been inside during the day didn’t see any intruders. Construction workers suspected the burglar got in through a faulty garage door.
Daytime Burglary
At 9:39 p.m. on May 19, police responded to a house in the 2300 block of Perkins Lane West to investigate a burglary. The homeowners reported that sometime between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., someone forced open a basement door and ransacked the house.
The only items the burglar took were jewelry. One of the victims told police he suspects a laborer who was hired by a neighbor earlier in the day as the culprit. He said the worker stayed suspiciously close to his house all day, and didn’t seem to do much work. Police found several fingerprints on items throughout the house. No neighbors witnessed anything of note.
Cat At Large
Just after 4 a.m. on May 22, a couple called 911 to report a suspicious man they’d caught on a hidden camera they’d set up in their backyard for their cat. Police responded to the home in the 500 block of Galer Street. The couple said they’d been waiting all night for their cat to come home, and when he didn’t, they set up a motion-activated camera in the backyard. The camera sends an alert to the owner’s cell phone when it is activated. That morning, an alert was sent and, to their disappointment, it was not the cat who came to the backdoor, but a suspicious prowler carrying a purse and a backpack. Both bags appeared to be full. The suspect walked onto the couple’s back porch and appeared to try opening the back door, which was locked. Responding officers searched the neighborhood for the suspect, but didn’t find him. They didn’t find the cat either.