The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Unwanted Guest
At 8:15 a.m. on Nov. 7, security at an apartment building in the 800 block of Dexter Avenue North called 911 to report a man was trespassing on the property. Security told police this suspect had been criminally trespassed from the building, and had been arrested for trespassing in the building before. Yet the suspect continued to return to the premises and was regularly found sleeping behind the mailboxes in the building’s foyer.
When the suspect was spotted in the building that day, the security officer told him he needed to leave, and that he wasn’t supposed to be there. She immediately called 911 to have police come escort him out of the building.
The suspect lunged at the security officer while still inside the building, and when she followed him outside, he picked up a baseball-sized rock from the ground and threw it at her. The victim was unharmed during the incident. Security had the suspect’s name and date of birth on file, and police were able to run it and confirm that he had indeed been criminally trespassed from the building in the past.
Based on the latest incident, officers decided to file charges against the suspect with the prosecutor’s office for assault, harassment and criminal trespass. They also advised security to post bulletins with the suspect’s picture and inform residents not to let him in the building.
ATM Heist
Just after 5 a.m. on Nov. 13, police responded to a burglary alarm at a grocery store in the 2400 block of Sixth Avenue West. Upon arrival officers found a Stihl brand cut-off saw in the parking lot and the front door to the business was pried open and damaged. An ATM that had been mounted on the floor near the front door was missing. Around the area of the missing ATM, several pieces of evidence were found including: a U bolt commonly used to join links of chain, another bolt and bracket, and a guitar pick. These items were collected, along with the saw, and placed into evidence. Police note that there have been several similar incidents involving a stolen U-Haul truck used to steal ATMs.
When the business manager arrived, he pulled the security camera footage for police. It showed two men in a U-Haul prying the front door open, then one of the suspects put a chain around the ATM and the bumper of the U-Haul. The U-Haul pulled forward, pulling the ATM over. When the truck pulled forward, the cut off saw flew out the back and the suspects left it behind.
The two suspects then lifted the ATM into the back of the truck and drove away. While police were still on scene at the grocery store, the now-empty ATM was found abandoned near South Atlantic Street and Colorado Avenue South. They grocery store owner told police there was probably about $2,500 in the ATM.
Mail Thief
Just before 10 a.m. on Nov. 12, the building manager of an apartment in the 700 block of Galer Street called 911 to report smail theft that took place the day before. She said a suspect was able to buzz into the building via the call box at about 3:40 p.m. that day. He went to the mail room and took three packages into a stairwell. He opened all three boxes, and only took the contents of one: a ten-pack of hand towels valued at about $10. He left the other two opened packages behind in the stairwell.
Elderly Victim
Shortly after 6 p.m. on Nov. 11, staff at a retirement home in the 100 block of West Aloha Street called 911 to report a burglary to a resident’s room. The 105-year old victim told police she left her room to go to lunch in the cafeteria at 11:30 a.m. She stated that she left her door unlocked, as she normally does. When she returned to her room an hour later, she discovered that somebody had taken two envelopes containing about $500 in cash, and about $30 worth of taxi coupons.
The victim said she trusts the staff and doesn’t think any of them took her money. She thinks it was a visitor to the building.
The manager on staff told police she had spoken with most of the staff in the building already before police arrived. They also called the victim’s niece to confirm she had that much cash in her room.
Unlocked Front Door
Just before 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 8, police responded to a non-forced burglary at a house in the 2400 block of First Avenue West. The complainant told police he was taking care of the house while his family member was in an assisted living facility. He’d last been to the house two days prior, when he was doing some yard work. He said he’d thought he locked the house up when he left, but when he returned on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. he found the front door unlocked.
At first he wasn’t sure if anything was missing, so he called the homeowner and she listed off some things to check for. He went through the house and discovered an eight-piece silverware set, worth about $750, and a TV were missing. Responding police checked out the house, but didn’t find any evidence on scene. There were no signs of forced entry, indicating the front door was left unlocked.