The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Wrong Suspect
At approximately 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 19, police responded to a building in the 1000 block of Elliot Avenue West. The 911 caller reported that he lived in the apartment above the business where he worked. He’d woken up to the sound of a window shattering, and went downstairs to find a suspect trying to get into the building through the broken window. While in route to the burglary responding police found a suspect matching the description given by the victim. The suspect was at a gas station down the street. Police arrested the suspect, but later released him when the victim couldn’t positively identify him and the building’s surveillance video showed the burglar was a different person. The video showed the suspect approaching the building and using something from his pocket to break the window. The victim told police he’d stopped the burglar before he actually entered the building. He estimated it would cost about $300 to replace the window.
Home Construction Burglary
Just before 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 17, police responded to a 911 call reporting an attempted burglary at a house currently under construction. The house is located in the 2900 block of West Galer Street. The complainant works on the construction team, and said the burglary occurred overnight and there was surveillance video of the incident. The video shows two people coming onto the property at 9:20 p.m. The suspects stayed in the crawl space under the house for about 45 minutes before they went to the northwest side of the house and began using a pry tool to try to pry some plywood off the side of the house. The corner of the plywood was damaged, but the suspects weren’t able to get into the house. The construction worker told police there was good video of the suspects’ faces, as they’d stared at the camera after trying to get into the house. He said he’d reported the incident because this is not the first time something like this has happened while the construction project has been underway.
Scared Burglar
At approximately 10:15 a.m. on Nov. 15, a man living in a house in the 1500 block of First Avenue North called 911 to report a possible thwarted burglary. He said that morning he found a crowbar and a pad of paper on the deck outside of his French doors. He said he’d walked the house at 1:30 a.m. to check that all the doors were locked. He thinks he’d scared off a burglar who was preparing to pry the French doors open. There were no signs that the burglar had tried to pry the doors, as there was no damage to the doors. Responding police found fingerprints on the door frame and handle.
Bad Camera Footage
Just after 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 13, police responded to a burglary at a house in the 3500 block of West Howe Street. The glass pane of the house’s front door had been broken out. Drawers and closets had been rummaged through. The homeowner checked his surveillance camera footage and saw a group of two or three suspects broke the door out and entered the house at 5:45 p.m., but the video wasn’t very good due to it being an outdoor camera. The burglars had hoods over their heads, so their faces weren’t visible. The victim hadn’t taken an inventory of the house to see what was missing, so police told him to follow up with them when he’d done so.