The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Just before 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, police responded to a robbery at a convenience store in the 300 block of Broad Street. The clerk on duty said a man had come in and taken about $25 worth of snacks and left without paying for them. When the clerk confronted the man outside, he punched the clerk in the face and ran away with the stolen snacks. The clerk was not injured during the incident.
Alert Construction Team
Just after 3 p.m. on Sept. 26, police responded to a theft in progress at a construction site in the 200 block of First Avenue North. When officers arrived, they were directed to a tool locker where two construction workers were pinning down a suspect, who was yelling and screaming. Officers got the suspect handcuffed and under control, and then spoke with the construction workers. The workers each told a similar story; that the suspect was seen entering the tool locker on the private construction site, and trying to exit the site with a leaf blower. One of the construction workers showed police a hole in the fence that surrounds the site, and a pile of tools that the suspect had taken and set up near the hole. He said the hole was new as of the previous evening, and he believed the suspect had cut it in order to steal the tools. The suspect had attempted to steal about $1,600 worth of tools. While police were processing the suspect, they found he had a warrant for felony burglary.
Lost in the Move
Just before 9 p.m. on Sept. 26, police responded to a possible burglary at a house in the 1200 block of West Howe Street. The victim told police that she’d moved into the house that day, and sometime during the move-in process some of her jewelry had been stolen. She said she’d put the jewelry in an upstairs bedroom closet at about 8 a.m. that morning. During the day, a team of four movers from a moving company had moved all her furniture and belongings in. After the movers left she noticed some of her jewelry was missing, at least $5,000 worth. She suspected one of the movers took the jewelry, but had no proof. She also told police that a few days ago she’d called 911 because she’d noticed a homeless man was in the woods behind the property of her new house and he’d lit a bonfire. Police checked the house, but found no signs of a break in.
Overnight Burglary
At approximately 11 a.m. on Sept. 26, the manager of a building that is under construction in the 400 block of Eighth Avenue North called 911 to report an overnight break in. He said he’d arrived to work today at 5:45 a.m. and found the front door broken. The lock had been broken, and it looked like somebody had smashed the door with a sledgehammer. The manager reported that the burglar ransacked the entire second floor of the building, rummaging through construction supplies and dumping stuff on the floor. He reported that several things had been stolen including a laptop/tablet hybrid computer, a tablet, a hydrant meter and valve, two saws, a safety vest and about $10 in change. Police took some items that were handled by the suspect to be checked for fingerprints.
Ransacked Home
Just after midnight on Sept. 24, a woman living in the 1800 block of Fourth Avenue North called 911 after coming home to find her house had been broken into. She said the house had been empty since 10 a.m. and when she came home she first noticed that her husband’s office had been ransacked, with desk drawers opened and items dumped out. She went to the kitchen and got a knife, and checked the house for the burglar. Finding nobody in the house, the woman called 911. The bedroom, closet and bathroom had all been rummaged through. The victim said the burglar pried open a rear kitchen window, knocking two vases off the window seal and leaving them broken in the kitchen sink. The window frame was damaged during the break in. The victim reported the following items stolen: a shotgun from under the bed, several pieces of jewelry including watches and a wedding ring, $1,200 in cash, some medication and some blank checks. She also told police that her neighbor across the street has a security camera that faces her house. She said she would get with the neighbor to see if there was any video of the burglary