The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Welcome Home
At approximately 11:30 p.m. on March 27, several police officers responded to a 911 call from the 1500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The caller reported a robbery in progress. Responding officers spoke with the victim, who stated she’d been unloading luggage from her car, which was parked in front of her apartment building. She left her passenger door and trunk open while she loaded a suitcase in for about one minute. When she came back out, there was a man sitting in the passenger seat. She yelled at the stranger, who took off running southbound on Queen Anne Avenue. Thinking he took her passport, the victim chased the suspect. Hearing her running after him, the suspect turned around and picked up a rock from the sidewalk. He threw the rock at the victim, hitting her in the leg. He pulled a screwdriver out of his bag and held it overhead while aggressively walking towards the victim. He said, “Do you want to die tonight?” The victim ran back to her car and reported to police she was terrified that the suspect was going to physically hurt her.
The victim’s boyfriend stated he’d been inside the building when the incident started. He came outside and heard yelling. He slowly followed the suspect at a distance, and reported last seeing the suspect walking southbound on Second Avenue West. He stopped following the suspect because he was yelling incoherently and waving the screwdriver around. Police found and arrested the suspect at Second Avenue West and West Highland Drive. The screwdriver was recovered from his pocket. He was booked into King County Jail for felony assault and car prowling.
Rough Shoplifter
At approximately 10:45 p.m. on March 24, police responded to a shoplifting incident at a store in the 500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The store manager reported he’d asked a customer to leave the store, and in response the customer grabbed two packs of t-shirts and two packs of socks and exited without paying. The manager stated he’d tried to stop the suspect from exiting, and asked him to give the merchandise back, but the suspect pushed him into the doorframe and continued walking. Responding police searched the area for the suspect, but didn’t find him.
Rude Awakening
Just before 8 a.m. on March 26, the owners of a house in the 1900 block of Eighth Avenue North called 911 to report somebody was trying to break into the home. The couple stated they heard loud banging on the front of the house. When the male victim went downstairs the banging stopped. He noticed the molding from around the doorframe by the lock was laying on the floor about five feet from the door. The doorframe was damaged and the deadbolt was almost rammed through it. The victims said they didn’t think the suspects were successful as the lock was still in place and the door remained closed. The suspects left a soda can on the railing of the front porch, which police took in for fingerprint analysis. A search of the neighborhood uncovered no suspects.
Garage Break In
At approximately 9:45 a.m. on March 25, police responded to a house in the 2300 West Plymouth Street for a burglary to the home’s detached garage. The homeowner stated that she is in the process of moving from North Carolina to Seattle and hadn’t been in the garage in a few weeks. She said there were boxes, crates and loose items being stored in the garage. She said she had trouble getting the garage door to open with the automatic remote last night. Once she finally got the door open she noticed some things were missing. Many of the boxes inside the garage were torn open and rummaged through. The stolen items included two 32-inch flat screen TVs, a mountain bike and two older laptops. The TVs were still in their wood and cardboard shipping crates. Police couldn’t find any visible damage to the garage roll-up door, but after some investigation decided the door had somehow become detached from the motor operated chain and a sensor had been moved or repositioned.
Bad Burglar
At approximately 8:15 p.m. on March 20, a woman living in an apartment in the 1800 block of Taylor Avenue North called 911 to report somebody had attempted to break into her apartment. She said the burglary attempt happened sometime between 6 p.m. on March 16 and 6 p.m. on the 20th. She said somebody tried prying the front door open, but was unsuccessful. She’d already replaced the lock, which cost about $150. While investigating this incident officers noticed a second unit in the building had the same prying damage on the frame. The resident of that apartment said she’d reported the incident on March 18. Police weren’t sure how the suspect got into the secured-entry building.
Bike Theft
Just before 12:30 p.m. on March 26, police responded to a bike theft at an apartment in the 2100 block of Eighth Avenue North. The victim reported his bike was stolen from the building’s hallway. It was locked to a fixture in the hallway of the secured-entry building. The theft happened between 10 a.m. on March 24 and 11 a.m. on the 26th.