The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Convenience Store Robbery
Just before 8 p.m. on Jan. 4, police responded to an armed robbery at a convenience store in the 500 block of Mercer Street. The employee stated the suspect approached the register and handed him a note on a small torn piece of cardboard. The note said, “have a gun give me cash of 20 dollars, 10 dollars, 5 dollars now.” The suspect never pulled a gun out. The employee took the case from the register and handed it over. He said he thought it was between $400 and $600, mostly in $20 bills. After the employee handed him the money the suspect said, “Don’t worry you’re gonna live another day.”
The suspect put the money in his pocket and walked out of the store through the southeast door. The store manager showed police the surveillance video, which captured the whole incident. Several responding police units searched the surrounding area for the suspect but didn’t find him.
Stolen Bike
Just after 9 a.m. on Jan. 4, police responded to a reported bike theft at an apartment building in the 900 block of Queen Anne Avenue North. The victim said he leaves his bike in the hallway of the secured-entry building, right outside his front door. Sometime overnight, between 11 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. that morning, somebody stole the bike from the hallway. The victim said he bought the bike online a few years ago, and didn’t have the serial number or any other manufacturer information. Responding police looked around the building, but couldn’t find any evidence or signs of how the suspect got into the building.
Missing Wallet
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, a woman living in an apartment in the 300 block of West Roy Street reported to police that she believed somebody came into her apartment while it was unlocked and stole her wallet from her purse. She said she believed it happened sometime over the last week.
While police were responding to this burglary they were flagged down by another resident of the apartment who reported a similar burglary. The victim said she’d been asleep in her bedroom at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, when she awoke to a noise. She went out and saw her front door close. When she looked out into the hallway she saw somebody running down the hallway. Later that day the victim noticed her wallet was missing from a drawer in her living room.
Strange Burglary
At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, police responded to a burglary at an apartment in the 100 block of West Highland Drive. The victim said he’d been in his living room when he heard loud banging noises. At first he thought the noise was his upstairs neighbor moving furniture around. As the noises got louder he realized they were coming from his closet. When he opened the closet door he saw a large, new hole in the drywall with a guy standing on the other side of the hole. The suspect and two others with him ran off. He went to the window and saw two males and a female running across the street. He last saw them running northbound on First Avenue West. The hole in the closet led to a shared hallway in the apartment building. The burglars had to break into the secured-entry apartment building to get access to this hallway. Police are unsure of how the suspects got into the building.
Unlocked Door
Just before 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, police responded to a reported burglary at a house in the 3200 block of 28th Avenue West. The residents reported sometime between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. that evening, a burglar entered through an unlocked back door and stole about $2,000 worth of jewelry. The homeowners told police their nanny had been at home with their two kids and the dog. The nanny let the dog out into the back yard at about 5 p.m. and when she let the dog back inside she didn’t lock the back door. The nanny, kids and dog spent the rest of the evening in the basement. The homeowners came home at 6 p.m. and went upstairs to discover the theft. Two drawers were emptied from a jewelry box, and about 30 necklaces were taken.
Vigilant Neighbor
Just after 6 p.m. on Jan. 6, police responded to a burglary at a home in the 3400 block of 28th Avenue West. A neighbor saw a suspect wearing a hoodie and gloves run from his neighbor’s yard, so he chased him. He pursued the suspect for about a block before he lost him. He was last seen running northbound through other yards. The homeowner told police the suspect pried open a window and went to the bedroom where he stole a bunch of jewelry.