The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Lock Picker
Just before 10 a.m. on Jan. 6, police were called to an apartment building in the 100 block of Taylor Avenue North to investigate a burglary that occurred overnight.
The building manager had security camera footage that showed a suspect entering the building around 2:30 a.m. by jimmying the front door open with a screwdriver.
He looked through the mail room before forcing his way into the manager’s office, where he stole a box of undelivered mail. He brought the mail to the parking garage where he opened all the packages and threw what he didn’t take into the recycling.
The suspect then went around to a few retail space doors that are accessible in the parking garage and tried to force them open, but was unsuccessful. After spending about 20 minutes in the building, the suspect left.
Team Theft
Just before 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 6, police responded to a burglary at an apartment building in the 500 block of First Avenue West.
The building’s manager reported there was a burglary involving a male and female stealing mail from the mail room. He said after noticing a mailbox had been tampered with, he watched the building’s surveillance video from overnight and saw the couple come into the building a little after 12:30 a.m., and go into the mail room. He said there were no signs of forced entry, so he thinks the suspects may have a key to the front door. Additionally, the surveillance video showed the suspect approaching the front door and opening it quickly, supporting the suspicion that they had a key.
The video shows the suspects going straight to the mail room, where there is no camera, and then next shows them in the parking garage breaking down boxes, presumably from stolen packages.
The suspects then walked the garage, peeking into car windows, before leaving.
Unsuccessful Burglary
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, the owner of a business in the 100 block of West John Street called 911 to report an attempted burglary that occurred overnight while the business was closed. The business’s surveillance cameras caught the incident on video. At 3:35 a.m., the suspect used a small tool to break the lock off the building’s front door, leaving a small hole in the door.
However, the suspect was unable to get the door open, and left without entering the building. The owner had already replaced the lock when she called 911, and said it cost $300.
She gave the video of the incident to police as well as a description of a suspicious vehicle she’d seen circling the block on the previous night.
Smash and Grab
Just after 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 11, police responded to a store in the 500 block of First Avenue North after a passerby reported seeing a broken window and hearing an alarm going off. Police called the store owner who responded and reported two smartphones and a tablet computer were stolen from a display inside A second tablet computer was still on the display, but had been damaged in an apparent attempt to pull it off of the display mounting. There was surveillance video that showed the suspect trying to pry the front door open at 6:32 a.m. When that didn’t work, he broke the double-paned window and crawled through.
He grabbed the phones and iPad, cutting the cords that connected them to the display. He then ran out the front door by pushing the inside crash bar. He was inside the store for a total of two minutes.
Stealthy Thief
Just before 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, the manager of a restaurant in the 200 block of West Thomas Street called 911 to report a theft.
He said he’d left money on a desk in the main office, and somebody had come in off the street and taken it. He said he’d gone to the bank at about 4 p.m. to withdraw some money, and when he got back he was too busy to put it in the safe.
He left the money he’d just withdrawn on the desk and the safe standing open. At about 7 p.m. he went back into the office and found the money missing from the desk, and all of the money from the safe missing as well. He watched the security camera footage and saw a man come in off the street and go into the employee locker room, which is next to the office.
The suspect rummaged through all the lockers and cabinets in the locker room before going into the office and taking the money from the desk and the drawer. The suspect then left through the restaurant’s front door. The whole time the suspect went unnoticed. Responding police searched the neighborhood for the suspect but didn’t find him.
Car Prowl
Just before 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 14, police responded to an apartment building in the 900 block of Warren Avenue North where a resident’s car was prowled overnight. The building manager showed police the building’s security video which showed the suspect in the building at about 3:15 a.m.
He entered the building by removing a fourth-floor window screen and opening the unlocked window. The suspect went to the parking garage where he broke the window of the victim’s car.