The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Let Me In
At approximately 4:15 a.m. on May 21, residents of a home in the 2700 block of West Blaine Street called 911 to report somebody was banging on their door trying to get in.
When police arrived they found a man matching the description of the suspect standing on the sidewalk just to the west of the house. He said he’d been knocking on doors in the neighborhood trying to get someone to give him a ride downtown.
The homeowner told police he’d been sleeping on the couch in the front room when he was woken by the sound of someone trying to open the front door. He heard the door handle turning and the electronic keypad buttons beeping.
He looked out the peephole, and saw the suspect standing on the front porch looking in. The suspect walked to the side of the house and attempted to enter the backyard. Then he walked to the front of the house and began yelling obscenities at the house before going out into the street and doing push-ups.
The suspect was arrested and booked into King County Jail for burglary.
Mail Theft
Just after 11 a.m. on May 20, the building manager of an apartment in the 300 block of West Mercer Street called 911 to report a mail theft incident that happened sometime between 8 p.m. the night before, and 7:30 a.m. that morning.
Someone pried open the building’s front doors and took packages from the mail room. The emptied packages were found in the building’s stairwell.
Menace on Site
At 9:20 a.m. on May 19, police responded to a building in the 300 block of West Nickerson Street after a 911 call reported a suspect was trying door handles of cars and trying to get into the building.
Police found the suspect on the jogging trail northwest of the building. They believed he was high on meth, however as he hadn’t gained entry into any cars or buildings police didn’t have probable cause to arrest him. He was escorted off of the property and the building’s security trespassed him from the property.
About 20 minutes later, several people from businesses in the area called 911 stating the suspect was back and was now harassing people. When police returned to the area a group of concerned citizens flagged them down and reported the suspect stole a snow shovel, which they recovered from him.
Police found the suspect on the jogging trail again, when he saw them coming he ran into a building. He locked himself in an office and began destroying property. A team of police officers responded to the building and detained the suspect.
The building’s security informed police that the suspect had pried open a door, and damaged it in the process. While the suspect was being arrested police found methamphetamine in his pocket.
Stolen Laptops
Just before 10 a.m. on May 19, police responded to a burglary at an office at a building in the 1400 block of Elliott Avenue West.
The office manager said sometime between 7:30 p.m. on May 16, and 8:15 a.m. that morning, someone came into the second floor office and took two laptops. There were no signs of forced entry.
Stranger in My House
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 18, a woman living in a home in the 2500 block of 30th Avenue West called 911 to report a stranger was walking around in her house.
While officers were in route, the victim called back to report the suspect was now making loud banging noises on the basement door. When police arrived, they found no suspects and no signs of forced entry to the house. The victim said her dog was barking and she heard someone down by the basement door. She later saw the suspect walking down the front porch steps and down the side of the house, heading towards the alley.
While searching the neighborhood for the suspect, police found the garage door of a neighbor’s house standing open. They talked to the homeowners who stated that they are in the process of moving and most likely just left the garage door open.
Alarm Trip
Just before 2:15 a.m. on May 16, a homeowner in the 2500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North called 911 to report a burglar alarm had been tripped at his house.
He said the alarm went off at 2:08 p.m. When he returned home, he found the gate at the southeast side of the house was standing open. It is always kept closed.
There were two fresh shoe prints in the muddy plant bed near the basement window the alarm was tripped at. The victim told police he believed the suspect rattled the basement window enough for the magnetic alarm contacts to separate and trigger the alarm.
There were no signs that the suspect entered the house, and no damage to the window. Police found no fingerprints on the windows and no neighbors reported seeing anything.