The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Unruly Shoplifter
At approximately 3:45 p.m. on June 13, the manager of a store in the 600 block of First Avenue North called 911 to report that a repeat shoplifter — who’d already been banned from the store — had just thrown an open can of liquid at him.
When police arrived, the manager stated he’d approached the suspect after spotting him in the store with an open, unpaid for, canned beverage. When confronted by the manager, the suspect threw the can, hitting the manager in the face.
The manager told police the suspect had been criminally trespassed by Seattle Police from this and other locations of the store for frequently shoplifting. He also stated the suspect had been in another location the night before and caused a similar disturbance when he was caught stealing.
He was able to provide the suspect’s name and address as well as photos of him. The manager said he wanted to prosecute the suspect, police will be charging him with burglary for his violation of the trespass order.
Not Payday
Just before 9:30 p.m. on June 7, police responded to a 911 call from the West Roy Place and Second Avenue West.
The call stated a victim had been struck by a crowbar about five minutes prior. Seattle Fire was already in route. The victim told police he went to an encampment he’d been living in to confront an acquaintance about some money he was owed.
When he asked for his money the suspect became hostile and picked up a crowbar. He approached the victim with the crowbar; the victim pulled a pocketknife out to attempt to defend himself. The suspect hit the victim on the lower left leg.
The victim said the encampment was located in Kinnear Park near the dog park. Police searched the park for the suspect, but didn’t find him. Medics from Seattle Fire took the victim to a nearby hospital to get stitches for a laceration on his leg caused by the crow bar.
Overnight Break Ins
Just before 9 a.m. on June 12, police responded to a burglary at a house in the 1500 block of Fourth Avenue North.
The victim said she fell asleep around 11 p.m. and heard a thud on the first floor sometime overnight, but didn’t get up to check it out. She got up at about 4 a.m. that morning and found a backpack containing a laptop was missing. The contents of her purse had been rummaged through and a window lock latch was broken.
That same morning a neighbor living in the 1800 block of Fourth Avenue North called 911 to report their house was broken into overnight as well. In this burglary the suspect cut a hole in a rear window screen, removed the screen and was able to open the window and climb through.
The two adult residents and their children were sleeping upstairs and never heard a sound. The suspect stole a purse from this house.
Ransacked House
At approximately 6:15 p.m. on June 12, police responded to a 911 call from the owner of a house in the 3400 block of 37th Avenue West reporting his house had been broken into and he thought someone might still be inside.
He said he was armed with a gun and he was going in, he wanted to take care of it himself. When police responded the homeowner came out unarmed. He said the house was empty.
The victim said he’d been gone since June 9. However, the next day, his neighbor texted him to state she’d just brought over some tickets to the house for his daughter and left them in the living room.
When he came home on the 12th he noticed there were some items on the side of the house packed up and ready to be taken away. He said he’d checked the whole house and found yellow spray paint on some of the door handles, a light switch and a dresser door. The back basement bedroom slider door was off its rollers and was likely the suspect’s point of entry. Several bedroom dressers were rummaged through with items strewn about the room and other areas were dug through also. Some of the victim’s things were stockpiled under the back porch. He said several items were missing including a laptop, a keyboard and his grandfather’s pellet rifle.
Storage Unit Break In
Just before 9:15 p.m. on June 11, police responded to a burglary at a condo building in the 3000 block of 14th Avenue West.
The building manager reported that sometime between noon on June 9 and 9 p.m. on the 11th someone came into the building’s storage room and used a pipe wrench to pry open several of the individual storage units’ doors.
The building manager said nobody had reported anything missing. The manager said the only way somebody could have gotten into the storage room was through a resident’s garage. If one of the residents left their garage open, the burglar could have gotten in without having to force entry.
Stolen Bike
Just after noon on June 10, a man living in the 1800 block of Fourth Avenue West called 911 to report his bike was stolen.
He said the bike was stolen from the unlocked garage in his back yard sometime between 8:45 a.m. on June 7 and 7 p.m. the following evening. He said on June 8, he noticed the gate leading to the back yard was open and an umbrella was knocked over. He went back to the garage and noticed the door was open and his mountain bike was gone. He described the bike as a gunmetal gray 2015 model with green lettering and green drop handles. He said it was a 30-speed bike with a rack on the back. He said the bike was worth about $2,500.