The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Giving Up
Just after 1 p.m. on Oct. 10, police responded to a robbery in progress at a store in the 400 block of Queen Anne Avenue North.
The suspect was still at the scene when police arrived. According to the store employee and a witness, the suspect had confronted the witness outside the store and demanded that the witness help him rob the store. He told him to go inside the store and ask for change for a $20 bill so he could strike while the register was open.
The employee told police the witness entered the store and stood in front of the register with the suspect standing behind him. The witness was crying and whispered, “He’s robbing me.”
The suspect demanded that the employee make change for the $20 bill the witness was holding. When the employee stated she could only make change if he purchased something, the suspect got annoyed and said, “I’m robbing you, I want to be arrested.”
He sat in a chair by the door until police arrived and arrested him.
Good Guard Dogs
Just before 4 a.m. on Oct. 10, a woman living in the 2500 block of 15th Avenue West called 911 to report a man had just tried to climb into her bedroom window.
She stated she’d been asleep with her bedroom window slightly open when she heard multiple men talking outside her window. One of the men then tried to climb in through the window but stopped when he heard the victim’s dogs barking.
She looked out the window and saw the two suspects go around to the back of the house and jump the fence to get to Gilman Avenue West. She continued watching the suspects as she called 911, they walked down Gilman to 15th Avenue West and then over to Raye Street where they peeked into the windows of an auto body shop.
People with Nefarious Intentions
At approximately 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 9, an employee at a business in the 1000 block of West Ewing Street called 911 to report his office was burglarized.
The office is on the second level of a small building, has two entry doors and about five desks inside. The employee told police he’d left the office unoccupied at about 9 a.m. to go do some work in the back parking lot. He’d left both doors unlocked. He returned to the office at about 11:30 a.m. and found items moved around and missing.
He listed the following items missing: a black and white folding bicycle, a socket set, a battery charger, a tool bag containing some hand tools, and a laptop computer. He said his backpack was taken from the office but he found it outside by a bike rack. Nothing was missing from the backpack. The office is adjacent to the Ship Canal Trail.
Police looked for nearby surveillance cameras that may have captured the suspect, but found none. They warned the employee to be more cautious about leaving the office unlocked and unattended, as the trail is sometimes used by people with nefarious intentions.
Weekend Burglary
Just after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, police responded to a business in the 700 block of Taylor Avenue North for a break in that occurred sometime over the weekend.
The business owner reported the burglary happened sometime between 8 p.m. on Oct. 6 and 9:30 a.m. that morning.
The suspect pried open a back alley door, destroying its deadbolt in the process. The thief got away with about $200 in change including the tip jar, loose change and rolled coins from the register. They also took a laptop.
Double Paned
Just before 5 a.m. on Oct. 5, police responded to a business located in the 4000 block of 21st Avenue West for an attempted burglary that occurred sometime overnight.
The owner stated the incident took place between 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 and 2:40 a.m. that morning. The suspect tried to break the glass front door, however it is double paned and they only broke the outer pane of glass. The inside pane had impact marks but remained intact.
The owner estimated it would cost about $200 to fix the glass.