The following are selected reports from the Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct. They represent the officers’ accounts of the events described.
Irrational Drunk
Just after 6 a.m. on Aug. 29, police responded to a 911 call from the 3600 block of 13th Avenue West reporting that a man was in the alley yelling and making threats to kill somebody.
Upon arrival, the 911 caller directed officers to a neighbor’s house. The scene in front of the door was: leaves from a bush scattered on the ground, a folding table flipped over in the bushes, a chair turned upside down on the stares and a glass vase on the ground.
The suspect was found holding an open folding knife. Officers determined the man was extremely intoxicated and couldn’t answer any questions coherently. He dropped the knife upon command.
The victim told police the suspect is a friend of his roommate. He was upstairs asleep when he was awakened by the suspect yelling at about 5 a.m., and after an hour of listening to the suspect yell, the victim went downstairs to make coffee.
When he got downstairs the suspect came inside from the alley. The victim told him to take a seat on the couch, at which point the suspect became confrontational and began yelling and threatening to kill the victim.
After the victim told the suspect to sit down on the couch a second time, the suspect pulled the knife out from his pocket and opened it, cornering the victim in the kitchen. The victim said he was terrified and slowly walked around the suspect, so not to startle him, and ran up to his bedroom for safety.
The suspect was arrested and booked into King County Jail for harassment.
Brazen Robber
At approximately 5:45 a.m. on Aug. 29, police responded to a robbery at a convenience store in the 1600 block of Queen Anne Avenue North.
The cashier told police he’d been behind the counter at 5:40 a.m. when the suspect approached him from behind with a knife and told him to open the cash register. He opened the register and the suspect took an unknown amount of cash.
He was last seen walking southbound on Queen Anne Avenue North.
Police watched the security camera video of the incident and confirmed this was the same suspect that committed a similar robbery about 10 minutes prior to this one in the 500 block of Queen Anne Avenue North.
Storage Unit Break In
At 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 27, police responded to a burglary at a storage facility in the 3000 block of 15th Avenue West.
The victim told police he’d last been to his storage unit about 10 days prior and everything was secure. That day, he came to his unit and found the roll-up door off its rails. The padlock was still secure. His plasma cutter was missing, worth approximately $1,200. He said it had been on a bench directly inside the unit, and several items were stacked on top of it. Those items had been moved to the side.
Some glass was broken during the incident. The victim said he’d been selling items from the unit, and had brought several people to the unit to show or sell items to. He didn’t think any of those people were suspicious.
Caught
At 8 p.m. on Aug. 24 police responded to an attempted burglary at an office in the 100 block of Thomas Street.
The victim told police she’d been sitting in her office when a man attempted to climb into her open window.
She asked the suspect what he was doing and he immediately turned around, climbed over the building’s railing down to street level and walked away westbound on Thomas Street.
Prepared Burglars
Just before 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 18, the manager of a store in the 1600 block of West Dravus Street called 911 to report a burglary that occurred in the store’s exterior storage area sometime overnight.
The manager stated that the burglary happened sometime between 11 p.m. the previous night and 7 a.m. that morning.
The suspects cut through two chain link fences to enter the delivery and storage area. They cut the padlock of the disaster bin and stole almost everything: blankets, batteries, a first aid kit, flashlights, a megaphone and 15 cases of bottled water from a wrapped pallet.
Pesky Burglar
At 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, the manager of a restaurant in the 300 block of Roy Street called 911 to report a pesky burglar.
He stated that the suspect forced the front door open between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. the morning of Aug. 17 and stole seven bottles of liquor. That night, the bartender closed up the bar at 11 p.m. and went up the street for a drink. When he walked by the restaurant at about 2:10 a.m. he noticed the front door was ajar. Four bottles of liquor were missing and two more had been moved from the bar and left on a counter.
The manager and employee reviewed the bar’s security camera footage and found that the same suspect was seen in both incidents. The video was shown to responding police officers.
Additionally the two bottles that were left on the counter were dusted for prints. Officers found fingerprints, and the bartender ensured them they would probably be from the suspect, as those bottles hadn’t been poured recently, and are regularly wiped clean.
Hostile Security
Just after 7 p.m. on Sept. 3, police responded to a 911 call reporting an assault at a music festival in the 200 block of Mercer Street.
Witnesses reported the victim, who worked for one of the bands that was performing, was assaulted by a security officer working the event. The victim, who had a cut on his left cheek and a chipped tooth, stated he’d left the backstage area and walked into the beer garden.
Not knowing it was the beer garden and that he needed to show his ID, the victim showed his event wristband and continued walking. A security officer approached the victim and they got into an argument. He eventually showed his ID, and moments later the suspect and other security officers surrounded the victim.
The victim told them to back off, then the suspect punched him in the face. All witnesses told police the victim was being loud with security, but the suspect needlessly assaulted him.
He was arrested for assault and booked into King County Jail.
Small Robbery
Just after 11 p.m. on Sept. 3, an employee of a restaurant in the 700 block of Taylor Avenue North called 911 to report the restaurant had just been robbed by a man who implied he’d had a gun, though no gun was seen.
The victim stated that the suspect came into the restaurant at about 11 p.m. and ordered some ranch dressing. He rang the suspect’s order and when the cash register drawer opened the suspect instructed him to back up and took about $50 out of the register.
He left the store westbound on Valley Street. A second 911 caller reported they saw the suspect enter a red car and leave westbound.
The victim told police the suspect had gestured to his pocket, inferring he had a gun.
Liquor Theft
At approximately 11:45 p.m. on Sept. 3, the night manager of a store in the 600 block of First Avenue North called 911 to report a burglary.
She said a suspect entered a stock room, which was clearly marked ‘employees only,’ and took a case of Crown Royal. A case holds 12 bottles worth $22 each.
There was security video of the theft, it showed the suspect entering the stock room and looking around. He emptied his backpack and loaded it up with the bottles from the case.
Once he was done he tried to leave out of the emergency exit, but he couldn’t open the door so he exited the way he came.
Petty Thief
At approximately 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 3, a Seattle Police officer on routine patrol spotted a suspect tugging on the closed and locked door of a business in the 300 block of Mercer Street.
He watched the suspect tug at the door and try to pry it open for a few minutes before the suspect looked behind him and spotted the officer. The suspect walked away and, after inspecting the door, the officer stopped him.
He told the officer he was trying to get inside because his partner was living inside the building. The officer informed him that the building was a business not a residence. The officer then ran the suspect’s name and found he had an outstanding warrant out of King County.
While processing the suspect police found a stolen phone and wallet in the suspect’s pockets as well as prescription drugs that didn’t belong to him. He claimed the phone belonged to his partner, however the mother of the person who owned the phone called it while police were in possession of it and stated it had been stolen.
The suspect was arrested for burglary, possession of stolen property and possession of narcotics.
Thirsty Thief
Just before noon on Sept. 3, a man called 911 to report his storage unit was broken into sometime over the last month.
The unit was located in the 3000 block of 15th Avenue West. He said he’d come to his unit today for the first time in a month and noticed that the locking hasp was removed. The storage unit was full of expensive music equipment, electronics, a bicycle, and some bottles of wine.
Nothing was missing, but one bottle of wine was open and had been drank.