By Matt Wendland

Burien Police find squatters living in former Burien City Hall
Burien Police located a group of squatters living within the former Burien City Hall property on the morning of January 17th. The building is located on the northeast corner of the Burien Town Square development just north of where the new City Hall sits above the Burien King County Library. The squatters appeared to primarily be living in a detached shed on the northeast corner of the building near a loading dock and port. This is not the first time transients have been asked to leave the grounds. On multiple occasions previously, transients have been found living under the cover of an entrance or in the shrubbery surrounding the building. The former City Hall is expected to be removed later this year when ground is broken for two buildings that will bring the Burien Town Square development nearly to completion. Construction for those buildings is expected to last between one and one and one half years.

Stethoscope used to assault Metro driver in northern Burien
What is described as a “doctor’s stethoscope” was used by a suspect to assault a Metro bus driver on January 8th according to the King County Sheriff’s Department. It was just before 7am when the driver of the 112 Metro routs says that they asked a rider to refrain from singing out loud while riding the bus. Following the request from the driver, the suspect is reported to have then “struck” the driver with the medical instrument. The driver did not receive any life threatening injuries from the assault. The vehicle was not equipped with onboard video monitoring and further information about the assault has yet to be released.

Pepperoni stick used to distract pit bull in robbery
A White Center resident who lives near the intersection of 24th Avenue Southwest and Roxbury reported to police that they returned to their home around 1pm on January 16th to find that they had been robbed. The victim reported that their laptop and an Xbox had been stolen during their departure. Burglars are believed to have entered the home through an unlocked side door and distracted the victim’s pit bull with a pepperoni stick. All that remained of the pepperoni stick was a wrapper. Police have not released any further information about their investigation.

Auto Theft:
9800 blk 29th Av SW, 10600 blk 14th Av SW, 10700 blk 14th Av SW, 11200 blk 2nd Ln SW, 10600 blk Aqua Wy S, 10000 11th Av SW, 1500 blk SW 104th St, 2100 blk SW 106th St, 11400 blk 1st Av S, 13700 blk 12th Av SW, 16600 blk 15th Av SW, 11300 blk 26th Av S, 12000 blk 1st Sv S, 14800 blk 32nd Pl S, 3200 blk S 176th St, 15800 blk 1st Av S, 800 blk S 112th St, 15400 blk Des Moines Memorial Dr

Home and Business Theft:
9600 blk 28th Av SW, 11200 blk 4th Pl S, 200 blk SW 112th St, 11000 blk 16th Av SW, 9800 blk 24th Av SW, 10600 blk 21st Av SW, 10700 blk 14th Av SW, 11200 blk SW 118th St, 800 blk SW 135th St, 16500 blk International Blvd, 12800 blk Ambaum Blvd SW

Assault/Violence:
10700 blk 14th Av SW, 9600 blk 15th Av SW, 11000 blk 4th Av SW, 11000 blk 16th Av SW, 1200 blk SW 139th St, 2200 blk S 111 Pl, 14600 blk Military Rd S, 14900 blk 6th Av SW, 200 blk SW 146th St, 2800 blk SW 167th Pl