White Center police
Tue, 05/23/2006
Burglaries, auto thefts down
By Steve Cox
Last month I mentioned we were having a rash of break ins to cash machines in the White Center area. I am proud to say that four people have been arrested for at least some of those break ins. We believe those four are responsible for all of the break ins.
The Castillo Bakery, 10434 16th S.W., was robbed at gunpoint on April 22.
On April 27 a male was jumped at Roxbury and Fourth. The victim's backpack and coat were taken. The suspects made a point of telling the victim that they were Eastside Pirus, a blood gang from the Rainier Valley. We believe the suspects perceived the victim to be from a rival gang. We have had a number of these type incidents in the last few months. In each case the victim has been a teenager and has been jumped by two or three other teenagers. In each case the suspects have made a point of telling the victim that they are Bloods and/or that this is a Blood 'hood.
There was a house in the Center that we believed was the headquarters for an escort service and prostitution operation. After several months of investigation, a search warrant was served at the house in April. Three people were arrested for promoting prostitution and prostitution. The house is now vacant and no longer the headquarters for such criminal activity.
About three weeks ago, some of our deputies saw some people hanging out in a car in front of the apts at 9011 16th S.W. The car matched the description of a car that was involved in shooting in the Center earlier in the night, where the shooter fired several shots into the air. The deputies ended up finding a loaded handgun in the car along with a large amount of marijuana that appeared to be more than a user amount. Two people from the car were arrested on gun and drug charges. Both suspects said they were members of the Oriental Gangster Boyz street gang. We were not able to determine if either suspect was the person who fired the shots into the air earlier in the night.
We had eight burglaries for the month. Our average is nine. Of those eight, two were to a garage, house doors were kicked in or pried open on three and house windows were broken out or pried open in three of the others. Remember to lock your windows and garages. Reinforce doors if possible.
We only had nine auto thefts this month, which is remarkable. Normally we have 27 a month. I have no idea what led to the decrease.
We didn't have any commercial burgs this month, which is also very good. Last year we averaged four a month. However, I do want to talk about ways to prevent commercial burglaries. In the last year we had a rash of comm burgs, which were mainly the result of David Lugar, who was addicted to crack. During the night he would use something such as a rock to smash out a window and take whatever he could from inside the business. Lugar had been doing his burgs all over King County to support his drug habit. He has since been arrested. Even though we believe Lugar was responsible for many of the commercial burgaries that occurred in the Center, I suspect there were others. Since Lugar's arrest, the commercial burg rate has greatly decreased.
When these burgs do occur, they usually occur during the night between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. A window to the business is usually smashed in with a rock or some other object or a door is kicked or pried open. The burglar is usually after change in a vending machine, cash from the till or anything the burglar can pawn or sell, such as tools. As with most burglaries, the reason is to get drug money.
Prevention ideas.
Get an alarm for the business. As with homes, the alarm may not help us catch the bad guy but it will most likely scare them off. Put a good, strong, lock on the doors and reinforce the door frame to make it difficult for the bad guy to kick in or pry open a door. Put protective film on the windows, which will prevent the glass from breaking open. The glass may shatter and crack but it will not break open.
About a year ago, a burglary was attempted at a business in the Center. The business had that protective film on its windows. The glass shattered when the burglar hit it with a rock but didn't break open and the burglar didn't get in.
Be aware of what's going around you, especially you late nighters. It amazes me that so many of these burgs, including the residential burgs, can occur without anyone seeing or hearing anything. If you see or hear something suspicious, such as someone who may be breaking into a business or about to, call the police and then stick around so we can contact you or at least leave your number with the operator so we can call you. We cannot solve crimes without your help. The police and the community must work together to solve crimes.
That's it for this month. See you next month. Don't forget to be invovled and do your part to make the Center a better place to live.
Steve Cox is the White Center storefront deputy from the King County Sheriff's Department. He can be reached at 423.0393 or via wseditor@robinsonnews.com