Time for a new tenant
On Sept. 29 police responded to a call on the 9000 block of 3rd Ave S.W. The landlord had just called to report a tenant stole his cell phone and walked away. The victim was in the backyard with his cell phone/camera letting his dogs out to do their business when his tenant stepped outside and started verbally abusing him (the landlord/victim said he had his camera to record the abuse because it was a common occurrence). The landlord produced his phone to record the behavior, prompting his tenant to snatch it from his hands and start walking away. The landlord followed, struggling with his tenant over the phone, but was pushed against a wall and lost the battle. He watched as his tenant walked down the road and attempted to snap the phone in half with his hands. The landlord had surveillance footage of the entire incident, which police watched and confirmed. When they contacted the suspect he said he had thrown the phone into a nearby wooded area. He was arrested for assault, theft and destruction of property.
How did they know?
A woman returned to her 1700 block, S.W. Cloverdale St. home on Sept. 26 to find it had been ransacked. Unknown suspects entered through a backyard window and went straight to the victim’s bedroom, using bolt cutters to break through the locked door. They stole a gray safe attached to a metal rack with a bike chain (with an unreported amount of U.S. currency inside), 20 gold bracelets, one diamond ring and three laptop computers. The victim said she did not think anyone was aware of the money inside her safe (only the people she borrowed it from knew she had it). No fingerprints were found and as the responding officer was back at the precinct filling out paperwork, a colleague called to report he just found an open safe attached to a metal rack on the stairs between 21st Ave S.W. and 18th Ave S.W. (apparently the bolt cutters were not used on the bike chain). Two now-empty envelopes (likely once containing cash) were still inside the safe, covered in blood. The envelopes were submitted for DNA analysis and the safe was returned to the victim.
Front to back: a common routine
On Sept. 28 at 8:30 a.m. a woman living on the 5900 block of 29th Ave S.W. heard a knock at her front door. She went to answer and no one was on the stoop. Suddenly, she heard loud knocking at the back sliding glass door. She walked to the rear and confronted the suspect now in her back yard, asking if she could help him. The suspect apologized, said he had the wrong house, and took off.
While you were sleeping
Around 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 25 someone driving a dark-colored Subaru walked into a home on the 4400 block of S.W. Othello St., removed a large TV from the wall and, as he was putting it into the vehicle, made eye contact with a neighbor who knew the suspect did not live at the house. He quickly sped away and the neighbor called police. Arriving minutes later, police entered the home and heard water running. They called out and the homeowner, who had been asleep in the basement, emerged to find police in his home and hear the unfortunate news. The neighbor was able to get the license plate number and it was linked to a South Seattle home. Sam Sector police checked the home but the vehicle was nowhere in sight.
Reported crimes from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7:
Robberies by block: 2600 California Ave S.W., corner of 29th Ave S.W./S.W. Barton St.
Burglaries by block: 5300 47th Ave S.W., 4500 42nd Ave S.W., 8800 9th Ave S.W., 6700 17th Ave S.W., 2900 S.W. Avalon Way
Car prowls by block: 4700 42nd Ave S.W., 6000 High Point Dr S.W., 4500 26th Ave S.W., 6500 34th Ave S.W., 2200 Harbor Ave S.W., 2800 S.W. Thistle St.
Vehicle thefts by block: 8600 9th Ave S.W., 1900 45th Ave S.W., 1500 S.W. Myrtle St., 3000 46th Ave S.W., 9200 22nd Ave S.W., 2900 S.W. Avalon Way, 4000 23rd Ave S.W., 7700 16th Ave S.W., 5000 Delridge Way S.W.
