One dangerous home
It was early afternoon on Oct. 17 when a man living on 12th Ave. S.W. saw two people snooping around a neighbor’s dilapidated home that had been vacant for a year after the owner passed away. Knowing the deceased owner’s daughter, the witness called her and asked if anyone should be at the house. Nope. And furthermore, she said, the house needed a lot of work done before it could be rented or sold, including decontamination since the home had allegedly been used for drug production and trafficking by a “local motorcycle club,” leaving a toxic mess behind. The witness walked outside and took a photo of the suspicious characters’ vehicle license plate and called police, but by the time they arrived the suspects were gone. Upon further investigation, police learned someone had attempted to burn the house down shortly after the owner passed away. “It is not known if this incident was a scouting job for arson attempt,” the police report said. Police took the vehicle photos back to Southwest Precinct burglary detectives.
Real-life reminder about ladders
Leaving the ladder in the backyard (where one is most likely to need or use it) seems like common sense until you take the mind of a criminal into account. Burglars see ladders as a means to an illegal entry, as was the case on Oct. 17 when an unknown suspect entered the backyard of a home on S.W. Southern St., grabbed a ladder, propped it up against a kitchen window, broke through the window and ransacked the home before exiting out the front door. The crook made off with antique silver coins, a laptop and other items.
Breaking down SPD’s DV Unit
On Oct. 25, Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel wrote a letter to Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess detailing how SPD’s Domestic Violence Unit works. The letter was written in response to a request from King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg asking the council to consider additional funding for the DV Unit. According to Pugel there are 15 full time DV detectives. Nine detectives focus on domestic violence assault, stalking and similar crimes, four focus on elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, and two work on enforcing court orders such as no contact and anti-harassment. Additionally, Pugel said one full time detective splits his time between DV cases and homicide/assault cases. He said SPD’s DV Unit is “one of the only in departments in the country to offer victim services every day of the week” through victim advocates.
Crimes reported from Oct. 21 through Oct. 26
Robberies by block: 2800 S.W. Thistle St.
Burglaries by block: 6700 25th Ave. S.W., 900 S.W. Holden St., 9600 20th Ave. S.W., 3000 61st Ave. S.W., 7900 28th Ave. S.W., 7900 8th Ave. S.W., 6500 California Ave. S.W., 8800 Delridge Way S.W., 3200 S.W. Graham St.
Car prowls by block: 8800 8th Ave. S.W., 2600 S.W. Spokane St., 5200 42nd Ave. S.W., 7500 28th Ave. S.W.
Vehicle thefts by block: 9000 Olson Pl. S.W., 5600 California Ave. S.W., 7300 34th Ave. S.W., 7500 37th Ave. S.W., 9200 17th Ave. S.W., 2600 42nd Ave. S.W., 4800 W. Marginal Way S.W., 6300 16th Ave. S.W., 4500 Glenn Way S.W., corner of 36th Ave. S.W./S.W. Graham St., 8100 12th Ave. S.W., 3700 35th Ave. S.W., corner of 29th Ave. S.W./S.W. Morgan St., 3000 60th Ave. S.W., 3800 35th Ave. S.W., 9400 Delridge Way S.W., corner of Beach Dr. S.W./S.W. Douglas Pl.
