By Tim Clifford

Theft of whale watching tickets
At an apartment building on the 6000 block of 35 Ave. S.W. at around 2:20 a.m. in the morning of Apr.27 a man was robbed at gunpoint inside his building. The victim explained to police that he was walking home from a friend’s house early in the morning northbound and noticed the suspect nearing his apartment door walking southbound. Once the victim reached the door the suspect came up very close behind him and intimated that he also lived in the building and was waiting to be let in.

Once both men were in the building the victim noticed that the suspect had followed him from the door and down the hallway toward his apartment. The suspect pulled out a handgun and told the victim to give him everything. A Fossil wallet, the victim’s cell phone, and whale watching tickets that the victim had won from a local radio station were taken by the suspect. Before the suspect left he told the victim that if he called the police he would come back and kill him.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, standing approximately 5’11 and weighing around 250 pounds with long black hair. The victim was advised to check all of his bank accounts immediately and was very afraid for his safety. The suspect remains at large.

Trouble for exchange student
A Chinese exchange student from South Seattle Community College encountered a host of problems in the evening of Apr.26 near the Southwest Precinct building. The victim, who speaks Mandarin and very little English, flagged down officers when he became lost while attempting to drive home. A Mandarin interpreter was called from the station to assist. The victim did not know the address of the place where he was staying but was able to provide officers with a receipt for a restaurant near his current residence.

To make matters even more complicated the victim relayed to the interpreter that while he was trying to find a way into the precinct building a man came up behind him and stubbed his cigarette out on his back. The suspect then told the victim that he would find him later and come and “cut him” at his home. The victim showed the officers the burn hole on his jacket and told them that the cigarette had not burned through his clothes and onto his skin. The suspect was described as a white male who the victim had never seen before. To top it all off the victim had also lost his passport earlier that morning.

Officers led the victim to the address of the restaurant that he had a receipt for at which point the victim signaled to the officers that he knew how to get home from there. The victim was also given a police report to turn in to his embassy for a new passport which included an account of the assault that occurred in front of the precinct building.

Crimes reported between Apr.24 and May 1

Burglaries by block: 2200 block of Fairmount Ave. S.W., 6300 block of 35 Ave. S.W., 2800 block of S.W. Barton St.

Car thefts by block: 2200 block of Alki Ave. S.W., 3000 block of 60 Ave. S.W., 2700 block of 48 Ave. S.W., 3200 block of Harbor Ave. S.W., 2600 block of S.W. Andover St., 4300 block of S.W. Alaska St., 4800 block of 48 Ave. S.W., 5400 block of California Ave. S.W., Fauntleroy WY S.W. / S.W. Rose St., 4200 block of S.W. Roxbury St., 9200 block of 20 Ave. S.W.