By Tim Clifford

Shoplifters scuffle over Valentine’s candy
On Feb. 11 employees at a grocery on the 4200 block of S.W. Morgan St. reported a small fight with two shoplifters they had caught in the act. One officer, who managed to respond very quickly since he was three blocks away, arrived in time to see the two suspects running away. He was unable to catch up to the suspects and an area search yielded negative results.

According to witness and victim accounts a black male in his 30’s with scruffy facial hair and a Hispanic female in her 20’s entered the store together and began wandering the aisles, eventually ordering food from the store’s deli. What caught the attention of employees at the store was the suspicious way the female suspect was lingering near the Valentine’s Day chocolate display in the store. The employees watched the couple during their time in the store and followed them out of the store as they left.

The victim, acting as loss prevention, approached the suspects on the street and demand they return the stolen merchandise. At that point the male suspect handed back multiple packets of stolen meat, a box of rice, and numerous energy drinks. The female suspect refused to surrender the chocolates she had stolen from the V-Day display, even with the male suspect shouting at her to give it up so they could leave. When the victim reached for the suspect’s arm she hit and scratched his hand away leaving a dime sized bruise and small scratch.

As the officer arrived on the scene the two suspect ran away westbound on Fauntleroy WY S.W. Despite not being located by responding officers the store owners were able to supply police with surveillance video of the suspects. The suspects remain at large.

Blackout burglary
On Feb. 12 a break in to a local medical marijuana dispensary on the 9400 block of Delridge WY S.W. resulted in a temporary power outage for nearby businesses and residences. The victim did not realize his store had been burglarized until the next day and had cleaned most of the business by the time officers arrived.

From surveillance video that was gathered officers managed to piece together that at 2:18 a.m. three adult male suspects, two walking with one riding a bicycle, went up to the front entrance of the dispensary and began peering inside the business. The face of one suspect is perfectly visible on the footage at this point. After looking into the business next door two of the suspects set themselves up as “look-outs” at either end of the block.

One of the suspects then went to an unsecured breaker box and switched the power off. This not only disabled the security alarms for the businesses but also shut off all power to buildings in the immediate area.

The suspects then kicked in the door to the neighboring business and used the lid from a toilet tank to smash their way through the shared drywall that separates the establishments. Once inside the dispensary the suspects attempted to break into a caged supply closet with a pry bar and were unsuccessful. These attempts damaged the metal cage. They then loaded up on marijuana infused products that were in the display cases and stole two hundred dollars in cash from the register. The pry bar and numerous shoe prints were left at the scene.

The suspects were not recognized by the business owner. An estimate of $2,500 has been attributed to the stolen products. Another $2,000 is estimated in damages to the businesses and building. As of this writing the suspects remain at large.

Crimes reported between Feb. 13 and Feb. 20

Burglaries by block: 2700 block of 56 Ave. S.W., 7500 block of Fauntleroy WY S.W., 8100 block of 32 Ave. S.W., 8100 block of 1 Ave. S., 9200 block of 31 Ave. S.W.

Car prowls by block: 1500 block of Sunset Ave. S.W., 1600 block of 45 Ave. S.W., 44 Ave. S.W. / S.W. Massachusetts St., 2200 block of 44 Ave. S.W., 2700 block of Belvidere Ave. S.W., 2700 block of 38 Ave. S.W., 3000 block of Belvidere Ave. S.W., 4500 block of 36 Ave. S.W., 5600 block of Beach Dr. S.W., 6300 block of 35 Ave. S.W., 8600 block of Fauntleroy WY S.W., 8800 block of Fauntleroy WY S.W., 9000 block of 16 Ave. S.W., 9100 block of 45 Ave. S.W. (2 reported), 9200 block of 17 Ave. S.W.

Car thefts by block: 2300 block of Halleck Ave. S.W., 3000 block of S.W. Bradford St., 6500 block of California Ave. S.W., 1000 block of S.W. Henderson St., 9400 block of 27 Ave. S.W.