By Tim Clifford

Woman punched after confronting burglars on Alki

A woman was punched in the face by one cowardly burglar after she came home and found him and his partner had broken into her apartment. The assault and break-in occurred on Feb. 28 just after 9 p.m. at a secured complex on the 2700 block of Alki Ave. S.W.

The victim had been getting ready for work and decided to take the trash out from her kitchen. She went outside to the trash area behind the building and returned to her apartment only minutes later.
Once she got back inside the victim found the suspects, two black male teenagers, going through her dresser drawers in the bedroom. When she began screaming at them to leave the first suspect ran out of the apartment as fast as he could.

The second suspect, wearing a dark baseball cap and jacket, walked up to the victim and punched her one time in the face. It is believed that he either hit her with a weapon of some sort or smashed her glasses since this single punch caused a 1 inch laceration on the victim’s face. The wound bled quite a bit before officers were able to arrive.

The big mystery remains how these two suspects managed to enter the secured building and her apartment so quickly. An area search turned up negative results. Police have begun gathering any available surveillance footage from nearby businesses. The suspects remain at large.

Return the knife
In the early morning hours of Feb. 28 an employee at a convenience store on the 4500 block of 42 Ave. S.W. found himself in a bizarre and frightening situation with a man holed up in store’s bathroom. Police responded to the scene and took a statement almost 24 hours later.

As the employee explained to the officers he had gone to check on the bathrooms just after midnight and found the suspect milling around inside. The employee demanded the suspect leave immediately while at the same time explaining to him that the store has had trouble with after-hours drug use in the bathrooms.
Enraged, the suspect pulled out a pocket knife with a 3 inch blade and ran at the employee saying “I’m ex-military”. When he wasn’t able to cut the employee the suspect grabbed a bottle of wine off the shelf, smashed it on the floor and ran out the door. The employee later found the pocket knife among the shattered glass while he was cleaning up.

The suspect is described as a white male in his late 20’s, standing 5’11 and wearing a Seahawks cap with a red vest and khaki pants.

Even more strangely hours later, during the day shift, a woman came to the convenience store and demanded that she be given the pocket knife. She explained that the suspect is her boyfriend and that they wanted his knife back. The clerk refused to give it back and the woman left without incident.

The knife was passed between employees throughout the day and the clerk could not be sure which employee had possession of it by the time he spoke to police. Surveillance video was available and offered to the police. The suspect remains at large at this time.

Crimes reported between Feb. 28 and Mar. 5

Burglaries by block: 5900 block of 41 Ave. S.W., 6500 block of 18 Ave. S.W., 6900 block of Delridge WY S.W., 700 block of S. Kenyon St., 8800 block of 9 Ave. S.W., 8800 block of 14 Ave. S.W., 9200 block of 25 Ave. S.W.

Car prowls by block: 2700 block of 47 Ave. S.W., 3800 block of Beach Dr. S.W., 4400 block of 44 Ave. S.W., 4100 block of S.W. Kenyon St., 1300 block of S.W. Trenton St., 9200 block of Fauntleroy WY S.W., 9200 block of 2 Ave. S.W., 10000 block of 35 Ave. S.W.

Car thefts by block: 1700 block of Alki Ave. S.W., 59 Ave. S.W. / Alki Ave. S.W., 5400 block of 41 Ave. S.W., 7500 block of 15 Ave. S.W., 9000 block of 3 Ave. S.W., 9200 block of 2 Ave. S.W.