Just in via text, the second F-350 theft we’ve heard about this week:
Unfortunately, the West Seattle Rock Club show had a sad ending — one of our vendors had his truck stolen at 3:55 today from the Masonic Hall parking lot. 1999 green F-350 with silver canopy. License plate # (updated) B54044H. Stolen by thieves in a copper-colored truck with a triangle on the tailgate.
Call 911 if you see it. Police incident # is 24-115274.
That van belongs to Alex, who reports via email: “I came home from work on Saturday (4/28), to find out my van was stolen from 42nd Ave SW, just off of Juneau. It’s a blue 2004 Chevy Astro van with black wheels and black front bumper. License plate number CFH2656.” Police report # 24-114825. Call 911 if you see it.
Thomas J. Garrett, known to those who loved him as “Tommy Joe,” was the 81-year-old man killed by a hit-run driver this past Monday night at 15th/Roxbury. Family members gathered there for a vigil this afternoon.
His daughter told us Mr. Garrett lived on Capitol Hill much of his life and went to Garfield High School with Jimi Hendrix. He himself was a musician and his career included many achievements including work as a TV-news photographer. His nephew talked more about Mr. Garrett’s life as traffic roared by on Roxbury:
His family says they don’t know why Mr. Garrett was in the area Monday night. They do know King County Sheriff’s Office deputies have yet to find his killer and are still seeking information on this vehicle (as reported here Thursday):
Call 800-222-TIPS if you have any information. Meantime, they are planning a memorial for him at a Buddhist temple in the Central District. And they want to ensure no one forgets him, or what happened here.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 1:46 AM SATURDAY: What started as a report about a fight east of Schmitz Park has turned into a gunfire investigation. Police have told dispatch they’ve found at least one casing in the 3000 block of Garlough SW (vicinity map). No reports of injuries but officers have told dispatch this might be related to an attempted auto theft. No other details so far.
ADDED TUESDAY: Here’s the police-report summary:
At approximately 0130 hours, multiple callers reported that six people were in a physical altercation in the area of Garlough Av SW and SW Hanford St, when one of the parties involved fired a gun. All participants were said to have then fled in a vehicle, traveling northbound. Officers arrived and canvassed the area for evidence, finding a spent shell casing. There was no indication that anyone was shot and an area check for possible suspects met with negative results.
3:05 PM: If you’re noticing police activity in the Westwood Village/Roxhill Park area, it’s because of a shoplift-turned-robbery at the shopping center. According to the dispatch, Ross security tried to stop a shoplifter, who subsequently flashed a gun. They were last seen heading toward Roxhill Park. We haven’t heard a description so far. The Guardian One helicopter is arriving to help with the search.
3:08 PM: According to the description just given to the helicopter crew, they’re looking for a “light-skinned Black man, 25-30, 5’10”, medium build, black face cover, black hoodie with a tie-dye shirt.”
3:22 PM: No one matching that description was in view from the air, so the helicopter has moved on.
5:48 PM: Commenters say the robbery was at Marshalls, not Ross, though the latter is what was initially dispatched. A final written report won’t be available before Monday.
1988 4Runner STOLEN!!! Please keep an eye out for my truck! It occurred at around 4 am on Friday morning the 19th. It was parked across the street from Fauntleroy Park on SW Barton/SW Henderson when it was stolen. They drove it east on Barton up toward 35th when they took off. It wasn’t super dirty like in the pic when it was taken but please use it as a reference. Plate CV1083A. It is light blue with a black top and hood, and rhino coating on part of the detachable hardtop, tops of doors, as well as the rear storage area inside. Newer camo interior, sunroof, and Grey dash. Please, please contact the police and reference incident # 2024-105705 if you see it. My dad is the reason I was able to get this truck and he has since passed. It is very special to me.
FENCING THIEF: The owners of the ex-Midas site at 4457 Fauntleroy Way SW had fenced it off for environmental cleanup. Then on Sunday, just before 6 pm, a man went onto the property, started removing clamps from the fencing, stacked the panels up, and drove a vehicle in to take them away.
Here’s an image of the thief.
And the vehicle’s rear end and plate:
If you have any information, you can refer to police report # 24-906637.
Side note: Regarding the site’s future post-cleanup, we asked about a notation in city files that it might become a Sherwin-Williams paint store. That’s one possibility, the owners say, but there’s “no lease or commitment” and the site could go to “another interested business.”
After multiple 911 calls about suspected gunfire in South Delridge, police looking for evidence have found some – one casing so far, which an officer told dispatch he found in the 1400 block of SW Henderson. No injuries or property damage reported so far.
2:25 AM: Almost three weeks ago, we reported that a woman had been attacked and robbed at the Westwood Village Rite-Aid, and followed up with a report on the charges filed against the 13-year-old arrested shortly after the attack. On Wednesday, SPD released this video of both the incident and the arrest:
The SPD post featuring the video did not include any case information beyond what we reported back when this happened. As we noted in our first follow-up report, the suspect already had two warrants out for his arrest before the Rite Aid incident, including one related to a business robbery and assault in Normandy Park in September that had been the subject of TV-news reports because of security video. The other was for a stolen-car case in Renton in October. He also was wanted for escape after cutting his home-detention bracelet and leaving home six days after being released from secure detention back in February.
So here’s what court documents say has happened since our last report:
-He’s been charged with second-degree robbery for this month’s Westwood Rite Aid incident.
-He’s been charged with second-degree escape for cutting off the monitoring device and leaving home in February
-He’s been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle for another October incident in Renton, this one involving a Kia Soul stolen from Auburn
With all that, the suspect is now charged with five felonies. He’s still in secure detention and is due in court today (Thursday) to be arraigned on the three newest felony charges. We’ll update when we find out what happens.
4:48 PM: Court documents from today’s brief hearing say Judge Kristin Richardson ordered the suspect to remain in custody. His next hearing is scheduled for May 9.
Tonight SPD published a request for help in solving a possible kidnapping reported along SW Roxbury two weeks ago. From SPD Blotter:
Seattle Police are seeking the public’s assistance for any information about a woman that was forced into a truck in a West Seattle neighborhood.
On April 10th, the Seattle Police Department received 911 calls regarding a woman being forced into a truck. The location of the incident was Southwest Roxbury Street near White Center.
Police responded to the scene, and quickly located the suspected vehicle. Officers stopped the truck at 14th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Roxbury Street. When officers went to contact the occupants of the truck, it fled the scene.
Officers pursued and lost sight of the truck as it traveled southbound onto Highway 509.
The attached photos are from the SPD traffic stop and Metro Transit buses that were in the area at the time of incident.
If you have any information about this case, please call SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
11:29 AM: That’s the vehicle whose driver hit and killed an 81-year-old man at 15th/Roxbury on Monday night, as previously reported here., according to the King County Sheriff’s Office, which just released the photo with this request for help:
Case#: C24013796
On Monday, April 22nd, just after 10:00 PM, the King County Sheriff’s Office received 911 calls reporting a hit and run just south of the intersection of SW Roxbury Street and 15th Ave SW in unincorporated White Center.
On arrival, deputies located the victim, an adult male in his 80s. The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he later was pronounced deceased.
KCSO’s Major Accident Response & Reconstruction (MARR) detectives are asking for the community’s help in locating the fleeing vehicle. The suspected vehicle (picture attached) is described as a silver, 2007-2016 Jeep Compass with front-end damage to the grill and hood.
If you have any information about the incident or were in the area and may have dash camera footage, call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit P3Tips.com, or use the P3 Tip App. Tips are anonymous.
4:12 PM: The King County Medical Examiner’s Office released the victim’s name this afternoon: Thomas J. Garrett.
WEEKEND ROBBERIES: We hadn’t heard about these two holdups within a matter of minutes early Sunday until Seattle Police released weekend summaries today. Both were reported to police around 4:30 am, and investigators believe the same robbers might be responsible for both. One robbery happened at the 35th/Avalon 7-11; seven people entered, approached the register and demanded that the clerk open it. They took money and merchandise and left in “an unknown vehicle.” The other robbery happened at a bus stop at California/Fauntleroy; the victim said a black sedan pulled up and five people got out. One showed a gun; the other punched the victim in the face. They took his belongings, got back in their car, and were last seen westbound on Fauntleroy. No descriptive info on the robbers. The store robbery is case 24-107877; the bus-stop robbery is case 24-107875.
HAMMERED CAR: This one is a reader report about a vandalism attack on 45th SW in Fauntleroy:
At around 10 AM this morning, a tall slender blonde-haired male looking to be in his 20s was seen putting a hammer through the windshield of my Mazda Miata and walking away. This happened nearly at the corner of Director St and 45th, and very close to Wildwood Market. If anyone saw anything, any information would be helpful. This act appears to be random as (the victim) has no known contacts in Seattle and is very new to the area.
Our locked gray Ford F-350 diesel truck was stolen from in front of our home this morning. Near Morgan and 38th Avenue. License plate D27510A. Police case # 24-110012.
ABANDONED-PROBABLY-STOLEN BIKE: From Mark:
We found an abandoned bike in our alley near Solstice Park, I would guess stolen but looks to have been used hard recently as both tires are now flat. If there is an owner out there, would love for them to get it back.
ORIGINAL SATURDAY NIGHT REPORT: This alert was just relayed over Seattle Police radio – King County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a reported carjacking outside Domino’s Pizza at 17th/Roxbury. Three armed carjackers are reported to have arrived in a white pickup and taken off in both that vehicle and the newly stolen white Toyota Camry, westbound on SW Roxbury. The only description of the carjackers so far: white men in their 20s with goatees and black hats. If you have any info for investigators, call 911.
ADDED MONDAY: We just checked with King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Eric White for an update. He tells us this actually happened in the O’Reilly Auto Parts lot while the victim was sleeping inside the car. Then on Sunday, Seattle Police found the car in the 9700 block of Myers Way South and arrested one person, according to Sgt. White, who had no further details on the circumstances of the arrest. We’ll be following up with SPD.
One day after the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against the two teenage boys arrested in a Burien ravine after Friday’s armed carjacking in a West Seattle alley, both were arraigned this afternoon. The 15- and 17-year-old suspects both pleaded not guilty, and Judge Veronica Galvan agreed with prosecutors that both should remain in juvenile detention. The next hearing for the younger suspect is a week from today; the older suspect’s next hearing is May 7th. Both are charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful gun possession, and second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission (related to the Audi carjacked in West Seattle); the 15-year-old is also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle (related to the Hyundai in which they arrived at the carjacking location).
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed felony charges today against the two teenage boys arrested in a Burien ravine last Friday night after an armed carjacking in a West Seattle alley. They are 15 and 17, and both are charged as juveniles, so we are not publishing their names. Both suspects are charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful gun possession, and second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission (in reference to the Audi carjacked in West Seattle); the 15-year-old is also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle (in reference to the Hyundai, stolen in Federal Way, in which they arrived at the carjacking location). The charging documents say both had handguns, one with an extended magazine, as they approached the victims, a woman and man, demanding their phones and other items. Prosecutors say that officers found two guns – one in a backpack along the search trail, the other – a so-called “ghost gun” with an extended magazine and “auto-switch” – on the Hyundai’s floorboard. While searching the ravine, police also found other items described as resembling what the carjackers were seen wearing in security video that recorded the robbery in an alley near 35th/Roxbury – including black balaclavas and blue medical-style gloves. Both suspects remain in custody, and are scheduled for arraignment tomorrow afternoon. (Checking King County court records, the 15-year-old has one conviction, for fourth-degree assault, in a case from last fall that just ended with a guilty plea a month ago, while the 17-year-old does not appear to have a record.)
ORIGINAL 1:23 AM REPORT: Police found evidence of gunfire – multiple shell casings – outside an apartment building in the 2400 block of SW Webster, just west of the Southwest Precinct and Home Depot, around quarter till 1 this morning. Several 911 callers reported hearing shots just after 12:30 am, and one pinpointed a specific building, according to dispatch, saying they believed the shots came from the second floor of that building. No injuries or property damage reported so far.
UPDATE, NOON: We heard another response to the same building a few hours later and just obtained information from SPD:
At about 2:27 a.m., police returned to the shots fired scene in the 2400 block of Southwest Webster Street where shell casings were found. A new 911 call had been made at the apartment building. Officers contacted people in a unit. They found a man and woman with injuries. Police developed probable cause and arrested the man for domestic violence felony harassment. Officers obtained a search warrant and recovered a handgun. The 23-year-old man was booked into the King County Jail.
“All these changes are good, but where is the student voice in this?”
That was said by one of the few students at tonight’s community-safety forum at Chief Sealth International High School, three months after a student’s shooting death at nearby Southwest Pool/Teen Life Center.
“There needs to be more communication with the students …we’ve been kind of left in the dark,” continued the student, Satomi. “We need to hear ‘we understand that this is tough’ … even for a middle-schooler, they understand the loss, that a sibling or friend could be gone at any time … this is a huge issue because of gun violence.”
Communication was the intent of the forum, organized by the Chief Sealth PTSA and featuring an onstage panel with school and city officials – along with Sealth principal Ray Morales and adjacent Denny International Middle School‘s principal Mary Ingraham, panelists were Seattle Public Schools‘ regional executive director of schools Chris Carter and executive director of operations Marni Campbell, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Martin Rivera, City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s district-relations director Leyla Gheisar, and Seattle Parks‘ interim recreation-division director Brian Judd and interim deputy superintendent Daisy Catague.
To Satomi’s point, the panel did not include a single student. But the event was intended to listen as well as inform, Morales explained, describing it as a “continuation of a listening session with mostly East African families back on February 1st,” a little over a week after 15-year-old Mobarak Adam‘s death in a restroom at the pool/teen center, Seattle’s first homicide of 2024, for which no one has been arrested.
(Added: WSB photo, stolen car abandoned at 42nd/Andover)
5:20 PM: Thanks for the texts. Police are searching for a suspect wanted for among other things eluding and hit-run in Admiral. He was reported to be driving a white Crown Victoria, no plates, which police have reported finding at 42nd/Andover and have confirmed to have been stolen. Before being abandoned there, the vehicle is reported to have been involved in a hit-run near Hiawatha, at Walnut/Stevens. The suspect is reportedly on foot, and all we have is a partial description – white man, bald, glasses, dark hoodie or jacket. We’re trying to find out more.
5:26 PM: The Guardian One helicopter will be joining the search. The suspect was last seen southbound from where the stolen car was abandoned – a few more descriptive details: White or Hispanic, in his early 30s, 6′, 200-250 pounds, bald, glasses, dark top.
5:37 PM: After a possible sighting near 45th/Stevens, the search has moved there, including the helicopter. … Police tell us this all started in North Admiral, in an alley in the 2100 block of California.
6:05 PM: No updates since then. The search has apparently dead-ended for now and that’s why the helicopter moved on.
Followups on two incidents on which we reported in the past three days:
CARJACKING ARRESTS: On Friday night, we reported on the arrest of two suspects in Burien after a pursuit and search that began after a carjacking in an alley near 35th/Roxbury. This afternoon the two suspects appeared in juvenile court; the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office argued that both should remain in detention, and the judge agreed. We have no further information about the suspects or the case yet; unlike adults’ first court appearances, police-report narratives are not made available after juveniles’ initial hearings, and while we requested information directly from SPD first thing this morning, we have not yet received it. Prosecutors’ deadline for filing charges in this case is Wednesday.
BURGLARY ARREST: On Saturday, we reported on the arrest of a man suspected of breaking into a house on Sylvan Way. He also appeared in court this afternoon, and after finding probable cause to hold him, a judge set bail at $50,000. According to the probable-cause document, the suspect is 53 years old. The document tells a slightly different story of what happened than what a neighbor initially reported: The resident told police he had left home and locked up at 7;45 pm Friday; he returned at 10:45 am Saturday and found an intruder in his home. He asked the intruder to leave and then noticed some items were missing; he called police, and they found the suspect right outside the house when they arrived. An initial check of records includes he has prior burglary arrests.
9:58 PM: Police are blocking 35th between Roxbury and Barton, and Roxbury east of 35th, after a report of gunfire in the area, possibly coming from a person in an apartment building. No injuries reported.
10:41 PM: The roads are still blocked. Meantime, officers have reported detaining someone who might have involved.
11:10 PM: Officers told dispatch they were “wrapping up,” after checking the apartment from which the suspected gunfire came, and traffic cameras show the streets open again. We don’t know what if any evidence they found, nor whether the detained person was arrested, but we’ll be following up.
If you saw that police response toward the east end of Sylvan Way this morning, it was for a home-burglary investigation. The neighbor who sent the photo reports someone broke into the house after 10:30 am, apparently via an unlocked door, while the resident was asleep. The suspect was taken into custody, according to the neighbor, who reports, “Our neighbor is fine, just very shaken up.” The SPD incident # is 24-099963. We’ll be following up.
That photo is from early this morning, after police responded to a burglary at Alki Mail and Dispatch (4701 SW Admiral Way). Proprietor Bree sent the report, photo, and videos, and a request for customers who might have been affected:
I’m very sad to report that we were the victims of a break-in at 5:12 am this morning. There had been 2 previous failed attempts to make entry in the last few months (the 2nd time only being about 2 weeks ago) but apparently 3rd time was the charm.
From our early assessment … they grabbed 6 packages that were logged in for our personal mailbox holders, and from what we can tell, about 15-20 outbound prepaid parcels that had been dropped off by customers to go out, mostly UPS and a few FedEx. This is where our trouble lays, as we unfortunately don’t have a way of knowing who’s prepaid drop offs were taken. I feel so horrible that these awful people stole not only from me but from my customers! They also grabbed a bunch of my Alki T-shirts and hoodies, a few other knickknacks and, strangely, all of the Snapples from my beverage cooler!
I believe it may have been 3-4 people … They were men that all appear to be dressed in construction gear. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any of their faces, although one did appear to have long dark hair. From what Officer Carey (the responding policeman) said, it appears they used a pry tool of some sort to gain entry. Thankfully there’s no damage.
My biggest concern is trying to locate customers who dropped off their prepaid outgoing parcels. If anyone dropped off a package after 4 pm on 4/12/24, please contact us either at our email staff@alkimail.com or call us at 206-932-2556 or to stop in and speak with us.
Bree says one box has already been found, empty. (added) Police report # is 24-099757.
8:29 PM: Police have been pursuing suspects through south West Seattle, White Center, and Burien after a carjacking. While the stolen vehicle is reported to be a white Audi, officers have been pursuing another vehicle believed to be related, a dark gray Hyundai Tucson reported stolen from Federal Way. We don’t yet know exactly where the carjacking happened. The Guardian One helicopter has been assisting; the suspects reportedly have just abandoned the Hyundai in north Burien, with a ground search ensuing too.
(WSB photo added: Police on 35th while investigating nearby carjacking)
8:38 PM: We found police who could confirm to us where the carjacking happened: Alley behind residences in the 9200 block of 35th SW. (The car stolen there was described as a white Audi SQ5; we believe that was traced to south White Center.) Meantime, the ground/air search in north Burien continues.
8:43 PM: Officers have just reported taking one person into custody. They’re searching for the other, in the Salmon Creek Ravine area. Both carjackers were reported to be armed at the time of the original incident.
10:30 PM: The search ended during a gap in our live monitoring due to (a) a change in radio channels and (b) us having to step away from the desk for a short time. So far in trying to catch up with radio recordings, we’ve heard officers report that a stolen gun was recovered, as was a backpack, as were two ski masks, and that the carjacked white Audi (found because of tracking) has already been impounded. What we’re not finding yet: The status of the second suspect.
10:59 PM: Listening to county emergency-radio archives, it sounds like the second suspect was bitten by a police dog and taken for treatment. We will of course follow up on all this with police and prosecutors Monday, but will update sooner if any additional information emerges over the weekend.
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