Here’s a little roundup of crime reports we’ve received in the last couple of days.
Julie reports that several garbage cans were rifled this morning on NW 87th between 6th and 8th NW. Lids were removed and garbage strewn all around.
Nyasha reports that someone broke into his vehicle Monday night at 86th and 6th. They rifled through papers in the glove compartment and took an iPod. The car was on the street. The windows were not broken and for some reason the alarm didn’t go off.
Jennifer reports that early Monday morning, someone broke into her minivan and stole the stereo. The car was parked in front of their house on Greenwood and 59th. The alarm went off but the thief got away. They reported it to the police, who took the report over the phone.
So, here’s a question for PhinneyWood readers. Some people complain that we write about crime too often, while others complain that we don’t cover every incident. How would you like to see smaller crimes like this reported on PhinneyWood? Should we do a weekly roundup? Should we dedicate a special Forum listing just for crime? What ideas do you have for better crime reporting?
Thanks to audience feedback, we’re expanding what started out as a graffiti reporting map to now include the opportunity for you to report potholes, burned out streetlights, problems with signs, broken sidewalks and other public infrastructure issues that the city of Seattle says can be fixed in short order.
Report issues to the city using the links and phone numbers you’ll find on the map page. Then tag the map with your report. When the issue is resolved, update it on the map. The aim of this tool is to highlight local issues and the city’s responsiveness in addressing these concerns.
According to the city, it’s their goal to have potholes repaired in two business days, burned out streetlights fixed in 10 business days and graffiti removed from private property in 10 days after the owner has been contacted. The map can be used to see how well the city is doing at meeting those goals.
If you have any feedback on the map, post a comment, or send us a note at tips@phinneywood.com. We’re also looking for a more catchy name for this service, so share your ideas.
The Seattle Police Department says the suspect who allegedly drove his car into a North Seattle house and then assaulted an officer on Feb. 10, has been arrested in San Diego. From the SPD Blotter:
On March 2nd, the suspect wanted for the assault of a Seattle Police officer in North Seattle on February 10th, was taken into custody in San Diego, Californina, as he was attempting to cross the border back into the United States from Mexico. The Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (PNWFAT) worked tirelessly in their pursuit of Steve C. Hyatt. The PNWFAT is a U.S. Marshals-sponsored partnership comprised of investigators from the King County Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Police Department, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Washington State Department of Corrections, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Task Force was formed to concentrate apprehension efforts to remove federal, state and local fugitives from the streets. The Task Force objective is to disrupt illegal gang, gun and drug activity in the Pacific Northwest and to reduce the amount of violence in the region.
Hyatt, 33, is currently being held in the San Diego County Jail awaiting extradition proceedings.
SeattleCrime.com is reporting that Julie McCoy, the chief of staff for Seattle Mayor (and Greenwood resident) Mike McGinn, had her house broken into last night while her family slept. The house is near Carkeek, just north of Greenwood.
The burglars made off with two cars, a 2008 BMW X5 and a 2005 GMC Yukon, owned by McCoy and her husband Bill Broadhead, owner of the consulting firm the Mercury Group.
Seattle Police Department spokesman Sean Whitcomb says the Yukon was recovered at 85th and Ashworth near Greenlake.
Here’s an outrageous story of a drug deal in broad daylight in Ballard/Whittier Heights on Sunday.
I live at 75th and 17th. This morning around 11:00, I was walking my dog and 3 year old. When we approached our house, there was an SUV parked in front; one guy was standing on our lawn, spitting and looking around. The other guy in the car was talking at us in a weird, derogatory way (”nice kid, nice dog”).
I got my daughter and dog inside without acknowledging them. I then watched them through my living room window. 10 minutes later, another car approached, the guy from the first car who had been on our lawn went up to the passenger side and there was an exchange. The second car sped off and he ran back to the SUV and they left.
Right in the middle of a sunny Sunday at lunchtime.
I took down the license plate of the SUV and called 911. Since I never see any police in this neighborhood, I have no faith they will do anything. I am outraged and would ask MyBallard/Phinneywood to publish this license plate number as a public service to the community. 337 M** (Editors Note: We are not showing the final two letters, because we can’t publish full license plate numbers as that opens us up to liability for defamation.)
I don’t know why so many here are so passive about the crime elements that comfortably go about their business in these parts with no fear of reprisal from law enforcement or otherwise. I’m really sick of it.
Phinney and Greenwood residents have frequently reported similar incidents - though not as egregious as someone actually standing on their front lawn while conducting criminal business. The general concensus from readers has been to call the police, and get the license plate and other descriptive information. While the police will probably not show up, having a report will let the police better track problem areas over time.
A neighbor just over the Greenwood line in Crown Hill tells us about some audacious thieves digging up trees right out of their yards.
Early Monday morning, Feb 16, a number of items were stolen out of people’s yards on 11th Ave NW, between NW 85th St and NW 87th St. Some people on 10th Ave NW and 12th Ave NW were also affected. My neighbor heard something around 3:30 am, so it might have been then. My neighbor and I filed a police report..What we know so far:
1. In my yard, two of my favorite conifers (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Wissel’s Saguro’, 2′ and 5′) were dug up right out of the ground and stolen. A shovel was left in each hole. One shovel was taken from someone on the next street over, and the other was from across the street and up a few houses. Heavy footprints in planting beds and dirt on the fence indicated where they climbed the fence to my neighbor’s yard. My furniture dolly I haven’t used for months was rolled across the lawn and left in a different location - it looked like they tried to take some planted containers but likely changed their minds when they found how ridiculously heavy they are.
2. My next door neighbor had a 3 foot bonsai stolen that he had been working on for over 10 years. He also had a nice 3-tier plant stand taken, and a second bonsai was ruined and left 2 houses down.
3. A third neighbor had a patio table stolen.
4. Another neighbor had a seating bench stolen.
5. Two more neighbors had ladders against their houses that were moved up against back fences.
If you had anything stolen that night, have any information on who did it, had things moved around your yard, or have seen these items turn up near you, please report it to the police so it’s on the record in case of future reoccurances.
Update: Q13 ran a story on this case after seeing it here on PhinneyWood.
We got a note today from a woman who witnessed mail being stolen at Dayton Avenue North and North 100th Street.
070W** — This is the Wa plate number of a white four door car witnessed to have driven up to a mailbox, hardly a block behind the postal truck, took the mail and u-turned to head away North on Dayton.
There were 4 people in the car, age range… possibly 20s. Two white males, two white females. Please report to the police any time you see mail being stolen. This continues to be an ongoing and increasing issue not just in this area but all over.
(Editor’s note: The last two letters of the license plate have been deleted. We can’t publish full identifying information like that - unless it’s provided by the police - because it opens us up to liability.)
We’ve written about graffiti in our area a couple times now, including a recent spate in late December. And we’ve added a page telling you how to report it to the city and track it on a public map in a crowdsourcing experiment.
We are now working with the Seattle Times and its news partners on a graffiti-related piece, so we’re putting some questions out to you: What are your thoughts on graffiti in Greenwood and Phinney Ridge? Where are the trouble spots? Is graffiti becoming a growing problem? What can be done to stop taggers?
Our favorite scanner-hound, Silver, tells us that police are tracking a suspect from a possible hit-and-run accident at N. 87th Street and Greenwood Ave. N 90th Street and Meridian Avenue. That accident happened about 1:08 a.m.
Silver is posting scanner updates on the situation in the forum.
Update: Media reports say a man crashed a car into a house, then ran off. During a chase, the man allegedly assaulted a police officer and tried to take her gun away.
A man dubbed the “Grab-N-Go” bandit after allegedly robbing a convenience store in the 10200 block of Aurora Avenue North on Jan. 18, was arrested in downtown Greenwood Sunday night.
This is from the Seattle Police Department blotter:
On January 31st at around 10 p.m., members of the North Precinct Anti-Crime Team spotted the 25-year-old man in the 100 block of NW 85th Street. After a short foot pursuit, the suspect was taken into custody. At the time, he was only armed with a knife. Detectives interviewed the suspect and booked him into King County Jail for multiple counts of Investigation of Robbery.
Robbery suspect at large - On 01/28/10, just shortly before 11:00 p.m., the suspect entered a store in the 10400 block of Greenwood Ave N. and requested a pack of cigarettes. When the clerk opened the till, the suspect reached over and took money from the cash register.
When the clerk confronted the suspect, the suspect claimed he had a gun. No gun was observed. The suspect fled the store on foot in an unknown direction.
After getting yelled at by a passerby, PhinneyWood reader mbf posed the question of whether it’s OK for you to let your dog sniff around someone else’s yard when you’re out for a walk. Several people quickly chimed in with suggested etiquette. If you’d like to weigh in too, see the discussion in the forum.
And there are a number of crime-related threads, including one that asks, “are we too focused on neighborhood crime?” It’s sparked some great debate that’s giving me food for thought, for what it’s worth. You can see it here.
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