35 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Face-to-face with burglars"

• Farmerbetsy November 19, 2009 (7:30 pm)

  Sorry I was vague. I am still very rattled. Wanted to get Rebecca safe and out of earshot; interviews with police, etc.
  Perp #1 was:
  • Between the ages of 17-24
  • Approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall
  • Very slender build – prominent cheekbones, gangly, slender. Think East African, Ethiopian/Eritrean/Somali, in descent, build and appearance. (Don’t go off on me anyone, I seriously am aware of the physical differences in people from many nations, and when I looked at him, fully aware that he had probably just robbed my neighbor, I was trying to absorb details, and this is what occurred to me).
  • Short hair – curly, not frizzy. Dark black in color, approximately 1.5 centimeters long, but curly.
  • Wearing a jacket, possibly a hoodie, but not a hat or hood over his head
  • Most notably wearing bizarre pants – not terribly baggy, but covered in strange rectangular pockets or patches. The patches were multicolored and had fringes around the edges. The patches were vertical, meaning the long side was up and down.
  • Carrying a LARGE light brown bag – which turned out to be the neighbor’s couch cushion cover.
  • Spoke clear English without a distinct accent. (I said “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” and he said “Visiting my friend.” I said “Your friend who lives there? Is he home?” and he said “Yes” and I said “No he’s not.”)
  As soon as he had passed me he got on the phone. I looked north towards my neighbors house and saw Perp #2 coming up the pathway from the house carrying large light brown bag (couch cushion #2). As soon as he answered the phone/saw me, he turn and raced down the pathway again.

  The perpetrators had broken into my neighbor’s house a few nights ago, falling through a window into the house, startling someone who was home; had cased the house yesterday but were disturbed when my husband yelled at them (and called it in, and also wrote a message to the neighborhood watch), were parked outside of my neighbor’s house a week ago, and have been seen on the street by our other alert neighbor, Sam, several times throughout the week. I hope that is sufficient information.

  I wish there was something more I could do to help my neighbor. He had no insurance.

• KateMcA November 19, 2009 (7:53 pm)

  This is terrible. I am so glad you and your neighbor are OK- at least no one was physically hurt. It just stinks that the police can’t be more proactive about this- an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure in cases like this. Hope the jerks are caught.

• Sean November 19, 2009 (7:53 pm)

  My neighbors’ house on 47th near Andover was burgled sometime today. It appears someone kicked in the back door and filled their pillowcase with jewelry and other valuables. they also took a flat screen television. Door appears to have been busted in with a lot of force. Police are not in a hurry to get here.

• Sean November 19, 2009 (7:55 pm)

  And, very sorry to hear of your misfortune, Betsy… Good to hear that you are OK though.

• Mike November 19, 2009 (8:11 pm)

  WSB, any good ways to help this person who was robbed? Items needed, cash to help with rent, etc.

• neighbor lady November 19, 2009 (9:29 pm)

  Does he have any idea who these guys are? That sort of targeted casing and prowling seems awfully creepy and persistent: as if they had an idea of what they might find inside.

• Sean November 19, 2009 (9:47 pm)

  A squad car is at my neighbor’s house now; I’m a little disappointed it took them three hours to respond and investigate a report of (at least) two felonies. Maybe police are too busy processing all the Driving While License Suspended violations? They certainly have enough manpower to have an officer review each and every red light photo enforcement ticket.

• onceachef November 19, 2009 (10:05 pm)

  Farmerbetsy – Really great “presence of mind” in evaluating the perp’s description and the situation….this should be a great help to the police and to other WS neighbors…kudos to you for being so observant! This is the kind of action that will help stop these break-ins.

• Farmerbetsy November 19, 2009 (10:06 pm)

  Yes, very creepy to know that they have been casing this particular house for days/weeks. We don’t know what made him such a target, it’s certainly not a house that looks pretentious or as if something fancy is going on inside.

• Grazer November 19, 2009 (10:41 pm)

  Last April we caught a group of three West Seattle High students breaking into one of or neighbors home during the middle of the day. According to SPD there is a group of kids/burglars, of East African descent, that are operating out of the school. One of them actually returned a couple days later to rob the same house.
  Get your neighbors together and make a tight little group that keeps each other informed and watches. E-mail lists, phone numbers, and just knowing who your neighbors are is a very powerful tool. It was due to this neighborhood bonding that this little group was able to catch the infamous Skylar Hailey.

• Farmerbetsy November 19, 2009 (10:50 pm)

  Wow. No kidding! isn’t that interesting. anyway the MO sounds the same as you describe!! We were wondering if it could be kids from Sealth which has moved in on Delridge. In general the kids are a wonderful asset to the community …

• old timer November 19, 2009 (11:25 pm)

  Too bad that in spite of seeing these perps a number of times, no camera was ever used.
  Likewise the cars were noted to be up to no good, but no plate numbers were recorded.
  Lessons here for us all.

• Jose November 20, 2009 (12:06 am)

  Interesting that the description of the vehicle is somewhat similar to the one described in the hit-and-run recently.

• Leroniusmonkfish November 20, 2009 (12:10 am)

  Yep Old Timer…

  It doesn’t take much to walk past a vehicle and discretely take a photo of a license plate. Most phones these days have this functionality.

• Shed22 November 20, 2009 (7:43 am)

  I, too, was burglarized last week. They kicked in the back door and ransacked my house, using my pillowcases and my luggage to clear out anything of value. Oddly enough, about a week or two prior, I was outside my house and two african american men drove by in a mid-sized maroon car. The guy in the passenger seat watched me as they drove by and then flashed me some sort of hand sign through the window. Could just be a coincidence. Either way, let’s hope they catch whoever is terrorizing our neighborhood. House is in the Seaview Neighborhood, 49th and Dawson.

• Farmerbetsy November 20, 2009 (7:48 am)

  there ya go, criticizing the victim as usual. I was slapping myself that the phone in my blackberry has been broken for months. Had I a camera, I would have used it. The victim wrote down the plate # of the SUV that was casing him and gave it to the police. The car that sped away at 50 miles an hour was parked 90 yards down the street from my house. Even with my husband’s powerful extrasensory third eyeball, he wasn’t able to simultaneously sprint down the street after the kids, see the plate number, and commit it to memory. Seriously, folks, not all of us victims are utter nincompoops. Sometimes we do the best we can.
  Furthermore, I was four feet away from this man who was much bigger than me. I’m not even 5 feet tall and weigh less than the average fifth grader. My child was in the car. Had he decided to mess with me, I was on the losing end of that battle no matter how you cut it. I had to do the best I could to protect myself and my family. Had I raised my phone up and casually taken a photo of the person — four feet away from me — saying, could you wait a moment while I try to adjust the light on my phone, it’s a bit wonky, I gaurundamntee he would have done something. Hopefully just run away.
  Cut me some slack, will you, Old Timer and monkfish, we did more than most people usually do.

• mark November 20, 2009 (8:37 am)

  Interesting. A few nights ago at approx 1am a Red SUV was driving up and down the street. Called 911. The SUV eventually parked in front of our house, passengers stayed in the vehicle for several minutes before getting out. The same Red SUV has also parked on the opposite corner (ie all the way around the block) before, which would seem odd since parking is always open on the street. Its still parked on the street, no clue what SPD did or if they even checked it out. WSB has my email and I am more than happy to share the Lic plate number.

• the fresh prince November 20, 2009 (9:15 am)

  seems like we are honing in on some suspects atleast. my neighbors house two weeks ago…kicked in the back door, used pillow cases to carry the items..during the middle of the day. Let’s catch these guys!
  probably not as easy to find a maroon SUV as it is a white Datsun B10.

• k2 November 20, 2009 (9:41 am)

  hey betsy where on 26th? We live right near the brandon cross street.

• WSB November 20, 2009 (9:52 am)

  GREAT to see so many people hoping to help.
  .
  Just a note, do NOT share potential suspects’ names/specific addresses/full license plate numbers here. So far no problems but I want to head that off. If you have provided info to police, you have done due diligence, but please don’t just provide info here and NOT contact law enforcement – that’s not an official report.
  .
  Thanks AGAIN to everyone who is caring and keeping an eye out. You know that’s cracked a lot of cases.
  .
  TR

• Farmerbetsy November 20, 2009 (9:53 am)

  26th just north of Graham, near the dead end.
  The victim has the license plate # of the red SUV. Please, Mark, call the police and tell them the plate #. if it is the same plate # surely they will do something. But call it in. The police officer was apologizing profusely that he didn’t have enough officers to send when we called in the prowler originally and was obviously bitter about the budget cuts. They are in such a bind.

• mark November 20, 2009 (10:42 am)

  I would never post that info, esp if I don’t have all the facts. I did email WSB the vehicle and plate number if they want to share it with the victim. Last time I called SPD for a non emergency it took 3+ hours for a response….

• Farmerbetsy November 20, 2009 (11:13 am)

  no, obviously, you are not going to post a random person’s plate number. But if you are suspicious, do call it in. Yeah, they are totally going to not show up and take a report blah blah blah, but, the more information they have, they more tools they have to nail someone for a pattern of behavior. So if your red SUV is our red SUV, and it’s a gang of folks cruising around looking for XBOXs to steal … and everyone sends in a suspicious vehicle report to the SPD with tag #s … and it’s the same tag #… it’s going to catch up with the perps.
  I felt confident in posting all of my info because I saw the creep up close holding stolen goods.

• burglarbustindad November 20, 2009 (12:07 pm)

  Good Job Farmerbetsy

  The system can work, but we need to be involved and watch out for our neighbors.
  It is hard to believe how bold these guys are, I hope it leads to their capture.
  My burglar pled guilty and got 12 months and a day for his second felony burglary. He is now at the prison facility in Shelton.

• MAV November 20, 2009 (12:12 pm)

  Having been a victim recently of a break-in any and all information is helpful. I continue to be so worried they will come back a 2nd time. I have 2 indoor only cats and their safety is the only thing that matters.

• WSB November 20, 2009 (12:33 pm)

  BBD, that’s new news. I’d been watching him on the jail register but didn’t know he’d pleaded – will go check the court docs. Thanks for the update (you all may recall, that’s the famous caught-at-Coinstar case) – e-mail me if there’s anything more you’d want to say in a separate update!
  editor@wsb.blackfin.biz
  .
  TR

• mark November 20, 2009 (12:38 pm)

  Do you have a case/incident #? It would be a lot easier that way.

• CJ November 20, 2009 (12:39 pm)

  Good job, Farmerbetsy! I think it was very brave of you to question them, although I’m glad you didn’t put yourself in danger.

• sealocks November 20, 2009 (3:48 pm)

  FYI…Our neighbor was broken into two weeks ago (I don’t think he gets on this blog). The intruder kicked in his door, doing significant damage, and just took what he/she could carry apparently – some jewelry and a guitar. We’re on 48th between Spokane and Charleston.

• looking for logic November 21, 2009 (10:33 am)

  I took a defense course 20 + years ago and what the former FBI agent stressed was not getting into a dangerous situation to begin with. It takes a lot more time and energy to deal with a situation after the fact, than to avoid it in the beginning.
  Going to add 2 deep screw deadbolts to my back door. I have posted previously that all of my windows all have climbing roses planted under them. I have a lot of roses planted around the perimeter of my fence. I have landscape lighting. I have taken photos of people that come to my door soliciting and they TRY to make me feel defensive and guilty, but I’m very matter of fact. When you are on a public street let alone my property I can take photos of you. The gas meter reader was kind of erratic in his rounds and I went out and photographed him and watched him. I stood outside arms crossed and took a few minutes and just watched him. I have found it very effective to let someone know that I have sized them up, I’ll take photos of license plates and of them. If I was in your neighborhood just walking and you sized me up, I would comprehend that you are paying attention.

  Start paying attention, take photos, take notes, don’t feel defensive or guilty. Last year a man returned home unexpectedly and was fatally shot by teenagers. This time of year can be very difficult for some people and they are going to steal to make a living.

• Jill Loblaw November 21, 2009 (9:16 pm)

  Farmerbetsy: I am sorry you had to suffer this event in your life and am glad you did not get hurt.

  Looks like it is time to get the old block watches activated. Our block is meeting soon to discuss some recent activity in our neighborhood near Charlestown and California streets. Such a shame that people cannot keep their hands off of others property.

• Leroniusmonkfish November 22, 2009 (5:41 am)

  Farmerbetsy,

  Sorry, I wasn’t criticizing your efforts. I worked from home in WS for 6yrs and always looked out for my neighbors and reported a few car thieves using my street as a spot to drop-off and/or “part” the vehicle(s).

  I had an issue when I lived in Queen Anne that I spent months using a camcorder to finally catch the POS. Yes, if you screw with me I will take the time to find you…

• MargL November 23, 2009 (5:27 pm)

  Aww – http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/186098.asp

• Farmerbetsy November 27, 2009 (5:25 pm)

  The West Seattle Herald reports the follow up to this story here http://www.westseattleherald.com/2009/11/23/news/police-blotter-week-11-23-09
  seems there was a reason the punks were focusing on my neighbor and not, say, me.

• Dave Brown December 17, 2009 (1:08 pm)

  we were also burglarized on 12/10, by 3 East African Teenagers. One confessed, so hopefully it’s a matter of time before they are caught. The detective said we’d probably never get our stuff back, though — the kids sell it amongst themselves, or to others in their community.

Sorry, comment time is over.