Tag Archives: burglary

Latest Neighborhood Crime Prevention Information

This just received from Terrie Johnston, Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coordinator, SPD North Precinct:

Dear Block Captains and Contacts:  SPD and SFD want to remind you that fireworks are illegal in the City of Seattle.  The possession, manufacture, storage, sale, handling and use of fireworks are prohibited.  Fireworks offenses are gross misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.  Fireworks pose a fire hazard to property and present a safety risk to those who use them.  Every year the Seattle Fire Department responds to fireworks-related fires and injuries.  The holiday related fires and injuries are preventable.

Our 9-1-1 center becomes overloaded with non-emergency fireworks calls on the 4th of July.  For this day only, DO NOT call 9-1-1 unless you have a life-threatening emergency and need immediate help from police, fire or medics.  If you know me or my work, you know that it is my constant endeavor to encourage the public to use 9-1-1 to report suspicious circumstances, in addition to reporting crime.  HOWEVER,  my message applies to all days of the year except July 4th.  This is the busiest day of the year for our Call Center. Reports of fireworks; barking dogs; drunken parties; gunshots fired; boating mishaps;  burns, noise complaints, etc. are commonplace during this holiday.  Delays in dispatch are a reality. If possible use the 625-5011 line to report any fireworks violations.

Our car prowl reports continue, and may even increase in numbers during the summer.  I’ve attached a tip sheet for preventing car prowls, which I hope you will find helpful.  I’ve seen reports of car prowls around Carkeek Park and Greenlake, and pretty much throughout the other North Precinct neighborhoods.  Here are some of the items reported stolen in a car prowl this month:  Cameras; clothing; wallets; ID; social security cards; cash; car keys; cell. phones; MP3 player, coins, laptops, suitcases, gym bags, power tools, loaded guns, GPS, catalytic converter, golf clubs  and a  passport.  Try to leave your car empty if possible, and park it in a garage or up in your driveway if you can.

National Night Out will be Tuesday, Aug. 7th this year.  Registration is up and running on our website, www.seattle.gov/police.  Hope you can participate this year.  I am here to help answer any questions you may have about Night Out, Block Watch, crime, etc. 

In an effort to keep you informed and in our constant endeavor to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know that two Level 3 Registered sex offenders have moved onto a block near your North Seattle neighborhood.

Douglas Carter, 46-year-old, black male, 6’3” 220 lbs.  has moved onto the 12000 block of Aurora Ave. N.

Kelly Swanson, 37-year-old, white male, 5’8” 190 lbs. has moved onto the 11000 block of Meridian Ave. N.

Det. Gordon is the detective responsible for verifying their addresses.  Neither of these offenders is under Department of Corrections supervision.  To learn more about these offenders, and for additional safety tips, please visit www.waspc.org and search by their names.  If you have any questions about these offenders, please contact Michelle McRae or Det. Gordon at 684-5581 of our Sex Offender Detail Unit. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Daniel Sims, 206-684-7790, daniel.sims@seattle.gov
Michael May, 206-684-8056, mailto:michael.may@seattle.gov,

Paint Out Graffiti in Your Neighborhood
Summer Paint Out Runs July – August

SEATTLE – Summer is here and Seattleites are gearing up to take part in the anti-graffiti program – Summer Paint Out.

Summer Paint Out, in its second year, runs from July through August.

Whether you are a group or an individual, you can tackle graffiti in your neighborhood. The City of Seattle supports volunteers with FREE paint (white-brown-gray), rollers, brushes, scrapers, and gloves.

Get signed up today. Go to www.seattle.gov/util/SummerPaintOut. You can also e-mail mailto:daniel.sims@seattle.gov or call 206-684-7790.

Supplies can be picked up on the following Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is required first.

July 7
July 21
August 4
August 18

Learn more about Seattle Public Utilities at: www.seattle.gov/util.

Follow SPU on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SeattleSPU.

In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.

-SPU-

Latest Neighborhood Crime Prevention Information

This just received from Terrie Johnston, Neighborhood Crime Prevention Coordinator, SPD North Precinct:

Dear Block Watch Captains/Contacts:  Sending you a few items of interest.

  1. The North Precinct Burglary/Theft Unit continues to follow up on recent burglary arrests done by North Precinct patrol officers, and  due in some part to your watchfulness and good 9-1-1 calls.  The 19 year old serial occupied burglar and auto thief who was hitting the north end neighborhoods hard approx. 8 weeks ago has been charged with nearly 10 years.  He is in jail and won’t be released for a long time. 
  2. A 39-year old, white female was arrested last week for multiple burglaries in the north end, some in which the residents were home at the time of the crime.  She confessed to detectives that she is an addict, and she preferred burglaries to prostitution. She spent the day with detectives showing them houses she had hit.  She told the detectives that she was surprised how many people leave their house keys out in  mailboxes; or on the front porch (she found keys in a pair of shoes on front porch).  Please re-think the hide-away key.  You may think it is unusual to put in under a paving stone, or huge flower pot, etc. but burglars who do this for a living, know our hiding spots.  She also told the detectives that she often looked in the windows and could see the desirable loot in plain sight (purses, cash, electronics).
  3. I talked with a gentleman today who lives in the Maple Leaf neighborhood.  Evidently, yesterday during the glorious weather we had, he was gardening in the front yard.  A thief, unseen by neither the homeowner nor nearby neighbors, entered this home through the unlocked back door and took cash and prescription meds. from a back bedroom.   I know it may be inconvenient to keep your doors locked when you are home and gardening, but these crimes are quick and contribute to our burglary rate increases during summer months.  
  4. The Phinney Ridge blog was filled with reports of suspicious magazine solicitors so I attach information on Residential Sales from the City’s Dept. of Finance and Admin. for your perusal.
  5. National Night Out is coming on August 7th but some block watchers are inquiring about registration already.  J  I will send out an email when the registration information is on the website.

Thanks for sharing this information with your neighbors and distribution lists. My office phone is 684-7711 here at the North Precinct.   Tj

Seattle Police Crime Prevention

206-684-7711

Continue reading Latest Neighborhood Crime Prevention Information

Burglaries, Car Prowls, Vicinity of 13th and 95th

Update July 21st:

A family in the 12XX block of NW 95th St reports their house was also entered the night of the 17th-18th. The woman heard noises in the kitchen and when investigating found a medium height person in a white tee shirt there. She screamed and the intruder left, leaving behind a dark sweatshirt. Police responded, but as yet no report shows up for the incident.

Update July 20th:

The July 17th 10:30 PM incident and the July 18th 3 AM incident now have substantial narratives in the online police reports (click on the links below to retrieve the amended reports).  From those reports, it is clear the incident reported on the MyBallard forum is the July 18 3 AM incident, and the nearby incident was actually near 110th and Phinney. Also the stolen vehicle from that incident was recovered. The July 18th 3 AM incident was classed as a forced entry because a window screen was removed to enter the house. All three incidents involved minimal or no force to enter, and the residences burglarized were occupied at the time.

A number of burglaries have occurred since July 16th in the vicinity of 13th Ave NW and NW 95th Street. Some of the information presented here is preliminary — police report narratives were not yet available, and some of the information is second hand.

We have confirmed three incidents and there may have been a fourth (to see the police reports, you will need to register):

  • Jul 16 2011, 3 PM, reported Jul 18 2011 THEFT-CARPROWL 12XX BLOCK OF NW 95TH ST (Police Report)
  • Jul 17 2011, 10:30 PM, reported Jul 18 2011 BURGLARY-NOFORCE-RES  92XX BLOCK OF 13TH AVE NW (Police Report)
  • Jul 18 2011, 3 AM, reported Jul 18 2011 BURGLARY-FORCE-RES, VEH-THEFT-AUTO 92XX BLOCK OF 13TH AVE NW (Police Report)

There was also a report in the forum at MyBallard.com which may correspond to the third one above. There is an inconsistency in that the police report indicates a forced entry, but the forum posting indicates entry through an open window. The poster also indicates “The police said that there was another house about 3 blocks away that was robbed shortly before ours.” I haven’t found evidence on the police reports website of that event yet.  The MyBallard forum posting has a great last line:  “… and one ‘amazing’ guard dog is now for sale. ”

A few tips:

  • Lock doors and windows when asleep
  • Report ALL suspicious activity on 911 while the activity is happening. When in doubt whether an activity or person is suspicious, report it. The 911 operators will triage the calls. Also it is a good idea to leave your phone number and address, and ask for the responding officer to contact you.
  • If dialing 911 from a cell phone, be VERY clear of your exact location.
  • Get to know your neighbors front, back, to the sides and diagonally as well. That way you can also alert them.
  • Longer term: consider setting up a block watch and having Terrie Johnston conduct a security audit of your home or business.
  • Sign up for and hold a Night Out Against Crime event on Tuesday August 2nd.

A similar or possibly related case occurred a few weeks ago and is reported here. Crown Hill Neighbors held a Crime and Public Safety Community Meeting on June 23rd and the wrapup includes contact information for and tips from Terrie Johnston (Community Crime Prevention Coordinator) and Scott McGlashan (Community Police Team Officer).

If you have more information about any of these events or related events to share, please feel free to email news@crownhillneighbors.org or reply in the comments below. If you reply in the comments, please do not specify the exact address.

Burglary and Auto Theft 900 block of 97th

Looks like we’ve had another burglary and auto theft, this one on 97th between 9th and 12th.  The incident occurred in the late hours of July 1st and the early hours of the 2nd. Robert sent this in earlier today:

Dennis – we got hit hard yesterday.

At apx 1:00 am Saturday morning two teens brazenly entered our home through the front door (left unlocked) while 6 of us were at home sleeping.  They went through three top rooms stealing laptops, keys and then our car.  A neighbor and his girlfriend, next door, spotted them and gave the following description:

2 male teens, latino, closely shaved hair, both w/ black JanSport back packs.

Aprox 1 hour later our car was spotted by a different neighbor violently driving up and down on Dayton Ave.  These neighbors called 911 for over 2 hours with no police response.  The teens eventually blew the front tire but continued to aggressively drive the vehicle on its metal wheels for another 30 minutes. Neighbors [saw] them eventually leave the vehicle and walk back up the street.

Police didn’t arrive till later that morning and alerted us to the whereabouts of the car.  It was damaged, our baby stroller and car seat stolen along with loot from our house.


Please lock your doors, even when home. And most importantly, when you witness suspicious behavior, call 911, give the dispatcher as much information as possible, and ask for an officer to contact you.

SPD Nabs 5 Prolific Burglars

Terrie Johnston, Seattle Police Dept Community Crime Prevention Coordinator reports that there are five fewer burglars in general circulation in the last two weeks. In Crown Hill, and North Seattle in general we have been recently suffered a wave of residential burglaries and even a couple of drive-by shootings. Some of the individuals arrested are suspects in these incidents.

Jeffrey McCaslin, recently featured on Washington’s Most Wanted, was booked into King County Jail on June 1st and is being held. His bail has been set at $190,000. He has been charged with two residential burglaries, and charges are pending in another burglary and for illegal drugs. This individual is suspected in the burglary incident occurring in the 9700 block of 12th Ave NW on April 18th.

The Seattle PI reported that another suspect taken into custody on June 1st is wanted in conjunction with the drive by shooting incident near 85th and 17th on May 18th. The SPD apprehended Joshua Meadows-Mittenen and Michael Christopher Doble in conjunction with a Lake City residential burglary. Mittenen is a felon and serial burglar who is wanted as a suspect in the drive by shooting in the 8300 block of 17th NW on May 18th. A warrant had been issued for Mittenen in this case.

Please remain vigilant, and report suspicious behavior to the SPD.  These arrests were greatly facilitated by citizens calling in with tips and reports of crimes in progress.

The full text of Terrie’s e-mail:

Continue reading SPD Nabs 5 Prolific Burglars