A Ballard teen had a sleepover with six guests (some of whom, she told officers, she didn't know well). The next morning, the visitors seemed to be in a hurry to leave. The hostess later discovered that her computer was missing.

A female jogger reports that while she was on her regular early morning run on Sept. 16, she encountered a man masturbating near the 3200 block of Northwest 70th Street.

Late Wednesday, four armed men were able to gain access to a locked apartment building in the 8600 block of 3rd Northwest. They then knocked on one apartment door and assaulted and tied up the two people inside. (The victims said they didn't understand why they were targeted. Nor did they understand some of the references the suspects were making, for example, “Say hello to XXX.”) The suspects stole a shotgun before leaving the scene. Police interviewed neighbors, who said they hadn't heard the disturbance.

In the 400 block of North 59th, a sharp-eyed neighbor not only spotted a car prowl in progress, but he provided a perfect description of the suspect, who had ridden off on a bicycle. Officers approaching the scene on Phinney saw a likely culprit pedaling away down the avenue and held him. After being positively identified (and after officers found some of the victim's items in a bag), the 48-year-old Ballard resident was booked into King County Jail for investigation of vehicle prowl and theft.

On Wednesday evening, a man was buying beer at a store in the 900 block of Northwest Leary. As he exited, a stranger grabbed him by the shirt, spun him around, and challenged him to go outside and fight. The victim wasn't aware anything that might have upset the man.

When a 51-year-old patient at a care facility locked himself in a community room, staffers ordered him to open the door. When he did, nurses found a fabric noose dangling from the ceiling. The man leapt onto a chair, put his head in then noose, and threatened to kill himself if he wasn't left alone. Officers and medics arrived and secured the man, who swore, screamed, and was combative with police (but not the medical personnel). He was eventually transported to University Medical Center for a mental examination.

Up on Northwest 58th and 15th Northwest, an officer became suspicious when a witness came up to provide facts about a car accident in which both drivers claimed the other was at fault. (The witness said he had observed the incident from an address that was several blocks away.) After providing contact information to the officer he left the scene. He also refused to return to the scene after the officer ran a computer check and found out that he was not only the husband of one of the drivers, but that they were living together at the local address in violation of a no-contact order she had against him. The officer has requested that both the husband and wife be investigated for obstruction and that the husband needs to be investigated for violation of the order.

Burglaries/break-ins/car prowls by block: 6700 21st NW, 8700 13th NW, 1900 NW 90th, 17th NW @ NW 51st, 1400 NW 46th, 8300 18th NW, 1900 NW 90th, 3500 NW 60th