Police Blotter: Burglars arrested at closed supermarket; Ballard restaurant burglarized; man shot in the knee
Fri, 06/01/2012
By Cassandra Baker, Intern
2:21 p.m. on May 28th. 85th block of 3rd Ave NW
Police received reports of a potential burglary at the old Greenwood Market on the afternoon of May 28th. The responding officers found that a north door had been pried open, and a large block of concrete had been moved away from the door. The officers announced themselves inside the building, and a suspect exited with his hands up. A second suspect attempted to hide, but police were able to take him into custody as well.
Both suspects were covered with dirt, and when officers searched their clothing, they found burglary tools including wire strippers, screw drivers, and tape. One suspect had a pocket knife. He told police that he and the other suspect were in the building because a friend had left the knife there and they were looking for it. One suspect complained of leg and abdominal pain and was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
One of the suspects said that he had information on a theft of copper from the defunct store. Officers searched the premises and found a stripped room with copper wire packaged with tape similar to the tape that was found with the suspects. There were also five bags of tools that police believed were used for removing the copper wire from the room. The uninjured suspect was arrested and taken to King County Jail on burglary charges.
7:52 a.m. on May 28th. 51st block of Ballard Ave NW
A Ballard restaurant was burglarized on the night of May 27th, and the owner suspected an employee. Employees locked the business and set its alarm at 11:30 p.m. on May 27th. When the first employee arrived on the morning of May 28th, the front door was unlocked and the alarm was still set. Several items had been taken, including the restaurant’s safe. The responding officer observed that there was no evidence of tampering on the front door, and the alarm company said that the alarm had not been activated during the night. The business owner showed the officer a ceiling-mounted projector that the burglar had disturbed, and the officer lifted fingerprints from it.
The business owner believed the burglar was an employee because the alarm had not been activated. Furthermore, an empty safe that was clearly visible had not been tampered with, suggesting that the burglar knew the safe did not contain valuables. Police hoped to find video footage of the crime from a surveillance camera at a restaurant across the street.
3:30 p.m. on May 27th. 86th block of Fremont Ave N
A 23-year-old man called police on the afternoon of May 27th to report that he had been shot in the knee. The victim told police that he had been shot at a gas station on the 8th block of NW 85th St. Police found him to be uncooperative and less than credible, and further investigation contradicted the victim’s story. The Seattle Fire Department treated him at the scene, and then the victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.