By Cassandra Baker

Midnight-morning, April 18. N 50th St and Stone Way

A 53-year-old Wallingford woman was arrested on the morning of April 18 after attacking her roommate with a hammer and a hatchet. The roommate had called police just after midnight to report that the suspect had attacked him with an axe.

When officers arrived at the scene to speak with the victim outside the house, the victim’s girlfriend was still inside with the suspect. When the suspect saw the officers, she slammed the front door and began throwing items at a window and screaming at them.

The victim told police that he and his girlfriend were in their room when the suspect came into the room with a hammer and a hatchet and began yelling at them. The victim told the suspect to leave, and she wouldn’t. When the victim tried to walk away, the suspect swung one of the weapons and hit him on the back of the head. The victim was not noticeably injured.

The suspect then walked away from the victim, who closed the door. Half an hour later, the suspect returned, kicked the victim’s door hard enough to break it, picked up a piece of the broken door, and swung it at the victim. At this point the victim called 911.

Officers attempted to convince the suspect to leave the home, but she continued screaming angrily, so several officers entered the house and arrested her. The suspect was booked into King County Jail for domestic violence assault.

4:21 p.m., April 15. 15th block of NW Market St

An armed shoplifter successfully stole two bottles of liquor from a Ballard store on the afternoon of April 15. The victim, a security guard at the store, said that he observed the suspect, a black male about 50 years old, in the liquor section of the store. He said that the suspect walked out of his view and then emerged from behind a display case and walked out of the store with two large bottles of liquor hidden under his jacket.

The victim said that he approached the suspect and identified himself as store security. The suspect said, “What’s under my jacket is mine.” The victim said that the suspect then pulled up his jacket, revealing a knife at his back, and said, “This is my knife.” The victim said that he feared for his safety when he saw the knife. The suspect then walked away. Police conducted an area check but did not locate him.

4:00 p.m., April 15. 87th block of Greenwood Ave N

Police responded to reports of a man armed with a box cutter at a Greenwood-area store on April 15. The victim said he was working in the store near the liquor area when he saw the suspect, a black male. He recognized the suspect as a frequent shoplifter who targeted alcohol. He said that he stood at the end of the aisle and watched the suspect with his phone out so that the suspect would think that he would call security. The suspect became angry and told the victim to stop taking pictures of him. The victim replied that he was not taking pictures and told the suspect to leave the store. He said that at this point the suspect became hostile and swore at him.

As the victim tried to walk the suspect to the front of the store near the other employees, the suspect reached into the victim’s apron pocket and took his box cutter. The victim said that the suspect extended the blade in his face and threatened to kill him.

Two other employees at the store said they saw the suspect yelling at and hitting the victim. One of them said that she would be able to identify the suspect if she saw him again.

Police also spoke to the store manager, who said that he witnessed the argument and tried to walk the suspect out of the store. The suspect tried to punch him in the face but missed and hit him in the arm instead. Video surveillance footage of the incident confirmed the store employees’ stories. The suspect’s identity was later confirmed.

8:49 p.m., April 11. 23rd block of NW Market St

An attempt at dining and dashing at a Ballard restaurant turned into an assault on the evening of April 11. One of the store employees told police that three white males entered the restaurant and walked out without paying their almost $60 bill after the meal. The employee said that he saw the three men running along Shilshole Ave, chased after them, and caught one of them. He held the suspect down while someone else called the police.

The two other suspects then returned to convince the victim to release the suspect. One of them brandished a knife at the victim and said to let the suspect go or he would die. The victim believed the suspect’s threat to be genuine and obeyed. All three suspects then ran away. Officers conducted an area check but did not locate the suspects.

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