Harassment, paddleboard-style
On Aug. 2 a man called police to report a month of harassment from another male that culminated in a paddle attack during a paddleboard competition in West Seattle. According to the complainant, the aggressor had been harassing him at a Burien gym they both work out at for the past month. On July 31, the victim sent an email to the aggressor asking him to stop. It backfired, “amped” up the aggressor, and the name calling and provoking only escalated. Finally, the two men found themselves side by side at a paddleboard competition where the complainant claimed the suspect knocked him off his board four times, poked and hit him with a paddle, and threatened to “ruin and kill” him. The victim sustained scratches and bruises in the attacks and stated he was in contact with an attorney to obtain an anti-harassment order. Police called the alleged attacker, but the call went straight to voicemail.
Cutting out the middle man
An employee at an industrial business on the 7700 block of Detroit Ave. S.W. arrived at work just before 8 a.m. on Aug. 9 and noticed a hole had been cut in the chain link fence. Investigating, he discovered two large radiator coils were missing. He was getting ready to call his boss with the bad news when a coworker arrived and said he had just seen a male walking down the street nearby with radiator coils in his arms. The employees hopped into their own vehicles, took off looking for the suspect, and spotted him north of the business. The suspect bailed into the greenbelt woods and the employees gave chase. The man was long gone, but they found their radiator coils dumped 75 feet into the greenery and brought them back to work before calling police.
Geography-based threat
On Aug. 8 a teenage girl’s aunt called police to report her niece was just threatened in a nearby park. According to the report, the girl walked to High Point Commons Park in the evening when an unknown male approached her and said, “I heard you’re from the south end, I’m from West Seattle. I could take out my gun and shoot you.” The male, after making his statement, walked away without brandishing a firearm.
Gun display leads to arrests
On Aug. 10 around 4:22 p.m. a citizen called 911 to report a “man with a gun” in a small West Seattle park east of where High Point Dr. S.W. and S.W. Batann St. meet. Police arrived and found eight young adults hanging out in the park. They detained the group, recovered the handgun (which came back as stolen), and booked two of the men into jail. The 21-year-old man in possession of the gun was booked for being a convicted felon illegally possessing a firearm and possession of stolen property. Another man, 20, was arrested for an active felony warrant for “escape.”
Crimes reported from Aug. 5 – Aug. 11
Robberies by block: 4700 42nd Ave. S.W.
Burglaries by block: 11600 Marine View Dr. S.W., 8800 12th Ave. S.W., 4000 19th Ave. S.W., 4600 S.W. Charlestown St., 7700 Detroit Ave. S.W., 7700 15th Ave. S.W.
Car prowls by block: 5400 16th Ave. S.W., 3200 44th Ave. S.W., 7000 Lincoln Park Way S.W., 5000 Delridge Way S.W., 7900 31st Ave. S.W., 2100 California Ave. S.W.
Vehicle thefts by block: 10000 33rd Ave. S.W., corner of 42nd Ave. S.W./S.W. Alaska St., 6000 38th Ave. S.W., 8100 35th Ave. S.W., 4100 S.W. Rose St., corner of 44th Ave. S.W./S.W. Edmunds St., 8800 15th Ave. S.W., corner of California Ave. S.W./S.W. Alaska St.