Liquor thief caught at Crown Hill store

Oct. 18, 8:57 p.m., 8300 Block of 15th Ave NW -- A man with a $5,000 theft warrant was booked into King County Jail after he tried to steal three liquor bottles from a store in Crown Hill.

The first witness was able to recognize him from the six or seven open theft investigations he had. They didn't know his name. The witness saw him grab a handbasket and place miscellaneous merchandise in it, per his M.O. He then took three bottles of liquor and walked over to the bakery section, concealed them in his messenger bag, and walked out the store without paying for them. The handbasket was left behind.

Two witnesses contacted him outside and identified themselves. There was a brief struggle -- the suspect flailed his arms, tried to run away and tried to reach for something in his pocket -- but was brought under control. (Police later found that the suspect had a pocket knife on him.)

The suspect was brought up into the office and 911 was called. The witnesses and suspect were not injured during the minor altercation.

The suspect was placed into King County Jail and his pocket knife was placed into evidence.

Business broken into for third time

Oct. 18, 4:43 p.m., 3400 Block of Phinney Ave N -- A business was broken into in Fremont. The business owner received a call from her phone company that someone broke into her store at 4:17 a.m.

The suspect broke into the glass of the rolling door to get in. The victim said the burglar took an unfinished white Scott road bike from the bike rack in the rear of the store.

The responding police officer noted a large concrete slab with a "Sprague" pest solutions box attached to it on the ground of the business. He took photos of it and submitted it as evidence.

The victim said this was the third recent break-in of the store.

There goes those rock climbing plans

Oct. 19, 12:32 p.m., 8500 Block of 12th Ave NW -- A man had his rock climbing gear, iPod, Oakley glasses stolen from his car in the apartment's secured garage. He also noticed the storage door open, but he didn't know if anything was taken from the storage. The victim said he would follow up with management to see if the security video caught anything. Nothing else suspicious was seen or heard.

Burglar makes off with all of the laundry quarters

Oct. 20, 6:07 p.m., 5200 11th Ave NW -- A burglar broke into two laundry rooms at an apartment complex, stealing an estimated $400-worth of change. The suspect drilled the locks off the coin drawers of the washer and dryers and took all of the quarters. The victim said he was scheduled to do a coin pickup soon. There is no suspect.

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