By Tim Clifford

Burglars in the living room
On Mar. 28, at around 11:13 a.m., police received a call from a woman living on the 8800 block of 18 Ave. S.W. that two men had broken into her home and still there as she was calling. Multiple officers nearby were dispatched to the address and arrived within minutes of the call.

According to the victim she had heard a knock at her door minutes earlier but was too busy getting ready for the day to go downstairs and answer it. Shortly after this the victim went downstairs and began making herself breakfast and coffee when she heard a noise in her backyard. Looking out her window she noticed broken glass on the ground and a wheelbarrow turned on its side.

The victim went outside to inspect and was checking along the side of her home when she heard noises coming from inside. As she was heading to her front yard the victim called a neighbor for help and then decided to inspect her house again.

As she opened the front door she saw two men standing in her living room, rifling through her things. Screaming, the victim ran back outside, called police and waited on her front lawn with her neighbor.
After an area check and walk through of the home police were unable to locate any suspects. Fingerprints were found on the broken window. The suspects remain at large.

Who goes there?
On Mar. 28 a peculiar series of incidents occurred to roommates renting a house on the 500 block of S. Cloverdale St. just after 6 p.m. The complainant who called the police informed the dispatchers that he believed a person had broken into their home and was possibly still inside. Police arrived 20 minutes later.
The complainant explained that he and his roommate were in their separate rooms when he heard a loud thud outside. He ignored the noise since his neighbors had been working on a home project
throughout the day. Minutes later however he saw his door knob twisting and heard someone trying to come into his room though the door was locked.

At first he tried to ignore this but found it too strange and went out to the hallway to see who had tried coming into his room. Once out of his room he saw that the front door had been kicked in. Searching the house with the roommate they noticed a bike parked in the entry way and an open laptop on the kitchen counter, neither of which belonged to them.

Soon after a man appeared in the entry way and told them that he was searching for his stolen bike. Something about this man’s demeanor indicated to the two roommates that this was actually the man who had broken into their home and that this was a ruse. They told this man they hadn’t seen any bike and he walked off.

The man who appeared at their door is described as being thin and dark skinned, standing 5’10, and being in his 30’s. Nothing appeared to have been taken from the home and this possible suspect has not been located. The bike and laptop were taken into evidence.

Crimes reported between Mar. 27 and Apr. 3

Burglaries by block: 1700 block of Alki Ave. S.W., 5200 block of Delridge WY S.W., 7500 block of 13 Ave. S.W., 8500 block of 37 Ave. S.W., 8800 block of 18 Ave. S.W., 500 block of S. Cloverdale St., 1000 block of S. Director St., 1000 block of S. Henderson St., 9000 block of 18 Ave. S.W., 9400 block of 34 Ave. S.W., 9000 block of 37 Ave. S.W., 3700 block of S.W. 98 St., 9800 block of 44 Ave. S.W.

Car prowls by block: 1200 block of Alki Ave. S.W., 2200 block of Alki Ave. S.W., 3200 block of Benton Pl. S.W., 2600 block of S.W. Andover St., 4400 block of 35 Ave. S.W., 8000 block of Fauntleroy WY S.W. (2 reported), 7900 block of 27 Ave. S.W., 7900 block of 14 Ave. S.W., 9400 block of 27 Ave. S.W.

Car thefts by block: 2300 block of 42 Ave. S.W., 4100 block of 58 Pl. S.W., 4100 block of 42 Ave. S.W., 2400 block of S.W. Andover St., 7700 block of 12 Ave. S.W., 800 block of S. Donovan St., 9300 block of 32 Ave. S.W., 9600 block of 41 Ave. S.W., 10200 block of 42 Ave. S.W.