Police Blotter 1/26/11

It’s been a tough month for the denizens of 39th Avenue E., in the area north of E. Madison St. Only one such crime was deemed worthy of posting on the Seattle Police’s neighborhood crime map (above), but residents say that officers told them there’s been a recent “rash of burglaries” in the area. The one getting the most attention is a break-in at a house on the 2200 block of 39th on January 19. The resident came home at about 6:00 that evening to find that her front door was open; and without entering the house she could see that drawers were open and that a window had been broken. She called the police, who soon arrived and “cleared” the house (meaning they made sure no bad guys were still on the premises). The homeowner later discovered that a laptop and checkbook had been stolen, along with other items. No suspect has been identified, and it appears that the robber(s) wore gloves while committing this crime.

Naturally, neighbors have become wary, especially because there have been sightings of suspicious characters in the neighborhood. A recent block-watch email reports that a resident discovered a guy wandering around various neighbors’ backyards. When confronted, the interloper claimed to be looking for a place to wash his hands. Meanwhile, the police have asked residents to be on the lookout for a silver 1990’s four-door Buick (or a similar car) with a temporary license posted in the back window. The car has apparently been fingered as a suspect vehicle.

The only other area crime posted by the police to the official crime map is the incident involving this wheel-challenged Mini Cooper, shown here parked near the intersection of Madison and 39th.

MPB reader Ken Myrabo pointed this out to us. He says that the car’s owner told him that the perpetrators, after jacking up the car and removing the wheels in the dead of night, were considerate enough to lower the car onto some rocks they had brought along for the purpose, thus preventing damage to the car’s disc brakes. Nice guys! And all of this while working their crime within clear view of the neighborhood’s major arterial, too.

Crime did occur in other areas of the Park over the past week as well. One burglary took place on the 1500 block of 41st Avenue E. during the evening of January 6. No details have been provided. There was one case of trespassing reported, this on the 1800 block of McGilvra Boulevard E. on January 20. A realtor reported discovering that someone was apparently squatting at a vacant house that she has listed for sale on that block. While inspecting the house, she said, she noticed food wrappers and cigarette butts at various locations, not to mention (although we are obviously mentioning it) urine in the toilets!

A theft occurred on the 1000 block of 37th Avenue E. on January 22 and cases of property damage were reported on the 1800 block of McGilvra Boulevard E. on January 13 and the 1300 block of Lake Washington Boulevard E. on the same day. As always, cars were broken into, one on the 1600 block of McGilvra Boulevard E. during the morning of January 7, and one on the 3100 block of E. Madison St. on the evening of January 23.

[Key to crime-map symbols: starbursts represent burglaries, solid cars represent car thefts, un-solid cars represent car prowls, spray-paint cans represent property damage, upraised hands represent shoplifting, dollar bills represent thefts, handcuffs represent arrests under warrants, guns represent weapons involved, and red exclamation points represent cases of harassment. This map covers the period from January 4 through January 25.]