May Police Blotter

Man with a gun

There was plenty of press coverage last month of the incident that's designated on the neighborhood crime map above with a blue gun icon. That's the location where on May 30 Seattle Police arrested a man for unlawfully brandishing a gun in public. Although any kind of gun-toting event would always be a major story in Madison Park, what made this particular incident newsworthy to the wider public was the timing:  May 30 was the day that Ian Stawicki fatally shot five people in the Roosevelt District, later killing a woman downtown whose car he then hijacked. At the time of the Madison Park incident, Stewicki was still on the run (though he later killed himself when cornered by police).

At 1:30 p.m., just two and a half hours after Stawicki shot the patrons of Cafe Racer, students at The Bush School noticed a man in a black jogging suit and gloves running by the School.  In his hand was what appeared to be a gun. The man suddenly stopped and began doing some stretches, during which time he apparently placed the gun on the ground. Bush was immediately put into lockdown mode and the police were summoned. Upon their quick arrival at the intersection of Hillside Drive E. and Lake Washington Boulevard E., officers confronted the suspect and relieved him of a Glock Model 23 (as shown below).

The man told police that he had "not carried a gun in two years" but had decided to carry one on this day because of the Stawicki shootings.  He said that he'd noticed that the Bush students were observing him and had thought to himself, "I hope they don't call the police!"  The man had a permit for the gun and a license to carry a concealed weapon. Unfortunately for him, it is not legal to walk or run around the city with a gun in your hand. He was taken into custody for unlawful carrying or handling of a weapon.  In the words of Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb, "This citizen used bad judgment."

Meanwhile, some other criminal acts of note

We've already covered the incident last month involving a bottle of Bud Light used as a weapon against an employee of a Madison Park bar.  The police report we recently reviewed adds some interesting details.  Apparently all of the four suspect patrons of the bar were pretty big guys (one was 6'4'' and 220 lbs., while another was 5'10" and 220 lbs.). They left the bar with beer bottles in hand but were then asked by the cook, whose height and weight are not indicated in the report, to return to the bar to finish their beers on premises. The cook decided to follow them down the street, where he further decided to intervene in a fistfight that was already underway between the former patrons.  For his efforts, he was punched, pushed into the bushes, and hit in the face with a beer bottle.

The police report states that one of the suspects had earlier paid for a pitcher of beer using a debt card and that fingerprints were recovered from a remains of the beer bottle used as a weapon.  This case is listed by the police as "Open."

There was only one residential burglary reported in the neighborhood during May.  That incident occurred on May 9 on the 3800 block of E. McGilvra.  The victim reported to police that sometime between 8:30 a.m., when he left his residence, and 12:30 p.m., when he returned home, someone had prised open his kitchen door and entered the house. He reported that some presumably valuable "silver table/tea pieces" were missing, for which he had pictures.  No fingerprints were recoverable at the scene. There was also one attempted burglary reported on 400 block of 39th Avenue E. Someone had attempted to gain entry to a house by trying unsuccessfully to remove a screen over the window, which was damaged in the process.  The rather well-know homeowner had been away from her residence for two months and had only returned to the house the previous day.

There were two car prowls reported during the month, one on 5/5 on the 1900 block of 42nd Avenue E. and one on 5/17 on the 4100 block of E. Highland Drive.  One car was also stolen, from the 800 block of 33rd Avenue E. on 5/9.

Finally, this report:  On May 20 a concerned homeowner near the intersection of 31st Avenue E. and E. Ward Street (close to the Shell Station) called police concerning a man in a sleeping bag smoking a cigarette. The citizen felt that given recent burglaries in the vicinity, the man should be checked out. When police arrived the man identified himself; and, as it transpired, a routine check showed that he was wanted on an arrest warrant from Everett.  He was therefore hauled off to jail.  But the story doesn't end there.  Ruefully the police report that the "jail nurse" refused to accept the suspect at the jail, claiming that he was "red and hot."  As a result, the police took him to Harborview, where he later apparently walked out of the hospital and was not seen again.  According to SPD spokesman Sean Whitcomb, there is not enough manpower on the force to provide guards at hospitals for suspects being held for low-level crimes, so the outcome in this case is not, unfortunately, unique.