SPD has reported that Plaza Garibaldi, 129 1^st Ave N, was burglarized early this morning. Around the same time the alarm went off, a witness reported seeing two men breaking into the restaurant. SPD officers responded at around 4:20am, but could not locate the suspects in an area-sweep. The SPD report cites a witness description of the suspects: both were male, of unknown race, and wearing dark clothing. One was wearing a knit hat, the other a baseball cap.

According to SPD, it appears that the suspects were trying to steal alcohol from the restaurant’s bar, and they caused damage to Plaza Garibaldi’s door windows for their entry/exit. More information is available on the SPD Blotter.

The Seattle Police Department’s west precinct crime prevention coordinator Francisco Tello sent the following update on local crime activity to neighborhood block watch captains Wednesday:

More good news! Alert neighbors are reporting suspicious activity, excellent work is being done by responding officers and West detectives have been stellar. Let’s continue with being observant and reporting suspicious behavior. Do not let your guard down.

On Thursday, August 4, 2011 at approximately 7:27 a.m. officers responded to a report by a citizen of a suspicious white male walking up to two separate residences and trying the door knobs on West Highland Drive. The suspicious male was described as wearing a black hat, black clothing and carrying a red backpack.

Responding officer stopped a person matching that description on the 1200 block of Queen Anne Ave N between Comstock Street and Highland Drive. The officer advised the suspect that he was contacted because he matched a description given of a possible burglar. While waiting for arrival of a backup officer, the suspect was instructed to sit. The officer asked the suspect why he was walking around residences. Suspect stated that he was thirsty and was just looking for water. The officer asked the suspect why he did not ask a local business for a  glass of water or use the water fountain up the street at the intersection of Queen Anne Ave N and Galer. The suspect was unable to provide an answer. Further investigation by the officer revealed that the suspect was in possession of a large amount of U. S. paper currency and coins. The backup officer arrived and continued with the investigation. Checking the status of the identification of the suspect revealed that the suspect had previously been arrested for burglary. Other contents of the backpack included smaller electronics. The suspect was taken into custody and brought to the West Precinct where detectives continued the investigation, and discovered that the electronics were taken from a reported car prowl nearby. West Precinct detectives are requesting theft charges on the case.

If you suspect that your property was among the items found through this arrest, contact Officer Tello at (206) 684-4730.

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) arrested a wanted burglar who was caught in the midst of another crime Tuesday night, according to the SPD Blotter.

One of the block watch groups here in Queen Anne, alongside a number of neighbors, aided police in the arrest of a burglar on Tuesday morning. From Seattle Police Department crime prevention officer Terrie Johnston:

This Tuesday morning, around 10 a.m. a woman on W. Comstock heard the sound of breaking glass nearby. She then saw a white male, in his 40’s running towards her. She attempted to talk w/the man, but he assured her all was fine and he got into a van and drove off. The witness was able to get a license plate and 9-1-1 was called. Many patrol units responded to the area.  About 20 mins. later a West Precinct supervisor found the abandoned van on 4^th Ave. N. on the northern slope of Queen Anne hill. He ordered the van impounded. Astute block watchers on 4^th Ave. N. called in suspicious activity and reported to 9-1-1 that the suspect got into an orange cab. West Precinct Burglary Theft Detectives monitoring the police radio recognized the description of this prolific criminal. They called the cab company and learned the suspect had been dropped in Belltown. Det. Owing and Det. Gaedcke found and arrested the burglar in Belltown shortly thereafter.

So many thanks to the witnesses who provided us w/suspect & vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, and the information on the taxi cab. This was a great team effort between the community, patrol and the outstanding detectives!

As it turns out, Det. Owing is investigating some commercial burglaries that may now be solved with this arrest.

PS:  The breaking glass mentioned above was from the suspect’s attempt to break out a 4’ x4’ double-paned, aluminum-framed basement window. Because there was so much glass involved, it most likely deterred this burglar from entering the home. Call me to schedule a free home security assessment of your home, or to start/re-kindle your Block Watch. I can make recommendations on window treatments and security films that can make your glass stronger.

This is good work!!

For more information on other measures you can take to protect your home against residential burglaries, take a look at these tips from SPD.

A woman and her friend were robbed at gunpoint in a Lower Queen Anne apartment building at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday, February 4, according to a Seattle Police Department report. From the SPD Blotter:

On February 4th, at approximately 9:00 PM, the victim and her friend were inside her apartment in the 500 Block of 1st Avenue North when they heard what they described as a “friendly knock” at the door.  The victim opened the door and saw a heavy set white female standing there.  Suddenly, a large Samoan male pushed the female out of the way, shoved a gun in the victim’s face, then he and the female forced their way into the apartment. Once inside, the suspects began rummaging through the victim’s things in search for items of value.  The suspects took several electronic items.  As the suspects were leaving the building, a witness who apparently recognized at least one of the suspects as a suspect from another robbery that had previously occurred in the building, called 911 to report it.  The witness also observed the suspects get into a car and drive away.  They were last seen heading east on Mercer Street.

SPD officers conducted an area search for the suspects’ vehicle, but were unable to locate it. The SPD Robbery Unit was notified and responded to process the scene. No one was injured in this incident.

One of our readers wrote in with a report of a robbery that took place on Monday, January 24 at approximately 9:20 p.m. in a Lower Queen Anne apartment building, on W Olympic Place and 1st Ave W. Josh and his wife came home that night to find that someone had broken into their car, which was parked in a secure garage in their apartment complex. The couple acted fast, calling police, and together were able to apprehend the robber. Josh wrote:

We pulled up with our other car right next to it and noticed someone sitting in our driver’s seat in the car. We just ran upstairs (he didn’t know we owned that car as well) and called the police. They showed up and we took them to the garage and he was no longer in the car but we noticed him coming down the stairs and into the elevator (this area requires more security access) while the police were searching around our vehicle. We gestured to the police and told them he was going up the elevator and we (my wife, myself and the police) ran up the stairs to meet him in the lobby but he already booked it out of the building and was nowhere to be seen.  A girl standing outside the elevator said she saw someone leave the building so the police split up in different directions. My wife and I stayed in the lobby and I thought I saw him walking down the curve on Queen Anne Way from the lobby window and I ran outside and told the police and they headed in that direction where they caught him right outside the Piece of Mind smoke shop.

According to Josh, police found the couple’s Pioneer car stereo on the suspect, who he says spend the night in jail. The incident report outlined two felony offenses: residential burglary and possession of stolen property, both of which the suspect completed before being caught.

“The police did a great job of getting to our apartment really quick (like in 2-4 minutes after I phoned 911) and helping us get that guy. They were super helpful and friendly,” Josh wrote. “He also stole another car stereo (not sure if it was from our building)…he probably broke into our car because our rear passenger side window doesn’t close all the way.”

Car prowls are not uncommon in Queen Anne, especially at the foot of the hill, which is closer to downtown and generally has more commuter traffic going through the neighborhood. A look at the Seattle Police Department interactive crime map shows 13 car prowls in the neighborhood in the last week alone. This incident serves as a reminder to keep on the lookout for suspicious activity.

From the SPD Blotter:

On October 14th, at approximately 3:45 AM, a West Precinct officer was contacted by a witness in the 2300 Block of 8th Avenue.  The witness told the officer that a man had attempted to sell him cameras the man claimed to have stolen from a camera shop near Queen Anne.  The witness gave the officer a physical description of the suspect.  That information was broadcast to other officers in the area.  At approximately 4:30 AM, another West Precinct officer contacted a possible suspect downtown at 6th Avenue and Pine Street.  The suspect had several outstanding warrants for his arrest. The warrants were verified and he was arrested.  The suspect had a large amount of camera equipment in duffel bags he had with him.  The equipment had receipts and tags for a shop in the 500 Block of Dexter Avenue North.  Officers responded to that location and discovered a broken front glass door.  The suspect later admitted to breaking into the shop and stealing the equipment.  The value of the stolen camera equipment was estimated at between $17,000-$19,000.  The property was returned to the shop owner.  The 22 year old suspect was later booked into the King County Jail on Investigation of Burglary and his outstanding warrants.

One of our readers wrote it reporting a daytime burglary today, Wednesday, June 9 on the west side of Queen Anne. Karen and her husband returned to their home, located on the 3200 block of 13th Ave W, this evening to find that their house had been broken into while they were at work, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Although only a few items were taken, both of their passports were among them.

My husband just asked around with the neighbors and they didn’t see anything unfortunately. The back door to the deck was unlocked when we got home, but the dog door also looked suspiciously messed up… so not sure which one of those they came in.

Karen and her husband called SPD and plan to file a police report tonight. If anyone saw any suspicious activity around 13th Ave W today, please comment below.

The Seattle Police Department has arrested two suspects after a string of burglaries in Queen Anne and Magnolia this weekend. According to the SPD Blotter, officers from the West Precinct “responded to an unusual number of occupied burglary/prowler/alarm calls on Queen Anne Hill” beginning at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 30. No suspects were located at the time, but SPD said “there was evidence that the crimes had occurred.”

Then, a few hours later, at around 5:50 a.m. a homeowner in the 3000 block of 38th Ave W in Magnolia confronted two suspects who were attempting to break into his home. The victim immediately called 911 and gave officers a description of the two suspects. While setting up a containment area, two officers saw one of the suspects, a 19-year-old, and arrested him. He was later questioned by detectives and booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Residential Burglary. A second suspect was located by a K9 officer, who found the juvenile male suspect, later positively idenitified by the victim, hiding in the bushes a half a block away. He was arrested, questioned, and later booked into the Youth Services Center on the same charge.

During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the juvenile suspect used a car key stolen in a previous burglary last week to steal the vehicle they used to commit the burglaries on Queen Anne and Magnolia this morning.  Officers located the stolen vehicle after the homeowner saw one of the suspects attempt to start the car as part of their getaway.  When they couldn’t get the car started, they fled on foot.

According to SPD, detectives are working to see if these two suspects are connected with any other crimes.

According to reports by SeattleCrime.com, a woman told police that over 20 boxes of personal belongings were stolen from her storage locker, located on 15th Ave W near the Interbay Golf Center, totally between $15,000 to $20,000 worth of stuff. From SeattleCrime:

One of our readers, John, wrote in to report another car prowl at the top of the hill this week. His car, he said, was broken into at 2nd Ave N and Galer on the evening of Monday, April 5. He wrote,

My car was parked on the street across from the Queen Anne High School building and had the right rear window broken in. The thief took an old brick of a laptop that I had sitting on the floor in the back seat due to be recycled. It doesn’t work and has a corrupt hard drive, but the cost of the repair will be several hundred dollars at least. My only solace is that the thing was garbage and waiting to be disposed of anyway, but I’d rather have done it on my terms.

John filed a police report, but hopes that SPD will send more patrols through the neighborhood from time to time to deter prowls like this one. Until then, he offers a bit of advice to neighbors:

Keep your cars free of anything appealing! Anything promising like an ipod, briefcase, backpack, or unopened mail could be a target. Even if they steal something worthless, it’ll still cost you to fix the damage.

If anyone experienced a similar prowl on Monday night or witnessed any suspicious activity, please comment below.

At approximately 9:42 p.m. last night, Tuesday, February 3, officers responded to reports of an intruder in an Interbay residence, near the 2900 block of W McGraw St. According to the SPD Blotter, witnesses described the suspect as “a white male, mid-thirties, wearing a blue baseball cap and jeans.” In the time it took the first officer to arrive, another neighbor called in reporting that a person matching the description may have attempted to burglarize their home as well. SPD officers found the suspect (a 35-year-old man) in the backyard and took him into custody, and after being positively identified by the victims, booked him into King County Jail on Investigation of Burglary.

Update: SPD’s reporting of this crime having taken place in Interbay is incorrect. In fact the 2900 block of W McGraw St. is closer to Magnolia Village. Apologies for the error.