Wallingford Crime Watch

Honestly, we don’t like to harp on crime too much in these pages. It gives the impression that Wallingford is crime-ridden, which it’s not really, no more so than any other neighborhood in Seattle: it’s just crime-reporting-ridden). So no, mom, we don’t really need a burglar alarm, but it’s always nice to hear from you!

It also feels like pandering. Our readership always goes up whenever we run a story on crime. Next thing you know, we’ll be running “6 Wallingford stores that can improve your sex life”-type stories.

Anyhoo, lots of interesting crime going on around the hood. In addition to the break-in and Broad Daylight Burgling we reported over the weekend:

First, the Seattle Crime blog has the scoop on a man who insists he carried that bag full of cigarettes into the espresso stand he was robbing:

A man claiming a garbage bag full of unopened cigarette packs that he was carrying was actually given to him by a motorist at an I-5 on ramp was arrested by police, shortly after they found him rummaging around in the Crazy Beans Espresso stand in Wallingford, around 2 a.m. on December 9th.

Officers summoned to the scene by a silent alarm observed the man inside the stand—which, by the way, does in fact sell cigarettes—through a broken window, and noticed that he was stuffing cigarette packs into a bag.

Ordering the suspect to lay face down on the floor, police arrested him after they themselves climbed through the broken window. The suspect denied stealing the cigarettes from the store, instead stating he broke in because he hadn’t eaten in two-and-a-half days, and had heard a person will instantly die if the go a full three-and-a-half days without food.

Second, Mary, who lives on Whitman Ave N between 40th and 45th, writes:

My husband’s  bike got stolen from the backyard, we think last night. It’s not a big deal, the bike was over 14 years old. But, it does mean that someone was wandering around our backyard which is really not that accessible or can be seen from the street  or back alley.

This morning when I got up to make breakfast for the kids, I noticed a man out of the corner of my eye heading down our driveway towards the street. He is caucasian and  had a dark ski cap on, a brown leather jacket and denim shorts on. I thought it was odd, I also notice after he crossed the street he went over to the apartment building’s handicap ramp and stopped at the base and stood behind the wall and stared back for a few minutes at our’s and neighbor’s house next door which is empty now since it’s up for sale. He then left. The only thing I can think of is that he came up through our neighbor’s  backyard which is now completely clear to the back alley as her relatives had cleared out all the bramble and over growth and her yard gate was open. I don’t know if they are scoping out the houses in the neighborhood to see which ones look empty for the holidays.

Anyway, I reported it to the police. Likely, nothing will happen but perhaps more patrols and people being more aware especially if neighbors are away for the holidays.

Julie adds to the litany:

My partner’s car was stolen from the 42nd and Winslow Pl N area over the [Thanksgiving] weekend.  It’s a silver 1996 Subaru Legacy, no roof rack, license plate ends in “UAL”.

Finally, be warned people: every year at this time, there are reports of a large, Caucasian male in red clothing sneaking into houses through chimneys. Keep your flue closed!

(Thanks to Kerri for the link to the Seattle Crime blog article)