At approximately 4:30 a.m., the 911 call center received multiple reports of hearing six to eight gunshots in the 4300 block of 5th Ave NW. A witness gave police the description of the vehicle and driver, which he had also seen and taken note of in the area a few days earlier.

A vehicle parked in front of a witness’s house had multiple bullet holes and police recovered shell casings and slugs, police say. There were no injuries and no apparent damage to the home.

From the SPD Blotter:

Officers responded to the suspect vehicle’s registered address and observed the vehicle parked/unoccupied outside, with one shell casing visible on the rear seat floorboards. While watching the residence, another vehicle left the house. Officers stopped this vehicle and detained the male matching the suspect description. He was positively identified by the witness to the earlier shooting. The suspect was subsequently booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Drive-by shooting. The suspect’s vehicle was impounded to the processing room.

Her murder has stunned friends, neighbors and Woodinville High School students, where she taught. PhinneyWood.com is covering the story here.

Earlier: Downtown Ballard is looking a little less “Christmasy” today.

John Sterlin of Romanza Gifts (2206 NW Market) tells us that their inflatable Santa was stabbed yesterday, bringing him to the ground. “The Santa has been a popular photo op since it appeared on November 19th under the snow-machine in front of the store,” Sterlin says. “It seems about every 15 minutes or so someone stops to photograph their child, a friend, or a loved one.” Sterlin says they are going to try to repair Santa and get him back in front of the store before Christmas.

“Any information anyone can provide about the vandals would be much appreciated,” Sterlin says. The store phone number is (206) 706-1764.

On 12/15/11, just shortly after midnight officers responded to investigate the burglary of 2 separate medical marijuana dispensaries, both located in the 7700 block of 15th Av NW.

Responding officers located and arrested one of the suspects as he was attempting to make his escape. The suspect was standing outside the broken in door holding a bag of stolen marijuana/products. He was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.

Police searched the area but couldn’t find the suspect.

“In both instances, the scammers were driving an unmarked pickup truck. In one case, some of the con artists took the property owner into the back yard to point out trees they fraudulently claimed needed trimming while the others entered the home. In the other instance, the customer questioned the men and then called Seattle City Light,” Scott Thomsen writes in a release.

City Light contracts with Asplundh, Kemp West and JTS. According to Thomsen, workers and notifiers carry ID badges and work from vehicles marked with the company name.

“Protect yourself from this scam,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “If anyone comes to your door to discuss tree trimming, ask for identification and check the vehicle they are driving. If they don’t have proper identification, do not let them in. Call the police instead.”

Anyone who wants to confirm whether a tree trimming crew is legitimate can call (206) 386-1733. Representatives are available Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A neighbor heard the commotion and called police. According to Jason, the police investigated for half an hour and patrolled the neighborhood.

The trees were free from the city. Godfrey says that Pastor Tim Devine is now working with the city to see what can be done to either save the trees or replace them.

If you have information on who damaged these trees you can call Godfrey at 206-856-6259.

Other officers in the area picked up the suspect as he drove away and was stopped on NW 64th Street and 30th Ave NW, police say. “The suspect tried to run but was immediately taken into custody,” the blotter states. “One officer suffered a minor leg injury.” (Thanks Ivan for the tip!)

Jack Keewatinawin, 19, is charged with Assault Second Degree with Sexual Motivation. He will be arraigned (enter a plea to the charge) on Nov. 15. He remains in jail on $250,000 bail.

According to Seattle police, an officer stopped a suspicious parked pickup truck in the 600 block of NW 85th Street just before 4:30 a.m. Two suspects ran from the truck and the officer detained the third suspect.

At the same time, victims from a residential burglary called in the crime. The items in the stopped pickup were positively identified by the victim as being her things, police say.

The teenager who was detained will turn 18 in three days. The truck belonged to his mother.

According to the police report, a woman called police about 4 p.m. and said that the group had noticed a white Volkswagon van drive by and park a half block away before the attack.

From the redacted report:
“The occupants of the van waited for several minutes before exiting the van. They appeared to be watching [redacted] and the others in the group. After several minutes she heard one of the men say something similar to [redacted]. And then the four men attacked [redacted].”

When the friends of the victim tried to break up the fight, the four suspects turned on the entire group. “The four men punched and kicked all of those present except for [redacted.]”

The four men left the scene after the attack. Police tracked down the address for the suspect’s van and found blood on a doorknob into the house and a drop of what appeared to be blood on the kitchen floor. The van and owner were not there when police knocked. No word on if any arrests have been made.

Police say that along with the Ballard robbery, one happened in West Seattle last week, as well as three in the Shoreline area. The 64 year-old and 65 year-old suspects, who are both convicted felons, were arrested yesterday in the Lynnwood/Mukilteo area by the Safe Streets Task Force and booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Robbery.

A jury returned the guilty verdict on Monday. He faces at least 27 years in prison when he is sentenced in King County Superior Court.

At his initial arraignment in August of 2009, Elijah Hall pleaded ‘not guilty’ to first-degree murder charges. Then in November of that same year, he pleaded guilty at a court hearing. Then in January 2010, on the day he was to be sentenced, Hall dismissed his attorney and withdrew his guilty plea.

The suspect, Jack Sun Keewatinawin, turned to run away. When she yelled that she was going to call police, he told her not to worry about it that he’d do it for her. She then overheard him telling someone that he had just attacked a woman. According to the documents, Keewatinawin did call 911. So did the victim. When police caught up with the suspect, he admitted to the crime. “He said he smoked marijuana most of Sunday evening and that when he woke up Monday, ‘he was still a little high,’ according to the documents. He said that as the woman jogged past him, he tried to catch her because he thought she was the ‘marijuana goddess.’ He said that if he caught her, his intent was to take her into the woods and have sex with her,” the Kiro report states.

Keewatinawin has been charged with second-degree assault with sexual motivation in the attack.

Police interviewed the suspect on Wednesday and booked him into the King County Jail for Investigation of Attempted Rape.

In November of that same year, he pleaded guilty at a court hearing. Then in January 2010, on the day he was to be sentenced, Hall dismissed his attorney and withdrew his guilty plea.

According to the SeattlePI.com, “Hall is expected to face a jury in the coming days,” writes Levi Pulkkinen. Hall is charged with first-degree murder and remains in jail. (File photo courtesy KEN LAMBERT/THE SEATTLE TIMES.)

Seattle Police are looking for a man who exposed himself to children in several places around the city, including north Greenwood. We got a note from Will, who tells us the man flashed his 11-year-old daughter and her three friends on Holman Road a week-and-a-half ago.

Here’s the sketch that SPD just released.

From the SPD Blotter:

On at least five different occasions between September 29th 2011 thru October 3rd 2011, the depicted suspect exposed himself to several children. Three of these incidents occurred in North Seattle, one on Capitol Hill, and one in West Seattle. The description of the suspect and vehicle descriptions are very similar in these incidents.

The suspect is described as a white male, 20-30 years old, approximately 5 feet- 10 inches tall, thin narrow face, fair complexion, slim build, brown hair, dark eyes, bushy or thick eyebrows, and a goatee. The suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, and black pants.

• September 29, 2011 at 2:40 p.m. Holman RD NW / NW 90 St
• September 29, 2011, 4:11 p.m. occurred in the 5800 block of SW Lander S.
• September 29, 2011, 5:30 p.m. occurred at E Aloha ST/23 Ave E.
• October 2, 2011 – 5:00 p.m. 12019 14 Ave NE at Pinehurst playfield.
• October 3, 2011- 3:30 p.m. high school soccer field in the 14000 block of 1 Av NE

The suspect was seen driving away in light tan or gold colored 4-door sedan. The first letter of the license plate may be “A”.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5575. Anonymous calls are welcome.

Here is the write-up from the blotter:

On October 10th at approximately 8:26 a.m. officers responded to a 911 call of a woman assaulted in the 800 block of Northwest Carkeek Park Road. Preliminary investigation indicates that an adult female was jogging in Carkeek Park. She ran past the suspect who was sitting on a bench. About 15 minutes later she passed by him again on her way back. The suspect then attacked the victim from behind, putting her in a neck hold. A serious struggle ensued. The victim was able to fight the suspect off however, she did sustain abrasions to the right side of her neck, a scratch under her chin, and scrapes on her lower legs. She was treated by SFD medics at the scene and released.

The suspect was gone upon the officers’ arrival and remains at large. He was last seen walking away from the park eastbound on NW 110th Place from 4th Avenue NW.

The suspect is described as a Native American male in his 20’s, approximately 5’8” tall, weighing approximately 250 pounds, with long black hair that goes down his back. He was last seen wearing a brown long sleeve shirt with a black short sleeve shirt over it, dark pants, and carrying a lime green water bottle.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call 911 or the Seattle Police Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 and refer to this incident. Anonymous calls are welcome.

In the comments section of the original story, it sounds like several other neighbors were victims of these vandals.

Earlier: Just about two weeks ago, Tad and Cindy Anderson’s daughter, Tiva, was attacked with a baseball bat near the skate park at Ballard Commons Park the intersection of 28th Ave NW and NW 67th Street. She suffered a serious head injury, but Tiva is expected to make a full physical recovery. However, her parents say she’s emotionally fragile since the attack.

“She has learning disabilities that can make it hard to interact with her, and she is transgender (biologically male but considers herself female and sometimes dresses that way),” the parents write in an email to neighbors. “It probably should have been obvious to us a long time ago, but this turns out to be a dangerous combination. Transgender people are the most likely to be harassed and Tiva is particularly vulnerable due to her limited social skills.”

As of right now, there are few leads. The attack happened on Tuesday, August 16th, and she went to the hospital a few days later, according to the police report. “The on duty nurse at [the hospital] stated to me that [she] sustained a subdural hematoma. The symptoms appear slowly and is fatal if not attended to. A portion of [her] skull was removed for treatment of the injury,” the detective writes in the report (.pdf).

“Tiva is very reluctant to talk about the incident to us (her parents),” Tad Anderson tells us. “We have learned through others that the woman who attacked her was also harassing her from dressing in female clothing, saying, ‘You should not be wearing those clothes’ (or words to that effect).”

The only thing the parents know is that the attacker is a white female, and they believe she may hang out around the skate park. “The female came up along side [of her] and told her, ‘I don’t want to see you around the skate bowl anymore,’” the police report states. “The female then struck [her] on the right side of the head with the baseball bat.”

Seattle Police spokesman Detective Mark Jamieson says the case is not being investigated as a hate crime because Tiva did not tell police she was attacked because she’s transgender. Jamieson says a detective interviewed Tiva after surgery and she was “drifting in and out of sleep during the interview,” the police report said. Jamieson said he did not know if there are any plans to interview her again.

Her parents reached out to My Ballard with the hope that someone has information about the crime. If you have any details, please email the family and call the Seattle Police at (206) 625-5011 and reference case number 2011-273665.

Meanwhile, Tad and Cindy say they have a lot of work ahead of them. “Cindy and I are trying to assemble a team to help with her recovery,” says Tad Anderson. “To keep her safe in the future, and, generally, to try to rebuild her self-confidence and trust in others.”

Anyone with information regarding this robbery or the identification of the masked suspects, please contact the FBI-Safe Streets Task Force at (206) 622-0460.

Original post: Police searching for armed bank robbers

The second suspect is described as a skinny white male in his 30s, approximately five-feet eight-inches tall with a black shirt pulled over his face.

Witt says the two left the bank heading west. Police are still searching for the two men. (Thank you Alfred Packer for posting this in the forum.)

My boyfriend caught some car prowlers in the area of 23rd Ave NW and 77th around 1 a.m. last night. Three males dressed in black with backpacks. They scattered off when they noticed him and the Police were called. We also noticed about 20 minutes later a two door black Honda Accord speeding through the neighborhood a few times (possibly the prowlers hiding from SPD?). Remind everyone that summer nights, especially Sundays and Mondays, bring an increase of car prowlers between midnight and 4 am. Have them call any suspicious subjects in, especially good descriptions and any suspect vehicle plates, so we can send a message that this community is on the alert to them. Car prowlers are hard to catch, especially after the fact. Getting good info to SPD during a prowl is really the only way to help catch these guys.

On July 24th, at approximately 12:45 AM, two North Precinct officers on routine patrol in the 13500 Block of Aurora Avenue North, observed a suspect wanted in a July 22nd armed robbery in Ballard. The officers stopped and identified the suspect, and then verified that he was the correct suspect. The adult male was arrested and later booked into the King County Jail.

On July 8th at approximately 11:35 p.m. an officer on patrol in the 300 block of Northwest 95th Street noticed smoke emitting from the front cab of a work truck parked on the street. After trying to determine if anyone was inside the truck, the officer used her patrol car’s fire extinguisher to put out most of the flames. SFD responded and totally extinguished the fire. The owner of the truck was located and interviewed. The Fire Marshall responded to the scene and made a preliminary determination of arson.

Nobody was injured as a result of the fire and there are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of any suspects is asked to call 911 or Seattle Police and refer to this incident.

SPD Arson/Bomb Squad detectives will now be responsible for the active and on-going investigation.

Officers closed 85th to collect shell casings along the roadway as evidence. Witnesses tell us it sounded “just like fireworks.” Silver has posted a few more details from the police scanner in the forum.