Seattle Press on Line

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By Sara Longley

Sep 13, 2001 -- An employee of a Greenwood department store arrives for work at 7:20 a.m. on a Saturday morning. As she parks her car, she sees a silver SUV parked beside the outdoor plant display. At first she believes it is her boss’ car, but realizes it is not when she sees two strangers, men in their early 20s, loading plants into the cargo area. She approaches the pair, asking, “Can I help you? You can pay for those inside.” One of the men laughs at her and then picks up another two plants. Then they both get into the SUV and drive away. The employee does not attempt to stop them. She believes they took between eight and ten plants of unknown value…

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A man walks through a large grocery store at NW 85th Street and 15th Avenue NW at 8:30 p.m. on a Saturday. As he walks the aisles, he puts various food items into his jacket sleeves. He is observed by the store manager, who contacts police. When officers arrive, the manager says the suspect dropped a beer at the door and then crossed the street to a bus stop. The officers find the man still at the bus stop, still in possession of the stolen food items, and extremely inebriated. After he is arrested for shoplifting, the man is released into the custody of the detoxification unit…

* * *

A Green Lake woman is in the alley behind her house at 8:42 on a Saturday morning. A neighbor comes into the alley, allowing her two dogs through the gate along with her. Neither dog is leashed. The smaller dog barks at the victim, then nips her on the calf. The victim yells at the dog, then calls police. She tells officers that her neighbor seemed neither concerned nor apologetic for the incident. The neighbor tells the officers a different story, saying that the dogs “escaped” through the open gate. She confirms that is was her dog who bit the victim, and promises to keep both dogs leashed until the gate can be fixed…

* * *

A University District woman leaves her bicycle beside her house at 2 p.m. on a Friday. When she returns five minutes later, it is gone…

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A Ballard woman calls police to report harassment by her elderly landlord at 10:15 a.m. on a Saturday morning. She says she has frequent problems with him and has called the police regarding these problems in the past. She says she has also called the Seattle Housing Authority to file complaints.

On this particular Saturday, he came to her apartment. Since he often visits and she is tired of him, she asked, “What do you want?” After a few words were exchanged, he asked her how many people live in the apartment, a question to which he already knew the answer. He then asked her if she had fixed her bathroom sink yet, and she replied, “No, that’s your job.” At this point in her story, the woman reveals that the sink is only one of several problems with the bathroom, that the facilities are barely useable and that the landlord has done nothing to remedy the situation despite repeated complaints. Continuing, she says that the landlord told her, “You know what? I’m sick of it. I’ll fix it myself after you leave.” Then he told her she had 30 days to move out. Upon hearing this, the woman decided it was time for him to leave. She attempted to close her door, but the landlord put his foot in the way. She resorted to kicking at his foot to dislodge it, and he began to swear at her, cursing loudly in the presence of her two-year-old child. She finally was able to close her door and call police.

As she talks to officers, the woman is very distressed and obviously afraid of her landlord. She fears that eventually he will harm someone. She says he has violent mood swings, often apologizing for past behavior but then flying into a rage and threatening her. When he is angry, he shakes visibly and yells and curses. In addition, she feels that he may be senile, since despite his frequent visits he often seems not to know her. Neighbors confirm his behavior, and other female residents of the apartment complex say that he often calls them by her name. The officer requests further investigation of the victim’s complaints…

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A Fremont antique shop is robbed sometime over a week-long period of time. Unknown suspects remove a valuable Maxfield Parrish lithograph from a wall near an exit door. The store owner, who has contacts in the art world, tells police he believes he can find out where the lithograph may turn up…

* * *

A store alarm is tripped at a Ballard pet store between 3:45 and 4:00 a.m. on a Wednesday, and the store manager arrives shortly afterward. Seeing that a large pane of glass is smashed in one of the front doors, she calls police. Inside, a large hexagonal glass cage is also smashed, resulting in $1,500 worth of damage. The manager says the cage contained seven ferrets, each valued at $120. The ferrets are missing and presumed stolen…

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