Seattle Press on Line

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By Sara Longley

Jan 03, 2002 -- A University District man reports that, between 8 a.m. on a Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday, unknown suspects removed the oil from his car, costing him $1,900 in engine damage. He says he checked the oil on Friday and the level was fine. He experienced engine problems the next day, due to the lack of oil. There are no suspects...

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A neighborhood regular customer shops in a Greenwood corner store and deli on a Sunday afternoon. He comes to the counter with a 12-pack of beer and starts asking for different brands of cigarettes. When the clerk turns her back, he grabs the cigarettes and beer and dashes out of the store without paying. The shop owner chases after him, following him to a nearby house where the suspect runs inside. Back in the store, another man leaves without paying for an 18-pack of beer, and he also goes to the same house. Police are called, and they meet the shop owner in front of the suspect residence. They knock on the door and hear movement behind it. After more knocking, a woman opens the door. She invites them inside and says, "You're free to come in and look around." The officers explain why they are there. The woman tells them that she once had two male roommates, but they no longer live there. She says nobody came into her house, and she doesn't know anything about the suspects. The police search the house, observing mail on the floor bearing the names of two men. The names, when run through the computer, return information about men who match the suspect descriptions from the robbery. The men are not in the house, but there is a back door and the officers surmise that the pair could easily have departed while they knocked on the front door. They return to the store, where the second shopkeeper says she knows one of the suspects as a regular customer and will recognize him if she sees him again...

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A Wallingford man leaves town after work on a Friday, and returns home Sunday night at about 9 p.m. Upon arriving, he notices damage to his front door. The wood frame has several gouge marks on it, but he believes it has not been opened. When he enters his house, however, he sees that one of his bedroom windows is standing open. It appears the suspect was alone, because he/she took only what one person could carry: a small television set, a laptop computer and a collection of silver dollar coins. Several other valuable items were left, even though they were in plain view. Police find no usable fingerprints at the scene. Total loss is more than $2,000...

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A man walks into a convenience store at 7:45 a.m. on a Saturday morning. He goes to the counter with a magazine, a snack, and beer. The clerk refuses to sell him the beer, because he is already drunk. He takes the other two items and leaves without paying. The clerk calls police, and while they are interviewing the clerk, the man returns. The officers take him into custody after the clerk points him out in the parking lot. He protests that he was returning to pay for the items he took, but he is searched anyway. In his pocket is a marijuana pipe containing some residue of the drug. He is charged with misdemeanor possession...

Tools stolen

An electrician arrives at a Lake City construction site, where he and several other contractors are working on a large project, at 6:20 a.m. on a Monday morning. He finds that several of his tools are missing. Looking around the site, he finds that a back door has been pried open. Then he sees that four other interior doors to several rooms are also pried. Tools were stolen from him, another electrician, an excavating company, a painting company and the construction company. Police arrive and search for clues, but heavy rain over the weekend had washed away any footprints or tire tracks. The investigating officer sees that the doors that were pried open are ruined, and someone has sprayed the word "PUTO" in red paint on a construction trailer. A can of red paint is found and submitted for fingerprinting. More than $10,400 worth of various tools is listed on the stolen property report. The value of the destroyed doors and other damaged property is estimated at around $1,850...

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A Des Moines man leaves his car parked on a street in the Oak Tree neighborhood on a Sunday night. When he returns on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., he discovers that unknown suspects shattered the right rear wing window, entered the vehicle and took a DeWalt cordless power took kit valued at $500, a stud finder valued at $60 and miscellaneous clothing. His total loss is $760...

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A Broadview man keeps his car parked on the street in front of his home. He reports that he returned from vacation on a Tuesday, and everything appeared to be fine. He remembers getting some items out of the car on Wednesday, and does not remember if he locked it afterward. On Saturday, his wife mentions to him that the trunk was ajar, but it is not until Sunday morning that he realizes his car had been prowled. He works as a building inspector, and the suspects stole a gas detector, furnace lighter, carbon dioxide detector, radon test canisters, a moisture detector and several other items. The tools are worth more than $1,300...

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An Oak Tree man is just about to fall asleep at 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning when he thinks he hears something break outside by his trailer parked on the street. In the morning, he goes outside and discovers that the lock on the trailer has been cut off with bolt cutters, and many of his tools were stolen from inside: a portable generator, a rotohammer, a portable band saw, an air compressor, and a saw drill. He loses over $1,700...

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