Columbia Citizens

Two guys were casing cars on 39th between Hudson and Edmunds (and elsewhere) last night between about 7:30 and 9pm. I've seen them before, and actually watched them do a smash and grab one afternoon about a month ago. They work as a team, one as the lookout while the other does the dirty work. They are one young black man (20's), medium build, clean shaven and short hair. Seen last night wearing blue jeans, black hoodie, and a brown or dark green North Face jacket. He's the one who actually did the smashing last month. The lookout is heavier build, black or hispanic, moustache, was wearing blue jeans, dark blue parka, and a white baseball cap with dark bill. I know the descriptions can fit a lot of people, but as always it's not the appearance but the behavior that's the give-away. These two are on an easy stroll, looking in cars, sometimes splitting up and then regrouping, making multiple passes of the same street. What they want is a good target car and a street empty of people.

I called the cops last night, but they didn't do a drive by until 45min later, so I assume it was a busy night. I don't know if our two guys eventually found a suitable target or not. If you see them, do call it in. They work fast but the simple presence of a cop in the neighborhood might scare them away. Even better, go for a stroll or take the dog for a walk. What they want is a vacant street, so we could confound them just by being present.

I've been seeing the same suspect (young black male, slight/medium build, about 5'10", dark jeans, black/white shoes, black hooded jacket, olive green knit hat) casing cars in the area west of Rainier between Hudson and Edmunds. He seems to really like the block of 39th between Ferdinand and Edmunds, there are always lots of cars here and few houses, with easy alley access. I saw him making the rounds last Sunday (11/25) at about 12:30 in the afternoon. Same pattern as before, making several laps of the area, looking into cars, and keeping watch for other people out on the street. He didn't seem to have his spotter friend with him this time. I lost sight of the guy, but I called it in to SPD and went out to wander around, hoping to keep an eye on him and see if any cars had been hit. Barely 15min later I came across a couple who were parked at the alley on 39th between Ferdinand and Edmunds whose car window had been smashed and backpack (with laptop, etc) had been stolen. I chatted with them a bit and gave them the info I had.

In a lucky break, I just happen to have seen the suspect enter an apartment complex at 3818 Edmunds only 5min before (perhaps just after breaking into the car around the corner). Maybe he lives there, maybe he knows someone in the building, or maybe he's just crossing through to the alley, but whichever is the case it's a handy piece of info. Since no one saw the actual break-in, and I couldn't say whether I'd seen the suspect with the backpack, the cops (reasonably) didn't feel there was any further action they could take. I did talk to the police, and they said that they'd been keeping an eye on that particular block and perhaps even that building because of suspected criminal activity. They assured me that they were logging all of our reports and said they were stepping up patrols in the area.

I love that CC is such a popular Seattle destination, but a rash of car break-ins can really dampen enthusiasm for the neighborhood quickly. The guy I've seen works the area in broad daylight and when there are lots of cars around (weekends and busy evenings where there are more targets available) not just late at night when the streets are empty. Please keep an eye out for this kind of activity, and don't hesitate to call it in if you see something suspicious. The more calls, the more attention we get from SPD. Maybe it's even worth a call if you see a fresh pile of broken glass on the curb that wasn't there yesterday, just to make sure the cops have received a report of a break-in.

They continue down 39th past Hudson, down to the Pearl/Rainier intersection; same lack of houses with lots of cars. Many of the cars that park on that stretch of the block belong to restaurant employees, so they're parked for 5+ hour shifts. One of the Tutta Bella servers had his laptop and some clothing stolen and a window broken one evening several weeks ago; he asked but we hadn't seen or heard anything. He reported his incident to SPD, and we've been keeping a closer eye out on our block since, including walking on 39th more often rather than hopping over to Rainier. We alerted our neighbors to just try and pay more attention, and to call stuff in; we're already pretty good about it but looks like we need to step it up a bit right now.

Hey all, I just wanted to add my voice to this conversation. This same thing happened to me the night of the 26th. Rear window smashed out, and some things taken, from my carport on the corner of 39th and Edmunds. I've been hearing this same story from other people on the block, although I haven't seen anything suspicious personally. I made a report with the police, as we all should do to make more of a presence in this neighborhood. And I would be really interested in talking with anyone who has had this same experience and is willing to share. Look after your neighbors!

There have been a few more break-ins recently after what seemed like a quiet month. There's a newer pile of window glass mid-block on 39th bet. Ferdinand and Edmunds from last week, and there was a fresh pile of glass last night in the center of that same block. Most of these are within a very close radius of the W alley entrance on that block, so I think this is the popular hiding/access/get away point for the block. I also saw the guy — probably the same kid as before but hard to tell — out casing cars at around 6:45p last night. I called SPD and went out to do a casual follow, just to see where he went. The cops did a drive through within minutes, and he also seemed to notice me making the rounds. I didn't see him for the rest of the evening, so maybe he's starting to catch on that the locals know his M.O. The area around 39th and Edmunds definitely seems to be the 'home base', I see the guy casing the surround blocks but he always returns to somewhere on Edmunds west of 39th.

Last night (Wed. 1/16) there were at least two new break-ins in the 39th and Edmunds vicinity, one just W of the SW corner, and another (again) S of the alley between Edmunds and Ferdinand. I watched our usual suspect casing the neighborhood last night between 5:30 and 6:30, and I also witnessed him molesting the car at the alley on 39th, at which point I called the cops. Last night he was wearing black jeans, a red top and black hoodie over that, then later switched to a red jacket with grey shoulders and sleeves, with a black hoodie underneath. He seems savvy enough to switch-up his outfit throughout the night, but always with the black hoodie. I also have an ever-growing collection — seven so far! — of his window breaking tools, which he often discards at the scene. His m.o. is to steal antennas off of parked cars, and use them as a whip to break windows.

There seemed to be a bigger than usual police response last night, at about 7:30, complete with cops searching the bushes by flashlight. Maybe someone had a gun stolen from their car? Not sure what else would trigger the heavy search, unless it was just a slow night for SPD.

I've been down for a few days with the flu, but a walk of the neighborhood today revealed at least four other new/recent break-ins in the Hudson-to-Angeline and 37th-to-39th area. They include:

• 37th bet. Ferdinand & Edmunds, W side (found a breaking tool here)
• 37th bet. Hudson & Ferdinand, E side, street side window (pretty sure this one was night of 1/16, the glass is in the middle of the street and hasn't been spread around by passing cars)
• just W of SW corner of Ferdinand & 37th
• 39th and Edmunds, SE corner bet. intersection and the alley (found a breaking tool here too, but looks like it had been there for a while).

So that's at least six break-ins in the last three days. I'm about ready to print up fliers and pamphlet the entire neighborhood, but I'm worried that might anger more locals than it would be helpful in catching or deterring our guy. At the very least it would surely let the car prowler know that we're on to him. I'd love it if anyone with an eye on Edmunds or Angeline, and especially the alley in between, would keep a close watch out. Again, I've seen the suspect coming and going from 3818 Edmunds on days when cars have been hit. I wonder if a regular check of the dumpsters behind that building would turn up some stolen bags?

Any thoughts from the interwebs on how to proceed?

In the months since October I've been tracking and cataloging as much information as possible about car casing and break-ins in our neighborhood. My hope is that the data will eventually help close the loop on our known car prowl suspects, or at least tell us where to focus any future block-watch efforts. My intent is to share this information with all of you and with SPD (if they ever show any interest).

So what are the numbers? In the area roughly defined by Hudson/Angeline and 37th/39th, I've cataloged 23 distinct break-ins in the last 3 months. They come in fits and spurts, but usually in the evening hours when lots of visitors are parked here, and also show a high concentration within a block of 39th and Edmunds.

I need your ongoing help to improve this tracking system. Please send any car prowl info, no matter how trivial it seems, to me at moc.liamg|hctawkcolb811#moc.liamg|hctawkcolb811 so that I can add it to the database. I'll continue sharing pertinent information that I've collected, and also continue to make it available to the police.

Most importantly: if you witness a break-in, are the victim of a break-in, see people casing cars, or even come across an unattended car that's just been broken into, CALL THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY. The more data they have on file, the more effective their response will be.

I'm also looking for suggestions from the tech-savvy on how to set up a text/SMS distribution list that local subscribers can use to alert each other immediately if they see something fishy. Maybe there's a better way to accomplish this, I know Facebook will send text updates, for example, but I'm not sure if you can limit this feature to a single FB group. Looking forward to advice from the community. Thanks.

35th and Hudson on Sunday 3/10…black VW GTI with the back window smashed in. Happened between 2 and 6pm.

None of the neighbors seemed to notice. Not sure who the car belongs to.

People seem amazed that we don't hear more about the crap that goes down here!!! Here's the simplest answer from a homeowner in the Columbia City area for 9 years (And my husband is a local)
….. Patrol cars are allotted by volume of calls. Lots of people in our hood just simply don't care or want to be involved. Do yourself and our neighborhood a favor and just call the non emergency line for ANY suspicious activity. Done. Easy. It's why we pay taxes.

Is the non-emergency number available at all hours?

I called it last week twice before 7am to report that my car had been prowled and ended up just filing a report online because there was no answer each time I called.