Cross-posted from CNA Chat email list, an Election Day burglary on 900 block of 24th S (between Charles & Norman, Judkins Park). Near the previously posted mugging, and possibly around the same time of day (early evening).
“Our house was burglarized on Election Day sometime before 6:30, when […] came home from work. They (?) took the smaller of our two TV’s, […] MacBook computer and her jewelry. They piled up our large plant containers under the kitchen window opposite the unoccupied bungalow to the south and forced open the window. The police came and took fingerprints but we have had no report. Please make sure all your windows are well locked when you are not at home. If you have a ladder outdoors, you may want to consider locking it to a pipe or tree so it can’t be used to get to higher windows. These guys are persistent.”
Colman Neighborhood Association info:
>http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/commnty/CNA/default.htm
More burglary stories from the list:
“We were luckier in that last week twice people tried to break in. The first was at 1230 at night when someone jumped from the lot next door into our back yard, scared the cat while my partner was outside. Then a couple minutes later he (African American, mid-20s, braids) banged on the back door and looked in the window. Said he needed to use a phone. We couldn’t tell if he was still in the yard, or hiding, or what. Police were called and responded VERY quickly. The person had already left and they did not find him in the neighborhood.
“Then 4 or 5 days later at about 5pm, most of us were out at the park (including the dog). 2 African American teenagers approximately 17 years old, banged on the front door. Then went around the stairs and down to the back door. They then saw [someone at home] looking out at them and left. [The person who saw them] called us first and we told [them] to call the police (probably 10 minutes after the event). The police came that evening to get more information.
“Moral of the story, CALL at the first sign of anything suspicious.”
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“Our house was robbed AGAIN about three weeks ago. Twice in two weeks. [Near NAAM and the new Children’s Garden.]”
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Two ideas from me:
1. Organize neighbor walks, in groups of, oh, 6 or more. Especially in the evening. I need the exercise, how about you?
2. Many people work odd hours or at home during the day. (I’m among them.) Some sort of buddy system or reciprocal house-watch arrangement, maybe?
(We could also use a non-public forum for organizing.)
And: The thugs are far outnumbered by the decent people. How can we use our numbers to stop them from victimizing us?
I’m sorry to hear about this – that must be incredibly frustrating!
I’m interested in walks with other neighbors. Evening time, would love to join you.
Attempted break-in Saturday night (the 8th) in the area near 23rd & Columbia. We were out from 6-11 p.m. so it happened sometime during that time frame; I have a suspicion we were being cased earlier in the day and they knew when we went out. Our deadbolts held and a big loud dog probably helped them give up, but they tried both front and back doors and heavily damaged the front door. We called it in as soon as we discovered it and an SPD officer came to check it out quite promptly. We are very, very glad they failed, but it doesn’t keep us from feeling shaken and uncertain. We’ll be upgrading our security, but with as opportunistic as these creeps seem to be, I’m not sure if it’ll ultimately help much.
And I’m not gonna take it anymore!