Among the changes coming to 17th and Yesler’s Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center is a new name: The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.

As we reported previously, members of the city government have voiced concerns that the LHPAC needs to generate more of its own operating expenses. The mayor, meanwhile, moved the organization from the Parks Department to the Office of Cultural Affairs.

Since reopening after years of rehab work, the organization has been restructuring, and the new name is part of that.

The LHPAI sent out this press release today: Continue reading →

Two men arrested for completely separate incidents of crime via Craigslist in the CD have been charged.

Hezekiah Greene, who was allegedly behind the 31st and Yesler armed robbery last week, killed a man in Belltown in 2008, the Seattle PI reports. Greene was 14 at the time.

Our sister site Capitol Hill Seattle has more details on David Hansen, the man suspected of robbing people he meets for sex via online ads. Hansen eluded police at 29th and Norman January 22, then apparently taunted them via Twitter.

Greene

Greene has been charged with one home robbery in Greenwood, though investigation into the 31st and Yesler robbery—which was arranged through Craigslist as an iPhone sale—is ongoing. The Seattle PI found that Greene pleaded guilty to killing Vince S Clair with a tire iron: Continue reading →

The Seattle Times has identified the dead gunman in Sunday night’s shooting at 25th and Cherry’s Twilight Exit as 33-year-old James Anderson and reports on his troubled relationship and recent run-in with police in a November incident also at the Twilight. According to his Facebook profile, Anderson was a Seattle Central student and a regular in the Belltown hip-hop scene. He leaves behind a son who is less than a year old.

According to most recent reports, both of Anderson’s victims remain in stable condition in the hospital.

The injured Twilight bouncer has been identified as Greg McCormick.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times reports that the officer who shot Anderson was four-year veteran Anthony Ducre. He won the department’s medal of courage in 2012.

In accordance with department protocol, he has been reassigned in the aftermath of the shooting.

Meanwhile, bar staff have been working to clean up ever since police left Monday and plan to open tonight (Tuesday), though trivia is cancelled.

CDNews spoke with owner Stephan Mollmann Monday evening at the Neighbor Lady, where left-behind bags, coats and cell phones were laid out on the pool table waiting for their owners to reclaim them. Mollmann described entering the bar after investigators had finished, seeing drinks and phones abandoned on tables exactly where they were when the shooting started.

On one table, there was a half-finished beer, a cell phone, and a nearly full birthday cocktail.

Mollmann said he sees the shooting as a domestic incident that could have happened anywhere. He hopes the bar can move past it and get back on its feet quickly. Continue reading →

A man shot two people inside the Twilight Exit at 25th and Cherry Sunday night before exiting the bar and firing at police officers outside. Police returned fire and killed him.

The two people shot inside, a 25-year-old female and a bouncer in his 30s, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No officers were struck during the exchange outside the bar.

Update: The shooter has been identified as James D Anderson. See update below for more details from the Seattle Times.

Police loaded witnesses onto a Metro bus

The incident started around 10:15 p.m., according to police. There were at least 20 people in the bar when the suspect entered, apparently looking for the woman, who was an ex.

After exchanging words, the man pulled out a gun and shot her. He also shot a Twilight Exit bouncer when he tried to intervene.

When the suspect exited the bar, police contacted him and told him to drop his gun. He lifted the gun and fired one shot at officers, police said. Officers then returned fire, striking him.

Medics declared the suspect dead on arrival. The two victims inside were transported to the hospital.

Witnesses gathered outside, and emergency responders gave them ponchos to keep dry from the light, cold drizzle as they waiting for detectives. A Metro bus arrived, and witnesses boarded to stay warm and talk to officers. They then left the scene in the bus, headed to station for further statements.

The shooting occurred just two blocks from where Justin Ferrari’s van came to a stop after he was shot and killed in May 2012, one block from where Tyrone Love was shot and killed in 2009, one block from where Quincy Coleman has shot and killed on Halloween 2008, and two blocks from where a man was shot and seriously injured in August.

The Twilight Exit has been a huge supporter of CDNews, and a personal favorite watering hole. We send our best wishes to the victims, staff and everyone in the bar.

Update — Monday 9:40 AM: Twilight Exit management has posted the following message to the bar’s Facebook page:

The page has also become a de facto message board for customers to share support for the victims and the Twilight.

CDNews spoke with Twilight Exit owner Stephan Mollmann, who has had a long night. He said the shooter and victim were regulars in the Twilight, and their disputes have raised concerns in the past.

“Right when it happened, I knew who it was,” he said.

He said the bouncer remains in the ICU in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his thigh.

Police have not yet cleared the scene. Once they do, the many bags, coats and other belongings left will be taken to the Neighbor Lady at 23rd and Union, which Mollmann also owns in partnership with Shira Bray.

Update: The Seattle Times spoke to a witness who described the following:

Continue reading →

Police have arrested the man suspected of using sex as the bait in a string of robberies including an early January incident in which he allegedly pulled a gun and stole phones, laptops, and wallets from two victims in an E Howell apartment.

David Hansen, 25, was taken into custody by SPD Friday night outside an Aurora motel after “information was received” that the suspect was staying there. Tuesday night, Hansen escaped capture after an arrest attempt in the Central District.

Police say Hansen is a suspect in a November case in which a man reported he met the Hansen for sex but was brutally beaten and robbed. Following the Central District arrest attempt, SPD provided Hansen’s photo and asked for assistance in tracking him down. Continue reading →

The following photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives features a boy painting a mural at Peppi’s Playground at 32nd and Spruce in 1970.

Remember, you can add your Central District photos—new and old—to the Central District Flickr pool.

Screen capture from dashboard video of Etherly’s arrest

The city has filed misdemeanor hit-and-run charges against Leo Etherly, the man whose rough arrest at 23rd and Union in October prompted an internal investigation into the level of force used.

Etherly was originally stopped by officers because they said his vehicle and license plate were similar to a vehicle described in a hit-and-run of a woman riding a bicycle at 29th and Jefferson.

Police were pursuing felony charges for hit-and-run and assault on officers for allegedly spitting on them. The King County Prosecutor declined to pursue the cases, however.

Now, the City Attorney has refiled the hit-and-run charge in Seattle Municipal Court, as well as a charge for third-degree driving with a suspended license, the Seattle Times reports. The city declined to refile the assault charge.

The internal investigation against the officer’s actions during the arrest is still underway.

Meanwhile, video of the incident mobilized a group of people to start organizing to fight police brutality in the city. The Seattle King County NAACP and the No New Jim Crow Coalition are holding an organizing meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church at 23rd and Dearborn.

Here’s a look at some of the crime incidents that have happened in the neighborhood in recent weeks. Most information comes from SPD reports.

Two young men rob person in Craigslist scam at 31st/Yesler

Police are searching for two young men after they allegedly robbed someone at 31st and Yesler Thursday evening. Details from SPD:

Two young male suspects are at large tonight after robbing a man at gunpoint.  At approximately 6:26 p.m. officers responded to the area of 31st Avenue and East Yesler Way for the report of an armed robbery of a citizen.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim placed an advertisement on Craig’s List to purchase an i-phone.  He then arranged to meet with whom he thought were the sellers at 31st Avenue and East Yesler Way.  Upon arrival the suspects brandished a gun and robbed the victim of his cash and cell phone. The suspects fled the area on foot and remain at large.

Both suspects are described as black males, 5’8″ to 6 feet tall and 15 to 16 years of age.  One suspect had a black jacket, baseball cap, and dark pants. There is no further description at this time of the second suspect.

Robbery detectives responded to the scene and continue to actively investigate. Continue reading →