On or about Jan. 11, multiple suspect & criminal activities

Recent activity includes:

On or about Jan. 11, a red Chevy Blazer, about 5-8 years old, dropped off someone on Linden between 84th & 85th streets who then traveled away on foot--likely end of a drug deal.

A rental house at the corner of Linden Ave. and N. 84th St. was broken into around Christmas. Apparently no one was home and no lights had been left on.

At about the same time, the new construction site at N. 85th and Linden Ave. was broken into and some of the worker's tools were stolen. Neighbor who is aware of all of the incidents reminds us to secure our property as best we can and run a couple of lights when not at home.

3:50 am, Monday Nov. 30, Car Prowl

Neighbor arrived home in the 700 block of N. 82nd St. at 3:50 am Monday, Nov. 30, after an exceptionally late work night and was surprised to see a woman peer out of the back window of a car parked near her home and a small black bag or wadded-up jacket sitting in the street next to the car's rear wheel. Neighbor thought it likely that either prostitution or drug activity was going on and immediately called 911. Police operator said that because of a city-wide emergency (the standoff for a police killer was going on in Leschi at the time) they would not be able to respond. Neighbor pulled her car back, then forward again to try to read the license plate and then saw a man exit the car from the driver's seat and skulk away and the black bag was now gone.

After talking with another neighbor later that day, it turned out that the neighbor had interrupted a car prowl in progress. The car owner lost a small amount of cash but more importantly the thieves stole an old film camera that would be nearly worthless to anyone except to the owner. Neighbor asks for the film to be returned--no questions asked.

The car prowlers are described as a white female, age 25-35, possibly blond, who appeared thin or drawn and a Latino male, age 25-35, 5-7 to 5-9 with an average build possibly with a thin moustache, and wearing a hooded jacket or sweatshirt.

4:30 am Monday, Nov. 9 automotive items left at curb

Neighbor reports when awoken by sirens at 4:30 am Monday, Nov. 9, looked out front door and saw things sitting by their vehicle parked in front of their home on Fremont Ave. N between N. 83rd and N 84th. Lined-up on the curb was a full container of anti-freeze, a can of transmission fluid, a black funnel and a large car jack in plain view in a well-lit area. Neighbor thought it quite bizarre, moved it all into basement and reported it to the arson hotline, just in case.

Another neighbor adds that the auto items had been seen there sometime late Sunday evening, along with a green bible left under a neighbor's car. Police found the bible, checked with nearby neighbors to see if it might have belonged to them and when it was determined it did not, police took it away.

Another neighbor adds that the auto items may have come from a maroon van (described in earlier posts), that was parked on Fremont between 83rd and 84th on Sunday afternoon and had been moved by early morning on Monday.

7 pm Tuesday, Nov. 10 Community Meeting about arsons

LOCATION CHANGE: Arson Meeting

The Fire Department apologizes for the last minute notice but due to the amount of interest and accessibility issues, the venue for tonight’s community meeting was moved from Upper Crust Catering to Phinney RidgeLutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave N. The meeting is sponsored by the Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Police Department to talk about the recent arsons in the Greenwood neighborhood and what you can do to help prevent arson. The meeting will start at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 10 at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, Fellowship Hall, 7500 Greenwood Avenue North.

To report information about these arsons, call the Arson Tipline at 1-800-55-ARSON.

overnight Sunday-Monday, Nov. 8-9 ARSON

Three arson fires were reported overnight in the neighborhood.

11 pm Sunday behind a commercial building near Greenwood and N. 78th

4 am Monday behind Olive You restaurant on Greenwood just north of N. 85th

7:40 am Monday behind the Greenwood Quick Stop on Greenwood at N. 81st.

This from The Seattle Times this morning:

The Seattle Police Department is investigating three more fires Sunday night and early today in Greenwood.
The third was reported at 7:40 a.m., when materials leaning against a building at 8102 Greenwood Ave. N. caught fire.
Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen said the first fire was discovered about 11 p.m. Sunday behind a commercial building near Greenwood Avenue North and North 78th Street, next to a condominium complex.
The fire was quickly extinguished and caused about $1,000 damage, said Vander Houwen.
The second blaze, reported at 4 a.m. today, was behind the Olive You restaurant, on Greenwood Avenue North just north of North 85th Street. The fire burned a back wall and electrical panels on the restaurant, said Vander Houwen, and caused about $20,000 in damage.
She said the second fire was spotted by the arson patrol in the neighborhood, which smelled smoke and saw the fire.
The fires are the latest in a string of fires — the previous deemed to be arsons — that have plagued Greenwood businesses. Last week two fires were reported at a CPA office and a guitar shop. And Oct. 23, fire was set in the Green Bean Coffee House and spread to three other restaurants, Szechuan Bistro, C.C. Teriyaki and Pho Tic Tac. The Taproot Theatre and a business complex with second-floor apartments nearby also were damaged, mainly by water and smoke. It caused $2 million in damage.

7:10 pm Sunday, Nov. 8 Neighbor felt threatened

Neighbor on Linden between N. 84th and N. 85th reports that at about 7:10 Sunday evening, Nov. 8, he looked out his window to see a man walking across the street in a diagonal line toward his home and waving at him through the window. Neighbor thought it odd as he didn't think he knew the man and immediately felt uncomfortable about it. Neighbor saw another neighbor pull up and witness the interaction from across the street, that person also thought the way the man was approaching the house seemed odd and noticed that the man carried something in each hand. One of the items turned out to be part of a lamp. The man went to neighbor's door and was standing on front mat when neighbor opened his door. Man asked if he remembered him, neighbor did not but man said that neighbor had "called-in his car" for parking in front of another neighbor's house the other day. Although the man did not say anything threatening, neighbor did feel threatened and asked man to get off his porch and man did, but left behind the lamp piece. Man left walking west on 84th.

Neighbor believes the man was the same one who parked in front of 8411 Linden Friday about 2 pm (reported here earlier), a van with WA lic # 483-UAV. However, this neighbor did not notifiy authorities about the parking incident.

Neighbor called police and said that he felt threatened by this man. Police arrived about an hour later and took a statement from neighbor.

4:00 pm Saturday, Nov. 7 Suspicious activity

Neighbor reports on Saturday, Nov. 7, about 4 pm, a chrome-colored newish Toyota or Honda with tinted back windows pulled up in the 700 block of N. 84th St. The car had a temporary WA lic # 455295 and did not appear to be connected with any of the homes on the street. A Hispanic man, about 18-25, about 5 foot-8 and wearing a baseball cap, was in the car and over about a 10 minute period would crawl inside the car between the front and back seats and about three times opened the street-side door and looked up & down the street. When a neighbor walked up to the car and took a photo, the man got into the front seat and drove off.

Neighbors were especially suspicious because over the previous two days a green Ford Escort with no license plates and a dented hood had been parked in the area (and neighbors reported the car to authorities) and they began to take notice of cars that did not seem to belong with houses on the street.