White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Two Crime Watch notes today:

HELICOPTER OVER WHITE CENTER: The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One has been circling for a while. We’re trying to find out why and will update when we know.

UPDATE: The mini-mart on the northwest corner of 16th/107th was robbed, we’ve confirmed at the scene. We’re told the robber(s) got away with about $150. The store remains open, as does the teriyaki restaurant next door. The helicopter has since moved on.

Meantime, a reader report of a recent incident:

CAR-WASH ASSAULT: This is from the victim’s mom:

I just wanted to make readers aware that there is risk of assault at the Car Palace car wash [10450 16th SW]. Two weeks ago, my 19-year old daughter was getting coins from the bill changer at the car wash. It was about 10 am.

She was groped from behind by a man who was about 5’5″ with dark hair. He was filming himself groping her with his camera. When she yelled, he took off running. She was so upset that she unwisely leapt into her car to follow him.

She followed him in her car to a nearby street where he hid under a bush. She then called her dad, who called the police. They saw the man enter a house nearby. They waited for 3 hours for the police, or in this case the sheriff, but no one came. There is currently just one car assigned to White Center.

Last night, the sheriff’s deputy came to interview my daughter. They cannot interview the suspect until the single deputy gets a partner for safety reasons.

At the very least, we’d like to warn other women that Car Palace may not be safe when you are alone, even in broad daylight on a busy street.

Incident # C23017252. We’re checking on the KCSO staffing situation, as they recently assigned a new “storefront deputy,” according to briefings at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council.

Thanks for the tip. The Guardian One helicopter has been over White Center for a while this morning. We asked the King County Sheriff’s Office why. Reply: “This looks to be a violation of a court order in progress. Our Guardian One was helping to locate the known individual who violated that court order.” That’s it for info so far.

Tuesday evening, police arrested four north-end bank-robbery suspects in White Center and South Park. It was a relatively lengthy helicopter-assisted operation, and the Guardian One crew has released video this past hour showing how it unfolded.

Two notes tonight:

HELICOPTER: If you noticed Guardian One circling north White Center for a while earlier this evening – we didn’t know what that as about until we got a tip about a sizable response in the O’Reilly Auto Parts lot at 17th/Roxbury. There, we were able to talk briefly to a King County Sheriff’s Office sergeant; he told us they’re looking for a “fugitive” but would not elaborate further, aside from confirming that the helicopter presence was related. We’ll update if we find out more. (Added 9:10 pm: KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Abbott says the person they were seeking is “a homicide suspect wanted out of Seattle.”)

STOLEN CAR: Reported by Byron:

Our red 2007 Honda Civic 4-door, license plate 867WSD, was stolen from our driveway. Sometime between 9pm last night and 11:15 am this morning. (10600 block of) 27th Ave. SW. There’s a car seat in the back and a brand new Yakima rack and kayak carrier on the roof.

If you see it, call 911.

We got a few questions about the Guardian One helicopter’s presence over east White Center/Top Hat this afternoon. That video shows what it was all about – assisting as King County Sheriff’s Deputies on the ground chased after an auto-theft suspect. The accompanying summary:

The suspect initially evaded police and then was relocated at a house. The suspect got into the passenger seat of a vehicle and then ran from police again when confronted. Guardian 1 tracked the suspect with the FLIR camera and he was taken into custody in a backyard shed.

We got some questions Monday afternoon about a Guardian One search over White Center. KCSO answered those questions with this update today:

On 11/4/2019, at about 2:50 PM, Deputy Hancock located an occupied stolen vehicle near the 9800 block of 13 Avenue SW in White Center. The driver of the vehicle got out and fled through an apartment complex.

Guardian 1 took to the air, and Deputy Gervacio grabbed his K9 partner “Paco” to assist in the hunt for the suspect. Guardian One noticed a suspicious hot spot, and K9 Paco found the suspect hiding at the bottom of a rock wall.

The 43 year old male, from White Center, was arrested without incident. The suspect denied he had driven the stolen car, but deputies were able to locate video of the suspect behind the wheel, wearing a beige jacket – which was found hidden inside the car.

KCSO adds that the suspect “was booked into King County jail on several outstanding warrants. The vehicle theft investigation remains open.”

(Also posted to partner site West Seattle Blog)

Took a while to get the details on this but for everyone who asked why the Guardian One helicopter was looping over White Center and South Delridge for a while – it was part of the search for someone who robbed an employee of Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th SW) in the alley behind the business, says King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Ryan Abbott. He says a robber armed with a handgun took the employee’s wallet and cell phone “and fled northbound into Seattle on a bike.”

… we went out looking but Guardian One had moved on and we were unable to locate deputies on the ground. G-1 has since tweeted that it was assisting in the search for a hit-run suspect near 2nd SW and SW 102nd.

First it was Guardian One, as tweeted below, and then TV following up:

Thanks for the text (206-293-6302 any time). Guardian One confirms via Twitter that it’s the helicopter you’re seeing/hearing over White Center. Flight tracking shows it’s been focused in the southwest White Center/northwest Burien area. G1’s tweet says King County Sheriff’s Deputies are looking for a robbery suspect. We’re monitoring the search via law-enforcement radio but have not yet heard details of the incident. We’ll update if we find out anything more; let us know if/where you’re seeing deputies on the ground. (added) Radio discussion indicates the ground search has been centering on 14th/116th.

12:44 AM: If you’re seeing/hearing a helicopter over White Center – what we’re hearing in radio communications is that the Guardian One helicopter is helping deputies search for a stolen car.

UPDATE: Here’s what the Guardian One crew tweeted after the incident:

(Photo by Gill Loring, added 4:41 pm)

FIRST REPORT, 3:39 PM: Thanks for the tips. Guardian One has been out over North Shorewood in what a deputy tells us is a search for at least one suspect – another may already be in custody – related to a stolen car.

4:41 PM UPDATE: Guardian One’s crew reported via Twitter that one person was in custody, two others being sought. And we’ve added a photo courtesy of Gill Loring – the stolen car, which had gone into a yard at 20th SW/SW 102nd.

11:59 PM: Thanks for all the tips about the Guardian 1 helicopter search over Top Hat. It was helping search for suspects in a shooting and robbery at the Star 21 marijuana store in the 11000 block of 1st Avenue South, we confirmed with a deputy in the area. No arrest(s) reported so far. We will be following up with the King County Sheriff’s Office in the morning.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: From Sgt. Cindi West of KCSO:

A K-9 search was done on the ground in addition to the helicopter search, but no one was found.

12:23 PM: Even more details in the newest update from KCSO:

The incident happened just before 10:00pm at the Star 21 marijuana shop in the 11000 block of 1 Ave S. A store employee saw lights and heard loud banging near the front door so he opened the door to see what it was. He saw a vehicle rapidly backing into the barriers placed in front of the store. A group of men, wearing masks, got out of the car and ran towards him at the front door. The employee tried to close the door but the men forced their way inside the store. One of the suspects shot the 25 year old employee in the shoulder as they entered the store. The suspects were described as black males wearing masks and hoodies.

Once inside the store the suspects rummaged through the store taking items before fleeing northbound in the vehicle. A short time later a deputy found the vehicle unoccupied near S110th St and Occidental Ave S. The vehicle had been reported stolen in a carjacking in SeaTac on Monday. The employee was taken to Harborview with serious injuries.

The carjacking occurred on Monday night around 11:00. The victim was sitting in his car in a parking lot in the 3500 block of S180th St. when he was approached by three males. One of the males produced a handgun, pointed it at the victim and demanded his car keys. The suspects then fled in the vehicle. The suspects in this case were described as two Hispanic males and one black male, all believed to be in their teens. (C17045198)

If you have information about these crimes please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311. You can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

Thanks for the tips – the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One was over White Center for a little while tonight, almost exactly 24 hours after last night’s visit. And again, they’ve explained it with information on Twitter:

One tipster reported seeing KCSO cars in the “dollar store” parking lot on the east side of downtown WC. For tips, by the way, you can text or call us any time at the same hotline we’ve long had for our partner site West Seattle Blog – 206-293-6302.

Thanks for the text about a helicopter over White Center. Since media helicopters are almost always off on weekends, we figured it had to be Guardian One, and headed over. But they’ve already explained themselves, via Twitter:

(WCN photo – deputies conferring behind the McDonald’s in the search zone)

8:27 PM: Thanks to everybody asking about this – scanner traffic confirms a search is under way near Ambaum/114th for a suspect, and that’s brought out the Guardian One helicopter, with a King County Sheriff’s Office K-9 on the way too. We haven’t heard what the suspect is being sought for, but deputies do seem to know who they are looking for, and it’s someone reported to have a record. Right now the search scene includes the storage business across from the Ambaum McDonald’s; one reader tells us they’ve also seen deputies a bit further south. We’re heading out to see what more we can find out, and we’ll update if/when we hear anything more.

ADDED: The Guardian One crew tweeted some information shortly after we had checked their feed and saw nothing. They tweeted, “In White Center, looking for white male, 6-2, black running shorts and shaved head. Wanted for assault and warrant. Ran from McDonald’s.”

8:52 PM UPDATE: We are in the area now and just talked briefly to deputies. They say the assault allegation involves domestic violence. Guardian One is still circling.

9:32 PM UPDATE: We left the area a little while ago, same time that the helicopter departed – which wasn’t because of an arrest, but because they had to refuel. Meantime, a KCSO K-9 team had arrived for a search in the area. So far, we haven’t heard of anyone being taken into custody, but are continuing to monitor, and if we don’t hear anything definitive sooner, we’ll check with KCSO’s media-relations officer in the morning to see if they have anything new to report. Our understanding is that the victim did not require hospitalization.

1:07 AM: Thanks to everybody who called/texted (206-293-6302) about the helicopter activity. Not enough discussion audible via scanner to figure out what they were doing while they were still in the are, but as usually is the case, the crew tweeted just after the incident ended (we did hear “They got the guy” on the local KCSO frequency): “Assisted White Center patrol on person with a gun call in 18 Ave SW. Led patrol in to person in front yard of house. Subject is detained.” We’ll follow up with KCSO later this morning.

ADDED 5:13 PM: Finally have those added details. From KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West: “Around midnight, we responded to the area of the 10400 block of 18 Ave SW for a report of a suicidal man who possibly had a gun. We contacted the man in the area and did not locate a gun. The man was transported to a hospital for a mental-health evaluation. The man is a 66 year old living in the vicinity.”

The King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support division has published that video showing part of what it was doing late last night – we got texts asking why the helicopter was circling in the White Center area; what you see is the arrest of a suspect found in a stolen car along Myers Way, by the city/county border. After the car was pulled over by Seattle Police, the suspect fled, but was picked up by Guardian One’s FLIR tracking. We don’t know where the car was stolen from – still trying to match this to a specific case.

The King County Sheriff’s Office has just explained what the Guardian One helicopter has been doing over Top Hat. From Twitter: Deputies were sent to a report of “a possible stolen car with person inside, S 100 ST and 2nd Ave S, Deputies arrived and the suspect fled … Deputies have set a perimeter, Helicopter on scene to assist, K9 tracking, stay inside to help the K9 track. … The car is a 1993, red, Acura Integra, 3 door, and is a confirmed stolen car. … Keep an eye out for a white male in his 20’s, in a t-shirt and jeans; this is the suspect who was in the stolen car and ran off.” We’ll update with any new information.

12:04 AM: We don’t have complete details but we do have a bit of info about why Guardian One was over White Center in the past half-hour. The King County Sheriff’s Office crew tweeted that they were helping White Center patrol deputies with someone “on a roof” on SW 106th, but the person came down on their own. What they were doing on the roof – that, we probably won’t be able to find out until morning. (If you are in the area and know, text us at 206-293-6302!)

1:28 AM: No audio, but Guardian One’s crew has published this video of the incident:

Exactly one additional word of information is available – it’s captioned “drunk man” on roof in White Center.