Who has not shoplifted at a Cap Hill QFC?

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It’s a rare day that goes by without a shoplifting report at 523 Broadway E. Here are the latest Central District News Scanner reports for the area. This week, Seattle Weekly adds another report to the pile from way back in January. But this one comes from a source other than the police scanner or the media reports I dig through to learn about arrests and crime on the Hill.

Here’s what the Weekly reported:

Everyone has the occasional trouble with the law and the cross-town rival news editor (and former SW writer), Erica C. Barnett, had her own run-in earlier this year. According to a police spokesperson, the SPD received a shoplifting call from the northern Broadway QFC on Jan. 28 at 6:50 p.m. Barnett is accused of attempting to steal an $8.99 bottle of wine. The spokesperson says SPD records indicate she wasn’t arrested at the scene, but the city attorney’s office did file a misdemeanor theft charge in Seattle Municipal Court. Barnett is scheduled for a hearing March 17. She declined to comment.

Given the way this kind of information is gathered, it’s likely that the Weekly reporter got a tip on this — either that, or she monitors the hundreds of muni court filings that go through Seattle each week. There’s no (ethical) way to have figured out it was Barnett from the redacted media reports that SPD provides so the only way to get a name is to get the court documents involved with the case. Also note the clever turns of phrase in the write-up — SPD won’t confirm names and the media report they provide is redacted so the SW write-up uses the pronoun ‘she’ when talking about the incident (I initially referred to the incident as an ‘arrest’ when this was first posted but the Weekly notes there was no arrest at the scene). The Weekly reporter is putting two and two together just like any other crime story. But, in this case, seems like she had a good deal of help to get the ball rolling. We’ll see. I have a question out to ask about the reporting.

In the meantime, Barnett joins the long line of QFC accused. She won’t be the first reporter accused of having sticky fingers on Capitol Hill.

15 thoughts on “Who has not shoplifted at a Cap Hill QFC?”

  4. HA HA HA ECB takes every opportunity to slam my business but has never once called to check facts. I say hang her in the press and let her see how it feels.

  5. Maybe she’s not the most larcenous reporter in Cap Hill history, but she’s certainly the most insufferably holier-than-thou. Though she doesn’t live up to her own standards, it seems. I bet she secretly drives a car too.

  6. Why is there no huge reaction from the stranger about this???? Do you think they would let it go if it was someone that the stranger has decided isn’t cool

  7. No, I’m not commenting about the arrest, but about the questioning of SW’s ethics on how they reported this story.
    For years, great stories have been gathered and reported by journalists who dare to scour the reams of paperwork filed in court houses and chat up sources who sometimes spill valuable information. Watergate anyone? It’s called shoe leather and experience.
    As long as information can be triangulated and verified, it’s fit to be print.
    That doesn’t necessarily make it good news.
    I agree the reporting of a shoplifting charge is hardly news for traditional media, but for an alt weekly to take a shot at a former one of their own – that seems fare game.
    jseattle is doing a great service to the Capitol Hill community. I’m an avid consumer of this blog. But, he’s clearing learning the ropes of crime reporting and managing stories that evolve through the legal process. Good for him and for us.
    We’re losing the PI next week and we need hungry reporters. But this entry is a good example of what we lose when there aren’t experienced editors to guide the process of getting information into print.

  8. I remain surprised that the reporter found this story — what is wrong with being surprised about that? But never said it wasn’t fair game. If I had found it, I would have covered it, too.

  9. “I got beat on a story. Therefore the person who got it must have done something unethical. I, meanwhile, will steal the entire post and not link to it, just to show how ‘down’ I am with shoplifters.”

  12. Probably fair (except for the link thing which was another error on my part, now fixed) but not so much that I got beat — I won’t/don’t/can’t get every story on the Hill — but that I still don’t know how the reporter got the story. I’ve asked but don’t expect a response because it’s her right to collect facts without explaining everything to me.

  14. You say that ECB “isn’t the only reporter accused of having sticky fingers on the hill” and then link to a random slog post by Dan Savage.

    Are you claiming that Dan Savage has been accused of shop lifting, or is this a sex joke.

  15. The comment thread says the house in the linked post once belonged to a local TV reporter with a peculiar habit. I’ll update the link in the story to link directly to comment 7