A business matching the description of 12th Ave’s Capitol Hill Market appears to have been the victim in one of the biggest business burglary losses we’ve covered lately. And the crime went down less than 300 feet from East Precinct headquarters.
According to a SPD report, a store in the 1700 block of 12th Ave was broken into early on the morning of Tuesday, February 16. The modus operandi was similar to other recent Hill break-ins: The burglar threw a large rock through the store’s glass door and then headed straight for the cash register. This time, according to the report, the thief hit the jackpot — the till held approximately $1,800 in cash according to the store’s owner.
A witness saw the thief exiting the store through the busted door, knocking broken glass to the ground as he squeezed through with the cash. According to the report, the witness said the man appeared to be Asian or Hispanic, with a shaved head, wearing dark pants and a gray hooded sweat jacket.
The man ran from the scene and could not be located. According to the report, officers were also unable to locate any fingerprints at the scene. 
Seattle’s East Precinct headquarters is located at the intersection of 12th Ave and Pine, about a tenth of a mile from the 1700 block.
If I were a business owner looking for a Capitol Hill location, I’d check to see if there’s retail space available INSIDE the East Precinct headquarters. That would probably be pretty safe, at least most of the time.
That’s just embarrassing — for the neighborhood and the police. Do cops walk beats anymore? Maybe Seattle should buy some more $10,000 Segways for the police.
Why would any business leave $1800 in a closed til overnight? I’d think any business with any sense would have taken the money and deposited the funds in an after hours bank drop and left the til open so a would be thief would know pickings were slim there. Not very smart to say the least.
…. considering the reputation that this store’s new owners have. Just saying.
Hrrrrm? What’s all this about?
All I’m going to say is the following: if you do business there, carefully note the price, then count your change after the transaction. Also, if you want to know more regarding their reputation, then ask any neighboring resident or business about how they like their experiences shopping there these days.
And that’s all I’m gonna say. :)
I think I’d rather have the cops patroling our neighborhood north of the hill instead of hanging out at the precinct. I know sometimes I see a bunch of cars parked there but I always assumed they were writting arrest reports or something. I know the fire fighters respond to calls from their station but don’t we expect the cops to be away from theirs?