See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959.
- Restaurant owner DUI: A Capitol Hill chef was busted for driving under the influence last week just blocks from the Capitol Hill restaurant he owns. Philippe Thomelin, 44, has pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge following his arrest early last Wednesday morning.
According to the police report on the incident, Thomelin was spotted by an officer conducting a center-lane traffic stop around 1:30 AM on 12th Ave just north of Pine. The report says a silver Subaru station wagon “traveling well above the speed limit of 30mph” and veering out of its lane nearly struck the officer who then gave chase and made a traffic stop directly in front of the precinct at 12th and Pine.
According to the report, Thomelin smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed a series of field sobriety tests including an attempt to balance on one leg when he “nearly fell over.” Thomelin, the owner of upscale Capitol Hill restaurant Olivar, told police he had been drinking red wine before leaving work.
Inside the precinct, tests showed Thomelin had a blood alcohol limit above the legal limit:
The DUI charge appears to be Thomelin’s first in Seattle.Thomelin’s attorney Joseph Marshall confirmed to CHS that his client has pleaded not guilty to the charge and said Thomelin is “looking forward to contesting this charge in court.”
“He’s a longtime community member of Capitol Hill,” Marshall said.
In July, CHS reported on Thomelin’s celebration of Olivar’s five-year anniversary at 806 E Roy.
- First Hill elevator attack: A 19-year-old man has been charged with indecent liberties in an August 18th incident that took place inside an elevator in the First Hill Coppins Well apartment building at Minor and Madison. According to court documents, Roman Kudryashov is alleged to have attacked a 23-year-old resident of the building as she was taking her dog to the roof just after midnight. The documents say the victim’s boyfriend was able to intervene by waiting for the elevator on the building’s 12th floor and taking pictures of Kudryashov as allegedly attempted to flee. Kudryashov was arrested and told police he had been drinking at a rooftop party at the building earlier that night and had no recollection of the elevator incident. A $25,000 warrant was issued for the 19-year-old’s arrest last week. He is not currently in custody. KIRO talked with the victim about the attack and has included the photos of the suspect here.
- Cal Anderson camp ask SPD to clear campers: Seattle Police were called to Cal Anderson Monday morning to clear out transient campers as a soccer camp with dozens of children waited to take the field. There were no immediate arrests related to the clearance has two officers and a Seattle Parks ranger responded to Bobby Morris to clear the field and tell the campers to move along. Cal Anderson remains an SPD “emphasis patrol” and is at the center of efforts to abate crime in the area through secondary measures like leaving the park’s lights on overnight and budgeting additional ranger hours for patrol and assistance. The park’s annual influx of campers isn’t anything new — though occasionally the campers are able to surprise.
Telling the campers to move along? No tickets, no arrests, no consequences. And people wonder why it doesn’t get better or change.
Thank Peter Holmes, the city attorney, for that. He does not want to enforce any laws.
Yes, what’s so infuriating about the police response is that you keep hearing about how they are working to address crime, yet the most obvious solutions (enforcing park hours & the “no camping in public parks” law) seem to be completely beyond them.
The first time any cop arrests a camper in the park the screaming from the locals would be deafening…accusing them of waging a ‘war on the poor’ or some other tired old bumper sticker slogan
There would be a vocal minority that would make noise, the same ones that smash the windows at Chase Bank and act like that will liberate us from the evils of capitalism.
I think we need a focused effort from the Hill residents that want this to change, though. I don’t want the SPD to open fire on anyone, but there needs to be consequences for breaking laws. If the cops truly crack down instead of just occasionally shoo-ing people, it could start to turn this around.
The homeless that hang out in the park are generally not part of the violent crime problem.
From reports I’ve read on this blog, there have been a number of violent attacks within the park. The woman who was raped, a couple of people who were stabbed, etc…My husband was walking through there a few days ago and saw a group of homeless kids kicking the crap out of some old homeless guy that they seemed to know. And some of the robberies at gunpoint have happened right by the red lightrail wall on that side of the park, so law enforcement in the area might have prevented those, as well.
Cal Anderson was such a great place when it was first built, but the lack of law enforcement has turned it into a complete dump.
So what, then? …are they supposed to allow “some” people to camp overnight and hang out in the park, but somehow be able to prevent an unsavory element from beating/robbing people in the park? How will they know who’s who? The only workable solution is to allow nobody in the park, at all, overnight. Otherwise there is no way to know which homeless are supposedly not part of the problem, and which are.
Exactly. It is against the law to camp in public parks overnight, and as the police, they should be enforcing that law.
We aren’t helping the homeless by enabling them.
I meant to say “city” parks, not public.
The SPD have rolling shifts. The officers don’t all work midnight to 8 AM, 8 AM to 4 PM, 4 PM to midnight.
So why doesn’t the East Precinct have a protocol where when you begin/end your shift, you do a foot patrol through Cal Anderson. We’re talking one block!
This is the Spd schedule, they don’t have rolling shifts, at least not the patrol officers.
First Watch: 0300-1200 or 0330 – 1230
Second Watch: 1100-2000 or 1130 – 2030
Third Watch: 1900-0400 or 1930 – 0430
I am the last person to defend the sleazy campers at Cal Anderson. But in this case they were probably not breaking any laws, as the park was open at that time and they have the legal right to hang out there except during the closed hours. So the police were right to just move them along to make way for the soccer camp.
This points to a problem…even when it is quite obvious that people have spent the night in the park (tents, sleeping bags, etc.), the police can’t arrest them during the daytime hours when the park is open. So the obvious solution is much more frequent patrols at night, and arresting those who are camping, NOT just moving them along. They need to be held accountable.
I’m sorry but why is a restaurant owner getting a DUI front page news on this blog? Is this a blog from a big city or a small town crier, that enjoys shaming people?
I always have to go first. You tell me why it’s not newsworthy.
It feels like you guys are turning into a gossip tabloid. What’s next are you going to report extra martial affairs of any business owners on the hill?
No laws allegedly broken, there
He has a point though. A DUI is of course a serious offense that could lead to loss of life but it isn’t a directly malicious act. For a first time offense it hardly seems newsworthy.
I’m surprised by this feedback. I believe DUI is serious enough to warrant my attention — I go through incidents every day and have been covering more frequently with the advent of SPD’s Tweets by Beat system which allows me to more easily identify potential incidents worthy of follow-up. Expect more not fewer incidents to be covered.
Yes…but….there are probably many DUI incidents on Capitol Hill over the course of a few weeks. Why single Mr. Thomelin out just because he owns a business?
We didn’t single him out. We’ve covered DUI in the past and will continue to do so. Expect more with some things I’ve learned about how the SPD and Municipal Court records match up.
How is a DUI not newsworthy? It’s essentially attempted murder. It’s public information. Most cities publish arrests daily or weekly in their newspapers, Seattle Times doesn’t for some reason. Totally a legit news story here. Just as relevant to public safety as reporting on the muggings and bashings that have been going on.
I’m not debating that a DUI is a bad thing, what I am debating is singling out a business owner on the hill.
I wouldn’t call this singling anyone out. This site has reported on lots of people getting DUI’s. It would only be singling him out if they never did it and then just this once they did. He’s essentially just copying and pasting the SPD’s blotter which is available to anyone online. No big deal. If you don’t want to be in the news, don’t drink and drive. It’s really as simple as that.
I disagree. Yes, CHS does report other DUIs, but almost always because those incidents also involve car accidents and/or pedestrian injury. I don’t recall any examples of a DUI report where the driver was just pulled over for erratic driving, and not because he/she caused an accident.
I say again…I’m sure there are many instances of DUI on Capitol Hill which don’t involve an accident. Unless all of these are regularly reported, then….yes….Mr. Thomelin was singled out because he owns a well-known neighborhood restaurant.
It’s only a misdemeanor. Can’t be that serious.
This blog is like TMZ Capitol Hill.
I know. Check out this salacious coverage
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2013/08/after-21-years-on-capitol-hill-frans-chocolates-moving-to-georgetown/
only if you vow to cover all DUIs of their employees after they move off the hill
Why can’t chefs handle their liquor?
We know why cops and combat troops and trauma nurses drink. But I’ve never made a sandwich and then had to run and drown my sorrows over it.
[…] and received a suspended sentence of one day in jail and a fine in the DUI case stemming from his August arrest at 12th and Pine. Thomelin’s attorney tells CHS the proceedings ended as a “no test” case after […]