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Blotter | Group robs disabled Capitol Hill man, parties in his apartment

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  • Unwanted visitors rob disabled man: Police are looking for a group of thieves that robbed a disabled Capitol Hill resident and forced their way into his apartment this weekend where they partied, took drugs and boozed it up — apparently enjoying fine food and drink thanks to the victim’s bank account.
     
    According to the report on the incident, the mentally disabled man told police he was hanging out at a club in Pike/Pine Saturday night and was walking home through Cal Anderson just before midnight when three young males and a female near the basketball court started following him. The victim told police the group surrounded him on Broadway near Thomas and demanded money or “they would do something to him.” The victim told the four he had no money but the suspects then demanded he withdraw $100 from a nearby ATM. The victim told police he was afraid and complied with the demand.With the victim’s cash in hand, the group decided to continue following the man as he walked away. The victim told police he asked the group to leave him alone several times but they continued to follow him to his nearby apartment where he lives alone. The victim went inside but the group began knocking loudly on his door. The victim finally let them in because the four wouldn’t stop knocking, he told police.
     
    Inside his apartment, the group began drinking beer and smoking marijuana. The disabled man decided to go to bed but the male and female who had already robbed him of $100 refused to leave the victim’s home.When the victim awoke late Sunday morning, he found his unwanted guests were still in his living room and still smoking and drinking. He again told the group to leave — this time, the three males grabbed his apartment keys and left the female behind with the victim. It turns out the trio was on a shopping trip. The victim told police the males returned with “expensive” alcohol and food to continue the party in his apartment. The victim then went to tell a neighbor what was happening inside his apartment — when he returned, the four thieves had hightailed it leaving only packages of their ill-gotten gains behind.
     
    The victim told police the group didn’t leave the apartment empty handed, stealing his video game system, a bank card, an ORCA card and a red backpack. He was able to provide a general description of the thieves to police — three young Somali or East African males and a female who spoke with accents. Police took evidence from the scene in order to collect possible fingerprints and advised the man to get his locks changed, use a security chain on his door and call 911 if he ever sees the suspects again.
  • Gunshot hit and run? Police investigated a strange hit and run report Monday morning at 12th and Spruce. According to East Precinct radio dispatches, police were called to the intersection to a report that the window of a vehicle had been blown out by a possible gunshot before the vehicle was struck by a van that then left the area. No description of the van was available and there were no immediate arrests or major injuries in the incident. UPDATE: Here is a security bulletin from nearby Seattle U about the incident:
    On 4/14/14 at approximately 11:50am Seattle Police responded to the area of 12th Ave. and E. Spruce St. for a report of a shooting. A unknown suspect in a blue Dodge van shot at a car in front of them causing a window to shatter. The van collided with the victim’s vehicle and then fled to I-5 via Dearborn St.It is unknown if anyone sustained any injuries during the shooting or collision.
  • E Cherry runaway truck: A delivery truck that began to roll without its driver did some damage near 16th and Cherry when it became “un-parked” Monday afternoon:At approximately 1:30pm today a large un-occupied box truck became un-parked at 16th Ave. and E. Cherry St. The truck rolled East-bound on E. Cherry St. striking multiple cars parked along the corridor and eventually stopped in the 1200 block of E. Cherry St. near the Douglas apartments.
  • Writer threatened: Police were called to the Central District home of Stranger writer Dominic Holden Monday morning after a disturbing incident with a likely mentally ill man who reportedly threatened the journalist. Holden posted a series of Tweets about the incident included this image of the “shrine” he says the man created:Screen Shot 2014-04-14 at 12.28.07 PMAccording to police radio, the man was taken into custody a short time later not far from the scene.
  • Belltown bike “chop shop”: The owner of Bicycle Pull-Apart at 3rd and Battery has been arrested as part of a theft investigation.
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10 Comments
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Zach
Zach
10 years ago

Ugh. This particular crime really disgusts me.

Zach
Zach
10 years ago
Reply to  Zach

To be more specific, I meant the weird apartment takeover crime.

Kristen
Kristen
10 years ago
Reply to  Zach

Me too- I don’t know if I want to cry or scream. I can’t believe people are that terrible…

Regret
Regret
10 years ago
Reply to  Zach

I agree that the apartment invasion crime is very disturbing. It wasn’t mentioned that the police attempted to obtain surveillance photos from the ATM machine or nearby security cameras. Any chance of a follow up with the police on that?

Marc
Marc
10 years ago

Is it impossible to get a cop or two from up the street to wander around there for a couple hours a night?

pragmatic
10 years ago

Usually more respectful to say “man with a disability” than “disabled man”. Small difference but it means a lot to some people.

calhoun
10 years ago

Mental disability or not, it is unbelieveable that the guy….who was just the victim of a crime from these creeps….let them into his apartment because they were knocking. Why didn’t he just call 911?

Kristen
Kristen
10 years ago
Reply to  calhoun

Seeing as how the man has a mental disability, he probably just didn’t realize what could happen. It’s heartbreaking, and I can’t even imagine how his family must feel right now.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago
Reply to  Kristen

I wonder how slimeballs who would do something like this can even live with themselves the next day. What a collective waste of O2.

Ella
10 years ago

Let this be a wake up call to check on our neighbors. I imagine someone would have heard this going on? Knocking on a door at a late hour and partying. I can only assume this guy lives in a building with people on both sides. Or perhaps that someone would see him being harassed on his walk from Cal Anderson up Broadway to Thomas. C’mon people get off your phones and get involved.