The SPD Blotter blog has an entry about an incident that began and ended on Capitol Hill early Saturday morning. Here is the report from the department's public information officer:

DUI suspect assaults officer

On March 28 at 12:48 a.m. an eyewitness called 911 to report that a female suspect in her 30’s driving a red 2004 Ford Mustang had struck a metal barrier at Harvard Avenue and East Pine Street and drove off. At 1:20 a.m. SWAT team officers spotted the suspect vehicle and stopped it in the 1400 block of NW Leary Way. Patrol Officers responded to assist. The 37-year-old female suspect/driver displayed signs of intoxication and was placed under arrest for DUI. While transporting the suspect to the East Precinct she became violent and kicked the rear window out of the patrol car. At the precinct, as officers were escorting the suspect to a holding cell she turned and spit in the face of one of the officers. That officer was treated at Harborview Medical Center for biological hazard exposure and released....

Here's a later than normal look at last week's cops and robbers action on Capitol Hill. Per usual, reports are compiled from Central District News scanner reports, SPD media reports and good old-fashioned CHS reporting. Got a tip or a question about something you witnessed? Fire away.

Recent Capitol Hill Police Activity - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday 3/16/09
1:34PM - 15th Ave E and E Mercer St - Hit and Run - Two car accident and one driver fled the scene

Tuesday 3/17/09
Nothing happened today, unless you count...

Wednesday 3/18/09
CHS Report: 2:00AM - 1700 block Harvard Ave E - Bomb scare - A suspicious item shut down the blocks around Seattle Central while bomb squads investigated in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The item was later determined to be a vandalized utility box. CHS coverage.

CHS Report: 10:52PM - 1500 block E. Madison - Pornography/Obscene Material - Two officers on foot patrol provided the following report regarding pornographic images they witnessed on display through windows...

The following reports are compiled from Central District News police scanner reports and records provided by the Seattle Police Department.

Recent Capitol Hill Police Activity - CDN Scanner Reports

Sunday March 8
CHS Report: 3:00PM - 200 block Federal Ave E - Theft - A Florida man staying at a house for sale reported that his wallet and his bag were stolen during an "open house" event. Man reported the loss at $1,510.

Monday March 9
2:31PM - 2500 Boyer Ave - Theft - Man in a raft is going from boat to boat stealing things, white male 30s, using a pole as an oar.

CHS Report: 9:30PM - 1600 Block Harvard - Assault - An officer responded to a report of a man punching a woman but instead found a 31-year-old man who explained that he had been in an argument with his boyfriend who had left the scene. Witnesses reported seeing the victim get punched in the face several times but the suspect could not be located and no arrests were made.

Tuesday March 10
2:00PM - 24th Ave and E Howell St - Property Damage - Tagging

Wednesday March 11
CDN Report: 8:45AM - Seattle U. - Theft - Teenager arrested for stealing iPod from student in SU classroom.

1:11PM - 417 Broadway E. Seattle - Theft - Employee held for theft at the QFC

CHS Report: 10:00AM - 15th Ave E at John - A Safeway employee reported that somebody stole her wallet and about $70 cash from her purse in her locker. The 82-year-old woman also reported a missing credit and bank card.

CHS Report: 1:20PM - 100 block Broadway E - Assault - A 29-year-old woman was arrested for assaulting a man by hitting him in the back of the head with a stick. After being transported to East Precinct, the woman began spitting in her holding cell and an officer attempting to place a "spit sock" on the woman was kicked in the shin. The woman was booked on the additional charge of assault.

Thursday March 12
4:07PM - 10th & E. Pine - Suspicious Circumstance - A citizen told an officer that there's a guy trying to sell a stolen passport near Cal Anderson Park. White male, 20s, white tshirt, blue jeans, riding a white bicycle

CHS Report: 10:24PM - Boren Ave at Pine - Property Damage - Officers responded to an altercation between a bicyclist and a cab driver at the intersection of Boren and Pine after witnesses reported seeing the cab run into the bike and the cyclist responded by busting out two of the cab's side windows. Witnesses said the cab driver then intentionally ran his vehicle into the bike rider again. When officers arrived, the cab and the bicyclist had left the area but there were able to track down the cab driver nearby. The cab driver claimed the biker struck his windows with a lock and chain without provocation. Attempts to find the biker were unsuccesful. He was described as a white male in his 20s, wearing a black jacket with hood, blue jean "Capri style" pants and riding a "rode style" bicycle. No arrests were made.

Friday March 13
1:37PM - 500 14th Ave E - Threat - Caller says that his neighbor, who has "lots of guns", threatened to shoot him.

The Seattle Police Department has released these security camera images of a man suspected in connection with a sexual assault aboard a Metro Transit Route 3 bus earlier this month.

The Seattle Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance.  On March 2, 2009 at approximately 3:30 p.m., an unknown male assaulted a woman aboard Metro bus route # 3.  This was an assault with sexual motivation. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, in his 20’s, 5’6”, thin, wearing a Washington State University sweatshirt.  The suspect’s image was captured on video.  If you know who this person is, please contact Detective Young of the Seattle Police Department at (206) 684-8037.  You may also e-mail him at Christopher.young@seattle.gov .  Callers may also contact Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Route 3 travels betwen Queen Anne and Madrona passing through the Capitol Hill area just south of Seattle University. The investigation marks the second sex crime on a Metro bus in the area in recent weeks. A 51-year-old man was charged with felony indecent exposure after an incident on the #5 bus in late February.

More Miller Park news this morning. Reports of early morning shots fired in the area across the border in the Central District at 21st and Union might also serve to remind just how close to home violence in the CD can hit. It looks like the shots reported in the CD might have caused the situation reported a short time later in the 500 block of 20th Ave E -- almost a mile away -- where a resident reported that a bullet broke the back window of their house and landed on their kitchen floor but did not report hearing any shots. Recent shootings and gun-related crimes have been covered by our partners at the Central District News and we continue to try to keep both Capitol Hill and the CD aware of the issues in the most balanced, non-alarmist way we can approach the coverage.

Here are details of this morning's reports:

Central District News scanner's twitter feed has the reports for both the 21st and Union and the 500 block of 20th incidents. On the map, the big red circle represents a 2300-meter radius -- the...

Capitol Hill attracts a lot of students. And it attracts a lot of gay people. It probably attracts a few gay students, too. Given that, not terribly surprising to see crimes happening to students and gay people on the Hill. Still, here are a few good reminders to everybody that we live in a city, there are some tough times possibly driving more street crime than normal and that's it best to walk with a buddy. That's always true, no?

Central District News has details of the latest Seattle University-related robbery, this one at 13th and Cherry:

At approximately 7 p.m., Campus Public Safety officers and Seattle Police responded to a report from a student who had his Nike high-top tennis shoes taken from him while walking at the intersection of 13th and E. Cherry. The victim reported that there were three suspects who approached him as he was carrying his tennis shoes and pack. One suspect told the victim, “Let me see your shoes,” and the victim noticed the suspect was holding a knife.

Meanwhile, Seattle Gay News reports another February assault on a gay man.

"I was at Neighbours after hours," Ford told SGN. "When I left, as I'm walking down towards the bus stop there's a garage and two sets of dumpsters. There were three people there, and all of a sudden the middle one started hitting me."

The victim had not reported the crime but decided to come forward following a string of alleged hate crimes in the area.

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.

Here's the rundown of a relatively quiet week of crime and 911 activity on Capitol Hill. If you are on Twitter, Central District News scanner reports are now available at http://twitter.com/cdscanner.

Recent Capitol Hill Police Activity - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday 3/2
11:17AM - 300 19th Ave E - Disturbance

The passive aggressive note left on your vehicle to inform you of the crime against humanity you have committed is a rite of urban passage. In small towns, they bake you cookies, knock on your door and ask you nicely to move your International Harvester off their lawn. On Capitol Hill, they leave a mean note. Sometime this works for tagging, also.

But in this incident culled from the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct reports from last week, one such note went far beyond mean.

Victim came to the East Precinct on 2-24-09 at 0930 to report that an unknown person left a threatening note pinned to the seat of his XXXX Vespa Gran Tourismo scooter. Victim had parked his scooter on the street, in the XXX block of XXXX on 2-23-09 at approx. 2100 hrs, when he returned to it on 2-24-09 at 0900, he found the note which said "You greener-than-thou sanctimonious retard: Take up an entire car-sized parking space with this scooter again and you'll be shopping for a new tire ... " Victim said that this is the second...

Below, please find recent reports of criminal and police activity in the area of the East Precinct surrounding Capitol Hill. Information is gathered from Seattle Police Department media reports, scanner activity and online sources such as Twitter. Something we missed? Let CHS know

Recent Capitol Hill Police Activity - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday Feb 23
CHS Report: 9:36PM - 300 block E. Thomas - Indecent Exposure - A woman described as 'highly intoxicated' was arrested for exposing herself and masturbating on a grassy strip by the sidewalk across from an apartment building. Suspect is described in the report as a repeat offender.

Tuesday Feb 24
3:53PM - 1700 E Aloha St - Disturbance - Man tried to get in a DHL truck and drive off unsuccessfully, white male, cream jacket, dirty blonde hair

Wednesday Feb 25
1:21PM - 300 Broadway E - Trespassing - Manager of the Red Light wants a man and woman trespassed from his property.

CHS Report: 2:15PM - 400 block Broadway - Theft - Putting on...

Don't yet have all the details of what went down, but around 2:15a last night, a fight involving around 7 or 8 people broke out in front of the BMW dealership on Pike near the War Room.

The incident drew a sizable police response -- according to this report on Twitter, at least nine cars. Scanner chatter indicated that it was busted up by a plain clothes officer and that twothree suspects were stopped heading west on Pike. No obviously related emergency calls in the 911 logs so apparently nobody seriously injured. I've got call out to SPD to find out whether the large response was typical for this type of incident -- large fight, time of night, near nightclub -- or if there were any special circumstances.

UPDATE Saturday 2:24p
Spoke to a SPD public info officer about the incident. He said there were no arrests related to the incident but that one of the suspects stopped leaving the scene was taken into custody and booked on outstanding warrants. He said the multiple-car level of response was due to the time of night as officers converge on the Pike/Pine club area to monitor activity after 2a.

When the incident happened, it was one of a handful of crimes hitting the city on the same day -- Wednesday, Feb. 4th. A bank robbery downtown, the airgun shooting on Howell and, then, an armed holdup of a store on Pike.

Reports indicate two white males entered the business around 5:30p on that busy Wednesday afternoon and used a handgun to intimidate staff and take an unspecified amount of cash.

Might be easier to file the armed robbery in the crime file and move on if not for the unusual nature of the event.

1. The target, Mud Bay Granary, is a pet supply store at the base of Capitol Hill.
2. The suspects were two white males, wearing white masks. One reportedly had blond hair.
3. They used a gun.
4. They chose to commit their crime at rush hour eliminating the option of a car get-away via I5. They were last seen heading east on Pike, on foot.

SPD wouldn't comment on the status of the investigation per usual policies and said no other agencies were investigating. I've done a bit of digging to see if similiar...

Here is a look at the last week in police activity across Capitol Hill and the East Precinct. Most of the below are relatively minor incidents this week though the terrible beating involved with the reported Feb 13th robbery attempt is disturbing. Nearby, however, the murder of Tyrone Love should not go without note here.

Reports are compiled from Central District News scanner reports and CHS examination of Seattle Police department incident reports.

Recent Capitol Hill Police Activity - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday Feb 9
5:48PM - 1800 12th Ave - Suspicious Circumstance - Man is on the rooftop of a building with binoculars and a four foot "case". Update: the man is an engineer

Tuesday Feb 10
1:10PM - 1700 11th Ave - Disturbance - Parking enforcement are attempting to impound a vehicle, but the owner refuses to get out

Wednesday Feb 11
1:18PM - Broadway E and E Miller St - Accident - Two car accident with injuries
5:20PM - E Seneca St and E Madison St - ...

Reporting on the legal process surrounding the suspect in the Howell airgun shooting case has been an education. Thanks for bearing with me while we worked everything out, tracked down who was -- and was not -- handling the case and sorted out what, in the end, Jinwei Yang (all articles) was actually charged with in the Feb. 4th incident when the 21-year-old Seattle Central student allegedly opened fire on the street below with an air rifle from his third floor apartment.

We had previously sorted out that Yang was not facing felony charges in the incident. We now know what charges he does face from the city attorney's office: one count of property destruction in the first degree, one count of "weapons in public places" and one count of reckless endangerment. Here is his case info from the Seattle Municipal Court.  Spokesperson for the city attorney's office says no prosector is yet assigned to the case. Yang's pretrial hearing is scheduled for Thursday. According to the King County Jail web site, Yang remains...

Here is our weekly examination of Capitol Hill's criminal and police activity in our section of the East Precinct. Many of the items come from Central District News' daily police scanner reports. Starting this week, I will also include items I've found digging through the investigation reports collected from East Precinct HQ. I will try to select items of importance and interest and occasionally include some of the report verbatims as I have done below with a redacted section from the write-up on the Howell air rifle incident. When i include reports, I will make sure victim names and information as well as suspect names are fully redacted as sometimes the standard redaction blacklines in the public reports doesn't fully obscure the information. In the case of the Howell airgun incident, we have already revealed the name of the suspect so I've left the SPD's standard redaction marks in place.

Capitol Hill Police Activity for Feb 2 trough Feb 6 - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday 2/2
CHS REPORT - 1:20AM - 1500 block Broadway - Theft - Victim reported unattended messenger bag stolen by unknown suspects inside nightclub.
1:22PM - 1900 E Denny Way - Suspicious Circumstance - The caller saw a man crawling through a neighbor's window. Update: the man is the home owner.
2:09PM - 500 Bellvue Ave E - Distrubance - Man drinking in the garden, white male, 30, coat, white pants

Tuesday 2/3
11:56AM - 13th & Madison Seattle - Loose Dog - CHS covered the 30-minute, 2-mile chase and we're happy to report that Max is doing fine.

Wednesday 2/4
CHS REPORT - 8:00AM - 1700 block Interlaken Drive E - Theft - Woman returning from taking dog for walk discovered two front tires from her SUV had been stolen.
2:43PM - 600 E Howell - Shots Fired - Check out CHS coverage of the airgun shooting. Suspect was ultimately not charged with a felony for assault.

Portion of Howell report

On Friday, we named the suspect in last week's strange air rifle shooting incident and reported that jail booking information seemed to indicate that the most serious charges in the case were not being pursued. County prosecutor's office contacted us to say that was not the case and that charges against suspect Jinwei Yang would be decided today.

This afternoon, we learn that, indeed, the case has not been referred to the King County prosecutor -- meaning there will be no felony level charges involved with the incident. Instead, case sits with Seattle Municipal Court which deals with misdemeanor level offences. Will check with them to find out what low-level charges the 21-year-old Chinese national Yang will ultimately face.

Police say 21-year-old Jinwei Yang was the shooter in Wednesday's airgun incident on E. Howell. The Chinese national and student at Seattle Central was taken into custody after allegedly firing on a 29-year-old woman on the street below his third floor apartment. Yang was booked into jail for investigation of assault, malicious mischief and additional lesser charges. Prosecutors have until Monday to decide on charges. I erroneously reported earlier today that the assault and mischief charges had been dropped but the King County Prosecutors Office says charges are still being considered in the case.

Details of the police report included in Yang's charging documents describe the scene officers encountered when they arrived at the E. Howell apartment building. The 29-year-old woman was pinned down behind her white Volkswagen Jetta from where she had made her phone call for help. The ground was covered with broken glass from the shot-out window of the car parked in front of the Jetta.

As responding officers surrounded...

UPDATE: Just heard from the prosecutor's office that decision on charges is still pending and the 'no charge' notes in the booking report don't mean the assault and the mischief charges won't be pursued. More shortly.

Continue to learn more about the Howell airgun shooting suspect and the case against him. Appears that the most serious charges against the alleged shooter have been dropped.

Sorry to roll this info out all mystery style but it truly is coming to me piece by piece. We already told you the alleged shooter is a 21-year-old man booked on a variety of charges including assault and malicious mischief. Now thanks to some crowd-sourced sleuthing, I have a name to work with but am not printing it here until I confirm I've got the right guy.

It appears the suspect is a Seattle Central student and was also hit with a few lesser charges -- those charges are, for now, sticking. The more serious charges of assault and mischief have apparently been dropped.

SPD says the person arrested yesterday in the Howell air rifle incident is a 21-year-old male. The suspect was booked into jail on charges of assault and malicious mischief.  Don't know his name yet -- but know his alleged weapon. Confirmed that the rifle involved was one of these fine pieces of machinery -- complete with scope.

Seattle's crime wave Wednesday has another entry. Slog is reporting an armed hold-up on Pike but I haven't confirmed and a Slog commenter claims it was actually a business on Pine that was robbed. For now, the position on the map is for general Pike/Pine. Will update if I get more info.

UPDATE: CDNews has scanner entry for robbery at 321 Pine tonight at 5:28p -- that would corroborate the Slog comment claiming crime occured at Mud Bay Granary pet supply store. Weird target.

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To add to the rash of smaller scale Cap Hill crime reports this week -- BB guns, wayward dogs, wallet grabs vs. club shootings -- we heard that Fuel on 19th Ave had been robbed recently. Owner Dani Cone confims via e-mail:
It is true :( around 3am sat morning someone broke in. The person broke through the lock on our front door and came in to help themselves...you'll notice our nice new (salvaged from the ReStore) door though! No one was hurt, which is the most important thing of all.

I'm checking in with SPD to see what they know and find out more about how much was stolen.

From a Seattle University security bulletin e-mail we received this morning:

Call over to SPD to find out status of the investigation. I'm still ramping up my ability to cover crime reports...

Let's get our weekly look at Capitol Hill's seamy underbelly over with. Here's a rundown of items from last week's East Precinct scanner reports.

Capitol Hill Police Activity for Jan 26 trough Jan 30 - CDN Scanner Reports

Monday 1/26

Here is the week that was in police activity on Capitol Hill. As a reminder, the Central District News team compiles reports from East Precinct police scanner activity throughout the day. The incidents below are culled from their reports.

Capitol Hill Police Activity for Jan 19 trough Jan 23 - CDN Scanner Reports