• Attempted street hold-up: A woman told police she was able to fight to keep her purse after two masked men attempted to rob her at gunpoint Sunday night near 22nd Ave E and John. According to SPD, the woman said the masked suspects approached her, pointed a silver handgun at her and demanded her bag just after 8 PM Sunday. The woman told police she struggled with the men and was able to hold onto her bag before they ran off. She described the suspects as two white males, both wearing masks covering their faces and dark hoodies. One man was reportedly armed with a small, silver handgun. SPD and K9 units searched the area but lost track of the men near the Miller Community Center. Add another to reports of gun-related street crime in the area. Friday, CHS posted on this reported armed robbery at 18th and Pike.
• Man with knife wound at Pike/Belmont UPDATE: SPD confirms the preliminary details CHS gathered this weekend following an early Saturday morning reported robbery and stabbing at E Pike and Belmont. Police say they arrived just before 4 AM to find a 48-year-old man with a knife wound to his back. Following his transport to Harborview, the victim told police a man approached him Saturday morning as he walked on Belmont. The suspect reportedly walked up to the man, put his arm around his waist and said, “Why don’t you give me your wallet” before suddenly taking out a knife and stabbing the victim in the left upper-back. The victim said he fought back and knocked the knife away, sustaining another cut on his thumb in the process. The victim described his attacker as a white male, a white male, 6’2″ wearing a dark sweatshirt and jeans. SPD searched the area but was not successful.
• 12th Ave theft investigation: The all-day police presence along 12th Ave near E Mercer involved an investigation into trafficking in stolen goods, SPD says. One arrest was made in association with the investigation which involved an all-day process of removing computers and hardware from the 12th Ave home. No charges have yet been filed.
• 10th/Aloha burglary: Reader A reports a Thursday, November 1st break-in near 10th and Aloha:

Got our house broken into today :( We live on 10th and Aloha and someone pried open a front window between 11am and 3pm. Middle of the day, right on a busy street and no witnesses. Two laptops and an iPod stolen. 

And we always felt safe here.

• Beware Capitol Hill pickpockets: Two quick reminders on one of the smaller but still painful crimes we hear about on the Hill. Don’t be paranoid — but be smart about where you leave or how you’re carrying your wallets and purses. This CHS Classified ad about a lost, probably stolen wallet is one reminder. We hear about people working restaurants and bars in the area from time to time looking for easy marks to rip off. And, yeah, it can also happen on the bus:

I don’t know if you keep track of stuff like this, but my phone was pick-pocketed on the 43 bus last night at the stop in front of Safeway on 15th and John, around 6:30pm. 

I felt it happen and chased them off the bus and into Safeway where I confronted them with another guy from the bus who saw them too. They denied it and of course the cop who is ALWAYS there wasn’t there, so there was nothing I could do and they walked out. 

Anyway, just thought people should be aware. It was pretty brazen.

Like we said, don’t be paranoid. Do keep these sticky fingers in mind.