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Weekend mugging swarm has August shaping up as Capitol Hill’s most rob-biest month… ever

On a per capita basis, your odds for getting mugged on Capitol Hill probably peaked in the mid-90s but after a small swarm of street robberies around the Hill this weekend, August 2014 appears to be shaping up as the worst month in recent years for robbery in the East Precinct beats covering Capitol Hill.

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This weekend pushed the month over the top with a roster of reports coming in:

  • 8/22 2:52 AM: Two males reportedly hit victim near Broadway Market QFC. Medics were declined. Victim lived nearby.
  • 8/23 1:32 AM: Victim found on sidewalk near Broadway/Pike, suspect last seen fleeing on the Harvard Market stairs. Suspects described only as “group of black males in their 20s.”
  • 8/23 1:55 AM: Report of fist fight at 11/Union turned out to be street robbery. Suspects ran northbound on 11th Ave described as three black males, all wearing beanies and shorts. Two adult male victims suffered head lacerations in the scuffle.
  • 8/23 3 AM: Suspect reportedly stole something from a female victim’s purse. She fell chasing the thief near 13th/Olive St. Her male counterpart told police he thought suspects fled to Cal Anderson. The perpetrator was described only as a “short, white male.”
  • 8/24 10:21 PM: E Pine near Harvard. Caller reported 10 people attempted a strong arm robbery, trying to take wallet out of victim’s hand and threatened him with knife but didn’t show. The group was described only as black males and female teens. The group was last seen leaving the area on Harvard.

Those don’t count another armed robbery report we’re looking into from Sunday morning from a victim who didn’t report the crime until later in the day. We’ll update when we learn more. We’re not aware at this point of any arrests in the weekend crimes.

According to the numbers from data.seattle.gov, the weekend swarm pushes August’s Capitol Hill robbery total to 26 — the highest single month total in the years the system’s data is available online. As with all datasets involving crime reports, the usual caveats apply: The incidents are recorded as reported robberies regardless of whether investigation determined an actual crime occurred.

The August boom in Capitol Hill incidents ends a string of relative calm on the robbery front for the area. Even with this late surge, 2014’s robbery totals for the area are nearly 19% below where they were at this time in 2013. You might recall one string of pellet gun-point robberies racked up several victims last summer.

For the most part, August 2014’s totals include mostly strong arm muggings though the month did get off to its troubling start with a botched pistol-point hold-up in Cal Anderson that ended with its victim being hit in the head with a grazing shot that required stitches and treatment for a skull fracture but otherwise left the victim amazingly unharmed.

A teen allegedly attempting to flee from police in that August 1st hold-up was caught with a phone and wallet belonging to the victim minutes after the just-after-midnight crime. The teen told police another teen had pointed the gun at him and demanded he hold the weapon and the victim’s property as police arrived. The teenager reportedly attempted to flee but slipped and fell as police moved in and found the gun in bushes, nearby. He told police about being forced to take the gun. He also reportedly vomited as he was being taken into custody. He has been charged with first degree robbery. He turned 18 this week.

An uptick in warm weather crime on the Hill — especially around Cal Anderson — has become an annual part of the neighborhood’s summer. Earlier this month, CHS reported on ongoing efforts to combat the trend including new, temporary staffing in Cal Anderson and continued East Precinct “emphasis patrols.”

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Timmy73
Timmy73
9 years ago

I’ve had a few recent 3am trips across the hill in the fist-pumping area in particular (between Harvard and 11th – Pike/Pine). There seems to be a group of opportunists roving the streets looking for unsuspecting victims. Clearly nothing better to do or any purpose but to create trouble by feeding off of drunken prey.

Makes me want to wish for rain.

CapitOl Hill Monster
CapitOl Hill Monster
9 years ago
Reply to  Timmy73

It makes me wish I could get a mace can charged with something more caustic like paint or bug spray or drain cleaner. The best thing to teach these losers something is to have the tables turned. They have zero respect for human life, so let theirs be altered.

joshua
joshua
9 years ago

These folks have good odds since nobody in this state seems to like guns. The pickings are plentiful!

jc
jc
9 years ago
Reply to  joshua

Reach for a gun against an armed robber with a barrel in your face. I can see where that’s going.

Never trust a robber
Never trust a robber
9 years ago
Reply to  jc

Some of us are armed and do not leave it to chance for a felon to not beat you into a severe head trauma or whatever else.

Maple Bar
Maple Bar
9 years ago
Reply to  jc

I don’t let these scum get within a block of me and I will yell at them and call them the street-trolling scum that they are. I’m glad I haven’t been on Cap Hill this summer. I could be armed, but it would be a lot more fun to just walk around with an old golf club. We need a group of black-clad ninjas to lie in wait for these groups to show up and break their kneecaps so they have a lifelong payment for their scum culture. Go rob each other in the neighborhood where you love doing that. Stay out of civilization. You’re not welcome.

Marc
Marc
9 years ago
Reply to  joshua

Yay! Let’s be like Florida! Double Plus Good fun for all!

Gene
Gene
9 years ago

Florida is a pretty well run state. Singapore one of the best run cities in the world. Both have high quality of life. Tough and thorough enforcement is not always a bad thing.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
9 years ago
Reply to  Gene

“Florida is a pretty well run state”? Seriously? Hahahahahaha, OH, that’s good. Stop– you’re killing me. As someone who has lived more than 16 of my adult yrs there (in addition to some childhood years), I really have to wonder if we’re taking about the same place? Yeah, I guess you could say it’s well-run, if your idea of living is a redneck shitpile. No lie, it’s not an accident or coincidence I live here in Seattle now, as far away from FL as I can get in the continental US.

Capitol Hill Denizen
Capitol Hill Denizen
9 years ago
Reply to  Jim98122x

Agreed, Jim. If Florida was such a well-run state, how is it innocent people are repeatedly gunned down with the shooter walking free and how is it that high-ranking state officials can fraudulently rig a presidential election so the Governor’s brother suddenly wins?

Yeah, it’s a well-run state. Glad you got away Jim

Maple Bar
Maple Bar
9 years ago
Reply to  Gene

Florida is a toilet. They prob hold the world record for murdered tourists. The criminal rap culture down there is so bad they shot a fool dead in his car last year in South BEach since fool had to start shooting out his car. These people are tuned to a fever pitch of violence by victimhood culture, nonstop blunts, and no training in anything. Ice Cube said it best – take a look at US.

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[…] and there were no immediate arrests. Monday, CHS reported that August 2014 was shaping up to have the highest ever monthly total for reported robberies in the East Precinct beats that cover Capitol Hill. Even with the surge, the […]

Simon Says
Simon Says
9 years ago

Busy weekend for people from our “vulnerable communities”.

bb
bb
9 years ago

The good news is that school starts soon and they will all be busy doing their homework instead of out robbing people in the wee hours.

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Maple Bar
Maple Bar
9 years ago

First off, I’m a progressive liberal, although I have little sympathy for criminals. I don’t care what your background is, if you think its your right to victimize people, then you should die.

This city is so wrapped up in its hatred of the police (partly because many of our police live in the burbs and not in the city, where they should be living) that the police can’t even keep a park withint two blocks of a major precinct safe. I NEVER see police on a beat in this city. What is the problem? TOo much money for the rich people to pay attention. It’s high time criminals actually home invaded some of the rich in this city to get them to pay up. Meanwhile the right-wing county and state gunnuts sell weapons at will to gangbangers to use them in the city. Too bad we can’t turn the tables on that, but we don’t need to, since yokels are killing each other with stray bullets in rural areas.

America – welcome to the stupidest country on earth. Noone can work together because Republicans are gun-selling tax-avoiding scum, liberals live in a dream world where people deserve to become criminals, and the police just get paid to sit in cars and respond to false alarms in rich hoods.

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