This mess near 12th/Denny is yet another instance of illegal dumping incidents on the Hill
See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS Crime coverage here.
Broadway bank robbery suspect nabbed: The man authorities say was responsible for this July Broadway armed bank robbery and a string of hold-ups in Washington has been arrested in Oregon. The FBI says William Mitchell, 55, was taken into custody this week in Grants Pass. Authorities say the suspect walked into the north Broadway Homestreet branch on the morning of July 28th displayed what was described as an “old” handgun and demanded money. Though police arrived within minutes, the suspect was able to make his getaway, cash and old gun in tow. During its search for the suspect in four bank robberies stretching from the Broadway hold-up to a November 7th robbery in Spokane, the FBI referred to Mitchell as the “Roscoe Bandit” after “an early 19th-century nickname for a handgun.”- Illegal dumping: It’s not clear if the incidents are related, but a rash of significant illegal dumping has hit the Capitol Hill area in recent weeks. In one incident noted to us by a reader who sent in the picture above, piles of items were dumped into an alley just off Denny between 12th and 13th. In another incident in the 200 block of Broadway E, police are investigating what a victim says has been years of harassment by a former employee who she ways repeatedly uses her property as a dumping ground, racking up more than $5,000 in costs over the years to clean the mess up.
In the Broadway case, because the dumper is known to the victim, police have suggested a restraining order to help prevent future incidents. For the rest, if you see dumping in progress, report the crime and identifying details to 911. If you’re just looking for somebody to clean up the mess, let the city know. 
‘No New Robberies’ — SPD claimed a dubious milestone at this week’s SeaStat “data-driven” policing meeting. According to the department’s Twitter feed, Wednesday’s meeting included a slide marking “No New Robberies In Emphasis Area Over Last Two Weeks.” Like any good numbers-based analysis, it depends where you draw the lines. Monday night’s pistol-point robbery in which the victim tells police he had a handgun pointed at his head took place a few blocks south of Pike/Pine’s emphasis zone. Between November 3rd and November 9th, CHS also found five reported pick-pocket incidents — a crime category we’ve learned is how officers will often categorize phone grabs. Our numbers do show Capitol Hill street robbery totals dropped in October for the second straight month. But it’s probably too early to declare success — something SPD’s Twitter feed acknowledged later in the day. Later that night, TV picked the story up for the 11 PM news.
Emphasis patrols appear to be working on Capitol Hill. Seattle Police report, “NO ROBBERIES” in the past two weeks! pic.twitter.com/GajIg9xUj5
— Brad Booker (@bbookerK5) November 13, 2014
That photo of the illegal dumping is taken right behind The Halmar, which is the worst apartment building I’ve ever lived in on Capitol Hill. The building is infested to the brim with small cockroaches to the point where i had to get rid of a good portion of my stuff when I moved out. It was also managed by Connie, who is/was a notorious slum lord for a ton of different buildings on the hill back in the day. Not surprised at all to see all the garbage back there.
Here’s an interesting article about Connie from 2006: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/uneasy-living/Content?oid=41655
That would explain the seemingly high turnover in that building–that alleyway is almost always full of the contents of someone’s apartment.
Different Connie, but it’s the same property management company as the Quinalt. RP Management became Metropolitan at some point in the last five or six years, but their practices haven’t changed one bit.
I believe Connie Galindo is the Halmar manager (she was up until three years ago). I’ll politely let the story’s photo speak, instead of airing my opinions of her building management skills.
Are you sure it’s a different Connie? I can’t be certain, but Google turns up Connie Galindo as “Connie H. Galindo.” I lived in one of the other Metropolitan properties on Capitol Hill (run by Connie G.), and I, too, will keep my mouth shut about that experience.
Capitol Hill has been awash in illegal dumping for years….it is not a new phenomenon. I urge everyone who sees it to report it using the link in this article or the following: https://seattle-p1csrprodcwi.motorolasolutions.com/ServiceRequest.mvc/SRIntake
I’m not so sure a building manager should be blamed for illegal dumping in an alley….it’s usually done by others….but at the least the manager should promptly report the problem to the City so it can be cleaned up.
Illegal dumping has been happening all of the 20 years I’ve lived in Seattle and it doesn’t really matter how classy the apartment building is or not. Even the most expensive apartment buildings have disrespectful and/or disgruntled tenants who leave and put their old furniture out in front or behind the buildings illegally. It is the tenants responsibility to take their large garbage items to the transfer stations not the landlord.
I used to live at the end of Melrose where it turns into the bike trail. People used to stop and dump a few things there all the time as well. Any time I tried to report it to 911 as this article indicates, 911 wouldn’t do anything and boldly told me it wasn’t worth dispatching an officer.
The looks of the pile in the picture looked like an abandoned apartment’s contents rather than some random person dumping. Sort of like somebody was removed from that building and their stuff dumped in the alley and now the building management is trying to deflect a bit of blame. Hard to say without knowing the details of this exact dump incident.
Haha, yeah, calling 911 for illegal dumping in this city is laughable. In fact, calling 911 for anything less than an assault in progress is a waste of time.
It’s not effective to call 911 for an illegal dumping, because even if you witness the act the dumpers will be gone by the time the police arrive (if they do). All we can do is to report it promptly (using the links referenced in this article and the comments), and it will be cleaned up….sometimes it takes awhile, but it will be done eventually.
To me, the photo looks like that dumping was probably done by some street person who sifted through the dumpsters looking for something he/she could sell. I don’t mind this per se, but I do mind that fairly often the material is just left on the ground, instead of going back into the dumpster.