Category Archives: Crime

No updates in case of teen gunned down on E Union in May 2019

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A memorial for Royale Lexing after the teen was gunned down in an E Union shootout last May (Image: CHS)

A memorial for Royale Lexing after the teen was gunned down in an E Union shootout last May (Image: CHS)

In the Central District in May 2019, the community around 21st and Union mourned and worked to do more to stop street violence in the area after 19-year-old Royale Lexing was gunned down in a chaotic daytime shootout.

The investigation around the case remains unresolved a year later.

A Seattle Police Department spokesperson told CHS this week he was unable to provide updates in this week due to the “active and ongoing investigation.” Continue reading →

Five years later, arrest made in Devan Schmidt case — UPDATE: MURDER CHARGE

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Devan Schmidt

Devan Schmidt

Police have arrested a man suspected in the 2015 death of Devan Schmidt.

The 47-year-old was booked into King County Jail Thursday afternoon as part of a homicide investigation, according to jail records.

The suspect has not yet been charged. Bail was denied.

Five years ago this month, the 29-year-old Schmidt was found dead in the Madison Valley home she shared with roommates. The medical examiner said circumstances around her death were “concerning for homicidal violence,” and asphyxia “could not be ruled out.” The county investigator also noted “superficial blunt force injuries” to Schmidt’s head, torso, and limbs, but authorities were ultimately unable to determine a cause and manner of death. Schmidt’s family said drugs found in her system complicated the investigation.

Derrick Levasseur, the host of a true crime series that featured Schmidt’s death last year with cooperation of the victim’s family and local investigators including SPD Detective James Cooper, announced the arrest Thursday night: Continue reading →

911 | Suspect uses threatening note to hold up First Hill Subway sandwich shop

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or tune into the CHS Scanner page.

  • City Market ripoff: Three suspects attempting to shoplift at City Market Wednesday night sparked an armed robbery investigation after one of the trio reportedly showed what appeared to be a handgun in his waistband. Seattle Police were called to the Bellevue Ave E store just before 10 PM to a report of a disturbance in the store. Police and a K9 unit searched the area where the three male suspects were last seen fleeing the market. There were no reported injuries and no immediate arrests.
  • Subway hold-up: A First Hill sandwich shop was held up Wednesday after a suspect handed an employee a note demanding cash and threatening to shoot the worker. Police were called to the 1100-block Madison Subway around 7:40 PM to the reported robbery. The worker told police the suspect was described as a black male around 6 feet tall, and was wearing sunglasses, and a black jacket over a floral print dress at the time of the hold-up. According to East Precinct radio updates, the description matched a suspect identified in a previous robbery in which a note was used to make a threat. CHS reported on a similar robbery at a nearby First Hill bank earlier this month. Wednesday, police searched the area but were unable to track down the suspect. There were no reported injuries. UPDATE: Sounds like SPD found their man Thursday afternoon in the Central District:

    Officers arrested a 31-year-old man wanted for a series of robberies this afternoon in the Central District. He was booked into the King County Jail after being interviewed by detectives. Robbery detectives were investigating four separate robberies to businesses where a gun was implied by the suspect. The first occurred on May 11th on Capitol Hill, followed by a second on the 17th downtown, another on Queen Anne on the 19th, and again on Capitol Hill last night. During the course of the investigation detectives developed possible suspect information and shared that with patrol officers. Just before noon Officers Donavan Lewis and Spencer Kurz spotted the suspect near 29th and Madison and took him into custody without incident. The suspect was transported to SPD Headquarters where he was interviewed by detectives. The suspect confessed to all four robberies and was later booked into the King County Jail. This remains an active and on-going investigation.

  • SWAT standoff: Wednesday afternoon’s SWAT standoff near South Dearborn and Rainier ended without an arrest after a suspect in a reported armed robbery apparently slipped away from inside a building before police could surround it. Here are a few details posted by the EastPAC group:

    From East Precinct Acting Captain Leung: “The victim, a disabled vet in a wheelchair, was transiting along the sidewalk in the 600 block of Rainier Ave South when an unknown black male exited an abandoned building, robbed him of cash at gunpoint, then fled back inside the same building. Patrol arrived in the area as the victim was calling 911 and quickly established containment. East CPT obtained a signed search warrant. SWAT arrived, took over containment, and eventually cleared the building. The suspect was not inside. Robbery detectives responded, interviewed the victim, and will take over the follow-up investigation.”

 

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First Hill bank held up by face-masked man

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Complete with a COVID-19 crisis appropriate face mask, a man walked into a First Hill bank Monday afternoon, handed over a note demanding cash, and fled from the scene in a full sprint in a noon-hour hold-up.

According to Seattle Police, the suspect in the threatened armed hold-up just before 1 PM was last seen running north on Minor from the Bank of America. Madison was briefly closed to traffic during the police response.

Police say the suspect, described as a black male in his 40s, around 6′, and wearing a light button down shirt over a darker shirt, and with his face covered by a light green mask, walked to a teller window around 12:42 PM and handed over a note demanding cash before fleeing the bank at the corner of Madison and Minor.

A search for the suspect was not immediately successful. The FBI is investigating the heist, SPD says.

One to hospital, police search for suspects in Crawford Place shooting — UPDATE

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Thanks to a CHS reader for pictures from the scene.

One person.was shot and police were searching for two possible suspects in a shooting Sunday afternoon on Crawford Place just off E Olive Way.

Police were called to reports of the shooting just before 1 PM on Crawford Pl behind City Market.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing the gunman open fire with three to four shots before fleeing the area south on Bellevue Ave.

Witnesses also reported seeing at least two people involved in the shooting — a shooter and another male who reportedly grabbed a backpack during the assault. Continue reading →

Police say Capitol Hill man confesses to girlfriend’s murder five years after her death in 19th Ave stairwell

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Wright’s obituary appeared in October 2015 — “Forever Loved” (Image: Legacy.com)

Ruled an accidental drug overdose, 30-year-old Elisabeth Wright’s 2015 death in the stairwell of a 19th Ave apartment building brought only a confusing CHS blotter entry:

A person found in a building stairway near 19th and Madison last Wednesday night was believed to have fallen to their death or died of an overdose. Police said wine bottles and drug needles were found near the base of the stairs where the body was discovered just before 7 PM on March 11th. The King County Medical Examiner was investigating to confirm the official cause of death.

Seattle Police and prosecutors say that story changed this week when Leo Driver came to the lobby of the East Precinct at 12th and Pine and confessed to a terrible crime some five years ago inside the Views at Madison apartment building — strangling his former girlfriend to death: Continue reading →

Capitol Hill school break-in sets off long SPD cat and mouse search for suspects — UPDATE

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One person being detained in the overnight burglary callout. Thanks to a reader for the picture and report from the scene.

One person was taken into custody and at least one more apparently made a getaway as Seattle Police and a K9 unit searched for suspected burglars in a Capitol HIll school break-in overnight in a cat and mouse chase through the shuttered campus buildings that lasted hours.

According to East Precenti radio, alarms were first tripped around 1:50 AM at Bellevue Ave’s Northwest School. Security video from inside the school showed at least one suspect wearing a light colored hooded top.

As police arrived, a second report of another person inside the school wearing what appeared to be a dark green jacket came in. Continue reading →

Police: Broadway bank burglar turns out be intoxicated — and lost — man

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Seattle Police gave a highly intoxicated man busted in a reported break-in at the Broadway Bank of America early Thursday morning just what he needed: a ride home.

Police and Seattle Fire were called to the Lyric building at Broadway and Thomas around 2 AM Thursday after a fire alarm was set off and a man wearing a red flannel shirt and black ball cap could be seen moving around carrying a bag.inside the bank’s foyer.

Arriving officers set up in the street outside the bank’s Broadway entrance and began hailing the burglary suspect by bullhorn.

According to the SPD report on the incident, the man complied and put his hands up as he exited the building. Continue reading →

March stats show jump in Capitol Hill burglary reports during COVID-19 lockdown, drop in overall crime

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Life on Mars suffered a bout of busted glass but no other significant damage in an incident over the weekend. In a message to Washington D.C. leaders posted by the Pike/Pine bar, ownership called for help: “Please get us some real help. Tired of hearing from many friends having to close their places down already because they know they can’t come out the other side of it.” (Image: Life on Mars)

Total Reported Crime East Precinct

Total Reported Crime Seattle

Total crime reported in March dropped 18% vs. February across the East Precinct

The art covered plywood panels covering the shuttered businesses of Pike/Pine and Capitol Hill have been a symbol of Seattle’s artistic resilience in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. But the coverings are there for a reason.

Seattle Police statistics for March show the neighborhood was hit by a rash of burglaries with 36% more reported across the East Precinct than last year. And, of course, most of those — around three out of four — involved commercial properties and businesses. Continue reading →

Suspect holds up 15th Ave E Walgreens in reported drug heist — UPDATE

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Police were searching the area around 15th Ave E Monday night after a reported armed robbery at Walgreens.

The suspect, his face partially covered by an N-95 style mask, reportedly had what appeared to be a handgun in his hoodie pocket. According to East Precinct radio updates, he fled the store on foot with six bottles of drugs stolen in the just before 9 PM heist and was last seen headed northbound on 15th.

UPDATE: Police say the suspect handed the Walgreens pharmacist a note “and demanded narcotics,” implying he had a handgun in his pocket and that he would shoot him if he did not comply.”

Police and a K9 unit were searching the area and the northeast edges of Capitol Hill. There were no reported injuries and no arrests.

UPDATE: SPD says a white Honda was seen near the area of the hold-up but the driver sped away and eluded police. Police reported finding a vehicle matching the description later in the night near 10th and Yesler. Officers attempted to chase the driver as he again sped away in a pursuit that ended at I-5 northbound Dearborn offramp where the suspect was able to flee from the scene on foot.

 

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Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍