Female Car Thief Kept Diary of Her Crimes

Posted today at 9:53 am by Caleb Hannan

Tiffany Mcdonough is accused of breaking into at least five cars and one house. Why are police confident the 28-year-old is the woman behind a small crime spree? Because she wrote it all down.

Continue reading "Female Car Thief Kept Diary of Her Crimes"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (0)

Older Gent Gets Into Brawl Over a Girl, Loses

Posted yesterday at 3:30 pm by Vernal Coleman

There's nothing funny about a man in his 60s getting beat up. This picture, however ...

​To be clear, seeing your favorite bar employee safely home after her shift is a classic "good guy" move.

Granted, not everyone who does will behave gracefully after arriving at said employee's doorstep. Still, the act itself is a chivalrous one.

Points get reduced, however, if during the process you assault a sexagenarian.

Continue reading "Older Gent Gets Into Brawl Over a Girl, Loses"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (1)

Not Cool, Bro: Frat Boys Bring Home Drinking Buddies, Get Robbed

Posted yesterday at 12:32 pm by Caleb Hannan

Generic Frat Boy says that's a clear violation of Brotiquette.

​Not many good decisions get made at 6 a.m. after a night spent drinking. A fact two University of Washington fraternity members can attest to.

Late Saturday night, the frat boys came back to their house with three new buddies they'd met at the bar. But the friendship was not meant to last.

The new guys grabbed some laptop computers and clothes that didn't belong to them. When the frat boys tried to stop them, the rude house guests implied they were armed. Thus ending the budding bromance.

Shortly after leaving in a car, the thieves were stopped by police. All four, including a getaway driver, have been booked on investigation of robbery and are most definitely disinvited from the next Heaven and Hell party, brahs.

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (0)

Henry Gasparian Pleads Guilty in Obama-Hitler Dust-up

Posted Feb. 5 at 10:27 am by Caleb Hannan

Gasparian says he got emotional at the sight of Obama being compared to a man who killed much of his family.

​As a kid growing up in war-ravaged Armenia, Henry Gasparian lost two uncles and his brother in Nazi Germany's occupation of the Soviet Union. It's understandable, then, that he might get peeved when someone compares President Barack Obama to Hitler, the man who's personally responsible for the death of three of his relatives.

Back in September, the 71-year-old Gasparian was walking in to the Edmonds Farmers Market when he saw two supporters of perennial presidential candidate and all-around kook Lyndon LaRouche displaying a poster of Obama with a Hitler 'stache. Gasparian says he tried to grab the fliers they were handing out. The LaRouchies told police he repeatedly pushed them and grabbed one of their arms.

Continue reading "Henry Gasparian Pleads Guilty in Obama-Hitler Dust-up"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (5)

Laurelhurst Expands Private Security Force, Will Not Tolerate "Teen Loitering"

Posted Feb. 5 at 9:52 am by Caleb Hannan

Laurelhurst private security escort little Timmy to soccer practice.

​You can't get mad at rich people for wanting to protect their kids and homes. And you can't get mad when they hire few off-duty cops, thus pumping a little money back into the economy. But you can laugh at the absurdity of a full-time police force patrolling tony Laurelhurst.

According to Laurelhurst Blog, a crime prevention program begun in 2008 has now expanded to include the entire neighborhood. Off-duty Seattle cops, in their own unmarked vehicles, used to work a couple of hours at night and in the early morning, patrolling the neighborhood to prevent break-ins. Now, with the cops getting shift increases up to six hours a day, Laurelhurst essentially has its own private security force.

For $200 a year, residents can request property checks for their homes while away. That service includes closing open car and garage doors and securing packages. A feature offered free of charge in most areas under the title having friendly neighbors.

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (4)

Seattle Blogs: SWAT Team Swarms Wrong House?

Posted Feb. 4 at 1:27 pm by Caleb Hannan

— My Ballard says that Seattle SWAT may have come in guns blazing on the wrong guy.

— TechFlash says that the AT&T-Verizon pissing match has come to Washington, minus one bloated Wilson brother.

— What do an antique dagger, a samurai sword and two "adult toys" have in common? Ask SeattleCrime.

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (0)

Just in Time for the Super Bowl, Seattle Police Seize 900 NFL Jerseys in Counterfeit Sting

Posted Feb. 3 at 4:53 pm by Caleb Hannan

Fake or real? Ahh, who cares. You're still gonna look silly wearing it.

​Buyer beware goes double for anything bought off of Craigslist. So it's kind of hard to feel bad for the "victims" of a recently busted counterfeit merchandise ring that specialized in selling NFL jerseys.

According to Seattle police, the investigation first began after someone complained that a vendor was selling fake jerseys on Craigslist and outside of Qwest Field. That tip led to a two-month sting which ended yesterday when more than 900 jerseys were seized at a Seattle home. (Approximate street value: $90,000.)

Continue reading "Just in Time for the Super Bowl, Seattle Police Seize 900 NFL Jerseys in Counterfeit Sting"

Topics: Crime & Punishment and Sports

Permalink | Comments (2)

Ninth Circuit Throws Judge John Coughenour to Conservative Lions With Ahmed Ressam Ruling

Posted Feb. 3 at 12:03 pm by Nina Shapiro

The 9th Circuit ruling on Ressam was a "pigs can fly" moment, according to one columnist.

​Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin had already labeled Seattle-based federal Judge John Coughenour "the terrorists' little helper" as well as "an embarrassment to conservatives and an impediment to winning the war on terror." That was in 2005, after the famously outspoken and opinionated judge sentenced would-be bomber Ahmed Ressam to 22 years in prison — far less than called for by sentencing guidelines.

Continue reading "Ninth Circuit Throws Judge John Coughenour to Conservative Lions With Ahmed Ressam Ruling"

Topics: Crime & Punishment and Law & Courts

Permalink | Comments (0)

Former KVI Employee Charged With Rigging Call-in Contest

Posted Feb. 3 at 7:06 am by Caleb Hannan

Pity the KVI listener hoping to win a grand.

​Back in 2007, promotions coordinator Ryan Elizabeth Keeley was responsible for picking the winners in a contest run by her employer, radio station KVI.

The gist of the contest — called the "Secret Listener Salute" — was that each day Keeley would pick three random names from one of two lists. When the person heard their name they had 30 minutes to call the station and win $1,000.

This was one of those contests that came with the disclaimer that reminded listeners that friends and family of KVI employees were not eligible. Thus giving them a fair shake. Except that, according to prosecutors, that wasn't the case when Keeley was picking names.

Continue reading "Former KVI Employee Charged With Rigging Call-in Contest"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (0)

Help Identify Mysterious Ballard Package Thief

Posted Feb. 2 at 8:01 am by Caleb Hannan

Security cameras may one day watch our every movement, thereby enslaving us in a Big Brotherish, reverse-Utopian hell. But until then, they're niche enough to just be really cool ways of finding bad guys.

A Ballard resident who'd previously been ripped off by thieves installed a mechanical eye to spy on her front porch. And lo and behold, on January 26th some lady decided to zip up her hoodie extra tight and nab an Amazon package that wasn't hers. And now we have ourselves an old-fashioned scavenger hunt.

Continue reading "Help Identify Mysterious Ballard Package Thief"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (0)

Bremerton Man Arrested After Allegedly Bringing Two-Month-Old Daughter Along to Steal Beer

Posted Feb. 2 at 6:00 am by Vernal Coleman

Attention shoplifters: an inability to hold her head up without help is a surefire sign that your accomplice isn't up to the job.

​Enjoying a wee nip of beer from time to time doesn't make you a bad father. Neither does using your child as a prop to attract or distract a person's attention, as any single father whose ever gone to a public park in the summertime will tell you.

Use your infant daughter to help hide the cache of beer you've just lifted from a grocery store, however, and a representative from Child Protective Services will likely show up at your doorstep.

The future addition to CPS' roster of clients in question is 2224-year-old Michael James Chandler. The Bremerton man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly placed a quantity of beer inside the stroller containing his 2-month-old and attempted to leave without paying.

Continue reading "Bremerton Man Arrested After Allegedly Bringing Two-Month-Old Daughter Along to Steal Beer"

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (5)

Eric Christensen Accused of Killing, Dismembering Girlfriend Sherry Harlan Because She Was a "Warlock"

Posted Feb. 1 at 6:08 am by Caleb Hannan

Eric Christensen had a history of violence against women before dating Sherry Harlan.

​There are no good reasons for killing your girlfriend. But as Gold Bar's Eric Christensen proves, there are certainly bad ones.

According to court documents, Christensen, 40, has told police that when he found out his girlfriend, 35-year-old Sherry Harlan, was talking to another man, he forced her to take a Wiccan blood oath, making her promise she'd end all contact. Christensen says he found a text message from the guy on Harlan's phone shortly thereafter, a transgression that he alleges made her a "'warlock,' literally an evil traitor."

Continue reading "Eric Christensen Accused of Killing, Dismembering Girlfriend Sherry Harlan Because She Was a "Warlock""

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (34)

Reader: Without Illegal Immigrants Life Will Get More Expensive

Posted Feb. 1 at 9:05 am by Caleb Hannan

People willing to cross a border (and highway) may also be willing to make our lives easier.

​Reader A responds to Reader: President Obama's Lack of Immigration Reform May Cost Me My Husband

"You people don't realize that without mexicans and illegal immigrants you will have to pay 15$ for a 3 lb. bag of potatoes, 40 $ for a meal in olive garden and 1000 for a week of care of your child. It's the easiest to blame illegals for the 10% unemployment. Why don't you ask your republican party members for less regulation!!! So money from illegal taxpayers (who will never get anything out of it) can pay for aig and other bailouts."

Continue reading "Reader: Without Illegal Immigrants Life Will Get More Expensive"

Topics: Crime & Punishment and Money

Permalink | Comments (5)

Moses Lake Boy Who Pled Guilty to Child Molestation Gets Reprieve From State Supreme Court

Posted Jan. 29 at 4:08 pm by Vernal Coleman

The state Supreme Court takes the public defender system to task

​Preteens and jurisprudence generally make for a bad combination. Add in an overburdened public defender and watch the potential for a legal system major malfunction rise.

That was the case for one Grant County boy, who at the age of 12 was charged with first-degree molestation of his 5-year-old neighbor. In 2004, just weeks after pleading guilty, the boy (referred in court documents by the initials A.N.J.) filed a motion to withdraw his plea after realizing that he'd have to register as a sex offender, and that the conviction would remain on his record even after he turned 18.

A.N.J. claimed that his court-appointed legal counsel failed to convey the consequences. Five years later, the state Supreme court unanimously agreed.

Continue reading "Moses Lake Boy Who Pled Guilty to Child Molestation Gets Reprieve From State Supreme Court"

Topics: Crime & Punishment and Law & Courts

Permalink | Comments (0)

14-Year-Old Faces Child Pornography Charges for Sexting Naked Pictures of His Ex

Posted Jan. 29 at 7:02 am by Caleb Hannan

The word "sexting" is almost as stupid as the act it describes.

​If there's anything we've learned from an age where everyone is connected, and everything instantly shareable, it's that sending naked pictures to someone, even someone you trust, is never a good idea. A lesson which one Lacey middle schooler and his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend are learning the hard way.

Yesterday, police arrested the Chinook Middle School student on charges that he allegedly sent naked pictures of his ex-girlfriend to other students. The girl's mother said her daughter sent the picture while the two were dating. Then, after they broke up, the boy apparently decided to share it in an attempt to get back at her. Now, police say dozens of kids have seen the photo.

The young teen and one other girl who also texted the picture face child pornography charges. If convicted they face up to 30 days in detention and would have to register as sex offenders.

Topics: Crime & Punishment

Permalink | Comments (6)