crime

It should come as no surprise that an enterprising San Franciscan came up with the idea to host a “doom loop” tour of the moldering city on a hill. The plot twist is that Alex Ludlum, who put together the tour, canceled and refunded tickets for his “Downtown Doom Loop Walking Tour” before its intended Aug. 26 debut. That would be the weekend Nordstrom shuttered its flagship store in downtown San Francisco. It turns out, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, Ludlum serves on Ess Eff’s Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure. He had planned on giving the tour as an “anonymous insider.” After his identity was outed, Ludlum apologized for a “deep error in judgment” and canceled the tour. “How Read More ›

It’s a War Zone Authorities say another shooting in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood leaves one man dead. Incident happened early Thursday morning on the 2100 block of 3rd Ave. “Officers attempted life-saving measures until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived. Despite all life-saving efforts, the victim was pronounced dead. The circumstances that led up to the shooting are unknown at this time.” No word yet if anyone has been arrested. The violence continues in the heart of the city. This is just a few minutes away from the Space Needle and shopping district. Confidence in public safety is plummeting in Councilmember Andrew Lewis’ (@CMAndrewJLewis) district. Crime is spiraling out of control.

Caught on Camera It’s hard to tell, but neighbors say the man walking inside the Mercer St. encampment in South Lake Union is Paris Alcantera. In this surveillance video, you can see him watching the flames and pacing back and forth. He was arrested for setting a massive blaze on August 14. Alcantera admits he did it, but says he accidentally knocked over a candle inside a tent. Either way, he was released without charges being filed. Alcantera is a prolific repeat offender with a lengthy rap sheet dating back to 1998 with three felonies, 14 gross misdemeanors, three dozen prior arrests including rape in the third degree, and multiple substance charges. There’s concern he’s going to continue with this Read More ›

Stabbing Rampage New body cam video shows Ismail Brown being arrested after he allegedly stabbed Tin Vi Pham nearly 20 times on a Sound Transit train (@SoundTransit, @SoundTransitCEO) last month. Brown is scheduled to be in court again on Tuesday. Look at the professionalism being shown by Seattle Police Officers (@SeattlePD) after this violent encounter. Based on the narrative, several passengers are also being called heroes for intervening on Pham’s behalf. Authorities say one rider used his duffle bag to soften the blows from this unprovoked knife attack. Brown is a repeat offender with clear signs of mental illness. Why was he out roaming the city’s streets? Safety Concerns Earlier this month, King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) talked about Read More ›

Exclusive Another terrifying incident along a Washington State Dept. of Transportation (@wsdot) right of way in Seattle. Friday evening, WSP (@wastatepatrol) confirms someone hurled a brick/rock through the windshield of a moving car traveling on 90E. This is near the ramp to the highway off Rainier Ave S. It’s an area that continues to deal with homeless encampments and mentally ill people roaming the streets. Authorities say somehow, the driver did not suffer serious injuries and is handling all of this through insurance. So far no suspects or arrests. This is just a few minutes away from the former homeless encampment known as “Tammy Town,” named after Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales.) Morales recently doubled down and said she opposed encampment Read More ›

Arguably Worst Month for Governor Jay Inslee July was a total disaster when it comes to the homeless crisis exploding on Washington State Dept. of Transportation (@wsdot) right of ways. National media picked up on the insanity being built on WSDOT properties like the notorious West Seattle swimming pool, homeless cave/underground tunnel system, and EWOK Village in the trees. Making matters worse, this week a DRUG WAR involving homemade BOMBS caused one of the largest explosions in downtown Seattle along I-5. The Mayor of Seattle had to go in and clear the encampment since it was taking the state way too long to address this emergency. And there are still more than 2K encampments on state right of ways with Read More ›

Across the street from Arrowhead Gardens senior living community on Myers Way in Seattle sprawls a massive homeless encampment. On Tuesday evening, frustrated seniors at Arrowhead Gardens unloaded their concerns over the encampment and slammed the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for mishandling the response. The seniors said they were “ashamed of the state,” and “feel threatened” living in close proximity to the encampment. The encampment has raised concerns about open air drug use, human trafficking, gun violence, and an overall increase in crime. Diane Radischat, president of Arrowhead’s senior living association, says a homeless person from the encampment “defecated in one of our washing machines.” A theme of the comments made Tuesday evening was a sense that the Read More ›

Lurking in the Woods The SWIMMING POOL is what really brought attention to this West Seattle homeless encampment along Myers Way. But for weeks now, I’ve been exploring the constellation of mini encampments in the deep woods nearby. Most of this is still on Washington State Dept of Transportation (@wsdot) property. I counted at least 40 suspected situations. Lots of drug use, trash, and no doubt there is run off going into the waterways. It’s an environmental disaster in the making. I also met one guy who is extremely talented and should be working. He built one of the craziest encampments I have ever seen with an underground tunnel system in the works. But the state might want to get Read More ›

No Words Sometimes you see a piece of video and are just left shaking your head. Tuesday evening, a witness says a fight broke out at Ballard Commons Park between a well known homeless guy and a dude with dreads. At the same time, a little kid just scampers through the outdoor fountain play area, totally oblivious to what’s going on. Thankfully it ended without anyone being seriously injured. Adults, let’s try to set a better example for the children. This all went down as the Seattle Parks (@SeattleParks) concierge was packing up the large chess set and signs. No park rangers or police nearby. Councilmember Dan Strauss’ (@CMDanStrauss) district remains problematic. But so far, crews have been able to Read More ›

Another Homeless Encampment Shooting Blood remains splattered on the sidewalk in front of Quest Church on Leary Way NW in Ballard. Authorities say a “robbery escalated into a shooting” early Friday morning, possibly involving a bicycle. Victim is in the hospital and shooting suspect is still on the loose. The homeless campers on the ground say dude got blasted near a tent. Details remain sketchy and witnesses are saying conflicting things. Bottom line, someone got shot. So far this month, this part of Ballard has seen multiple shootings. Councilmember Dan Strauss’ (@cmdanstrauss) district is out of control. The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) and city’s Unified Care team need to step up even more in this hood. Weapon Found Read More ›