From time to time, many of us have suffered the minor transgression of having our garbage cans stuffed by somebody else. As if we don’t have enough of our own garbage! I live on what, for many people, is their direct line to Gas Works Park, so my can probably gets stuffed more often than most. It’s not the end of the world, of course, but I have such a really small can …
Richard writes to report of an unusual twist on this “garbage stuffing”:
I’m writing to report an unusual, likely crime, incident, but not sure whether to put this in the “Crime” forum or somewhere else.
Yesterday [Sunday] about 5, a man was driving a car with Oregon plates South through the alley between Keystone and Kirkwood, from 54th to 52nd, stopping at garbage cans, rummaging through them, taking selected things, but also stuffing them with items from the car, many of which were under the car seats. 2 bags were left near one set of garbage cans, containing clothes from what appears to be an adolescent girl, and empty laptop case, as well as an empty mini-pad case, some drawings, some baby toys, and a flash drive, containing only a video about Old Navy planning stores in China. No ID.
?Stolen car? Nobody thought to get the license plate or call police.
Dunno if the owner of the stuff could learn of it through the Wallyhood website….
Although it’s not obvious to me if a crime has been committed in this case, it at least serves as a chance to remind everyone that reports of crimes can be filed online with SPD. This is a handy way to report minor infractions that might not warrant the callout of an officer, but which nonetheless should be noted by the cops.
And this just in from Richard:
Further info on the incident:
I found, in the clothing and other items, a receipt for tickets to a show at the Langston Hughes Center for an evening performance 4/9 (the date the bags were found in our alley). On this was the email address of the purchaser, with a Portland address. I emailed her, and send a photo of the clothes, and she called half an hour later to say they indeed belonged to her 11-year old daughter. Her story was that they (husband, wife and daughter) were in Seattle to visit friends, and see the performance. They went with the friends to Green Lake, parking in a populous area, spent time at the park, and came back to find their rear window smashed, and the items in the back seat gone. They were devastated, especially the 11-year old, who had an electronic game, Pokemon, which she’d been working on for 2 years, plus a full size iPad and an iPad mini. She said they would be filling a police report electronically. They were so devastated by the crime that they cancelled their hotel reservation, did not go to the show for which they had tickets, and drove back to Portland. After getting their address, I took their stuff to UPS and sent it to them, to arrive today, at my expense.
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Richard, you’re a wonderful person. Wallingford is lucky to have you.
Darned fine work, Richard! Kind of you. Maybe you should send the UPS bill to Hizzoner and the clowns as this was likely one of their special citizens.
I might recommend, however, to never put a thumb drive into your computer unless the machine is an old, unused one NOT connected to the net. Good way to get bugs, even with a virus scan.
Richard, happy to help you with the expense if needed.
Ugh, Greenlake has a major smash and grab problem, happened to us a few years back. Glad that you were able to get at least some of their possessions back to them.
The smash and grab problem is tied directly to the criminal drug addict problem.
Three cheers for Richard!!!
I also really appreciate your efforts Richard.
I am also a bit confused about a few aspects of this story. If the car from which the man was throwing out these items, had Oregon plates, was that the car with the smashed rear window?
If so, why were the parents throwing away their own child’s clothes? If they drove back to Oregon that same night, the car obviously wasn’t taken by whoever took their other items, so did the person who smashed their window also have Oregon plates on another car? That would be weird.
I guess it is possible that the person who smashed their window, briefly stole their car to throw these items away in other people’s trash cans and then drove it back to the spot where it had been parked, but that seems fairly implausible as well.
Something about this story doesn’t seem to quite line up with itself. Not that I’m a detective or anything. 🙂
There are two cars with Oregon plates.
One, probably with intact windows, had a driver dumping stolen goods.
Assuming the people from Portland also have Oregon plates, their car has smashed windows and a lack of items.
It’s an odd coincidence, but not so very weird. Oregon is close; you see many Oregon plates in a given day around Seattle. If they were both cars with Florida plates, that would be weird.
Criminals often target tourists and out-of-towners. Out-of-state license plates might be what attracted criminals, and the other car might have been stolen.
Welcome to Seattle Tourists!
It’s a great place to:
Have your car broken into just because your stuff is in it
Hand out money to the panhandlers on every corner
See how outdoorsy we are – Look at all the people camping near the freeway and in the parks!
Spend Family Time sitting together in gridlock traffic!
Shell out lots of dough now that sales tax is over 10%
Visit Discovery Park and watch Seattle’s raw sewage flow into the Sound!
It’s progressive UTOPIA!!!
People who give cash to addicts are just as bad as those who advocate for short sentences for life-long criminals.
Yes, take a second look at your trash cans. I reunited a Ravenna family with their passports and birth certificates after the contents of their cracked, stolen, lockbox was dumped in my can in Greenlake.
I like knowing that one morning, I might be surprised to find a gift, selected just for me by one of Mayor Murray’s “personal shoppers,” left for me in my trash bin. Seattle just gets better and better!