North Precinct ‘Safe Commuities’ meeting Wednesday night (UPDATE, VIDEO)

October 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

UPDATE (Thursday, October 11): Seattle Channel recorded last night’s opening remarks by Seattle Police Chief John Diaz and Mayor Mike McGinn:

As a part of the Seattle Police Department’s 20/20 Plan — the package of reform initiatives for the SPD crafted in response to the Department of Justice Investigation which concluded that “police accountability in Seattle was ‘broken'” — the department has scheduled a event for residents of each precinct to share their safety concerns with officers.

The North Precinct event is tonight, Wednesday, October 10, from 7-9 PM. The event is being held at neighboring North Seattle Community College (9600 College Way North).

The description of the Safe Communities outreach initiative, from its homepage:

Public safety is a high priority for the people of Seattle. The Seattle Police Department is addressing the recent wave of violence with emphasis patrols and other actions specific to each precinct. But it will take more than law enforcement alone to build communities that are safe. It’s time to look at the roots of violence and address longstanding neighborhood concerns. That’s why the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Police Department are working together on the Safe Communities Outreach Mission. Part of the SPD 20/20 Plan, Safe Communities seeks to ensure the City is meeting our goal of reducing crime and creating the safest possible neighborhoods. We will do that by bringing residents and officers together in living rooms, cafes, barber shops and community centers across Seattle to develop a list of priorities to address community concerns. Those priorities will then guide the actions the City, SPD, and the neighborhoods will take together to protect public safety. We are committed to building safe communities. We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas and developing an action plan with you.

If you cannot make tonight’s meeting, you may enter your information and describe your safety concerns using this form.

And you can download a chart describing the Safe Communities portion of the 20/20 Initiative here (175 KB PDF).

 

Filed Under: Crime, Mayor's Office, Meeting, Northeast Seattle, Seattle Police Department, Updates, Video

Plea in Noll shooting case expected Monday morning (PHOTOS, LIVE COVERAGE)

October 7, 2012 by 3 Comments

On the morning of Monday, October 8, I’ll be traveling from Ravenna to the King County Courthouse for Dihn Bowman’s arraignment hearing, when his defense team will enter a plea. In the space below, I’ll be live blogging my journey downtown and the events at the courthouse as they happen.

An appeal for a strong showing of Yancy’s friends and supporters at the arraignment was made on the Yancy Noll Memorial Facebook page. It reads, in part:

Prosecuting attorney Scott O’Toole wants a full courtroom on October 8th, for the arraignment of Yancy Noll’s accused killer. He wants to show the judge how wide a circle Yancy touched. How big a hole this criminal left in our community. If you knew Yancy, or knew someone who knew him, or even if you just generally have a good opinion of wine stewards, hell, wine even! There! If you like wine and are upset at the absence of a good answer man about vino, come to the King County Superior Court in Seattle at 8:30am on Monday October 8th. Follow the crowd to the courtroom. This man’s loving reach into our community was longer and wider than any one of us knows.

Dihn Bowman is being charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Yancy Noll on August 31. Bowman was arrested at his home in Ravenna on September 12 21 (tip leading to his arrest was called in to on September 12), and is being held without bail in the King County Jail.

UPDATE (1:42 PM): KOMO News has their report up here (video will auto-play).

UPDATE (11:27 AM): Bowman and his defense team have entered a plea of NOT GUILTY. Photos from this morning follow, as goes the morning’s live coverage.

View from 4th Avenue looking up at the King County Courthouse, the sky bridge from King County Jail, and a waning moon.

 

4th Avenue entrance to the King County Courthouse.

 

Close-up of 4th Avenue doors.

 

View from Courtroom 1201, where the arraignment took place.

 

Left side of the gallery in courtroom 1201.

 

Right side of courtroom 1201. Picture taken before spectators started to overflow into the hallway.

 

Suspect Dihn Bowman entering the courtroom.

 

From left to right: Bowman, defense attorney John Henry Browne, and prosecuting attorney Scott O’Toole, all before Judge Kessler (not pictured).

 

Spokesman for Yancy Noll’s supporters, Brad Kenny, reading a statement to media gathered in the 12th floor elevator lobby.

 

Television cameras on Kenny while Prosecutor O’Toole (on right with folders) looks on.

 

Another shot of Kenny, surrounded by Yancy Noll supporters.

 

Seattle Times photojournalist John Lok taking a close-up picture of the button that was handed out to Noll supporters in the courtroom this morning.

Filed Under: Crime, Live Coverage, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department

15th Avenue NE closed as police investigate ‘possible explosive devices’ (UPDATES)

September 28, 2012 by 3 Comments

Via the Seattle Police Department twitter feed:

15th Avenue Bridge closed in Ravenna as ABS investigates possible explosive devices found in the area. More info on the Blotter shortly.

The helicopter that can be heard in our area is over the scene.

More updates here when we get them.

UPDATE (12:11 PM): Police have determined the the suspected explosive devices are harmless. Via twitter:

Suspected pipe bombs deemed harmless. Everything on 15th should be back to normal shortly.

UPDATE (12:15 PM):SeattlePI.com’s Casey McNerthney has the story from police:

The suspicious devices were found shortly after 10 a.m. near the 15th Avenue Northeast bridge, which was closed for more than 2 hours as detectives investigated. The devices, made with capped PVC pipes, were also found near a regular homeless encampment, detective Renee Witt said.

Read the full story on SeattlePI.com’s Seattle 911 blog.

Filed Under: 911, Cowen Park, Crime, Ravenna, Ravenna Park, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates

No bail for Noll shooting suspect; charges expected by Tuesday (UPDATES)

September 22, 2012 by 5 Comments

This afternoon, the suspect in the August 31 shooting death of Yancy Noll made his first appearance before a judge.

Bowman, right, appearing before a judge in a King County Jail courtroom on Saturday / Image courtesy capitolhillseattle.com

Dinh Bowman, 29, was arrested at his home in Ravenna on Friday morning. His car, a silver BMW Z4 convertible, was towed out of his garage shortly after.

Fellow Seattle Times Newspartner, Capitol Hill Seattle (CHS), was there in the courtroom today:

Judge Kara Murphy agreed with a request for no bail in the hearing as the prosecutor outlined evidence police detectives say they have already collected including proof of the “sophistication” of Bowman’s effort to repair and conceal his Z4 convertible BMW and an online video reportedly showing Bowman progressing rapidly through a target course while firing one-handedly firing a .45 caliber handgun in a shooting competition.

According to CHS, police began watching Bowman’s home on September 12, after an anonymous female caller alerted them to the home. It was during this time (between the night of the shooting and Friday’s raid on the home) that Bowman was witnessed behaving like someone going to “great lengths to conceal possible evidence of the crime” (Seattle Times article about today’s court appearance). These behaviors included:

  • Neighbors noting that Bowman and his car, normally parked in the driveway, had not been seen lately.
  • Recent repairs made to the Z4, including new passenger-side window glass (repaired in Portland, Oregon) and all new tires (from a store in Lynnwood).
  • Photos of Bowman (in profile and with large sunglasses) found online matching the composite sketch of the suspect.

These and other details of the incriminating behavior that SPD investigators used to justify Bowman’s arrest can be found in the CHS post and this probable cause statement obtained by CHS (Flickr link).

Prosecutors are expected to file charges of either first degree murder or second degree road rage murder against Bowman by Tuesday, September 25, says CHS.

UPDATE (6:32 PM): Here’s KING 5’s story on today’s courtroom appearance.

UPDATE (Sunday, September 23): And here’s KIRO 7’s story on the courtoom appearance.

Filed Under: Crime, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Suspect arrested in Noll shooting (UPDATES, PHOTOS)

September 21, 2012 by 4 Comments

Friday morning, September 21, Seattle Police Department homicide detectives arrested a man suspected of the road rage shooting death of Yancy Noll on August 31.

From the SPD Blotter:

Acting on a tip, SWAT officers and Homicide detectives served a warrant at a home in north Seattle early Friday morning—less than a mile from where Noll was shot and killed—and arrested a 30 year old suspect in the shooting.

The post goes on to say that detectives are withholding the suspect’s name until his first appearance in court.

Thank you to Adam Merrill for the heads-up.

UPDATE (2:48 PM): Capitol Hill Seattle has a few more details about the arrest and the suspect.

UPDATE (4:22 PM): We drove by the area where the suspect was arrested, and took the following pictures:

 

More news vans parked along 25th Ave NE, south of the suspect’s home.

 

More news vans parked across the street from the suspect’s home.

 

Camera equipment set up in front of the suspect’s home.

UPDATE (4:34 PM): A friend of Yancy Noll’s, whom we happened to meet at the scene, emailed us a link to KIRO 7’s story about the arrest. Within the article is a picture of a BMW Z4 convertible being removed from the suspect’s house.

Screenshot of KIRO 7’s page on the arrest of the suspect. Click to visit the site.

 

UPDATE (5:05 PM): The Seattle Times names the suspect, and provides more details about the investigation.

UPDATE (Saturday, September 22, 10:27 PM): The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office webpage posted yesterday that the suspect will make his first court appearance today, as early as 1 PM, in Courtroom 1 of the King County Jail. He is being held without bail.

Filed Under: Crime, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Police release sketch of suspect in August 31 shooting

September 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

Today the Seattle Police Department released a sketch of the suspect in the August 31st shooting at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St. Updated information on the car seen fleeing the scene was also released.

Sketch of the suspect sought in August 31st shooting at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St / Seattle Police Department

The car type has been narrowed down to a silver 2002-2008 BMW Z4 convertible with a black interior:

2002-2008 BMW Z4 convertible with top up / Seattle Police Department

2002-2008 BMW Z4 convertible with top down / Seattle Police Department

The SPD Blotter post also included this description of the shooting:

Detectives are releasing an additional detail in this investigation: For reasons that are still unknown, the murder suspect was so enraged at Yancy Noll that he pulled up alongside him in the oncoming traffic lanes as Noll was stopped for a red light facing southbound on 15th Avenue NE where it intersects with NE 75th Street. The suspect then shot at Noll multiple times with a handgun and in the process shot out his own passenger window. The suspect was last seen speeding away down 15th Avenue NE.

Anyone with information about this incident (identity of the shooter and/or his vehicle) should call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome.

Filed Under: Crime, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department

Shooting at NE 75th St and 15th Ave NE on Friday night (UPDATES)

August 31, 2012 by 16 Comments

UPDATE (Monday, September 10): The Seattle Police Department has released a sketch of the suspect, as well as some other additional information.

…

Shortly after two local residents reported hearing “four ‘pops’ in rapid succession” and then a “[h]elicopter overhead, sirens everywhere,” came this post on the Seattle Police Department’s Blotter:

Tonight at approximately 7:26 p.m. officers responded to the 7500 block of 15th Avenue NE for the report of multiple shots fired. Officers arrived on scene and located a male victim in his 40′s who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
View August 31 shooting in a larger map The circumstances just prior to the shooting (as well as description of the suspect and the vehicle) are not available at this time, says the Blotter post. However, a local scanner listener reports hearing talk of a “pos suspect driving a red BMW convertible.” We will update this post with any new information on the victim and/or suspect(s) as we get it.

UPDATE (9:14 PM): KING 5’s Jim Forman was at the scene at 7:55 PM and tweeted the following (click the links for photos of the scene):

UPDATE (11:46 PM): KING 5 reported in their 11 PM newscast that the shooting victim has died of his injuries. The Seattle Times has more details about the shooting here.

UPDATE (Saturday, September 1, 6:16 AM): The SPD Blotter post has been updated overnight with more information, including this description of the shooting:

Preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect pulled up next to the victim in his car and for reasons yet to be determined, fired multiple rounds at the victim, striking him several times. The suspect then fled the scene in his car and remains at large.

The suspect is described as a white male with dark hair, age 20 to 30, driving a smaller silver or grey BMW. Anyone with information about this incident (identity of the shooter and/or his vehicle) should call 911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Tip Line at (206) 233-5000. Anonymous tips are welcome.

UPDATE (Saturday, September 1, 5:56 PM): Ravenna resident Jake Z. has taken a few pictures of a growing memorial at the site of the shooting (click the links below if the images are not visible):

UPDATE (Sunday, September 2): The SPD Blotter has been updated with more information on the shooting, including a more detailed description of the suspect and his vehicle:

The suspect’s vehicle is described as a silver BMW Z4 convertible. The car may have recent body damage including a broken out passenger side window.
Several witnesses describe the suspect as a well-dressed White or Asian male in his late 20′s to 30′s with dark, slicked-back hair.

The car looks similar to this one (image from the SPD Blotter):

20120902-191012.jpg

Footage from a surveillance camera in the Roosevelt Reservoir shows the vehicle on 15th Ave NE around the time of the shooting:

It is now believed that the shooting “may have been directly related to a road rage type of traffic incident.“

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Python loose in the park! But which park?

August 13, 2012 by 12 Comments

We got a voice mail from North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston this afternoon at 2:50 PM, saying, “I hope you’re not at Cowen Park playfield…uh playground. A seven-foot yellow python got loose and he’s headed for the playground.”

Now, that’s an amusing story, but Cowen Park is not in Ravenna. So I just mention the missing snake on twitter, like this:

A few minutes later, the official Seattle Police Department twitter feed says this:

Oh no! Wrong neighborhood! And wrong park! Lower case “p” or not, people are going to get confused!

But I check with Terrie Johnston again, to make sure. “61st and Brooklyn Cowen Park” is the email reply.


View Snake on the loose! in a larger map

Decidedly NOT Ravenna Park.

But the damage has been done. The SPD tweet has now been REtweeted over 300 times (probably because of that “Snakes on a Plane” movie reference being clever and all).

And, of course, someone has started a new twitter feed…FOR THE SNAKE:

Thankfully, the SPD just updated the story on their blog, and you can read it here (“Officers On Python Patrol After Snake Escapes In Ravenna Neighborhood“).

An excerpt for you:

As police officers and officials from Seattle parks department and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife search the neighborhood and Cowen/Ravenna Park for the snake, you and your small pets should keep to the trails, and stay away from drainage ditches, thick foliage, and hollow logs, according to Seattle’s resident snake expert, Peter Miller.

Miller, reptile keeper at Woodland Park Zoo, estimates the snake is around 15-20 pounds and says it “has the potential” to be dangerous. ”These guys are ambush predators,” he says. “They find a well protected covered area and they sit and they wait.”

KING 5 news Reporter John Langeler got the location right, though:

And it looks like Seattle Parks and Recreation has put up signage.

John Langeler / KING 5

If Timid the Albino Python is found (yeah, his name is Timid), we’ll let you know here.

Filed Under: Cowen Park, Lost/Found, Ravenna, Ravenna Park, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department Tagged With:

Two blown transformers heard to be blamed for NE Seattle power outage (UPDATES)

July 3, 2012 by 3 Comments

UPDATE (2:58 PM): A quick check of the outage map reveals everything back to normal.

UPDATE (2:08 PM): Outage down to approximately 1,200 customers now.

UPDATE (1:03 PM): outage is down to approximately 1,800 customers Mostly in the Matthews Beach/View Ridge area of the map below affected.

____________________

No, it’s not a comment on any Michael Bay movies — it’s a power outage.

Seattle City Light outage map screen grab from 12:45 PM.

More info on the Seattle City Light’s Power Lines blog:

Seattle City Light crews were responding to a power outage Tuesday that affected about 3,600 homes and businesses in the Ravenna, Roosevelt, View Ridge and Wedgwood neighborhoods of northeast Seattle.

The outage started about 11:20 a.m. A cause was not immediately known. An initial estimate for restoration of service was set for 3 p.m.

The general boundaries of the outage were NE 94th Street on the north, NE 65th Street on the south, Roosevelt Way NE on the west and Lake Washington on the east.

As of this posting, the cause is listed as “tree,” and the restoration time is estimated at 3:00 PM.

As we were calling the North Precinct about the dangerous traffic conditions at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St — signals are out and many drivers on NE 75th St are not noticing and treating as a four-way stop — the officer on the other end of the phone blamed the outage on two transformers lost from the tops of poles, but we haven’t had confirmation of the exact cause from Seattle City Light.

Filed Under: Bryant, Maple Leaf, Northeast Seattle, Power Outage, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Seattle City Light, Seattle Police Department, Traffic, Updates, View Ridge, Wedgwood

Community meeting Tuesday night spotlights public safety (UPDATE)

June 4, 2012 by 1 Comment

UPDATE (3:39 PM): The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association twitter feed reports that “N. Precinct Lt. Rasmussen, or Captain Robin Clark, to attend tomorrow’s meeting and answer questions about the shooting.”


____________________

Tomorrow night’s Ravenna-Bryant Community Association community meeting focuses on different aspects of public safety, and includes both Councilmember Bruce Harrell and North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Terrie Johnston as featured speakers.

The meeting takes place Tuesday night, June 5, at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE), and starts at 7 PM.

Other speakers include Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation at Children’s Hospital (speaking about Greenways), and Laurie Ames from the Department of Neighborhoods (speaking about Neighborhood Matching Funds).

You can see the full agenda here, on the RBCA website.

Filed Under: City Council, Crime, Meeting, Ravenna, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, Seattle Police Department, Updates
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