Dozens of guns stolen from home near Roosevelt High School

January 14, 2014 by 23 Comments

A resident of the 6800 block of 15th Avenue NE, just northeast of Roosevelt High School, reported a robbery at his residence on Friday, January 10, while he was at work. Among the stolen items were “20-25 handguns and 20 rifles and shotguns.”


View Burglary on Friday, January 10 in a larger map

In the police report narrative for the incident, the victim states that he left for work at 9 AM and returned around 2 PM and “found someone had gone through his house and stolen multiple items.” The victim had locked the house upon leaving in the morning, but had not set the alarm as he is in the process of moving. No forced entry into the house was found; however, the garage door can be opened by hand. This is how the victim believes the burglar both gained access and left.

Among the stolen items reported by the victim were near a dozen watches, cash in various places around the house as well as larger amounts in two small bags in the kitchen, and dozens of guns:

He said he had about 20-25 handguns and 20 rifles and shotguns. He could not name all the makes and models of the guns but said he would get them and send them in on a victim follow up. He stated that many of the handguns were from his Dad and Granddad and were from World War I and II. He said missing were a Colt .45, Webbly .357, Colt Huntsman .22, Luger, Walther, several Smith and Wesson to name a few. He stated he also had an AR-15 for one of the long guns. All the guns and handguns were in a closet in the bedroom or in drawers in a built in closet.

Also reported missing were 5-7 gym bags.

____________________

Thank you to Michael Hawthorne of KOMO News for bringing this incident to our attention.

Filed Under: Crime, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Roosevelt High School, Seattle Police Department

Bank robbery in Roosevelt (UPDATES)

January 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Just after 4 PM on Thursday, January 2, the Seattle Police Department reported that a bank robbery had taken place in the 6400 block of Roosevelt Way NE.

SPD has not yet released the name of the bank where the robbery took place. But by our count, there are two banks in this area: The Wells Fargo branch inside the Roosevelt Square Whole Foods, and the Umpqua Bank branch on the NE corner of Roosevelt Way NE and NE 64th St. (The Umpqua Bank was previously robbed on March 28, 2012.)


View Bank robbery in Roosevelt in a larger map

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect, please call 911 and refer to this incident. Anonymous tips are welcome.

We’ll update this post with more information when we have it.

UPDATE (4:47 PM): The SPD has released a photo taken of the suspect, taken from inside the Umpqua Bank (you can see the colored text of this location on the windows behind the suspect):

UPDATE (5:36 PM): The Seattle Police Department Blotter has a post up now about the robbery, which includes a couple more photos of the suspect.

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Roosevelt, Seattle Police Department

Mark Mullan sentenced (UPDATES)

November 15, 2013 by 8 Comments

UPDATE (6:18 PM): Adding in the evening’s TV news coverage of the sentencing today, when it becomes available.

Q13 FOX News (no embedded video here due to autoplay).

KIRO 7 News’ footage on the story from their 5 PM newscast.

Filed Under: Crime, Updates

Guilty pleas entered by Mullan for Wedgwood DUI/vehicular homicides

October 3, 2013 by 5 Comments

At a hearing this morning at the King County Courthouse, Mark Mullan pleaded guilty to all charges against him for the DUI crash on March 25 that killed Judy and Dennis Schulte and severely injured Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and her newborn son, Elias.

Mullan was charged on April 11 with two counts vehicular homicide, two counts vehicular assault, and one count reckless driving. He entered a plea of not guilty at that time.

 

 

Under the plea deal, Mullan would face a range of 14-18 years in jail.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 15.

 

Dan Schulte and his sister, Marilyn, were at the hearing, and will speak to reporters after. We’ll add footage here when it becomes available.

Dan and Marilyn Schulte give a statement to the media after this morning's plea hearing. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg stands behind them.

Dan and Marilyn Schulte give a statement to the media after this morning’s plea hearing. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg stands behind them. Photo courtesy @joshtrujillo.

UPDATE: A statement from the King County Prosecutor’s office:

Guilty Plea in State v. Mark Mullan: Repeat drunk driver Mark W. Mullan pleaded guilty this morning as charged to four felony charges for a drunk driving collision that killed two grandparents and seriously injured their daughter-in-law and infant grandson in Seattle’s Wedgewood neighborhood on March 25. Mullan pleaded guilty to two counts each of Vehicular Homicide (DUI) and Vehicular Assault (DUI), and violation of an Ignition Interlock Device order. The collision killed Judy and Dennis Schulte. Their daughter-in-law Karina Ulriksen-Schulte and grandson Elias, who was 10 days old, were seriously injured are still recovering from their injuries. Mullan, 51, faces a sentence range of 14 to 18 years in prison, which includes a 24-month sentencing enhancement stemming from his prior conviction for drunk driving in Seattle Municipal Court. Prosecutors will recommend a top of the range sentence of 18 years in prison when Mullan is sentenced on November 15 at 1:45 p.m. before Judge Barbara Linde at the King County Courthouse.

“This heartbreaking case led to some overdue changes in the law, thanks in part to the courage of the family,” said Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney. “The defendant today pled guilty as charged to the top end of the sentencing range,” he added, “and the plea brings finality and closure to the case, and will keep the defendant in prison, and the public safer, for many years to come,” he said.

Satterberg along with other county prosecutors pushed for tougher sentences for vehicular homicide (DUI) in the 2012 legislative session. The Legislature approved a bill that doubled the standard range for vehicular homicide (DUI), making it equal to a sentence for manslaughter first degree. Under the old range, Mullan’s sentence would have been approximately 7 ½ to 9 ½ years instead of the 14 to 18 years that he faces today.

Filed Under: Crime, Photos, Wedgwood

AM Shooting at NE 55th Street and 26th Avenue NE (UPDATES)

September 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

On Tuesday at 8:35 AM, Seattle Police and Fire units responded to a shooting at approximately 26th Avenue NE and NE 55th Street.


View AM shooting at NE 55th St and 26th Ave NE in a larger map

Above: Tweet by KOMO News Radio reporter Jon Repp from near the scene of the shooting (looking east down NE 55th Street).

A man was shot in the wrist and femur (per scanner), and transported to Harborview Medical Center. His condition is unknown at this time.

There was some confusion early on about the make and model of the suspects’ vehicle, but SPD is now calling it a “newer black Toyota Corolla,” per scanner.

We’re awaiting word from SPD on descriptions of the suspects.

Nearby Bryant Elementary School went into “shelter-in-place” mode: Students were allowed inside and school continued as usual.

Assumption-St. Bridget is in “modified lockdown at this time.

Metro routes using NE 55th Street (30 and 74) are affected:

https://twitter.com/kcmetrobus/status/377469645298880512

UPDATE (9:52 AM): Some more information from media at the scene:

We’re expecting homicide detectives to be at the scene for some time, and that parts of NE 55th St and 26th Ave NE will also be closed for some time.

The Seattle Fire Department has said over twitter that their medics transported “an approx 30yo male from 2610 Ne 55th St to HMC with 2 gunshot wounds. Patient critical with life threatening injuries.”

UPDATE (10:05 AM): The Seattle Times has more information on this morning’s shooting from SPD’s Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, including:

  • Victim (now said to be in his 50s) was “apparently targeted.”
  • Victim was shot at from a dark sedan occupied by what were described by witnesses as “two African-American men in their late teens or early 20s.”

KIRO reporter Natasha Chen (above) took some video of Sgt. Whitcomb speaking near the incident site:

UPDATE (11:20 AM): Picture of the scene from the Seattle Police Department:

UPDATE (1:14 PM): The Seattle Times is reporting that the victim works at Manning & Son Upholstery (2610 NE 55th Street). He and is son (recently brought on to learn the trade, reports Alexa Vaughn) were on their way into the upholstery shop when the shooting occured.

Joel Moreno, a reporter at KOMO News, is reporting that the victim is in surgery.

UPDATE (2:33 PM): KING 5’s Elisa Hahn reports via twitter that the victim is out of surgery and in ICU. His condition is listed as serious.

Filed Under: 911, Bryant Elementary School, Crime, Ravenna, Seattle Fire Department, Seattle Police Department, Updates

Heavy police activity in area Thursday afternoon (UPDATES)

August 1, 2013 by 1 Comment

Not long after 3 PM on Thursday afternoon, Seattle Police Department officers with a K-9 unit began searching yards in the area of 25th Avenue NE and NE 65th Street, assisting the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office with a robbery case.

 

Cops in the hood and helicopters overhead

A neighbor in the area got a picture of a group of officers searching along 26th Avenue NE.

 

Cops in the hood and helicopters overhead

As officers searched, streets were blocked by SPD patrol cars. Southbound 25th Avenue NE was blocked for a time, then officers moved eastward.

KIRO’s Chopper 7 was in the area for some time, and we snagged a couple screenshots from the live feed:

K_9

This (fuzzy) shot is of the K-9 unit searching down an area street.

 

white_van

And this shot is of a white van on the 2100 block of NE 61st Street that may be related to the case. Police were calling for a tow truck for this vehicle (per scanner) during the time when all the other activity was happening in the area.

We’ll update this post when we have more information.

UPDATE (4:33 PM): MyNorthwest.com is reporting that the suspect is Timothy Lussier, a convicted felon being sought by Everett police in connection to an armed robbery in July.

A violent offender task force tracked [Lussier] down to the Kenmore area Thursday, where he fled in a stolen car.

“There was a brief pursuit that followed and the suspect then ditched the stolen vehicle in the Ravenna area,” Ireton [with the Sonohomish County Sheriff’s Office] said.

Lussier is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, call 911 immediately.

Picture of Timothy Lussier (Washington's Most Wanted)

Picture of Timothy Lussier (Washington’s Most Wanted)

UPDATE (4:52 pm): The Everett Herald describes Lussier as being 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He is 35 years old.

UPDATE (11:37 PM): Lots of folks, ourselves included, reported hearing hovering helicopter noise again this evening, starting around 10 PM.

Turns out it was air support courtesy the King County Sheriff’s office, looking for the suspect. But they didn’t find much:

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

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signs tougher DUI bill into law (VIDEO)

July 19, 2013 by 8 Comments

While Wednesday’s joint Mayor’s Office/Seattle Department of Transportation press conference was held at the intersection of last March’s DUI tragedy, the topic was overall street safety along NE 75th St and the SDOT proposed street design changes.

The next day, however, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed DUI legislation (SB 5912) into law down in Tacoma at the Washington State Patrol District 1 headquarters.

Screen grab from SeattleP-I.com's coverage of Governor Jay Inslee signing new DUI legislation into law. Click through to read the whole article, and see more photos from the event by Associated Press Photographer Ted S. Warren.

Screen grab from SeattleP-I.com’s coverage of Governor Jay Inslee signing new DUI legislation into law. Click through to read the whole article, and see more photos from the event by Associated Press photographer Ted S. Warren.

Dan and Marilyn Schulte both attended on their family’s behalf, and were joined at the signing by over a dozen legislators and law enforcement leaders, as well as family members of a woman killed by a drunk driver in 2010.

About the bill, Associated Press reporter Rachel La Corte wrote:

Under the new law, a driver suspected of a second impaired driving offense faces mandatory arrest and will have an interlock device installed on their vehicle within five days of being charged.

The state also will begin a pilot program in as many as three counties and two cities not in those counties to conduct daily alcohol monitoring of anyone convicted twice under the DUI law. Additional money will be put toward ensuring that local jurisdictions prosecute and punish more offenders more quickly.

The final version of the bill was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate.

Most of the law will go into effect on September 28 of this year; however, the monitoring program and a few other components will not go into effect until January 1, 2014.

You can read more about the path to the bill’s final version here (“How budget constraints narrowed Olympia’s DUI crackdown,” June 26, 2012, Seattle Times,” and read the full signed bill here (near the bottom, the link titled “Bill as Passed Legislature.”)

Video of the bill signing event was broadcast live by TVW, the “C-SPAN of Washington state” (our words), and also available below. Dan Schulte begins his statement at about the seven minute mark.

 

Filed Under: Crime, Events, Government, Northeast Seattle, Video

Beloved metal animals stolen from Ravenna Park playground

June 18, 2013 by 4 Comments

Where Lucy the Pika once crouched…

Pika statue from Ravenna Park playground. Used with permission from Seattle Parks and Recreation.

…there is naught but a hole, a bent screw, and the name of the missing critter and her donor family.

Photo courtesy Tracy Sconyers

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

Of the eleven bronze animal sculptures that have graced the Ravenna Park playground since 2008, four reportedly went missing over the weekend: Two pika, a deer mouse, and a mourning dove.


View Ravenna Park playground in a larger map

From resident Tracey Sconyers, who lives near the park (via email):

My girls informed me today [Monday, June 17] that four of the small animal statues are missing from around the Ravenna Park playground. They noticed yesterday (Sunday) that they were gone. I walked over the the park about an hour ago, and it looks like two pika, one deer mouse, and one mourning dove were cut from the rocks. All the missing pieces were along the upper sidewalk area, the one that passes directly in front of the little maintenance building.
…
Each [sculpture] was custom made for its location, and were a gift to the park, in commemoration for the extensive time and money that several families made to ensure that the playground was renovated.

Sconyers says she has called several local metal recyclers to make them aware of the thefts, and to keep an eye out for the sculptures.

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Joelle Hammerstad tells us that Parks has already contacted the artist, Rachel Boughton, about possible replacements if the stolen animals are not returned. Good news: The artist still has the molds.

You can see all of the animals that artist Rachel Broughton (Flying Dog Press and Gallery)  made for the playground here.

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

Photo courtesy Tracey Sconyers

You can view the Friends of Ravenna Playground site here, thanks to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. The playground was renovated with money from grants and fundraising, and reopened with new play equipment in 2007.

Filed Under: Crime, Families, Kids, Lost/Found, Photos, Ravenna, Ravenna Park

Bai Pai on NE 65th St burglarized, suspects flee to Lake City (UPDATES)

May 30, 2013 by 2 Comments

Just before 5 PM on Thursday, May 30, Seattle Police Department officers responded a restaurant burglary in Ravenna.

Bai_Pai_burglary

An officer at the scene of the burglary returns to his vehicle after interviewing a group of eyewitnesses.

Witnesses reported seeing two men (described to us by a female eyewitness as “meth heads”) fleeing the Thai restaurant Bai Pai (2316 NE 65th St), getting in a red car, and driving away. A third suspect, thought to be a female, was also involved in some capacity. (UPDATE: Only two suspects involved, police now say.)

Police pursued the car north into Lake City (via, in parts, 35th Ave NE and Sand Point Way NE) before calling off the chase as the vehicle drove on a sidewalk to continue the escape (per scanner).


View Bai Pai burglary and arrest location in a larger map

A short distance later, however, the occupants of the car had left the vehicle and were observed fleeing through yards. One male suspect was arrested near the 13000 block of 26th Avenue NE.

Scene near of the arrest of one of the suspects (at 25th Ave NE near 127th St NE). Photo courtesy Lake City Live.

Scene near of the arrest of one of the suspects (at 25th Ave NE near 127th St NE). Photo courtesy Lake City Live.

At least one suspect is in custody at this time, says the Seattle Police Department’s Blotter page on the incident. Police may be looking for one or two more.

More information here when we have it.

UPDATE (7:27 PM): The Seattle Police Department’s Blotter is now reporting that a second suspect is in custody, arrested not far from the first. More:

Preliminary investigation indicates that two adult male suspects entered the back door of a restaurant and stole an employee’s backpack full of personal effects. Several employees chased the suspects, who ran to a stolen vehicle and made their escape (this event was reported to police as a robbery).

Also in the report: The getaway car was a stolen vehicle, both suspects are in their 20s and are the ONLY suspects, and no one was injured.

UPDATE (Friday, May 31): Our friends over at Lake City Live have more information about the pursuit and the capture of the suspects, including details on one of the arrests:

An alert neighbor that was watching the events unfold on the Seattle Police Department’s Twitter feed in an exchange with Ravenna Blog, happened to be on the phone with his wife when a bleeding man wandered into their yard. She told him about the man in their yard and the husband, who was not home, immediately told her to call the police when he realized via Twitter that the chase was in his neighborhood. The woman gave a description of the bleeding man to a dispatcher and then officers with guns drawn quickly apprehended the man who was at that point casually walking down the street on his cell phone.

Lake City Live also got a picture of the mark the stolen car made when the suspects tried to evade the police by driving on the sidewalk:

Damage on the Kaffeeklatsch building shows where a car squeezed between the building and a fire hydrant as it was speeding from police. (Photo courtesy Lake City Live.)

Damage on the Kaffeeklatsch building (12513 Lake City Way NE) shows where a car squeezed between the building and a fire hydrant as it was speeding from police. (Photo courtesy Lake City Live.)

 

Filed Under: 911, Crime, Food, Lake City, Photos, Ravenna, Restaurants, Seattle Police Department, Updates

DUI suspect Mark Mullan’s role in local youth baseball, clarified

April 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

After it became known that Mark Mullan, the suspect in the March 25 DUI/homicides on NE 75th Street, had a connection to the North Seattle Baseball Association, NSBA President Chris Medina emailed parents in the organization about Mullan’s role.

We asked Medina if we could publish this message here, for the wider Northeast Seattle community, and he agreed.  Medina also said he has received a tremendous outpouring of support from  league members and the community in support of the league, and offers of support as volunteers since the event.

The date of this letter is March 26.

On Monday, tragedy struck our community when a driver struck several pedestrians on 75th in front of Eckstein Middle School.  The NSBA Board of Directors extends our deepest condolences to the families of the 2 people who lost their lives, and to the 2 people who were critically injured.  We cannot put into words the sadness that all of us in the community are feeling right now, but I felt it important to reach out right away to communicate openly so as to offer at least a gesture of caring and respect to our community.

 

The board of directors was mobilized early [Tuesday] morning.  We asked our commissioners to communicate with their coaches in order to be prepared to talk to their players and parents about the incident, so that we can be able to have the dialogue that perhaps some families and players need in order to cope with the situation.

 

You may have read the newspaper or saw in the news the references to NSBA.  Mark Mullan, the driver of the vehicle that struck the pedestrians was wearing an NSBA sweatshirt at the time of the accident.  While I do not know him personally, he is a former coach and former board member, but is not one of our current coaches or volunteers for this season.  Mr.  Mullan did not return as a coach to the league after last year, and it has been several years since he was a board member.   We are in touch with the press, and we ask that all press inquiries be directed to me, or to the board.

 

As many of you know, we take coach (and player) conduct very seriously in our league.  We highlighted a stronger stance and policy on policing coaches behavior at the outset of this season’s preparation and was again emphasized during our mandatory coaches training last month.  As an all-volunteer organization, driven by you all, our membership, we focus very carefully on the player/child experience as well as on coach and parent experience.   That means we must often rely on parents, coaches, and each other for reports on incidents that may have occurred.  We have a disciplinary review committee that is formed according to our league by-laws, and we actively police each other.  At any time, for a given action committed on or off the field, any volunteer can be dismissed for his/her conduct, or if in fact the league disciplinary review committee decides that as a proper course of action.  Our biggest concern is the kids well-being.

 

Additionally, every head coach and assistant coach in our organization must submit their personal information as part of a criminal background questionnaire.  This is a required action every season.  Additionally, we take this a step further by submitting that information for every coach to the Washington State Patrol background check services called WATCH, a special service that has been offered to us at little or no cost, as we are an all volunteer non-profit organization.  This is currently in progress, and is unfortunately a very manual process, so if you would like to assist to help us accelerate the process, please let us know as we would welcome the assistance at this very trying and busy time.

 

Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this tragedy.

 

Chris Medina, President NSBA
For further questions, you may contact the North Seattle Baseball Association here: contactnsba@gmail.com.
Filed Under: Crime, Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle
« Previous Page
Next Page »