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

Photos from Friday night’s prayer vigil for Yancy Noll

September 7, 2012 by 3 Comments

We stopped by Friday night’s prayer vigil for Yancy Noll, held on the corner of 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St.

The corner at the intersection where Noll lost his life, one week ago today, was packed with friends and neighbors. The close quarters next to the busy intersection made it hard to hear the message being given. So we share with you here some images from the event.

KIRO 7’s Deborah Horne and KING 5’s Jim Forman were there with camera crews. We will add their reports here when we have them.

Filed Under: Crime, Memorials, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt

Memorial events for Yancy Noll scheduled (UPDATE)

September 5, 2012 by 1 Comment

UPDATE (September 11): A public memorial service for Yancy Noll has been scheduled for Sunday, September 16, from 3-6 PM, at the Mountaineers Program Center at Magnuson Park (7700 Sand Point Way NE). RSVP at the Yancy Noll Memorial Facebook page.

From the Yancy Noll Memorial Page via Facebook

 

 

A number of gatherings related to Yancy Noll and the events of last Friday have been scheduled for the upcoming days, two of which are local to our area.

This Thursday, September 6, at Mutiny Hall (1205 NE 65th St) there will be a time for friends and neighbors of Yancy Noll to gather, and talk, and celebrate. Start time of 6 PM.

A prayer vigil will be held at the corner of 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St on Friday, September 7, at 8 PM.

Up on Capitol Hill on Saturday, September 8, there is an event being held in the backroom of the Deluxe Bar & Grill (625 Broadway Ave E). “Come down to meet and share condolences with the wonderful people of QFC and other coworkers of Yancy,” says the invitation on the Yancy Noll Memorial Facebook page. The event starts at 3 PM.

More remembrances from Noll’s friends, coworkers, and fans can be found on these two posts on Capitol Hill Seattle.

Filed Under: Crime, Memorials, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Updates

Friends and neighbors say goodbye to Yancy Noll near Roosevelt Reservoir

September 3, 2012 by 4 Comments

Word started getting around on Saturday that the victim of Friday night’s shooting at 15th Ave NE and NE 75th St was Yancy Noll.

Noll lived nearby, and worked as the wine steward at the Broadway Market QFC on Capitol Hill.

KIRO 7 was at the scene on Saturday night as people stopped by a growing memorial to pay their respects (segment starts after ad):







Folks who knew Yancy have been leaving remembrances on this Capitol Hill Seattle post.

I stopped by the memorial on Sunday night, and took the following pictures:

Peace to be to his memory.

Filed Under: Crime, Maple Leaf, Photos, Ravenna, Roosevelt, Video

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:

Roosevelt Moves: Sound Transit townhouse relocation (PHOTOS)

August 3, 2012 by 6 Comments

Sound Transit’s Andrew Schmid takes a picture of Nickels Bros. and other workers in front of the first townhouse, before it gets underway.

Schmid again, taking a picture of Sound Transit Project Manager Kristin Hoffman while she is interviewed on camera.

Another shot of the first townhouse prior to moving.

Hoffman again, mid-interview. Schmid said that she has worked on the townhouse portion of the Roosevelt Station project for a year and a half, culminating in the moves.

Peaks Custard supplied coffee and assorted accoutrements at the site.

A marked “oversize load” truck waits to lead the convoy to 15th Ave NE.

A scrum of utility workers, Sound Transit staff, and Nickels Bros. movers huddles around a woman leading the pre-move safety meeting.

A Seattle City Light worker adjusts an overhead line adjacent to the moving site.

Part of the crowd gathered across the street from the townhouses on 12th Ave NE, waiting for the move to begin.

A shot of the full scene along 12th Ave NE taken from up by the Roosevelt High School track.

The first townhouse now partially IN 12th Ave NE.

A Nickels Bros. worker attending the “rear” of the first townhouse as it slowly makes its way down 12th Ave NE.

____________________

11:45 PM – Seattle City Light here now, working on the overhead wires. The truck supporting the first townhouse to be moved has crept forward a bit, testing the load.

11:04 PM – The action really starts happening at 12:01, in case you at home would like to come down.

10:50 PMstrong> – On site now. Lots of folks on hand, neighbors and Sound Transit.

8:52 PM – Setting up the live coverage post here, and adding the street closures due to the relocating townhouses (per Sound Transit):

Streets will be closed as the convoy moves through the area and reopened after the convoy has passed. Street closures include:

  • 12th Avenue Northeast—closed at the intersection of Northeast 65th Street and 12th Avenue Northeast
  • Northeast 66th Street—closed from Roosevelt Way Northeast to 15th Avenue Northeast
  • 15th Avenue Northeast—closed from Cowen Bridge to Northeast 68th Street

The route will be “east down Northeast 66th Street to final destinations on 15th Avenue Northeast just south of Northeast 65th Street.”

Our next update will be around 10:45 PM, when Sound Transit will be available to the media at the current townhouse site (NE 66th St and 12th Ave NE).

Filed Under: Events, Light Rail, Live Coverage, Photos, Roosevelt, Sound Transit, Updates

Northgate Link Extension groundbreaking and celebration scheduled for August 17

August 3, 2012 by 4 Comments

Fresh from our inbox to you, the details on Sound Transit’s Northgate Link Extension (formerly known as North Link) groundbreaking and community celebration happening on Friday, August 17:

You’re a big part of this project and we hope you can join us for a family-fun celebration to commemorate this historic milestone!

  • Ceremonial groundbreaking
  • Live music music by Roosevelt High School Jazz, Nu Klezmer Army, the Illicit Jug Cartel and the Rolling Retreads
  • Face painter, balloon artist and train-themed bouncy house for the kids
  • Link train photo booth – bring your camera or camera phone
  • Zap Gridlock, Sound Transit’s traffic fighting superhero
  • Project information booths – learn the latest on the station designs, public art, bicycle parking and access, current Sound Transit service and more

The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 3:30-4:30 PM, with the celebration portion going until 7:30 PM.

And just where will the event be taking place?

At the Former QFC site at NE 66th Street and Roosevelt Way NE.

You are encouraged to “bike, walk or take transit to the event. Bike racks will be available. The Roosevelt neighborhood is well-served by local transit with several bus routes in the immediate area.”

Filed Under: Events, Families, Kids, Light Rail, Music, Roosevelt Tagged With:

Roosevelt townhouses to move on down the road in early August

August 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

August is a tremendous month for Light Rail in North Seattle, as construction plans go into the ACTION phase.

But before Sound Transit starts any station site excavation at the Roosevelt Station location, there will occur some townhouse relocation.

Nickel Bros truck at 12th Ave NE and NE 66th St

The four townhouses on NE 66th St were purchased from Sound Transit (and thus saved from demolition), and are being moved 4 1/2 blocks away to the now former site of the Betty MacDonald house and adjoining property on 15th Ave NE.

The former location of the Betty MacDonald house, just south of the Fruit Stand at 15th Ave NE and NE 65th St.

Here’s a map showing the current (upper left) and future (lower right) locations of the townhouse buildings:


View Roosevelt townhouse move in a larger map

One of the townhouse buildings prepared for the move from NE 66th St to 15th Ave NE.

Now, just how does one move BUILDINGS through a busy neighborhood? That’s not quite our area of expertise. But we can ALL find out just how it’s done come the Friday evenings of August 3 and 10.

From Sound Transit’s Northgate Link* Extension Update newsletter (emphasis ours):

Preparations to relocate four townhouse buildings on Northeast 66th Street are in full swing. The relocation will occur late at night over two weekends starting Friday, Aug. 3. More townhouses will be moved the following weekend, Friday, Aug. 10.

We invite you to witness this monumental move on one or both weekends. Meet at the northeast corner of Northeast 66th Street and 12th Avenue Northeast around 11:45 p.m. on either of the Friday nights. Sound Transit staff will be there to answer questions. As the townhouses move east down Northeast 66th Street, we’ll walk along the sidewalk with them.

Sound Transit says that the buildings “should be on the road by midnight,” and at their new address “no later than 6 a.m. each Saturday.” Four buildings (of two units each) will be moved in total.

Ravenna Blog will be there, camera in hand, for the action this Friday night — it’s a Seafair Weekend parade we don’t wanna miss.

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* Now that the three northernmost stations in the Light Rail system have their permanent station names (“U District Station,” “Roosevelt Station,” and “Northgate Station”), the name of the extension as a whole is now “Northgate Link Extension.” Now you know.

Filed Under: Construction, Events, Light Rail, Photos, Roosevelt, Traffic Tagged With:

Café Racer grand re-opening this Friday, July 20

July 18, 2012 by 3 Comments

We receive a lot of press releases from various organizations. This one is our favorite to date:

“No one needs to be reminded of what happened at Café Racer on May 30, 2012.

Each day the grief of losing our loved ones lessens, but not our love for them or the love they brought into our lives. Drew, Joe, Kim, Don and Gloria were people who gave more of themselves than they ever received. This is why the community was so devastated by their loss. This is also why that community of which they were a part of will carry on.

The outpouring of love and support from this community was astounding to me. Not only for the loss of our loved ones, but for the love and concern for Café Racer itself. It became clear to me that the café is more than just a place to pick up a coffee, food or have a drink, but it is a part of the community. The love didn’t just come from the ones we lost, it comes from everyone.

This is the main reason that I’ve decided to keep the cafe open, to forge ahead with the vision that is Café Racer by providing a place for diverse people and groups to come together and have a loving, safe place to gather. There may be some physical changes to the cafe, the main ingredient which makes Café Racer unique will remain the same, Love.

There is no way I can express my thanks to the hundreds of people who gave me, and everyone who is involved with the café, their love and support.

YOU make Cafe Racer what it is.” – Kurt Geissel Owner, Café Racer

We’ve been told that today and Thursday are both soft opening days for the reborn cafe. You should stop by.

Filed Under: Events, Food, Restaurants, Roosevelt
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