Check fraud
A resident of the 2200 block of S.E. 72nd Street reported June 15 that someone fraudulently cashed a check on her bank account. The check was cashed at a Moneytree loan facility on Rainier Avenue S. in Renton. The victim said she has had several unauthorized activities attempted with her bank accounts recently and believes the activity could be related to mail stolen from her unsecured roadside mailbox.
Vandalism
During the night of June 14, someone gained access through a locked and gated fence enclosure at the community center, 8236 S.E. 24th St. Ten 8-foot-square tempered glass windows were broken at the facility and three fire extinguishers were discharged and thrown from the roof of the building, where they had been kept for use by roofers. Broken beer bottles were found on the roof. Damage is estimated at $2,800.
Telephone harassment
Someone left a threatening message on the home telephone answering machine of a Mercer Island High School employee at about 4:15 p.m. June 14. The message, is believed to be from a male caller. The answering machine tape was placed in police evidence.
Stolen mail arrest
At 9:50 p.m. June 15, police responded to the report of a one-vehicle accident in the 7000 block of North Mercer Way. The car, a 1982 Mazda GLC, had front-end damage and was parked in the flower beds of a residence. Various pieces of mail addressed to several residences on West and North Mercer ways were scattered around the vacant vehicle. A witness described the driver, who left the scene of the accident after tossing the mail from the vehicle. Police located the suspect on the I-90 overpass, where he was standing next to his dog, a female pit bull, which was tied to the bridge railing. The suspect, a 39-year-old Seattle man was carrying a bundle of knives in his rear pocket, believed to have been sent to a North Mercer Way resident in a shipping box that had been left empty beside the suspect’s car. The man was ordered to the ground at gunpoint after he allegedly reached toward the pocket where the knives were. He was arrested and transported to Renton Jail. His dog was turned over to King County Animal Control.
Bike accident
At 7:40 p.m. June 15, a 53-year-old man was transported to Bellevue’s Overlake Hospital with a head laceration and open clavicle fracture after he flew over the handlebars of his bicycle in the 2000 block of 81st Avenue S.E. The man lost control of the bicycle when it hit a raised asphalt drainage deflection bump in the road.
Heirloom missing
On June 14, a 93-year-old resident of the 2000 block of 81st Avenue S.E. reported that her wedding ring was gone. She discovered the ring was missing on May 4. The ring is a solitary diamond set in a rounded mounting of white gold on a plain gold band. It has an inscription of EL 19 11/3 37 (representing March 11, 1937 — European dating — when the woman was married) and is valued at about $1,500. It has been in the woman’s husband’s family for generations and has sentimental value. Police gave the ring description to area pawn shops.
Car prowls
During the night of June 14, someone rummaged through the contents of two unlocked cars in a carport in the 2400 block of 84th Avenue S.E. Nothing appeared to be stolen from the 2003 Honda Odyssey van and 2004 Mercedes-Benz, but the gloveboxes had been opened and contents strewn about in both vehicles. Police gathered fingerprint evidence from one of the vehicles.
On June 13, someone entered a vehicle in the 2700 block of 76th Avenue S.E. and stole a 35 mm camera, a student’s art project, a package of cigarettes, several CDs and a bag of thrift store clothing. There was no sign of forced entry to the car, a gray 1992 Nissan Sentra. Loss was estimated at $310.
DUI arrest
Police stopped a vehicle at 12:15 a.m. June 12 in the 3600 block of Island Crest Way. The driver and two passengers, all Island residents under 21 years old, admitted to drinking alcohol prior to the incident. Several opened cases of beer were in the vehicle. Two 18-year-old male suspects were cited and released and the female was cited and released to her parents.