LYNNWOOD- Prolific Criminal in Jail Again

Shannon Sessions, the Public Information Officer for the Lynnwood Police Department, has issued a press release concerning the recent apprehension of a convicted felon in Lynnwood. The full release is printed below. Please note her advice about opening your door to strangers at night and if you see a high police presence in your neighborhood:

A known violent offender and convicted felon was arrested in Lynnwood late Dec. 10 for investigation of Residential Burglary, Attempted Residential Burglary with Domestic Violence, Violating a no-contact order, Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer and two counts of Malicious Mischief.

The 25-year-old Everett man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.

Lynnwood Police responded to an apartment in the 5800 block of 204th St. SW. in Lynnwood just after 9 p.m. when a woman called 911 because her ex-boyfriend, who she had a no-contact order against, was attempting to gain entry into her home through a back window.

Police arrived on scene and found the suspect outside the front of the apartment. As soon as the suspect saw the officer he fled on foot. Containment was set up and a K9 track quickly ensued.

The suspect was tracked a couple blocks away to a condominium complex in the 5600 block of 200th St. SW. In the process of fleeing, the suspect broke fences and damaged property along the way.

Once at the condo complex on 200th, the suspect knocked on a back sliding door of an unknown and occupied unit. While engaging with the unknown woman resident who answered the door, the officers and K9 Unit rapidly approached. The suspect attempted to hide and then made a break for it inside the woman’s condo.

The suspect ran through the condo and out the front door with the Police K9 and handler trailing close behind –through the residence.

Due to the volume of containment police officers present from Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department—along with the police K9 right on his track, the suspect simply had nowhere to go.

In a final attempt to evade officers, the suspect sat on a nearby front porch and tried to mix in with other bystanders in the area. Officers soon saw and recognized him and he was taken into custody without incident.

This event did get a lot of attention from neighbors and bystanders around this area.

From a Crime Prevention standpoint it’s important to be cautious about who you open your door to, especially during dark hours. Also, if there is a high presence of police in your area, be sure to lock your doors and stay inside. Lastly, if you see or hear anything suspicious in your neighborhood, don’t hesitate to call 911, you may have that missing piece police need to solve a crime.

 

ESPERANCE- Sheriff’s Office Seeks Hit-and-Run Driver

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding a hit-and-run driver who hit and injured a 15-year-old boy in the vicinity of 92^nd Ave W at 4:45pm on Monday in the Esperance area near Edmonds.

The boy was struck by a mirror of a passing truck. He was taken to a local hospital and released. The mirror broke off and police have it as evidence.

Sheriff’s Office detectives believe the truck was a Ford F-150 pickup with a light color, possibly gold.

If you have any information that can help detectives find this driver please call (425) 388-3845.

The Herald article: http://heraldnet.com/article/20121212/NEWS01/712129831#Police-seek-hit-and-run-driver-in-Edmonds-area

 

PUGET SOUND- Package Theft

While I have not heard of reports of package theft so far during this holiday season in South Snohomish County, the following two items show that it is going on in our region:

• According to the Seattle Police Blotter, on December 7, a white Toyota van was associated with four suspects stealing packages from front porches in West Seattle. One victim called 911 at around 11:43am, to report that a male suspect had just stolen a package from her front porch and entered a white Toyota van. Later in the day, around 3:30pm, another homeowner reported a package stolen from their front porch. This time a female suspect was seen stealing the package and getting into a white Toyota van. Minutes after the second report, an officer spotted the suspect vehicle. Four suspects, 3 males and 1 female were arrested. SPD Blotter- http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2012/12/07/four-grinches-who-tried-to-steal-christmas-dont-make-it-far/
• KING 5 TV reported that a package thief took Christmas gifts that had been left at a Renton home by Federal Express and left empty boxes in their place. The homeowner reviewed video from the cameras in the front of her house and called 911. The video revealed a white SUV backed up to the front of the house with the driver’s side door open. A male, wearing blue jeans, a blue coat and and hat, made his way around the back of the SUV. Renton police are looking for this suspect. KING 5 TV- http://www.king5.com/news/cities/renton/Thief-steals-Christmas-gifts-replaced-with-empty-boxes-182824741.html

 

Note: To prevent delivered packages from being stolen, try these actions:

• Have the package delivered to a trusted neighbor who is usually at home or have them pick up the package as soon as it is delivered from your house.
• Have the package placed on your back porch by the delivery driver.
• If possible, have the package delivered to your work.
• Encourage your neighbors to watch for suspicious people in your neighborhood and to watch for vehicles that seem to be following a UPS, FEDEX, or postal vehicle. If they see anything suspicious have them call 911.
• Track your package delivery online. This way you will know when your package was delivered.

 

EVERETT- Residential Burglary

On December 5, a homeowner, in the 1500 block of 81st Pl SE, arrived home in the afternoon and noticed that a light she had turned off in the morning was turned on. The homeowner contacted a neighbor for help. They checked the exterior of the house and did not see any signs of forced entry. The neighbor called 911.

Everett Police Department officers arrived at the house. After making announcements for anyone inside to come out, they searched the residence. They found a male hiding in an upstairs bedroom. He told the officers that a female, who he claimed was still in the house, let him in. Officers with a K-9 searched the house again, but found no one else in the house. The male was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County jail for burglary.

Note: It can be unnerving to think that a stranger is in your own home. This homeowner did take the right actions to handle this situation. When she discovered that something was not right in her home, she did not enter the home. She protected her own safety by staying out of the house. Then, she contacted a neighbor for help. They checked things out to gather more information without endangering themselves. Then they called for police to handle the heavy work of searching inside the house. For police and hopefully for the homeowner, this was a good day. No one was hurt, even the suspect, and the police apprehended a suspect in the act and chauffeured him to the “gray bar hotel.”

Everett Police Blotter- http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Everett-Police/241763425873463

NEW MARIJUANA LAW AND DUI- Panel Discussion on KRKO

Monday, December 10, between 5 & 7pm, radio station KRKO (1380) will broadcast a panel discussion about Washington State’s new marijuana law and driving under the influence (DUI).

On the panel will be:

• Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick
• Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe
• Washington State Liquor Control Board NW Regional Manager Tom Dixon
• Lynnwood Police Drug Recognition Expert Mark Brinkman
• Lynnwood Sergeant Wayne Davis
• A DUI Victim Panel Speaker
• A defense attorney from Russell Hill

Listeners will be encouraged to call in and ask questions.

 

BBB- Cyber-threats of 2013

BBB- Cyber-threats of 2013

As if we had enough threats with burglaries, car thefts, ID theft, scams thrown at us in the mail, on the phone and over the internet, the Better Business Bureau has come out with a list of potential cyber-threats to look out for in 2013. Their list of potential upcoming threats includes:

Cloud-Based Botnets: Cloud computing allows businesses to quickly add or subtract computing power, creating the potential for massive virtual networks to simultaneously send thousands of spam emails. A growing concern is that cloud computing resources will be purchased using credit card information obtained from phishing schemes. A botnet is a collection of computers each of which have been penetrated by malware giving control to the creator of the malware. The botnet then can distribute viruses or worms, distribute spam, conduct denial-of –service attacks, click fraud and other functions.

Search History Poisoning: Hackers attempt to bump illegitimate websites to the top of search engine results, and now, try to manipulate individuals’ search histories—according to the Emerging Cyber Threats Report 2013 from Georgia Tech (http://www.gtcybersecuritysummit.com/pdf/2013ThreatsReport.pdf). Compromised search histories can follow users from computer to computer, perpetuating the inaccurate results and increasing the likelihood of visiting malicious websites.

Mobile Wallet Vulnerabilities: Near field communication, or NFC—a technology which allows two devices to exchange data when in the proximity of each other—is being considered by many smartphone manufacturers, retailers and airlines. With this technology, near field scanners may attempt to capture stored credit card information from passersby.

Malicious Mobile Apps: The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently issued an alert on malware in Android applications (http://www.ic3.gov/media/2012/121012.aspx). As the market for mobile applications expands, it is likely that this problem will increase.

Counterfeit QR Codes: A Quick Response Code is a two-dimensional scannable barcode that directs smartphone users to websites or downloadable content. Counterfeit QR Codes—often adhered over legitimate codes and unknowingly scanned—can download malware or lead to unsecure websites.

Note: The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI (www.fbi.gov ) and the National White Collar Crime Center (http://www.nw3c.org/ ) whose purpose is to take complaints about internet crimes, analyze those crimes and distribute information about internet crimes to federal, state, local and international law enforcement organizations. If you have been a victim of internet crime, report you can file a complaint with IC3 at www.ic3.gov.

TRAVEL SECURITY- High Tech Hotel Room Lock Reportedly Hacked in Burglary

Last week I posted an article from the National Crime Prevention Council about holiday travel (http://ssnoccrimewatch.blogspot.com/2012/11/holiday-travel-safety-some-tips-from.html). In late November, the national press reported on a burglary in a Texas hotel where the burglar bypassed the hotel room lock to gain entry.

The burglary occurred in a Houston Hyatt Hotel in September. The burglar inserted a tool into the DC plug on the underside of the lock. This allowed the burglar to read the lock’s memory and open the lock. This vulnerability is found only on one model of Onity locks, according to press reports. Onity is working to fix this vulnerability. (CNET report: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57554598-83/known-keycard-hack-suspected-in-hotel-room-burglary/)

This incident points out that even the most conscientious and sophisticated hotel security programs can be circumvented. Some things that you can do to protect yourself include:

• Leave valuables in the room safe or the hotel safe
• When you leave your room, hang the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of the door. Also, leave some lights on, and the TV or radio on.
• Check the door lock to be sure that it is working properly.
• If you see someone who seems to be loitering around your room, don’t go into your room. Report the loiterer immediately to the front desk!

For more suggestions on hotel security go to this Springfield Missouri Police Department tip sheet: https://www.springfieldmo.gov/spd/GeneralInfo/crimeprevtips/Vacation/hotelmotel.html

LYNNWOOD- Lynnwood Police Investigating Suspicious Male

This morning around 6:30am near the 18000 block of Highway 99 a 15-year-old Lynnwood girl was scared by an unknown male who got out of a parked car and spoke to her as she walked through a business parking lot toward her school bus stop. The girl ran away from the male.

The male is described as white with blonde hair in his mid to late 20s, 6 ft tall and medium build. He was wearing a gray jacket and blue jeans. He drove a late model two-door car.

The girl reported the incident to her mother and then to her school (Lynnwood High School in the unincorporated part of Snohomish County). Lynnwood High School officials, along with Edmonds School District officials are working with the Lynnwood Police Department about this incident.

If you have information regarding this incident call Lynnwood Police Det. Jorgensen at 425-670-5632.

You can also give information about the incident to:

Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS or TEXT by entering the number 274637 (spells Crimes) on the “To” Line, then type Tip486 & what you want to say in the Message Box, after that hit the OK or SEND button

Or email http://www.crimestoppers.com/ and send in your anonymous crime tip. All tips are confidential and you could earn cash reward of up to $1000.

 

MILL CREEK- Traffic Congestion Around Schools

A good weekly column about local traffic is “Street Smarts” by Bill Sheets in The Herald. Readers send in problems and questions about neighborhood traffic issues and Mr. Sheets gets answers from local and state traffic agencies. It’s a good way to have an idea of how traffic engineers handle different traffic problems in the area.

In this morning’s column (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121203/BLOG17/712039952#School-congestion-a-potential-hazard) a reader expresses concern about the heavy traffic around Cedar Wood Elementary School (near the intersection of 168th Avenue SE and 31st Drive SE).

During the beginning of school and the closing of school, parents line up along the streets waiting to drop off or pick up their children. This causes quite a bit of congestion that caused the reader concern about safety and access for emergency vehicles.

The county Public Works has seen an increase in congestion during drop off and pick up times around several schools in the county, not just at Cedar Wood Elementary. This is no doubt due to the recent cutbacks in bus transportation local school districts have had to make due to budget constraints.

Snohomish County Public Works is responsible for maintaining the roads in unincorporated Snohomish County. The kinds of problems that Public Works needs to handle are often varied. They may include congestion, speeding, safety at intersections, potholes and many other issues.

For more information about county roads and ways to contact Public Works about county roads, go to:

 http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Public_Works/Services/Roads/