News of Madison Valley

There were 31 incidents reported to the police in Madison Valley during April, substantially lower than March, and only about half the monthly average reported in the several months before March. There were relatively few car prowls and vehicle thefts during April, but other frequent types of crime such as property damage/graffiti and theft were also rare. However, there were four burglaries during April, and a strong arm robbery.

1. On Tuesday, April 7 at 6:40 AM police responded to reports of an alarm sounding at marijuana distribution outlet on Madison near 23rd. When they arrived, they found that a glass panel in the front door of the business had been smashed open and that a burglar had entered the business through it. The police could not determine whether anything had been taken, although they did find a marijuana food item on the floor inside the front door. The owner of the business later reported that he had viewed a video recording of the burglary and that the burglar, whom he described as a male wearing a bandanna and a hoodie, had taken only one food item before leaving. The burglar left no fingerprints.

2. On Thursday, April 9 at about 4:30 PM residents of an apartment on Madison near 29th called police to report a burglary that had occurred sometime earlier that day. The burglar(s) kicked open the front door of the apartment and and searched both floors of the apartment, greatly upsetting the apartment’s canine resident in the process. Items worth approximately $2500 were stolen, including credit cards in a backpack left in an office near the front door. Neighbors did not report hearing the break in, but police found possible fingerprints in an upstairs bedroom.

3. Sometime during the night of April 22–23, a burglar gained entry to a business on Madison near 28th by prying open a key lock-box. The burglar stole approximately $500 from a cash drawer, a laptop computer, and five women’s workout shirts from the business’s retail display area. Police found fingerprints at the scene, and the owners of the shop have given the police names of possible perpetrators.

4. On Thursday, April 23 between noon and 12:30 someone kicked in the front door of a residence on John St. near MLK. When one of the residents returned home and saw the door, she called the police. The residents searched the home and found that a few items had been stolen, but what the items were and their value are not given in the police report. Police did not find fingerprints in the home.

Finally, on Monday, April 20 a resident of a building on 23rd near Denny called police around 5:45 PM to report that she had just been a victim of a strong arm robbery. The woman had parked her car on the P1 level of the building’s parking garage and hurried into the room outside an elevator when she saw her assailant, who was emerging from the stairway from the P2 level of the garage, notice her purse and start walking toward her. The robber was able to get through the door between the elevator room and the parking garage, however, and proceeded to shove her into a corner and demand that she hand over her belongings. The woman tried to fight off the robber, but he took her purse and fled into the stairway outside the elevator room. The woman’s purse contained her passport, credit cards, and a laptop worth approximately $650. There is a security camera in the elevator room where the robbery took place, and the manager of the building told the police that a tape of the robbery would be available on April 21.

Lowell Hargens is a Madison Valley resident and former University of Washington professor of sociology specializing in the statistical analysis of data.