News of Madison Valley

There were 54 incidents in Madison Valley reported to the police during October, an increase to more typical levels after four months of abnormally low totals. As usual, increases in car prowls and vehicular theft drove the change from previous months, but the number of burglaries also increased.

1. During the early afternoon of Oct. 1 a burglar entered a home on 22nd near Roy through an unlocked front door. At the time of the burglary the residents had taken their newly born daughter to a medical appointment and two grandparents had taken the household dog for a short walk. Police suspect that the burglar had been observing the home in anticipation of a burglary opportunity. The burglar stole two iPads and two laptop computers. Police found no fingerprints at the scene.

2. Sometime between 7 AM and 6 PM on Oct. 3 a burglar broke into a storage unit at a residence on 23rd near Olive and stole a Windows PC. Police found no usable fingerprints in the unit.

3. During the night of Oct. 4–5, someone entered the unlocked garage of a house on 21st Ave. E. near Prospect and stole an orange Schwinn bicycle. The burglar also took other items from the garage and bundled them in a large blanket, but left the bundled items in the alleyway. There were no fingerprints at the scene.

4. Also during the night of Oct. 4–5 someone broke into a detached garage of a house on 20th Ave. E. near Prospect and stole a bicycle and a pair of skiing boots. When they discovered the break in, the residents found another bicycle next to the garage that was apparently left by the burglar. Although the police report for this incident does not specify the type of bicycle left by the burglar, it appears that it was the orange Schwinn that was taken during the burglary described above (the two garages are on the same alleyway). The police found no fingerprints.

5. Sometime between 2 PM and 4:30 PM on Oct 6 a burglar broke into a house on 26th near Mercer through a rear deck door and stole electronic equipment and a movie projector.  The same house was burglarized in September.  Painters who were working at a house across the street reported that they had seen a white male with black hair and a beard knock at the front door and then walk to the back of the house. Police found fingerprints in the house.

6. At approximately 1:30 AM on Oct. 7 two burglars broke into a restaurant on E. Madison near Lake Washington Blvd. Once inside, the burglars attempted but failed to open a drop-box safe and then left. Security cameras yielded a poor quality record of the burglary, showing only that the two burglars were male, with one being white and the other being black. Police did not attempt to find fingerprints on the safe because it had been handled by employees since the burglary.

7. During the night of Oct. 9–10 someone broke into a business on Aloha near 19th by breaking a glass door. The burglar stole a desktop computer worth approximately $3000. Police found no fingerprints.

8. On Oct. 10 police were called to investigate a burglary at the residence that had reported a garage burglary several days earlier (burglary #3 above). The owner reported that she had been away from home the past couple of days and that when she returned she found that someone had broken into her house through a window. The burglar left muddy footprints throughout the home as he searched for items to take. The police report does not report the items taken or their value nor does it specify whether there was a search for fingerprints.

9. Sometime during Oct. 17–18 someone broke into a shed at a residence on 20th near Republican and stole two mountain bikes worth approximately $650.

Finally, on Oct. 24 at around 7:30 AM police were called to 19th and Pine to investigate a report of an aggravated assault. When they arrived a fire department squad was already there and the victim had been told that he should go to a hospital and have a foot injury examined. The victim was generally unresponsive when the police questioned him about what had happened, but eventually he gave details about the assault that did not match his physical injuries. The victim also refused emergency transportation to a medical facility, stating that he would instead take a bus.

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