“Someone cut the locks off of our storage container and stole camp stoves, backpacking tents, a Honda generator, food, and other items,” said Tod Bookless, Assistant Scoutmaster. “As you probably know, the Boy Scout organization is a 101-year old non-profit and all of the gear that was stolen is used by the local boys on campouts.”

If anyone knows anything about this crime, or has any leads on the stolen equipment, you are asked to call the Normandy Park Police Department non-emergency line at (206) 248-7600.

Police say that on Tuesday evening (Jan. 10), police had over a dozen Car Prowls and Theft from Mailbox reports covering a wide area in the Northern part of the City, near City Hall. There were reports of additional car prowls just outside the area as well.

“All of the cars that had items stolen were unlocked,” police said. “There were numerous cases where cars were parked next to each other and the locked cars were left alone and the unlocked cars had items stolen from inside.”

NP Police Chief Rick Kieffer also added:

Please keep your vehicles locked at all times. Stow or remove valuable items that you want to keep. Theft from vehicles can take place even when the vehicle is inside a garage.

Mail should be sent from secure US Postal Service Mailboxes or at the Post Office. Never place outgoing mail in your mailbox. Several Netflix movies were removed from mailboxes and the disk taken.

These types of crimes can lead to other crimes such as identity theft. If you believe you have a loss you can contact the Police Department for additional information.

Chief Rick Kieffer would like to remind citizens to Dial 911 if you hear or see anything suspicious happening day or night.

The community is invited to attend a fundraiser Italian Dinner and Silent Auction to benefit the “Justice For Jayme” Memorial Fund on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Des Moines.

Nineteen year-old Jayme Thomas was shot and killed early Saturday morning, Nov. 5th in Redondo following an argument that escalated among two unidentified men (read The Waterland Blog’s previous coverage of this tragic crime here). Thomas was a well-known and liked young woman who also served as a lifeguard at Olympic View Swim Club in Normandy Park.

Resurrection Lutheran Church is located at 134 S. 206th Street in Des Moines.

UPDATE 11/28/11: Tickets are available from the church office (M-F 9am-5pm) or at the door, and are $10 Adults, and FREE for ages 5 and under.

There will also be a silent auction with many great items up for bid.

The money raised from the sale of the tickets and silent auction will increase the reward amount, which is currently at $1,000, to make it more attractive for someone to step forward with information. This would be paid to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whomever is responsible for her death – read more about that, along with photos of a ‘person of interest,’ here.

If you are unable to attend and would like to make a donation to the Fund, you may do so at any branch of Chase Bank.

On September 9, 2011 the Normandy Park Police Department had to say goodbye to a longtime member. Skyler, our 15-year old Australian Shepherd Narcotics K-9 had to be put to sleep. Skyler had suffered from Arthritis for many years and his health had seriously deteriorated over the last six months. He had seizures earlier this year and never fully recovered.

Skyler retired from police work in December of 2007 as the better half of a Master Narcotics K9 team, and spent the remainder of his life with Assistant Chief Gaddis and his family. Skyler was a true partner in every sense of the word and even better in most cases. Skyler never complained, never backed down and was always there when he was needed. This is true if you are speaking of his work as a police officer or that of a friend.

In 1999, Skyler joined the police department as their very first K-9. Skyler was a rescue dog from STAR (South Texas Australian Rescue). He was saved by this group just hours from being put down, and was sent to the Washington State Department of Corrections K9 training facility on McNeil Island. Even though he was very young at the time, he showed promise in the field of narcotics work and was given the opportunity to complete the course.

Skyler and then Officer Gaddis completed the six week training class with the highest percentage of “finds” and their impact on the community was immediate. The second week out of class Skyler located over one million dollars worth of narcotics while working with the Federal Way Police Department. Skyler’s reputation continued to grow and he was frequently relied upon by outside agencies to assist them in narcotics investigations.

Assistant Chief Gaddis would like to thank the 1998-1999 Normandy Park City Council members and all those that have followed, for allowing the program to continue.

The Normandy Park Police Department would like to thank the VCA Five Corner’s Animal Hospital for their outstanding service over the years and their incredible compassion when it was Skyler’s time to depart this world.

“As his handler for almost 10 years and his friend almost 13, I would like to thank Skyler for being with me through the good times and the bad. I never remember a time that he wasn’t ready and willing to do whatever I asked of him (as long as it wasn’t to behave). I will miss the time that we spent together at work and the times he spent with me and my growing family. I can still picture him lying in my office on one of our night shifts, chasing rabbits in his sleep while I tried to get paperwork done.”

- Chris L. Gaddis #150
Assistant Chief of Police

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Items recovered include men’s and women’s watches, pocket watches, jewelry (necklaces, bracelets), a belt buckle that reads “Cowboy Up,” and antique coins including Norwegian Kroners from 1905 and 1914, as well as a Spanish coin from 1885

We’re posting photos from the document, showing the recovered property – if you are missing any of the items seen below, contact Normandy Park Police Records Department 206-248-7600:

Please note that you will need to provide proof of ownership to make a claim.

In addition, here’s a list of other stolen items recovered by police (no photos available):

To download the PDFs of these documents, click here and here.

King County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three men Tuesday night (June 28), including one from Normandy Park, during their investigation of a burglary and theft in the Boulevard Park area, which occurred after the homeowner had died.

Police say that Leonard Werner, 69, and been dead about two weeks before his body was found by relatives checking on him on June 24th. He lived alone in the 12600 block of Des Moines Memorial Drive.

The cause and manner of death is still pending.

According to Sgt. John Urquhart, Werner’s house was ransacked and many of his possessions stolen as he lay dead on the floor. His two cars were taken as well. Some of the stolen items were found by Sheriff’s detectives on the day Werner’s body was discovered at the next door neighbor’s house.

More of Werner’s stolen property was recovered last night, as well as his two stolen cars. However some of the property may have already been sold on eBay.

Yesterday about 3 p.m., detectives located what they believed might be the stolen PT Cruiser under a tarp in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle. They obtained a search warrant for the house and recovered stolen property taken from Werner’s residence and made two arrests.

Information gleaned then led them to a house in Normandy Park for a third arrest, and then to a storage warehouse at S. 178th and Des Moines. The second stolen car was found in a storage unit.

The three men, ages 29, 36, and 37, were booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary and Possession of Stolen Property. The investigation is continuing.

As we reported Thursday (May 19), a major shoplifting ring responsible for stealing millions of dollars in merchandise from Burien, Normandy Park and White Center stores was broken up by a joint local police task force.

The total loss to area retailers in the investigation was estimated at $4.8 million.

The Normandy Park Police Department emailed us Friday, and asked us to post a big “Thanks!” to all the officers and departments who helped in this investigation – here they are:

Normandy Park Police:

• Chief Rick Kieffer
• Assistant Chief Chris Gaddis
• Assistant Chief Don Weikart – Retired
• Sergeant Brian Sommer
• Officer Dave Unger
• Officer Brian Norris
• Officer David Bond

Burien/KCSO:

• Sheriff Rahr
• Chief Kimerer
• Captain Cole
• Sergeant McLauchlan
• Detective Keller
• Deputy Rayborn
• Precinct 4 Detectives
• Burien SET Team
• Unincorporated NDET Team
• Regional Intelligence Group

Outside Agencies:

• Susan Storey – KCPAO
• Andy Hamilton – KCPAO
• Immigration Customs Enforcement
• Commander Behrbaum – Issaquah Police
• Coalition of Small Police Agencies Special Operations Team
• Organized Retail Crime Loss Prevention Officers

From everyone here at The B-Town Blog (as well as local residents and retailers), we tip our collective hats to these fine folks for making our area safer!

by Ralph Nichols

Kingpins and operatives in a major shoplifting ring responsible for stealing millions of dollars in merchandise from Normandy Park, Burien and White Center stores have been taken off the streets by local law enforcement officers.

The year-long criminal investigation was conducted by a special Burien-Normandy Park police task force and the King County Sheriff’s Office, working in close cooperation with retail theft and loss prevention personnel.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg announced May 19 that Chanthou Rim, 38, and Sara Kong, 40, have been charged with 11 counts of attempted trafficking in stolen property, attempted possession of stolen property, and conspiracy to commit organized retail theft.

Also charged with criminal solicitation, Rim and Kong, who have a SeaTac address, allegedly used “thieves to enter retail grocery and other stores to steal merchandise,” according to prosecutor’s charging papers.

Rim, Kong and eight other alleged members of the shoplifting ring were arrested last Oct. 4. Rim and Kong face between four to five years in prison if convicted.

“It was an extremely successful [law enforcement] operation,” Burien Police Sgt. Henry McLauchlan told The B-Town Blog. “We have been working on this case to close up loose ends since then, including working with the prosecutor’s office.”

Elements of the investigation remain ongoing.

Satterberg said dozens of shoplifters worked for the ring – some stealing nearly $1,000 worth of products off store shelves each day and allegedly selling the stolen merchandise to Rim and Kong for money to support their heroin addictions.

An estimated $5 million of merchandise was stolen from store shelves in South King County alone. McLauchlan said the shoplifting ring extended throughout King County – “north county, south county, east county, west county, everywhere.”

Satterberg added, “What we are talking about today are people who direct armies of shoplifters.” This ring and another similar operation in King County, which was also broken, represent just a fraction of an enormous regional and national problem.

Many of the stolen retail items were illegally exported to Cambodia, often smuggled in cars being shipped there, he noted.

McLauchlan said police departments in South King County were notified by regional Safeway management last year that their stores in the area “were experiencing extreme thefts, and that they had developed potential information about a potential shoplifting ring.”

Both Burien and Normandy Park police “started independent investigations related to the shoplifting ring … once it was determined that they were running parallel investigations” the two departments formed a joint task force.

This marked the first time McLauchlan can recall when officers and detectives from these police departments, theft and loss prevention managers from large retail stores, and the King County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor’s Office worked together in a major investigation.

The long-term investigation, which included undercover operations, involved surveillance that resulted in “watching them steal from stores, then sell to the main fence … and the transportation and delivery of stolen property. All of this resulted in multiple arrest and search warrants.”

Beyond disrupting the shoplifting ring, police “established a task force relationship between Burien and Normandy Park, bringing both agencies closer together, as well as working with the retail theft and loss prevention folks and developing a good relationship with them.”

And the Burien-Normandy Park task force was “extended through the King County Sheriff’s Office,” McLauchlan added.

Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, and Joe Hawe, commander of the Washington Criminal Justice Training Center, will hold a press conference this afternoon (Monday April 25th), to announce a cooperative agreement to utilize the training center, which is located at 19010 1st Avenue South.

“The three will announce a new form of ongoing training for their officers and deputies to improve the quality of individual police interactions with citizens…essentially interactions on the street,” said Sgt. John Urquhart in a statement. “It will directly impact the lawful behavior and willingness of residents to work with police to solve crimes and improve neighborhood safety.”

“This is this the first time in recent memory that the Sheriff’s Office, the Seattle Police Department, and the Criminal Justice Training Center have collaborated to produce a common training curriculum,” said SPD Chief John Diaz. “It will directly impact nearly 2,000 police officers and how they deal with the public.”

The Washington Criminal Justice Training Center is located at 19010 1st Avenue South in Burien (though to us it’s always felt like Normandy Park…).

by Ralph Nichols

Even as the Legislature continues to consider a bill that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to do business in the state, a six-month city moratorium has been imposed on locating such a dispensary in Normandy Park.

The moratorium, which recently was approved unanimously by the city council, prohibits “the licensing, establishment, maintenance or continuation of … the sale of medical marijuana” in Normandy Park, and refers the issue to the Planning Board for review and recommendation.

“I think all of us support medical marijuana and the good it does those patients” who it helps, said Councilman Shawn McEvoy. “But we want to do so in a safe manner, in a way that protects public safety.

“There have been incidences of robberies and burglaries of medical marijuana dispensaries elsewhere, and we don’t want to jeopardize our citizens.”

Councilwoman Marion Yoshino added that permission for such a business to operate in Normandy Park “should be a community decision. It’s a really controversial topic. I hope the public weighs in on their feelings.”

The ordinance adopting this moratorium provides for a public hearing on the question, which will be scheduled at a later date.

Neither McEvoy nor Yoshino know of any permit application to the city at this time for a medical marijuana dispensary that would be located in Normandy Park.

But McEvoy said he understands that one person has expressed an interest to city staff in opening such a business there.

The city moratorium, which puts things on hold “for a maximum of six months, will give us time to sort it out,” he continued. “In the meantime, we will be interested to see how that state Legislature deals with this issue.”

Senate Bill 5073, which defines and clarifies the processes for prescribing, selling and using medical marijuana, was approved earlier by the Senate on a 29-20 vote. It now awaits a committee hearing in the House of Representatives.

Introduced by Seattle Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, SB 5073 was supported by Sen. Sharon Nelson, D-Vashon, and Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines.

The legislation would protect patients approved to use medical marijuana and persons certified to grow and sell it from arrest, prosecution, and criminal or civil penalties, and would assure that those patients would have an adequate, safe and consistent supply for their individual use.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin said he knows of no proposal for a medical marijuana dispensary in Burien.

“We would abide by any existing law, obviously, and we would be concerned about any establishment like that just because of its nature,” Martin said. “It’s important to us that the community feels good about any business that moves into the area.”

Burien will also “keep our eyes on the Legislature, on this debate,” he noted.