South Precinct Email Community Newsletter

Dear Community Friends:

Graffiti
Graffiti is marking, drawing, etching (or other methods) on public or private property without the owner’s permission, usually done by a person or group seeking recognition. Graffiti is a crime of Vandalism as it results in property damage. Several months ago, we reported there had been a marked increase in graffiti vandalism. Unfortunately, graffiti incidents have been on the rise, which is why we are revisiting this issue.

“Tagger” graffiti (writing the name or “tag” of the individual who put it up) represents the majority of the graffiti on our streets. However, we are also seeing increases in gang related graffiti (gangs “laying claim” to territory or sending a message to rival gangs). This increase in both tagger and gang-related graffiti has been noted city wide, not just in South Seattle. In fact, the North Precinct has had nearly four times as many incidents of graffiti vandalism in the first quarter of 2008 than the South Precinct has experienced. This vandalism occurs mostly in the later evening/early morning hours.

Most of us feel more afraid about the gang graffiti because of the intent behind it. The key is that graffiti needs to be removed regardless of it being gang related, a tag or a mural piece. It’s still property damage and needs to be treated as such. The motive behind the graffiti is not important; removing it is.

Report Graffiti
· If you see graffiti vandalism in progress, call 911. Graffiti vandals must be caught in the act to be prosecuted.
· When graffiti appears, whether on your private property or on city/government property, make a police report. Call the Seattle Police Department’s non-emergency number, 206-625-5011.
· Call the City’s Graffiti Hotline (206) 684-7587, to report graffiti on public property (street signs, retaining walls, poles, traffic control boxes, parking meters, bridges, mailboxes, etc.), or graffiti that has not been removed from private property. Be sure to indicate the exact location.
· When graffiti appears on your home, apartment building, or business, take a photo of it to document for insurance purposes.

Who’s responsible for the increase? The bottom line is that graffiti vandalism is being committed by our youth, not by outsiders. Know who your children are hanging out with and when. If they are spending many late night hours somewhere other than home, find out where and ask yourself why. Know what they are doing. If your kid has several cans of spray paint, find out what they’re doing with it. Hold them accountable.

What follows are some graffiti prevention tips and resource information. This information is courtesy of Seattle Public Utilities. Seattle Public Utilities is the City agency responsible for addressing litter, illegal dumping and graffiti complaints.

Resource links are provided on the left of this page.

Be Safe, Mark Solomon

Update - shooting and groper

From my police dept. source:

"...the shooting was about a guy who just couldn't let go when his girlfriend dumped him for another guy. Dude went looking for them and he found them at the Beacon. It didn't matter where he found them, he would have done it. They just happened to be at the Beacon. The regular patrons of the Pub are like a family and the owner really makes an effort to keep riff raff out and to be a good neighbor."

That said, keep going to the pub if you enjoy the bar as much as I do.

"As far as the Groper, it's a misnomer to call him the Beacon Groper for a couple of reasons:
- the attacks have been all over the place, not just Beacon. In fact there have been more on/around Rainier.
- Also, there may be more than one guy doing these. There have been some on First Hill as well."

And with that, just be aware of yourself, those around you and your surroundings. Be safe and stay well -

If the neighbors want to meet, we have not in a while, let me know and I can set something up!

Cheers! L.

Shooting at the BEACON PUB - What is up?

y BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER

A woman and two men were shot and wounded inside a Beacon Hill tavern late Friday night and the gunman remains at large, Seattle police reported.

The shooting happened around 11:15 p.m. inside The Beacon Pub, near the intersection of Beacon Avenue South and South Hanford Street.

"We've never had a problem," said the owner's mother, Laura Francis. "This is a shame. ... With all her heart, my daughter tries to keep the bad out of here."

Francis said she had heard from pub workers that the gunman was sitting at the end of the bar near the restrooms. When a woman walked out of them, he pulled his gun and fired at least three rounds before he took off, she said.

It was unclear if the people he shot were his intended target.

A 27-year-old woman, who was shot in the chest, and a 37-year-old man, shot twice in the torso, were both in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center, police spokeswoman Renee Witt said.

The second man, 28, was shot in the right knee.

Witt said investigators do not know what led to the violence and have not been able to link the gunman, believed to be in his 20s, to the victims.

The shooting occurred during one of the pub's popular karaoke nights that had drawn a crowd of about 50 people. But even in the crowd, one pub worker told Francis the man looked familiar.

But the woman who was shot and the 28-year-old man "stated that they did not know the suspect, the shooter, and did not know of a possible motive," Witt said.

Investigators have not yet talked with the 37-year-old victim because he was being treated at Harborview Medical Center.

Francis said her daughter, Laurie Lusko, called her after the shooting, saying, "Hurry up! Get over here, please. Someone had a gun and shot people."

By the time she arrived, police had already descended on the neighborhood pub.

"Ambulances were coming like crazy," Francis said.

The 66-year-old woman said pub workers believed the suspect might have been jealous of his girlfriend, who was there with a man.

"People today are so angry," she said.

The gunman may have been drinking, Francis said, because police inspected a shot glass at the bar. They also dusted the bar for fingerprints.

Francis does not believe the shooting is related to violence that has occurred inside or outside larger Seattle bars and clubs. Mayor Greg Nickels has been pushing for city licensing of nightclubs, hoping that could limit the violence.

Lusko has owned The Beacon Pub since 2000, her mother said.

In the past, there have been a few obnoxious patrons and minor scuffles, Francis said, but never this type of violence.

The tavern is waiting for recently-ordered security cameras to arrive, she added, and Lusko wants employees to take security classes to help with spotting and resolving problems.

The pub is in a Beacon Hill neighborhood that also has a hair salon, shipping office, restaurant and stores. Inside, a pool table sits in the back and televisions sit above the bar. Neighbors said local bands often play inside on a small stage.

But The Beacon Pub's biggest draw are its regular karaoke nights on Wednesdays and Fridays that attract patrons outside of Beacon Hill, some from Ballard or even Puyallup.

As news spread through the area Saturday morning, neighbors dropped by to ask what happened and to give owner Lusko their support.

"It's a great local pub. I think now and then you get a stray cat that wanders in," said neighbor Bryan Traversari, 37. "It could have happened anywhere, at a parking lot. I don't think it was because of the crowd."

Neighbor Keri Jones, 40, stood outside the pub Saturday morning. She planned on patronizing it when it opened in the afternoon to support Lusko.

"I'm sorry it happened here," Jones said. "I hope the pub doesn't have to pay for someone else's action."
P-I reporter Brad Wong can be reached at 206-448-8137 or bradwong@seattlepi.com.

Troubles at the Beacon Pub? Friday Night Shooting

A woman and two men were shot and seriously injured when a man opened fire for unknown reasons in a Beacon Hill tavern Friday night, Seattle police reported.

The woman, 27, and a 37-year-old man were in stable condition Saturday evening after undergoing surgery at Harborview Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

The woman was shot in the chest and the man was shot twice in the torso at The Beacon Pub, 3057 Beacon Ave. S., according to police spokeswoman Renee Witt. A 28-year-old man, shot in the knee, also was being treated at Harborview.

Witt said two of the victims "stated that they did not know the shooter and didn't know of a possible motive." The third victim, the 37-year-old, was not immediately interviewed because he was being treated at the time.