Back by Popular Demand!

This column, which ran 3 years ago in the Maven has been resurrected due to numerous requests. The Cops 'n' Robbers column originally ran in May, June, and July of 1998 and was written by Debi Harris and Seana Rogers. It's a labor intensive column, so we were unable to find someone to continue it until our Ace Reporter, Leah Weathersby, took it to task. Under the guidance of Trudy Weckworth, Leah perused the police files at the North Precinct. Here's her picks.

TEMPEST IN A P-PATCH:

On Monday, Aug. 13, at 3:40 p.m., an elderly couple in their early 70s were working in a North Seattle P-patch behind their residence when their neighbor, also an elderly man, arrived to work in his section of the P-patch. The 85-year-old neighbor began to yell at the husband, saying "I feel like knocking your head off."

Feeling that her husband was about to be assaulted, the wife sprayed the neighbor with a garden hose. The neighbor turned off the water, grabbed the hose from the wife, turned the water back on, and sprayed the couple. The neighbor then swung the hose at the husband, causing a laceration the husband's right hand. The wife said the neighbor began to walk away, but stopped to sit on a bench. She said he must have sat down wrong because he fell on his back, and "any marks on his back would have been caused by the fall."

The neighbor told the responding officer that he arrived at the P-patch to work on his section when the husband started arguing with him. The neighbor said he started "giving it to (the husband)" verbally. The neighbor said after he sprayed the water at the wife to "pay her back," the husband struck him in the head and back with a cane.

Both men declined medical attention. The officer urged all parties to avoid each other as much as possible.

STOLEN SAAB FOUND:

On Aug. 10, shortly after midnight, a man called 911 to report that his girlfriend's car had been stolen. The girlfriend, 22, had picked up the newly leased 2001 silver Saab from a Ballard dealership and drove it to an apartment complex at 9:40 p.m. Two hours later, she discovered the car was missing.

The officer who took the stolen vehicle report quickly located the car, thanks to an "On Star" tracking system. While en route to recover the car, the officer was informed by On Star that the car had begun to move. The officer stopped the car at the intersection of NE 65th St. and Ravenna Boulevard. There were two occupants aboard.

A male passenger, 25, fled from the car and was apprehended after a brief struggle with the officer. The car's driver, a 22-year-old woman with purple hair, also fled and was apprehended by a second officer and his dog, "Barkley," approximately half a block away. The victim arrived at the scene and noticed that several items were missing from the car, including a CD player which was found on the male suspect.

Both suspects were taken into custody and booked.

SEXUAL ASSAULT:

On Sunday, Aug. 12, at 1 a.m., a call was placed to 911 to report a rape in the Cedar Park neighborhood. The responding officer arrived at the scene to find a woman, 19, who was upset and crying. She was holding her 6-month-old son. The victim said she and a friend had met several men including the suspect, a man in his 20s, earlier that day. The suspect invited the woman and her friend to a party that day at the suspect's house. Later that same day, they all went to the victim's Cedar Park home where the victim put her baby to sleep in one of the bedrooms. After some drinking, the victim went to check on the baby and decided to lie down on the bed with the baby and go to sleep. A short time later she woke up to find the suspect having intercourse with her. She screamed for him to stop, which he did. The suspect left the room, but returned a short time later with another man. The victim screamed for them to get out of the room and leave her alone and they tried to calm her down. The woman grabbed the baby and ran to a neighbor's house, ringing the door bell until he woke up.

When the neighbor answered the door, he saw two men standing very close behind the victim, pleading with her to return to the house. The woman said she had been raped and the neighbor called 911. The neighbor saw the men return to the victim's house.

The police conducted a search for the suspect. A bedsheet from the victim's house was collected and placed in evidence.

'FUNNY' BROWNIES: On Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 9 p.m., officers were dispatched to the University District to investigate a call from a man who reported he had eaten some "marijuana cake" and believed he had overdosed. Upon arrival, the officers contacted the man who appeared alert and conscious. The man said he had eaten a brownie, not knowing that it contained marijuana. The man was visiting his 23-year-old brother who had baked the brownies.

Because the man had never taken marijuana before, he believed the effects he was experiencing were caused by an overdose. Seattle Fire Department medics checked the man and found no signs of an overdose.

The man's brother gave police a bag containing brownies and Rice Krispy treats, both of which he said were made with marijuana. He acknowledged that he had not told his brother about the brownie's contents until after he had eaten it. The police took the treats, which were later photographed and destroyed at the North Precinct.

BURGLARY:

On Monday, Aug. 6, a woman returned to her Wedgwood home in the afternoon to find that her front door had been kicked in. After entering the house, the suspect or suspects had taken the victim's stereo, fax machine, telephone, sewing machine, and satellite receiver for a loss totaling approximately $2,450. The suspect(s) used pillows cases from the victim's bed to carry out the loot. The burglary took place between the hours of 5:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.

'WITCH DOLL' TROUBLE:

On Wednesday, Aug. 8, two police officers were dispatched at 6:07 p.m. to the Crown Hill neighborhood on a disturbance call. The male complainant, age 55, said he was upset by his neighbors' loud radio. He also said the neighbors had put a "witch doll" in the window of their house facing his house to taunt him. The complainant said the suspects have had problems with many of their neighbors for several years and gave the officers a photograph he took of the witch doll.

The officers spoke with the male suspect, age 39, and his wife at the scene. When one of the officers asked them to turn down the radio they both became angry and started yelling. They claimed the complainant had done numerous things over the years to harass them such as laying nails in their driveway which they both share and and slashing one of the tires on the suspects' car. Both suspects were uncooperative and the male suspect repeatedly yelled that he refused to turn down the volume of his radio. The officers told him if he didn't do so, they would have to take the radio as evidence. They also explained that they would prefer to issue a verbal warning than to have him charged with violating a noise ordinance.

The suspect yelled if the officers took his radio he would just go buy another, and if they took that radio he would buy another. The wife also yelled that the officers couldn't take the radio without a warrant.

The officers noted that the radio could be heard clearly both from the complainants' house and from the street. After a third officer was called to the scene, the male suspect finally agreed to turn down the radio to a volume the police felt was acceptable. However, once the officers stepped outside the house, the volume was turned back up. The officers contacted the male suspect again and seized the radio as evidence. The suspect promptly got in his car to leave. The officers warned him that he would be arrested if they received another noise complaint against him. (