By LEAH WEATHERSBY

For the second time in three weeks, hundreds of Wedgwood residents packed the halls of Wedgwood Presbyterian Church to attend a community council meeting on Sept 17. The topic that drew so many concerned neighbors was a crime wave, localized in Southeast Wedgwood, that has been disturbing the sleepy neighborhood's peace for months.

"Wedgwood is known as a neighborhood that looks out for each other," said Brian Swanson, president of the Wedgwood Community Council. "If Wedgwood knows anything it's how to come together and make some noise."

According to Swanson, the crime wave began in mid-July when teenagers from Shoreline and Lake City started visiting friends in a Wedgwood home connected with Seattle Housing Authority (SHA). Over the next several weeks, kids, both girls and boys, ranging in age from 11 to 16, formed a group that committed a variety of crimes including destruction of property, car theft and assault. In one incident, seven suspects beat an elderly man. The group is multi-racial.

In late August, Becky Christie, a Wedgwood resident, was in bed when she heard a group of kids yelling at houses about a block away from hers. She got out of bed to tell the kids to quiet down and they responded to her with a string of obscenities. Christie called 911 and the kids dispersed, but not for long. According to Christie, the children threw at least one watermelon at a Metro bus. She heard the commotion and called 911 again. This time, the kids responded by shattering her living room window with a rock, almost hitting her husband, Parker.

The Christies weren't the only victims of the juvenile crime spree. The next night, 60 people showed up a local Block Watch meeting, having only heard about it through word of mouth.

"A lot of people are (afraid)," Christie said. "A lot of people have gone out and gotten alarms."

On Sept. 4, the Wedgwood Community Council called an emergency meeting to discuss the crimes. The gathering drew over 200 people. As the police answered questions, the audience heard a crash outside. The police hurriedly left the meeting to investigate, only to return to the meeting with the news that one of the juvenile suspects referred to at that meeting had been involved in a hit-and-run accident at NE 80th Street and 35th Avenue NE. The suspect who fled the scene was eventually arrested several days later for intimidating a witness. However, he was released the next day, only to turn around and steal a car.

At the Sept. 17 community council meeting, Gary Ernsdorff, an attorney with the King County Prosecutor's Office, said that the juvenile justice system was focused on rehabilitation, not punishment. Juveniles could be convicted of several car thefts and still only receive a sentence of zero-30 days in jail.

According to testimony presented at the meeting, juvenile jail sentences had scared at the least one of the group's former members, a teenager who identified herself as Nicole Black, into going straight.

Black, who attended the meeting, bravely stood up to address the audience: "I was (stealing cars) before and I apologize."

When asked what caused her to turn her life around, Black said it was going to jail three times.

Virginia Felton, SHA's communications director, acknowledged in an interview with the Jet City Maven that three out of the four houses identified as being homes harboring the juvenile suspects are owned or partially run by SHA.

Felton said she is hopeful that the juvenile crime wave has come to an end, but that the agency is prepared to take serious steps if necessary should the criminal incidents continue. "If the problems don't go away, we will continue to take action so they won't be there any more," Felton said.

Officer Mike Thomas of the Seattle Police Department said, who attended both Wedgwood meetings, said low-income housing isn't the cause of the problem.

"By and large, 99 percent of the people who live in these homes - you wouldn't know, because they are very good neighbors," Thomas said.

Detective Mike LeBlanc of the Seattle Police Department 's Gang Unit told those at the Sept. 17 meeting that one of the best things citizens can do to clean up their neighborhoods is to let criminals they're being watched, even if it's just by saying "hello."

"If these people cannot hide, if they realize they're not anonymous anymore," LeBlanc said, "eventually they will leave." (