Ballard police

Vandals nabbed

An alert police officer was monitoring two taggers spray-painting on a concrete underpass without being noticed. One tagger was busy painting, while his accomplice was acting as a lookout. When cars went by, they both ducked into a stairwell. When the officer confronted them, he found spray paint cans, latex gloves and a large black pen. The two adult men were booked into King County Jail for property damage.

Aurora suicide foiled

Witnesses called the police when they saw a man falling from the top of the Aurora Bridge and hitting the water. The Seattle Police Harbor Patrol responded within a minute and rescued the man. He was conscious and was able to speak. While being transported to the hospital, officers found a plastic bag with the man's identification and some notepaper. The contents of one note was blacked out in the police report. The other note had the man's family and girlfriend's contact information.

Account number stolen

After stealing a victim's personal information, an identity thief went to work opening a Home Depot account and charging $5,000 on line. He then started a Mervyn's department store card and charged $400. Attempts to open Lowe's, IKEA, and Capital One account were finally declined after the victim called his bank.

Bad boys do bad thing

It was well after dark when two men left a Ballard home to eat at a fast food restaurant. One man pulled out a wad of money to pay for the meals. Two kids began staring at the men after seeing all the money. When the men left, the kids followed, punching one man and blocking their escape route. The man with the money was in fear, so he handed over $85 to $95 dollars. After the police arrived they found the kids nearby and had the victims identify them. They were arrested for Investigation of Robbery and booked into the Youth Service Center. The teenager's parents were called to the North Precinct to discuss the matter. Marijuana was found in one of their backpacks. The teens were ages 14 and 15.

Caught on candid camera

Coming home after work, a man found his back door kicked open. He found his laptop, carrying case and other belongings missing and immediately called 911. Minutes later he spotted a suspect carrying a bag similar to one that was stolen. He made contact with the suspect, who became agitated and threatening. The victim thought he was about to be assaulted and backed off. He did however, take a picture of the thief with his cell phone.

Paintballer and the gun

Police officers were sent to Fremont to find a suspicious Cadillac that had been involved in a possible shooting. Officers found the car in the middle of the street with the rear window broken out. Two paintball guns were found in the back seat. The owner of the car was found nearby and he was too intoxicated to get the license plate of the car where the gunshots had come from.

Guard your card

While stopping to get gas at a convenience store, a man handed his credit card to the clerk and went outside to fill up. When he returned, the clerk could not find the card, believing another customer picked it up off the counter. The clerk told police it was busy at the time and offered the store's security video to identify the thief. The man said he did not have cash to pay for the gas and the officer told him he could leave without making payment.

This article is based on real reports from the Seattle Police Department.