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Neighborhood Block Watch

This page is here to provide information on crime and suspicious activity that is reported within our neighborhood and surrounding community. Emails will be sent to our general subscriber list as reports come in. We will also be posting on Twitter (@OlympusHOA), which we hope will be an excellent tool for spreading information quickly. If you have a crime or suspicious activity to report, call 911 or police dispatch first - then email blockwatch@olympusnewcastle.org with any information you can provide.

• May 11 - This past week there were two reports of burglaries in our area - one in Olympus and another in China Falls. The Olympus home burglary took place while the owner was away last weekend, on the 128th block of SE 80th Way. A rock was thrown through the rear sliding door and an X-Box, laptop and some money was stolen. The King County Sheriff has posted a bulletin with photos and information about the China Creek burglary. With our Community Garage Sale taking place tomorrow, be sure to keep a close eye out for suspicious activity. There will be a lot of traffic in our neighborhood, and criminals may use it as an opportunity to blend in with the crowd.

• May 4 - 2 males claiming to be from CenturyLink have been reported going door-to-door in our neighborhood during the evening hours this past week. They have presented a permit which is confirmed to be INVALID, sometimes returning to the same home twice. City hall has recommended that you call the non-emergency number if you encounter them:  (206) 296-3311

• March 19 - The upcoming Spring newsletter will be out soon, and it includes an article with tips on home security. The entire article would not fit in the newsletter, so a full version can be found here. Another very helpful memo - Tips From A Burglar - was recently distributed from the King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Mafe Raul. She deals with repeat burglars and was able to glean this information from a repeat offender. Below are recent reports of local criminal activity:

  • On March 15th, an attempted break-in was reported at SE 79th Ct. The burglary attempt took place between 3-6pm while the homeowners were away. Quite a bit of damage was done to the front door, but the suspect did not gain entry to the home.

• On March 2nd, there was a burglary on 144th in China Creek while two people were home sleeping. This break-in also took place around 3pm.

• There were two reports of robberies in South Bellevue on March 9th and 10th - one of them armed robbery. A police sketch and description of the suspect has been provided:

The suspect is described as a black male in his 40’s, 5’-10”-5’-11”,  medium build.  The suspect was armed in one of the robberies. The suspect robbed victims while parking their cars during night time hours.  Both victims were female and had their purses stolen.  Suspect maybe associated with a dark colored small vehicle.

On the bright side, there have been several arrests in the Newcastle/Bellevue/Kirkland area, including the guys driving the black RAV4 and black Lexus that were responsible for at least one Olympus burglary. The help of residents was crucial in getting these guys, so it's great to see that our Block Watch is working!

• Feb. 22 - A Block Watch Alert was sent out, including a link to a recent Newcastle Police E-Alert.

• Feb. 13 - Package Theft and Mailbox Tampering have been reported in our neighborhood this past week. If you haven't switched to a locked mailbox yet, it is a very smart investment. They can be found online for around $100, and in-store for ~$125-150. Also, you should never put your outgoing mail in your own mailbox with the flag up - this is just an open invitation to thieves. There is a Blue P.O. Drop-Box conveniently located near the stop sign at the Olympus main entry. If you did not receive our latest Block Watch Alert via email, please check it out - it has detailed information on a local burglary suspect with a long criminal history (pictured below):

• Going out of town?  You can sign up for Vacation House Check service from the Newcastle Police Dept.  They will periodically check your house and will have your contact information in the office in case of an emergency.

• Quick Tip:  Always make sure it appears someone is home. If you are away, use lights, radio, or a combination to indicate someone could be home.  If you are home and someone comes to your door, make it clear that they see someone is there.  If you're uncomfortable answering the door, give some indication someone is there by turning lights on or making a noise.

• A Block Watch Alert was sent out to our subscriber list on Feb. 1.  If you did not receive it, you can view it here.

• Prowlers were caught on camera in the Newport Hills area in the morning hours of Friday, Jan. 27th.  Please alert the police if you recognize them or if you can provide any information:

• Identity theft is a growing problem, so please take care to avoid becoming a victim.  If your car is on the street or in your driveway, be sure to remove anything that may contain personal information.

To sign up for E-Alerts from city police or other city information, click here.