Watch Out Crooks Stealing Pricey Trees & Plants In Seattle

Cops are looking for a group of "Midnight Gardeners" that are going around ripping off expensive plants and trees from yards around North Seattle.

This is certainly one for the books. Last week, these "conifer crooks" hit three homes in the Crown Hill area of North Seattle. The bad guys dug up trees from the front yard of Meghan Fuller's home.

"So, then I started to look around, cause I realized what happened, then I found this one had been stolen," said Fuller.

Then, the bad guys hopped the fence into Heidi Allen's yard and went after her expensive and old bonsai tree. She thinks the crooks are planning on fencing the goods on Craigslist.

"Some lowlife landscapers who will steal people's trees and then sell them to someone else," said Allen.

But, the thugs didn't just rip off "green stuff" they also took patio furniture from David Shuler's home. Although, his dog's poop actually scared them away from taking more stuff.

"Whoever was being the backyard burglar, hit 100 percent on poop three times in the backyard," said Shuler.

The homeowners have no idea why they were targeted. But, plant thievery is not uncommon in Seattle. Turns out that people have people stealing this stuff for a long time.

Anyone with information about these "plant pilferers" should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Popular Seattle Area Bike Shop Closing Blame A Lousy Economy

It's a sad day for mountain and road bikers everywhere in the Seattle area. After 8 years of being a fixture in Southeast King County, Black Diamond Bike & Backcountry is closing its doors for good.

Today, we talked with owner Peter Fisher who says there is no way to keep the business going. "We're at a point we can't recover," said Fisher.

Fisher will lock up the shop at the end of March. Right now, he's having a "fire sale" everything must go.

Fisher and other small business owners say the sour economy has really crippled businesses down in Black Diamond. Craig Phalen who owns the "Swinging Arm" Restaurant and Tap House says the area got "zapped" with a triple whammy.

"We kind of got hit with a lot between the bridge, the snow for a couple of weeks, the economy, everything really hurt," said Phalen.

Peter and Craig both say when the State Route 169 bridge shutdown that killed their businesses. People had to take a 20 minute detour and that was really bad for the bottom line.

Peter has been a very busy man selling bikes since the fall of 2001. But, that hasn't stopped him from doing a lot of charity work in the area. Losing the shop means schools and others that counted on Black Diamond Bike will be out of luck, which is truly sad.

He also helped to build a bike trail near his store that many people go cruise and do jumps on everyday. James Douglas is one of those mountain bikers.

"Yeah, it is sad he's donated a lot of time and everything, helped everybody out, so for him to shut down his shop with this starting to go, kind of a sad deal," said Douglas.

When I talked with Peter I could tell that he is very passionate about bikes, and is truly bummed that he won't be able to fix them or sell them in his community anymore.

I almost forgot to mention. Peter actually applied for two small business loans from the government and got turned down twice. Uncle Sam told him it was a bad investment. According to Peter 40 other businesses also got denied too.

The only way Black Diamond Bike keeps rolling along according to Peter is if an "angel" investor steps in at the last second, or somebody buys the shop.

Cops in Washington and Oregon are turning up the heat to try and find the guy who opened fire on a Washington State Patrol Trooper. This suspect is brazen and needs to be caught before he hurts someone else.

This all went down early Saturday morning in Long Beach on the Washington State Coast. Trooper Scott Johnson who is a 25 year veteran was finishing up a DUI call. He was doing some inventory of the car he was processing when the suspect walked up to him. What happened next is crazy. The guy muttered something to Johnson, the Trooper turned his head and the bad guy fired two shots into the back of Johnson's head.

Somehow Johnson survived. With two bullets lodged in his skull he pulled out his gun and got off a couple of shots. The crook got away, but the tow truck driver that was there jumped in his rig and gave chase. He had to stop though when the dirtbag pointed the gun at him.

Johnson was rushed to the hospital in Portland. He is still there recovering and is expected to live. His family talked with the media on Sunday afternoon.

His mother Linda Johnson says Scott was the one that let her know he was wounded. "He said Mom I've been shot in the head, and I mean I could not believe it," said Johnson.

Trooper Johnson's son Derek says he wants the guy that tried to kill his father taken down before he hurts someone else. He's heartbroken over his Dad's injuries.

"I love my Dad very much and he's one of the most honest men I've ever met in my entire life and he does not deserve this," said Johnson.

You can see the picture of this creep in my blog. The shooting suspect is a white man about 35 to 40 years of age. He has a light tan complexion. He's about 5'10'' to 5'11'' inches tall and weighs between 185 and 200 pounds. He was wearing a dark colored insulated shirt and possibly a knit cap. Call The WSP Tip Line at 1-800-283-7808 if you see this creep.

Seattle Environmentalist Is One Man Wrecking Crew To Clean Up Polluted River

It’s one of the busiest waterways that feed into Puget Sound and unfortunately its one of the most polluted. But, a Seattle man has taken it upon himself to clean-up the Duwamish Waterway.

Neil Chism is on a mission on the docks and on the water. He’s an engineering consultant by trade, but on the shoreline he’s a one man wrecking crew.

“These are rags they use to sop up oil spills don't want to leave that in the water, more Styrofoam,” said Chism.

Neil has spent the last 6 months cleaning up trash and debris that’s been dumped into the Duwamish Waterway.

“There I found this, this morning, just everything you can imagine, this is some disgusting stuff here,” said Chism.

Twice a week you’ll find Neil tooling around in his cataraft. You name it he’s found it, old fishing gear, plastics, Styrofoam, and food cartons. And, along the way he’s studying how river currents affect where the trash goes.

“To go up and down the sides about a mile south of here and check on the trash, remove the trash and see how it's coming in, and how much is going out, try to stop it before it gets to the ocean,” said Chism.

Lots of wildlife like fish and birds call the Duwamish Waterway home, Neil says the trash that’s dumped in it and on the shoreline are not only an eyesore, but also harmful to their health.

“So, those birds will eat these things and one of these things will take a bird down,” said Chism.

Neil isn’t paid for any of his work it’s simply a labor of love for the environment. And, a reminder he said that it should be everyone’s mission to stop dumping our junk in the Duwamish.

“We live in one of the prettiest cities and areas in the world and this is unacceptable to have this stuff floating by on a regular basis and it's bad for the animals,” said Chism.

The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition is also instrumental in cleaning up trash and pollutants too. Coming up on February 15th its members will hold a revenue rally on the State Capitol Steps at noon. The group will promote awareness about improving water and wildlife conditions.

Something Is Crawling In The Sewer's Of Seattle

No, it's not alligators but cameras that the city is using to watch for big problems flowing beneath your feet. Today, I got a special opportunity to see how Seattle Public Utilities is using mini robotic cameras to check for clogs and cracks in the pipes.

These little cameras are pretty cool, they are lowered into the sewers and send back live images to the work crews. You never know "what" you might see because the sewer lines are for sanitation and sewer water, so cover your nose. Also, don't be surprised if a rat pops up from time to time. Crews tell me the big ones are in downtown Seattle. Might be because of all the businesses and restaurants.

SPU has just kicked off a new program to get people to stop dumping sludge down their drains. It's a play on words education program called "FOG" and stands for fats, oils, and grease.
The city says hospitals, restaurants, schools, and other businesses dump a lot of the gooey stuff down the old pipe. But, homes, condos, and apartments aren't any better.

According to the city its using the cameras as preventative maintenance to fix problems before they can become something more serious. In theory a clogged pipe could send fecal waste into your home or yard that's not yummy.

SPU crews work on about 7 to 10 city pipes a day and for good reason. They have about 1,500 miles of pipe they are responsible for! When they get one that is all jacked up with goo, they have a super high powered pressure washer they can use to clean them out.

A big warning for property owners who think the city will fix the pipe that's clogged from your home, turns out that is your responsibility. They will only unclog their pipes. But, if the city pipe is the reason for your problem, then you should be covered.

So, think before the next time you dump something down the drain you never know, it could come back up and that wouldn't be good.

Deputy Shoots And Kills Burglary Suspect That Tries To Run Him Over With Car

What a crazy scene in Pierce County today. About 2:30 AM Saturday 3 guys bust into the garage of a Lake Tapps home which is about 40 minutes from Seattle. The homeowner was there when it happened. She was able to lock herself inside her bedroom and called 911.

Cops arrived on the scene about 5 minutes later and caught the men trying to break into a safe in the garage. Two of the guys made a bee-line for their car. Another crook ran for it into the woods. The guys in the car hit the gas...and, tried hitting one of the Deputies. The Cop fired off several shots and ended up killing the driver. The passenger was wounded but is expected to live.

The guy that was killed behind the wheel ended up driving the car through a neighbors fence over a cliff and down into a ravine where it smashed into a tree.

The third guy was last seen booking it down towards the shoreline of Lake Tapps. Cops didn't catch him, but they grabbed the gun he dropped. Several neighbors told me they saw the guy cruising through their yards.

I talked with cops tonight and they are working the angle that the burglars were tipped off about the safe in the garage. Detectives believe a relative of the burglars might have been inside the home prior to the crime to case it for the crooks.

The 25 year old suspect that was wounded is expected to live. He's in a Tacoma Hospital talking with Detectives. Sources tell me they are very close to identifying all three men. Also, it's just a matter of time until the last bad guy is caught.

Neighbors told me things were buzzing when the shooting went down. Helicopters in the air searching for the suspect, K-9 units on the ground looking in the woods.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy that shot the two suspects has been placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure.

The Medical Examiner has yet to identify the burglar that was shot and killed.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call Police.

Tempers Flare In Seattle After Historic Tree Is Chopped Down

Some neighbors in Ballard are a little fired up after one of their favorite trees is ripped down by one of their neighbors. The hub-bub started around January 21st when a new homeowner decided to tear out a monkey puzzle tree that was on the Southeast corner of 60th and 9th. Well, that didn't sit well with people that lived in the neighborhood for decades.

Marian Carson was sad to see the tree go.
"I cried....it was everybody in the neighborhood knew where it was, we used it as a guidance to get to where we were going," said Carson.

Word of the tree coming down spread through the block like wildfire. Many of the folks I talked with said the monkey puzzle tree was an icon for the East Ballard Community. But, you have to remember it was on private property.

Here is the big problem. The City of Seattle has a rule that's designed to protect unique and rare tree's like the monkey puzzle tree. Now, the homeowner could be facing a hefty fine of over $10,000. "Exceptional Trees" that are protected are historical ones that have ecological value and make the neighborhood pretty. The only way you can take down one of these big guys is get a permit and the OK from the city. Apparently, the homeowner didn't have either.

I talked with an arborist who says replacing that tree will be almost impossible. Even if you planted ten of them, it wouldn't do enough. Certified Arborist Scott Baker says this tree tussle might be the first of its kind for Seattle.

"It's the first time I know of a tree like this being removed where the city has come in and said you know we're going to do something about this," said Baker.

Most of the neighbors have been griping around the water cooler about what happened. Some neighbors like Shawn Donat believes it might take a while for the situation to cools off.

"Of course, I think there will be peace...eventually," said Donat.

The couple that chopped down the monkey puzzle tree bought the house about a month ago. I tried asking them why they decided to take the tree down but they didn't want to talk about.