Homeowner Shoots Burglar

Tacoma police said a homeowner shot a would-be burglar in the face with a shotgun this evening when he tried to break into a home through a window. The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. at the corner of S. 14th and S. Madison streets. “The homeowner fired a shot and hit the suspect in the face,” police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. Officers used a K-9 team to search the home and make sure nobody else was inside. Police initially reported that there was a second suspect but they now believe the injured man was the only person trying to break into the house. The would-be burglar was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. He is expected to survive. The homeowner has not been arrested.

What Is Up With All Of The Boarded Up Houses?

Written By - Tim Robertson

A neighbor emailed a question to us the other day.  She was inquiring about the reason that homes in the area have been boarded up, and one home in particular that has been boarded up for over 2 years?  After doing some research and help from our friends at the city, here is the answer.

3111 South 14th Street - Boarded up in 2010
3102 South 15th Street - Boarded up June 2012
1002 and 1004 South State Street - Boarded up April 2012
1031 South State - no info

At each of these properties, the issue for them being boarded up is the same, they had multiple building code violations and the city deemed them "unsafe for occupancy".

If a property is deemed "unsafe to occupy", the city has a process they follow to address the code violations with the property owner.
1. Written notice of code violations is given to the property owner.  The owner has 18 days to respond to the city with a corrective plan.
2. If the owner does not make contact with the city to correct the issues within that 18 days, the city issues a fine and gives the owner an additional 30 days to respond.  if the owner fails to respond, the city can issue up to nine additional notices and fines.  This process can take a minimum of 11 months.
3. Once the city has assessed a total of ten notices, they can make a request to the county to certify the property deserted and condemned.  Once the county gives the certificates the house condemned, the house can be demolished and property sold.

Throughout this process, the city is making every effort to communicate with the property owner to make a plan and correct the building violations.  Because this is a legal issue, it takes a long time for the city to work through the process.  In the meantime, the property sits boarded up and is a blight to the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, there is little that the neighborhood can do to help speed the process along.  Thanks for the good question.

   

Volunteers Needed for 6/23 Neighborhood Cleanup

To make the neighborhood cleanup event a success, we need a few helping hands.

How can you help?
- Greet community participants.
- Direct traffic.
- Unload vehicles.
- Help clean up trash along S 12th Street.

It’s easy! Just sign up for a morning and/or afternoon shift.
- Morning (9:45 a.m. – 12noon)
- Afternoon (11:45 a.m. – 2 p.m.)

Then on Saturday, June 23, check-in at the Franklin Elementary School parking lot (1402 S Lawrence St). We’ll provide gloves, safety vests, water and snacks. To volunteer, please contact Holly Stewart at 253-389-6876 or hstewart@friendsofsouth12thstreet.com.

Tacoma Police Arrest Home Burglary Suspect

Police have arrested 1 suspect at N. 13th and Cedar in connection to recent home burglaries.  Police are looking for a 2nd suspect on a black Suzuki motorcycle.

Upcoming Leadership Team Meeting

The next Friends of South 12th Street Leadership Team Meeting will be Monday, June 11th beginning at 6:00pm.

Agenda items include:

• Planning for upcoming neighborhood events
• National Night Out planning

Leadership Team is open to all Friends of South 12th Street members. Leadership Team provides guidance and direction for our neighborhood group. If you would like more information about Leadership Team or would like to attend, please email us at friendsofsouth12thstreet@gmail.com for additional information.

Suspicious Activity Report

We received this email report from a neighbor.

--- REPORT ---

On Melrose, just off of 15th st. between Oakes and Fife or Prospect, There is a lot of strange activity going on at odd hours. People coming to one of two houses for 5 minutes after midnight. The houses are the 2nd and 3rd ones in on left hand side if you're coming from 15th and turning onto Oakes. One house usually has a gray durango in front and the other has a white suburban in front. Both houses have had police there quite a few times durning the day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you live in this area and observe suspicious activity, remember to report it to 911.  Email us at friendsofsouth12thstreet@gmail.com so we can post it for others to be aware of and look out for.

You can also contact our Tacoma Police CLO to report suspicious activity to.  CLO officers are assigned to specific neighborhood areas and are more aware of the "hot spots" and problems.  Continue to contact 911 immediately, but you can follow up your phone call with an email to our CLO.

Officer Daren Skaanes
dskaanes@cityoftacoma.org
(253) 594-7961

Great News For The Neighborhood

Here is some infomration we received recently about sources of crime in our area being addressed by Tacoma Police.

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2 Residences that were a hub of illegal activity (property crimes) in the 1000 block of  South  State St was boarded up Thursday, May 24th.  Numerous individuals had  been staying there, some of whom have a history of prowling vehicles and fraud crimes.

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CLO'S are working with The Tacoma Housing Authority to evict a tenant from a residence in the 3000 block of South  13th St.  This tenant has been disobeying the housing agreement and inviting shady characters into her residence since 2008.  This house has been reported to our CLO regarding suspicious activity and possible drug dealing.

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1700 block of South Oaks,  A suspect was re-arrested for residential burglary. The individual was recently released from jail, and was re-arrested and is a suspect in several North Tacoma Burglaries.