Busy downtown corner is a "hot spot" for crime

From Third Avenue and Pine Street, it's a short jaunt to Pike Place Market, Pacific Place, the Seattle Art Museum or numerous other downtown Seattle tourist attractions.

But those who frequent the busy intersection say it takes even less effort to see a drug deal go down, witness an assault or see someone getting mugged in the middle of the day.

"It's like a war zone," said Elaine Aprill, 65, who has lived in a condo on Third Avenue for 17 years. "I can't tell you how many times we've looked out the window, and the whole street is lined with police cars."

Aprill, other residents and merchants point to Monday's shooting on a crowded sidewalk at Third and Pine as another example of the lawlessness that plagues an area that draws a mix of tourists, shoppers, diners and drug dealers.

According to police, a man identified as Brandon Shell, 25, was standing in front of the McDonald's restaurant when he got into an argument with a 21-year-old man. James Little, 20, a friend of the 21-year-old, walked up to Shell and shot him four times, police said.

Little and his friend were arrested and booked into jail. Little is being held for investigation of assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and violating terms of his state Department of Corrections supervision. His friend was booked for investigation of drug possession.

According to police, Little was wearing a bulletproof vest. Shell is expected to survive.

Seattle police say their heavy presence in the area allowed them to respond quickly to the shooting.

Despite that presence, some say, the problems continue.

Seattle Police Department statistics show an average of 135 reported crimes a year near Third and Pine. The most common type of crime was selling or possessing drugs, with 190 incidents reported from 1998 through 2006. Next is assault, with 163 reports, followed by theft with 107.

More-violent crimes are less common, with 63 reported robberies and two rapes during the same period.

The intersection is in one of the city's highest-crime areas, according to Seattle Police Department statistics that examine crimes in each census tract. The tract is roughly bordered by Fifth Avenue on the east, Olive Way/Stewart Street on the north, the waterfront on the west and Yesler Way on the south.

From January through May of this year, the tract had the city's highest number of reported Part 1 crimes, with 774. Those crimes include murder, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and theft. Last year, during the same period, Part 1 crimes totaled 840, according to police statistics.

Responding to Monday's shooting, Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said Seattle has one of the lowest per-capita crime rates among big cities, but incidents like this happen.

"It is unnerving. But we're going to do our best to reassure people" that downtown is safe, Kerlikowske said after a speech at a board meeting of downtown's Metropolitan Improvement District.

Police concede that the area around Pine and Third is a particular problem, which they attribute, in part, to the number of people who mass there.

"Pike/Pine corridor is a hot spot for us and a challenge for us, clearly. We do have some issues of assaults and strong-arm robberies in that corridor," said Seattle police Lt. Jim Dermody.

Dermody said police struggle with the sheer number of people in the area — whether it's tourists on a cruise-ship stop, or the new residents moving into one of the condo buildings sprouting up around downtown Seattle, or young men and women loitering and harassing passers-by.

The problems persist despite a phalanx of law-enforcement officers who frequent the area: police bicycle squads, anti-crime teams, gang units, state Department of Corrections (DOC) officers. The King County Sheriff's Office, which provides security for Metro Transit, has deputies patrolling the area on bicycles, and the Metropolitan Improvement District has safety ambassadors on foot and bike.

Aprill, the longtime resident, blames a surge in crime over the past two years on a bus shelter on Third Avenue, near Pike Street.

"Day and night there are the hanger-outers. My son was coming home from seeing friends and he was beaten up quite severely and robbed," Aprill said. "I don't want to move away; I love where I live. I'm so frustrated."

"There are a lot of young kids with nothing to do and not a lot of police," said Leesa Warren, a clerk at the Money Tree on Third Avenue. "Once I saw one guy hit another over the head with a hammer. He just went down. When the police do come everyone scatters."

Alan Jacobs, the manager at Leroy Menswear on Pike, said little has changed in the neighborhood even though a number of businesses have installed security cameras.

"Still the same crack addicts running around. Even with cameras they continue to do it," he said.

R.B Harrison, president of Macy's Northwest, said the area's congestion and litter are of concern to the department store, but he doesn't believe business at the chain's flagship store on Third is being hurt by the problems.

Kerlikowske said Tuesday that concerns among area residents and merchants are one reason he plans to add more than 150 new officers in the next eight years.

Department of Corrections officers and Seattle police routinely patrol Third Avenue, from Pioneer Square to Seattle Center, checking in with convicted drug dealers and dangerous mentally ill offenders. The Neighborhood Corrections Initiative program was created eight years ago as a way for Seattle police and Corrections to monitor convicted felons within the department's West Precinct.

"We emphasize looking for and holding accountable DOC active offenders and assisting them into their reintegration into the community," said corrections-officer specialist Leslie Mills.

Mills said the Third Avenue corridor is popular for people on probation because it's home to "a significant amount of drug use, drug dealing and hand-to-hand exchanges." The area also features a high number of rehabilitation centers and homeless shelters.

John Pan, owner of Northwest Tailor and Cleaning, said he doesn't call the police for most crimes these days. Drug dealing, loitering and minor theft have become part of life.

It just takes police too long to respond, he said. Even for something serious like Monday's shooting, it takes police too many precious minutes to get to the scene, he said.

Pan said he met with an officer about a month ago, but he doesn't feel like there's much they can do — they're too understaffed — and the city can't afford the number of officers it would take.

But not everyone near Third and Pine believes the situation is hopeless. Lawrence Claybrook is a regular in the area, handing out pamphlets titled "Poems that open up your eyes to see the sun shining."

Claybrook said he feels safe because of the bicycle-patrol officers. Crimes like Monday's shooting aren't the norm, he said.

"That was just an incident."

Seattle Times staff reporters Brian Alexander, Justin Mayo, Jim Brunner and Nancy Bartley contributed to this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com