October 30, 2012, 12:04 p.m.
October 29
Father-Daughter Fight. At about 5:50 in the evening, a man called 911 to report that his 30-year-old daughter was breaking things inside their home on Morrill Place. He said he thought his daughter was calling 911 as well and might be telling the dispatcher that he had choked her. Cencom said the caller was being very evasive and refusing to answer questions, saying that he would control the conversation. Eventually, he hung up.
Officers Aimee LaClaire and Steve Cain arrived at about 5:53 and met with the man and his daughter, the only two occupants of the residence. Cain spoke with the man, and LaClaire spoke with the woman who was visibly upset and crying as LaClaire began to speak with her. She was on her cell phone with a male friend, and LaClaire asked her to hang up.
The daughter said she had moved back to live with her father about a week ago. She added that she had finished college but didn’t yet have a job. She said she had nowhere else to stay except with some friends at a “drug house.” She said she and her father had been arguing over her not yet having found a job. She added that there is always “arguing and yelling” and that she thinks her father is bipolar.
LaClaire asked the daughter what had happened and she said she “got pissed and knocked some stuff over.” She said she pushed over a side table belonging to her father but didn’t know if anything had broken. LaClaire asked if the fight had become physical at any point, and the daughter said no but that her father had “escorted” her out of the house and told her to leave. She said he did this by grabbing the hood of her sweatshirt and directing her toward the front door. She said it was not forceful and had not hurt her. LaClaire observed a discoloration on the right leg of her sweatpants and asked her what it was. She said it was probably water from when she knocked over the table.
The father told Cain his daughter had not lived with him in a long time but had arrived unannounced last night at about 2:00 in the morning. He said that today his daughter had started complaining that the whole world was all his fault and that she needed money to get a prescription at Target. He said he gave her $100 and then left the room. He said that for no reason she began screaming, breaking things, and throwing things in the living room. Cain asked him why she would do that, and he said, “She doesn’t like the house, she doesn’t like me, and she doesn’t want to get her act together.” He said that his daughter might have some mental health issues but that she had not been diagnosed with anything.
He took Cain into the living room where the items were. There was a knocked-over table with a broken leg, a container that appeared to contain water on the floor, a large-size tube TV screen on the floor still working, and a TV stand with a broken leg. The father said he didn’t have anything expensive and confirmed that the damaged items were worth less than $50. The $100 were strewn around in front of a couch.
He said he had grabbed his daughter from behind in a “bear hug” to get her to stop breaking things and that he was telling her to calm down. He said she was “struggling” to get away but that nothing else physical happened. He said that his daughter said she was going to call 911 and she went into her bedroom. He thought he heard her calling 911 and telling the dispatcher that he had choked her. That was when he had called 911.
Cain told the father that they were going to arrest the daughter for domestic violence and malicious mischief. The father then began to say that he didn’t know if his daughter had broken the items as he had not seen her do it. He said he didn’t want her to be arrested.
The daughter asked LaClaire who was going to “get in trouble” and then said, “probably me.” LaClaire asked her if she felt she should be the one to “get in trouble” and she said, “No, but I know somebody has to get in trouble and I don’t want it to be my dad.”
LaClaire told the daughter she was under arrest and they walked back to her room to get shoes for her to wear. She used her cell phone to call her friend back and she said, “I am getting arrested. I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.” LaClaire then heard her say, “Protect my dad, to protect my dad,” and she began to cry again. She then added, “Should I do this or do what’s best for me?” She hung up and LaClaire asked her what she was talking about. She said she was sure LaClaire knew what she had meant. She then said, “I don’t want to be arrested and don’t deserve to be arrested.”
As LaClaire was applying handcuffs to the daughter in the dining room, the daughter asked, “If there was other stuff that happened would I still be getting arrested?” Her father said, “Tell them everything” and “you got to be honest.” She said, “Well, my dad did hurt me. And I don’t deserve to be arrested but I don’t want my dad to be arrested. Before you got here my dad told me to tell the police that nothing had happened.” The father then said that he had told her, “If we go outside and greet the police and tell them everything is fine, then everything will be fine.”
LaClaire asked the daughter what had happened and she said, “He choked me and threw me in the corner.” She used her hand to grab herself around the neck when she said this and pointed to a corner of the dining room. She said he wasn’t just trying to take her outside and that he wouldn’t let her go. She said she told him, “Let me go, let me go.” She said she couldn’t remember everything because she was under a lot of stress but that “something physical happened around the TV.” She said that he “choked her in the corner for a long time.” She alternately demonstrated choking with her hand and with her forearm and cried.
LaClaire asked to see her neck but couldn’t see any visible marks or bruising. The daughter said that her neck hurt. LaClaire asked her again to tell what had happened, and she said they were arguing and that she knocked over the tables. She added that her father then grabbed her in the living room and that they started struggling. Then they went into the dining room and that’s when he shoved her into the corner. She was trying to get away so she could get out the door. Then he shoved her out the door.
Cain was meeting with the father again and he denied choking his daughter. He said he did “bear hug” her at one point and she dropped down. He dropped down with her but his hands and forearm were not near her neck area.
Cain and LaClaire observed the daughter’s neck again and still saw nothing. The daughter added, “It wasn’t that hard or anything.” LaClaire placed her into custody at 6:31. She continued to cry and she began to yell at her dad saying that he told her it would be okay and it wasn’t and that she was not the one who deserved to be arrested.
LaClaire read her her rights and asked her if she understood them and she said she “guessed” she did. LaClaire read each one again and asked her after each one if she understood and she said “kind of.” Then LaClaire said she would not ask her any more questions about the evening since she did not feel like she fully understood her rights. LaClaire told her she could complete a statement if she chose to do so.
LaClaire asked her if she needed any medical attention for her throat and she said no. She said her trachea was a little sore but that it was not hard to swallow. LaClaire asked her if she thought her voice was raspy and she said yes but that she thought it was from smoking. She said “It wasn’t like he was squeezing really hard or anything. It was just more traumatic, being shoved up in the corner like that.” She said that her dad was in front of her at that point with his forearm in her throat area. Again, she declined medical attention.
LaClaire transported her to the station where she was placed in the detention cell for about 20 minutes. Cain then transported her to Kitsap County Jail. She was booked on $5000 bail.
Fraud Attempt. A woman came to the station to report attempted fraud. She said she operates a Mary Kay cosmetics business and was recently contacted via e-mail and phone by a person identifying herself as Rebecca Reed but using a cell phone with a Pennsylvania area code and the name Louise on the caller ID. The caller was attempting to arrange a purchase of cosmetics to be mailed to a third party in Minnesota. Reed sent the woman a check via UPS Next Day service from Louisville, Kentucky. The check appeared to be an obvious fake check from the NCAA in Indianapolis. The check was for $1991.49, and the cost of the products was $119.78. Reed asked the woman to wire the the additional money (1871.71) to another party in Georgia. The woman did not ship the products and ceased communicating with Reed. Officer Scott Weiss reviewed the e-mails and documentation that the woman provided. The attempted scheme is very common. The reporting party did not suffer a financial loss and did not reveal any personal information.
Stolen Bike. A man came into the office to report his bicycle was stolen overnight on Saturday. He said his bicycle was on a rack attached to his car, which was parked in his driveway. Sometime between 8:00 p.m. on October 27th and 8:00 a.m. on the 28th someone took the bike from the rack. He valued the bike at about $400.
No Window, No Tail Light, No License. At approximately 1:16 in the afternoon, Officer Dale Johnson was stopped on 305 at West Port Madison Road. Johnson observed a dark-colored Volvo station wagon turn west onto Seabold Road from 305. He observed that the driver’s side rear passenger window had plastic in place of the window. He recognized the vehicle and knew that the owner’s license had been suspended as of a month ago. After the vehicle turned onto Seabold, he observed that the right rear tail light was not operating. He pulled out and turned onto Seabold and then south onto Komedal. He caught up with the vehicle on Komedal just before Ralston. The vehicle turned into the parking lot of Seabold Community Center. He pulled in behind the vehicle and activated his emergency lights. He exited his vehicle and recognized the driver as the owner of the vehicle.
He asked her if her driver’s license was still suspended. She said she had paperwork saying it was valid. She gave him the paperwork., She said she didn’t know the tail light wasn’t operating. Johnson checked her driving status through the DOL and it was still suspended. He issued her a citation for driving with a suspended license. He returned the paperwork to her and suggested she take it with her to court. Her vehicle was left at the Community Center. Officer Koon drove her to her home.
October 28
No Tail Light, No License. At approximately 10:45 in the evening, Officer Dale Johnson observed a vehicle leaving the Chevron Station on Hildebrand. The vehicle had a broken right tail lamp displaying a white light. He pulled in behind the vehicle heading west on High School Road. After checking the vehicle registration, he discovered that the registered owner had a suspended license for an unpaid ticket. He stopped the vehicle on High School just east of Madison. He contacted the driver and explained why he had stopped him. He said he was the registered owner of the vehicle. He said he knew the tail light was broken but not that his license was suspended. Johnson checked his driving record and found that he had an unpaid speeding ticket out of Pierce County from February of 2009. Johnson issued him a citation.
Runaway Boat. A man reported the theft of his buoy and boat. The boat had been moored at a permanent buoy about 200 feet off shore in front of his house on Agate Street. Both boat and buoy were there at dusk and by the next morning they were missing. The boat was a 17-foot Boston Whaler Montauk with two outboard motors. The man later called the station to report that neither item was stolen. The boat had broken loose from the mooring, and he had located it.
October 27
Confessing Thief. Officer Dale Johnson called a man at about 7:48 in the evening regarding a theft. The man said that about three weeks earlier a man had come onto his property on Falk Road and removed a fan belt from his vehicle, which is a parts truck. The man said that the other man had a vehicle like his so he suspected him of the theft. He called the man and asked him about it. The man admitted taking the belt at 3:00 in the morning and said he would pay for it.
The reporting party said that several days ago the thief had entered treatment for heroin addiction. The treatment lasted four days. The man quit after two days. That afternoon the man called the reporting party and asked him if he could take the oil gauge out of his truck. He said no. When the reporting party returned home he discovered that the dashboard of his truck had been disassembled and the oil gauge was missing. He said he called the man about the oil gauge. The man admitted that he had taken it before asking for permission. The reporting party told the man he was no longer welcome on his property and that if he did show up there he would call police and press charges. He said he has since posted “No Trespassing” signs. He said he does not want to press charges at this time. He just wants the incident documented.
Break-in Attempt, Kid at Home. At 12:34 in the afternoon, Officer Mo Stich received a call from Cencom regarding an attempted burglary two hours earlier. A woman who had been away from the house had left her thirteen-year-old son at home alone. At 10:30 while the son was in the house, he heard a car pull up and saw two males get out. They came up on the front porch and tried the front door knob. The door was locked so they couldn’t get in. The son heard them speaking as if they were angry about not being able to get in. About 30 minutes later, the vehicle returned and the males got out again, this time coming around to the back door. The son was able to get a good look at the car, a black Honda Civic station wagon with numerous stickers on the back and a roof rack. He thought one of the stickers said, “Whistler.” He said he did not recognize the car or the men. The driver was a white male in his 30s, wearing a brown coat with two front pockets. He had black short hair and a goatee. The passenger was a bit older and wearing a red North Face jacket with black patches at the shoulders, a navy baseball cap, and jeans. Numerous phone calls came into the house between the two visits. The phone calls were listed as anonymous. The son called the police. Stich interviewed the son and told him to call 911 if it should ever happen again. The son called his mother to inform her of the event.
Collision on 305. At approximately 7:30 in the morning, Officer Jeff Benkert received a call of an injury collision at 305 and Lovgreen. He responded to the scene and saw a white Honda Accord with major front-end damage facing east in the middle of the intersection. A white Ford truck was stopped facing north in the southbound shoulder. The truck had damage to the front right and right side. He contacted the river of the truck who advised that he had some minor wrist pain but did not require aid. The driver of the Honda was still seated in his vehicle. BIFD aid crews arrived and assisted the driver. Benkert spoke with the driver of the truck. He said he had been driving north on 305. Traffic was light due to the adverse weather and the early hour. He said that the driver of the car simply did not stop at the stop sign at the intersection. He entered the highway and struck his truck. The driver of the vehicle was transported from the scene with complaints of rib pain. He told the aid crew that he had previously suffered a stroke. The statements made by the driver of the truck were substantiated by the locations of the vehicles and the damage. Both vehicles were towed.
October 26
Credit Card Fraud. At approximately 2:51 p.m. a woman came to the station to report fraud. She said she had noticed three suspicious charges on her most recent bank statement. She was adamant that she had not made the charges and she notified her bank to dispute them. She cancelled the card. She didn’t know how her debit card number was stolen. The three charges totaled $56.81.
October 25
Bicycle v. Car. At 4:24 in the evening, Vehicle 2, a bicycle, had been northbound on Madison Avenue and was in the circle at the roundabout. Vehicle 1 had been westbound on High School and had just entered the roundabout. The driver of Vehicle 1 said he did not see the bicyclist to his left. The front left corner of Vehicle 1 struck the bicyclist. The bicyclist sustained a facial laceration and a sore arm and head.
October 24
Phone Scam. At about 7:18 p.m., Officer Aimee LaClaire contacted a Bainbridge resident who had called. He said that at about 7 p.m., an unknown female who had identified herself as Linda called the business line of his restaurant on Madison. His wife answered. Linda told her that the power bill had not been paid for the building and that the power would be shut off unless they paid the bill. Linda requested Social Security numbers and DOBs, but the man’s wife did not provide that information. She gave Linda her husband’s cell phone number.
Linda called him and gave him the same story. He eventually gave his Social Security number, DOB, and home address. She asked for his ID number but he was suspicious and did not provide that. Linda tried to get his wife’s information, but he did not provide that. She called the restaurant again and tried to get the information from the man’s wife, but she wouldn’t provide the information. Linda called the man again to try to get more information, but she was unsuccessful. She left a number for him to call. When he called her, there was no answer.
A Google search of the number she gave turns up John L. Scott Real Estate in Ocean Shores.
The man called the landlord of his business. She confirmed with him and later with Officer LaClaire that she had paid the power bill and was up to date on payments.
The man said that when Linda called him his caller ID showed “Restricted.”
LaClaire provided an identity theft packet for the man. He said he would notify the three major credit agencies and the Social Security Administration.
October 23
One Jay Inslee for Two Rob McKennas. At about 1:45 in the afternoon, a woman came to the station to report an incident involving political campaign signs on the right of way in front of her house on Grand Avenue. She said she had placed a Jay Inslee sign there with a note attached to it that said, “Please don’t uproot my sign.” Between Sunday evening and Monday at about noon, someone had taken the Jay Inslee sign and left two Rob McKenna signs in its place. She had not paid any money for the Inslee sign. She knew there was nothing the police could do about it but wanted the incident documented.
Jewelry Stolen in Spring. A woman came into the police station stating that she needed to file a police report for stolen items. She said she believed she and her daughter had discovered in late March or early April that jewelry belonging to her but that was in her daughter’s residence had gone missing. She said that she and her daughter had searched for the items but had been unable to locate them. She said it was her understanding that during that time period a housekeeper who may or may not have worked for her daughter was being investigated by police for taking jewelry from other customers.
She said that her daughter often leaves her house unlocked.
She requested that police have no contact with her daughter because of a current medical issue.
She said she had had no intention of filing a police report but that her insurance company was requesting one. Detective Trevor Ziemba said that the police would do very little follow up on this case because of her stipulations and because of the lack of information and the time frame.
The woman said she understood. She valued the missing items at $4305.
October 22
Loud Mowing Again. At 7:24 in the morning, Officer Mo Stich responded to the area of Wing Point Way and then Cherry Avenue to investigate a noise complaint on the golf course. As she was driving down Wing Point Way, she could not hear any equipment. She then drove to the home of the complainant. He had been sitting on a chair on the front porch. Officer Stich introduced herself. He led her into the backyard, which faces the golf course. Stich could see that several professional lawn mowers were cutting grass and other workers were on foot on the greens. He pointed at them and asked Stich if she was going to do anything about them. Stich told him she would document what was going on but that she did not have the authority to stop them from doing their job.
An employee from the golf course waved at them and asked them if he could help. He asked if everything was okay. Stich told the worker everything was okay. The resident turned to Stich and said, “Do you know him?” Stich said, “No.” The man then said that he thought the worker had called her “John.” Stich said that her name was Mo, not John.
Stich asked the resident when the noise issue had started for him. He became upset and said he was sick and tired of the noise and had lived there for 13 years. He said he wants the work to start at 8 a.m. He had become so frustrated that he had turned to the police for action. He quoted the noise ordinance and said the golf course was not exempt. When Stich tried to explain that this was normal maintenance, the man became upset and would not listen. He said, “I’ve spoken with Sue (Commander Shultz.). Stich told him that she lives next to a drum instructor and uses earplugs. The man said he didn’t have to do that, that this was his home. He said that was what 911 was for. Stich told him she did not agree and would not do that to her neighbor as his business provides for his family.
The man continued complaining. Stich was having trouble following his train of thought. The man said he wanted the mowers to start on the other side of the golf course. Stich asked him about the homeowners on the other side of the course but he did not acknowledge the point.
Stich had trouble understanding him at times. He had a problem with his voice and she believed he might have had some health issues. At no time did she hear the noise from the mowers become so offensive that it reached the level of nuisance. She did not believe the sound to be at an unhealthy or unreasonable level.
The workers moved on. The man said a leaf blower had been used, which seemed reasonable to Stich given the season.
The man asked her what she had been doing when he called. She told him she had been patrolling and working on a runaway case and child abuse and soon would be transporting a prisoner from the jail. He apologized for taking her time, saying that he and the neighbors had challenges that had come up. She asked him if he wanted to tell her about that, and he declined.
Angry Roommate. At approximately 11:58 at night, Cencom advised of a heated verbal dispute on Miller Road. They reported that it sounded like a male cussing at a female and like there might be a physical struggle. Then the call had disconnected. As Officer Walt Berg was en route, Cencom advised that they had the caller back on the line and that they could hear males swearing and one of the males saying, “I want you out of the house.” The other male then called to say that his roommate had punched him. The line went dead again. Cencom then got another call with a male in the background yelling. One of the males was telling Cencom that someone was in the doorway, and another was yelling that he wanted the caller out of the house.
Officers Berg and Dale Johnson arrived on scene at approximately three minutes after midnight. They approached the front door of the house, and it was standing wide open. Berg could hear yelling coming from inside. He knocked loudly on the door, and the male that had been yelling said, “We are back here.” The officers entered the house and the male repeated, “We are back here.” The officers rounded the corner to the hallway and observed a black male standing in the hallway at an open door. That male threw up his arms and said that the other male was in the bedroom. Berg had him back up so he could see into the bedroom and he observed a male sitting on the bed. He could see a broken framed mirror, about 18″ x 4′ tall, lying on top of a large TV or computer monitor on the floor at the foot of the bed. The glass from the mirror was scattered all over the floor.
Johnson took that first male into the dining area of the house as Berg spoke to the man on the bed. The man told Johnson that his roommate owed him $785 for rent. Johnson asked how the roommate’s property had been broken, and the man said he did not know. He changed his story about the broken property several times.
In the bedroom, Berg could hear the other man yelling periodically. Berg asked the man on the bed to tell him what was going on. He said he had been asleep in bed when the other man had come home from the bar and begun banging loudly on his bedroom door. He said that the other man had demanded that he get out of the house. He said his roommate was upset because he wanted additional money from him that he didn’t have.
He said that when he told his roommate that he wasn’t leaving, the man took the mirror, which was leaning up against the wall just inside the doorway, and slammed it against his computer monitor, which had been sitting atop a stand at the foot of the bed. He said he was sitting up in bed when the other man punched him in the face. He said that was when he had called 911. He said there was no female involved in the incident but that there was a female living in the basement apartment. He said he had been living in the house for about three weeks.
Berg then went to the dining area. The other man was seated. He ranged from calm and cooperative to extremely hostile and loud, occasionally jumping out of his chair and demanding that the other man leave the house. Berg could detect a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the man. He asked him if he’d been drinking, and the man said he’d been drinking “a lot.”
He said that the other man needed to leave his house. He said the man is a convicted felon and child molester. He said he hadn’t known that before he moved in. He said the man owed him money and he wanted him out immediately. Berg told him several times that if he wanted him out, he needed to go through the eviction process. He wouldn’t accept that. Berg asked him if he had damaged the man’s property, and he became angry again, jumped out of his chair, and began yelling that he hadn’t damaged anything and that the man had damaged it himself. He denied assaulting the man.
He asked to use the bathroom, which is adjacent to the other man’s room. Berg followed him. He then asked him to return to the dining room. Berg went downstairs to try to speak with the female but there was no answer at her door.
Johnson had gone to the bedroom to talk with the other man. The man on the bed told Johnson the same story he had told Berg.
Johnson and Berg went outside where Berg could still see the man in the dining room. Johnson told Berg what the man in the bedroom had told him, and it was consistent with what he had told Berg. They agreed they had probable cause to arrest the man in the dining room. They returned to the dining room and arrested the man for malicious mischief and domestic violence. He protested but offered no resistance. Johnson told the man that if he posted bail he would not be able to return home until after court.
As the officers walked him to the patrol cars, the man began making claims that he was being arrested because he is black. He said he would get the NAACP involved. He mentioned that two white cops had come to his house and arrested the black guy. He had not provided any information suggesting that the white guy had committed a crime.
Johnson left for the jail and Berg returned to the house. The man said that the broken mirror was worth only $30. His computer monitor was still working although it was scratched. He said it is worth approximately $200. Berg could see blood on the man’s face on the right side of his nose. His nose did not appear to be swollen.
He told Berg about an earlier contact with police at the Island Grill. His roommate had called police to tell him that he couldn’t go back home. He said it was because he was mad that he couldn’t pay him additional money right away. He said that his roommate wanted him to pay a $250 damage deposit and $35 for his part of the Internet service. He said he wouldn’t have the money until after the first of the month. He showed Berg the text messages he had received from him about this. In the text messages, the roommate told him that he needed the $285 because he was going to be short of funds after paying the rent.
Berg called Johnson and told him to add a charge of Domestic Violence Assault 4 as there was evidence that an assault had also occurred. When Berg returned to the station, he looked up the prior report at the Island Grill. In that report, the roommate said on the phone, “It will get ugly if he comes back to the house.”
The roommate was booked into the Kitsap County Jail on bail of $7500.
October 21
The Case of the Locking and Unlocking Doors. At about 5:30 in the evening, Officer Steve Cain returned a call from a Bainbridge woman. She wished to report that she believed someone had been entering her vacant home on Bayview Boulevard. She said she hadn’t lived there for several months and was currently living with someone else at a different location. She said that many of her belongings and a few of her ex-husband’s are still left at the vacant house. She said she had just obtained a divorce the week before and that she thought her ex might be responsible for getting into the house even though he is not supposed to be there.
They agreed to meet at the house in half an hour. Cain met the woman at the house. It was apparent no one had lived there in a long time. She said she had last lived there in June but visits regularly to check on it. She said her husband’s brother owns the house, but she also said that she and her ex are in legal proceedings to divide the property and ownership, which was confusing.
She said she had found several doors either opened or closed, different from how she had left them. She said that a few days ago she had found a barrel bolt latch affixed to the inside of a metal, interior basement access door. She added that she “never” goes into the basement.
On October 19 she had found a very large and heavy painter’s type metal scaffolding that had been kept at the house now propped up on a second-story window ledge, which would have allowed access to the window. But the window was locked from the inside. She had had the scaffolding removed before calling 911.
She said that on the 20th she had found a basement access double door to have the deadbolt unlocked but the actual door lock was still locked from the exterior. She said she was certain she had locked it. She said she believes her ex or his children are somehow involved. She said she didn’t think anything was stolen but said she has “so much stuff” in there she couldn’t say for sure.
Cain advised her to remove the remainder of her belongings as soon as possible and to contact the police again if she determined that anything was gone. She said she would do that.
Cain tried calling the ex and left a message, but he had not returned his call by the time Cain filed his report.
October 19
Domestic Violence. On October 19 at approximately 4:10, Cencom dispatched officers to a possible domestic violence situation on High School Road. Upon arrival, Lieutenant Phil Hawkins made contact with the reporting party. She said that there seems to be an ongoing issue in the apartment next door. She hears yelling and verbal arguments often. Today she heard a female yelling at a male, “Stop, you’re hurting me” and “You’re going to kill me.” She called 911.
As Hawkins stood by waiting for a second unit, he could hear nothing coming from the apartment. When Officer Carla Sias and Lieutenant Bob Day arrived, Hawkins knocked on the door of the apartment. Eventually, a female answered it. As Officer Sias spoke with the woman, Hawkins spoke with the male in the apartment. Both people said basically the same thing, that they had been involved in an argument that had resulted in loud yelling and she had kicked some things in the living room and thrown some things against the wall. Both denied that the argument had become physical. There were no signs of injury and no evidence of a struggle. Officers stood by while the female packed a bag and left on foot, walking past her vehicle. The male also left and walked away. The reporting party said that this is an ongoing problem, and she believes the arguments are escalating and fears for the woman’s safety. Hawkins asked her to call 911 during the next incident.
Angry Boss. An employee of a taxi and tour company called to report being harassed over the phone by the owner of the company. The caller said that his employer had called four to five times and had also called his wife two to three times, yelling into the phone. He had been called to work one day on the island but he had been verbally accosted by the drivers of other companies who told him he was encroaching on their business. He did not like the atmosphere and decided to quit, leaving the van and keys to the van inside and on the business property.
The owner called to find out where the van and keys were. The man said his employer had accused him of stealing them before checking to see where they were. He and his wife had since left town for Spokane where they’re from. On October 20, Officer Stich called the company and spoke with an employee who provided the employer’s last name and phone number. Stich called that number and left a message.
October 18
E-mail Scam. Lieutenant Chris Jensen spoke with a woman who had come into the station. She provided him with a receipt from Western Union at Rite Aid for $1546.50. The receipt showed the transaction had taken place at 7:52 a.m. and that it was sent to the UK. She said she had received an e-mail from a friend who said she was in England and had lost her purse. The e-mail said the hotel would not let her check out until she paid her bill. To catch her flight home she needed $1410. The woman sent the money to her friend and then realized that it was perhaps a scam. She contacted her friend who said she was not in England.
October 8
Attempted Theft By Heroin Addict at Ferry Pay Boxes. At about 12:04 in the afternoon, a representative of Diamond Parking at the ferry terminal called to report that he believed a person was picking money out of the pay boxes near Olympic Drive. He described the suspect as a white male wearing a brown hoody and black sweatpants. He was using tweezers to pick the boxes. He said the male had last been seen walking toward the ferry terminal. Officers Scott Weiss and Mo Stich responded to the area but were unable to locate the suspect. The manager of the lot told Weiss that he wasn’t sure how much money if any had been taken from the boxes.
At about 1:49, the manager called 911 and said he had just seen the suspect walking on Olympic Drive toward Winslow Way. A ferry had just docked from Seattle and foot and vehicle traffic were still in the area. Stich was on bicycle patrol and spotted the suspect in the downtown area but lost him in the alley behind the pharmacy. A few minutes later Officer Steve Cain contacted the suspect on Wyatt east of Madison. Weiss arrived shortly after with Officers Aimee LaClaire and Stich.
Weiss recognized the suspect from numerous prior contacts with him. The suspect is a heroin addict and has prior arrests for burglary, theft, and drug crimes. His appearance and clothing matched the manager’s description. Police told him why they were contacting him. He denied stealing anything from the pay boxes and did not have anything on his person except for a small bag of candy that appeared to be a bag from a bulk food bin. Weiss did a quick pat down and could not find anything that could be a weapon. He also had a wallet in his hands. Weiss asked him if he had anything in his wallet, and he said he had a pair of tweezers. Weiss asked him if he could have the tweezers, and the man said he could. Weiss could see no cash or money on the man or in his wallet. He denied having any.
Weiss met with the manager who agreed to drive his truck past the scene where the man was being detained. He identified the man as the person at the pay boxes.
Weiss spoke further with the man and he said that he may have gone to the pay boxes for the purpose of taking money but he didn’t actually take any. He said he is temporarily staying with a friend who is a heroin addict. He gave Weiss his contact information. He was then released at the scene. Weiss processed the tweezers into the evidence vault.