Police Blotter, May 10 - 15, 2014

Does a full moon make people crazy? Whether it’s true or not, police found a family noisily enjoying the full moon Wednesday night at the high school.

Shortly after 10pm, following up on a 911 report of strange noises at the high school led an officer to a family out enjoying the full moon.  They told him that they had been running around the high school track and “being dramatic.”  They apologized for making too much noise and the officer watched them leave the school grounds.

Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.

Saturday, May 10

3:30 pm.  A 21-year-old Anacortes woman found herself under arrest after an officer observed her driving down 24th Street and hitting her boyfriend.  Officers made a traffic stop on the vehicle and investigated the matter, learning that the couple had been arguing about “money and girls.”  The argument escalated from verbal to physical when the woman began hitting her boyfriend, striking him in the face.  She was taken in to custody and booked in to the Skagit County Jail.  

Sunday, May 11

11:47 am.  A resident on 32nd Street called 911 to report that a pickup truck had just pulled in to her driveway and the man behind the wheel seemed unresponsive.  Officers rushed to the address and found that the driver was slumped over the wheel with the vehicle still running and in gear. An officer used a door entry tool to get in to the truck and found that the driver was highly intoxicated.   He was placed under arrest and taken to the office.  The driver was so highly intoxicated that he could barely stand up, and he could not sign his name on a piece of paper.  He initially refused to provide a breath sample, so a search warrant was obtained and a sample of his blood was drawn by order of the court.  The driver, who has been arrested for DUI on at least five prior occasions since 1990, will be charged once the alcohol level of the drawn blood sample is known.  His vehicle was impounded and he was released to a sober friend.

4:47 pm.  While observing traffic on Sunset Avenue, an officer spotted a fast-moving car.  He clocked the vehicle at 42 MPH in the 25 MPH and made a traffic stop.  The driver, a 58-year-old Mount Vernon man, was found to have a suspended license and no proof of insurance.  He was placed under arrest and then issued a citation with a future court date for driving on a suspended license. He was also given a ticket for operating a motor vehicle without proof of liability insurance.  After being cited he left on foot, leaving the car legally parked.

4:55 pm.  An officer responded to a parking complaint in the boat-trailer parking area of Washington Park and found that instead of paying to park, the driver had left his Discovery Pass in plain view.  Residents are reminded that the Discovery Pass is only good in State Parks, not in City or County Parks.  A warning notice was left for the driver advising him that he need to pay the $8.00 parking fee or he would receive a citation.  

Monday, May 12

2:56 pm.  Officers and Washington park staff responded to the Loop Road when a motorhome got stuck.  The vehicle had disregarded the signs advising that the roadway has tight turns and narrow bends. It became stuck and could not maneuver any further forward.  Parks staff closed off the road so that the vehicle could be backed out down the roadway.  

3:00 pm.  Two sisters that work at a downtown dentist’s office ended up in a physical fight.  During the course of the fight a calendar was pushed across a desk and struck one of the sisters, cutting her on the nose.  The other sister then left, prior to the police arriving.  She was later found at home and was interviewed and taken in to custody.  The 61-year-old suspect was booked in to the county jail for Assault in the 4th Degree in violation of the Domestic Violence Protection Act.

Tuesday, May 13

1:45 am.  Following up on a 911 call about two people that appeared to be up to no good near businesses on Skyline Way, an officer ran across a man and a woman near the Old Salt’s Market.  They both admitted that they had been scouring around the area looking for cigarettes to smoke, but denied that they had been meaning to break in to any closed businesses or cars.  A records check revealed that the male, a 35-year-old from Friday Harbor, had a warrant out for his arrest for failing to appear in court on a Trespassing charge.  He was placed under arrest, handcuffed, and searched.  The search revealed that he was carrying two glass pipes used for smoking narcotics.  These were seized as evidence and he was issued a citation for a future court date on a charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Due to overcrowding, the jail would not accept him for booking. So, he was given a new date for his warrant and released.

3:19 am.  Things did not go well during an impromptu intervention on 29th Street.  Suspicious that his older brother was using meth, a 24-year-old Anacortes man confronted his 25-year-old brother about the problem.  During the argument that followed, the older brother threatened to shoot the younger man in the face.  He also threw his brother to the ground several times, leaving marks on the younger man’s neck.  The 25-year-old was arrested and booked in to jail for Assault 4th Degree in violation of the Domestic Violence Protection Act.

3:56 am.  A resident on West 4th Street called to report that someone had entered his garage and rifled through the vehicles that were parked inside.  Cash was taken from one vehicle, and it appeared that the suspect looked through the garage freezer, but nothing other than the money was taken.  

Wednesday, May 14

6:14 pm.  A resident on 4th Street called the police following an assault.  He explained to the officers that his neighbor had thrown a board at him, which had left behind a visible scrape.  He also claimed that the neighbor had threatened to kill him.  Another neighbor claimed to have seen the man putting a holstered gun on his hip just after the made the death threats.  The officers contacted the suspect, who admitted that he may have thrown a piece of wood, but he denied making any death threats or arming himself with a gun.  The officers issued the man a citation for Assault 4th Degree and Harassment.

Thursday, May 15

6:00 pm.  A local man called to report that his bike had been stolen and he was currently trying to confront the man who took it.  He gave the suspect’s name to the dispatch center, and also told the 911 operator that the suspect had said that he would flee if the police tried to catch him.  The victim had then lost track of the suspect, a 46-year old Anacortes man, when he rode away on a bike.  Responding officers spotted the suspect, but he tried to evade them by riding in to Storvik Park.  As officers began to enter the park he stashed the bike near the playground and ran to a nearby apartment complex.  He was found hiding in some bushes there and was taken in to custody.  After further investigation, the suspect was cited for Theft and Obstructing an Officer and then released.