Police Blotter, April 21 - 27, 2023

In a strange case for Anacortes Police, a local woman reported that she was receiving threats from a subject in New York who had said he was going to kill her. 

She advised that, sometime last year, she began speaking with a male on Instagram who said he was a Turkish billionaire who lived in New York. He had sent her about $7,000 for a new phone and groceries. The money was transferred, and later, another friend asked to borrow $1,000. She explained that the money belonged to the man in New York. She said he was persistent, and she eventually sent him the money. She said it had been three months and he had not paid the money back. She reported that the man in New York was now threatening to kill her if she did not pay back the $1,000 she had given to the other man. She said she only wanted the case documented. She also said she had won a clearing house sweepstakes recently, despite not having entered. The responding officer advised that this all sounded like a scam and that she should contact her bank to advise of any potential security breach.

Here are some other incidents that Anacortes Police investigated this week.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Dispatch advised of a removal complaint at a store in the 900 block of 11th Street. The reporting party reported that a man was prowling vehicles in the parking lot and was now inside the store at the address. Officers responded, and the reporting party pointed out the man inside the store. The suspect was identified as a 47-year-old Oregon man, who denied prowling vehicles, touching any cars or taking anything from the store. Officers spoke with employees, who advised that they did not see the man enter any vehicles or try any door handles, but it appeared that he was looking in vehicles. He had also scanned a bag of potato chips and had not paid for them. He put the bag back when confronted. A trespass notice was completed, and the man signed his copy.

An Anacortes woman called to advise of a vehicle prowl that occurred overnight in the 3400 block of West Fourth Street. She said her vehicle and her boyfriend’s vehicle were both gone through. She said she was pretty sure she locked her car after arriving home and was not sure how someone got into the car. She determined that two sets of sunglasses were missing, for a total cost of $700. No damage was observed on the reporting party’s vehicle, but her boyfriend’s car appeared to have new scratches and pry marks on the driver-side door. The driver’s side rear door lock was missing, and part of the plastic door handle cover was missing. A pneumatic tool was found to be missing, valued at about $25. Both said they would like to pursue charges if suspects could be identified.

Sunday, April 23, 2023

An officer was dispatched to a burglary complaint in the 800 block of 21st Street. A local shop reported a potential break-in overnight. An officer responded and found that the north door of the business was damaged. The space between the window trim and the air-conditioning unit was filled with what appeared to be pool noodle insulation material and a plastic piece, and the plastic piece had been broken off. The premises were re-secured by the business owners.

Monday, April 24, 2023

An Anacortes man called dispatch and reported that his girlfriend had stolen $300 from his jacket a few days ago in the 12700 block of Reservation Road. An officer spoke with him, and he said he slept through the day and that his girlfriend had taken the money while he was asleep. He said he hadn’t seen her take the money, but he knew she had it. He said he may complete a statement but declined to do so during his contact with the responding officer. He later called dispatch and advised that the issue had resolved itself.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Dispatch advised of a cold attempted vehicle prowl in the 2200 block of 37th Court. The reporting party said nothing had been taken but that a subject had attempted to gain access to his pickup truck and had been scared off by motion-sensor lights. The officer documented the attempted prowl and collected the man’s Ring camera video as evidence.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

An Anacortes woman called to report a malicious mischief incident involving her vehicle. An unknown suspect had smashed out the driver-side door window and smashed the windshield. An officer contacted the woman at her residence. She said that she went out to walk her dog in the morning, and a neighbor had waved her over to her car. The reporting party’s husband found a rock in the middle of the driveway that morning. She sent out a neighborhood email to see if anyone had captured images of the suspect. The reporting party later called and reported more damage to her vehicle, as well as a large rock inside of the vehicle.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

An officer was dispatched to the area of Fidalgo Bay Road. The reporting party said that garbage was being dumped on the water-side of the road near the RV park. There was a large amount of clothing, plastic bins, televisions and furniture dumped there. A man who lives in the area said the stuff arrived about two months prior.