Suspects in the police blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
PILL THEFT: At 11:26 a.m. June 19, two brothers came to the department lobby to report the suspected theft of pain medication. One brother had posted a Craigslist advertisement to sell lumber, and invited two buyers on June 18. The buyers bought two items of wood and spent time perusing other items for sale in the home’s garage, where the second brother resides in a constructed bedroom. The next day, the second brother discovered medication missing from a secured lockbox. He told an officer he believed the buyers had seen the lockbox through his open door.
VANDALISM: An officer was dispatched to Sunrise Dental the afternoon of June 19. The business manager reported she had arrived that morning to find the back entrance’s door knob broken off. The knob had not been broken off when the business had closed for the weekend the prior Saturday. There was no sign anyone had entered the building, but the manager said she believed entry had been attempted.
THEFT: Officers were dispatched to a robbery at Allen Yorke Park around 6:18 p.m. June 20. The officers met with a visibly injured girl and her parent, who reported a young woman had stolen the girl’s cell phone after a fight. The suspected young woman had been reported leaving the area northbound on West Tapps in a gold Saturn. The girl told police she had been in the woods north of the skate park with her boyfriend when the suspect arrived and accused the girl of stealing a cell phone over a year ago, and demanding the phone back. The girl told the suspect she did not have her phone, at which point the suspect demanded her cigarettes as restitution. When the girl did not hand them over, a fight commenced. The girl told police the suspect punched her in the face, she hit back, and then a friend of the suspect joined in. The suspect sat on the girl, she said, and took her cell phone as she stood up. The boyfriend corroborated the story, though he said he thought the suspect’s friend may have been the one to take the phone. The girl and her boyfriend said there were juveniles at the basketball court whom they believed had shot video of the fight with a cell phone, though police were not able to obtain footage, as the juveniles in question claimed they had not seen the fight at all. Both the girl and her boyfriend told police the fight had not been prearranged. After reports had been taken, two more juveniles told officers they had heard about the fight before it happened. Robbery charges were forwarded to the Pierce County Prosecutor’s office.
DELUSIONAL: Two officers responded to a disorderly male at Angeline Road shortly before noon on June 21. The suspect’s grandfather reported his grandson was under the influence and yelling and screaming. He advised police he believed his grandson was addiction to Oxycontin and “dingier than a fruitcake.” Upon arrival, the grandfather met police in the front yard and advised the suspect had access to knives, but that they had been taken away on a previous occasion; he was concerned for the safety of his wife and himself. During this conversation, the suspect slammed the front door of the house and locked the door. When his grandfather unlocked the door, he and officers discovered the suspect had barricaded it with a piece of wood. They were able to wedge the door enough to see the suspect and his grandmother inside the house. The suspect charged the door, prompting the officers to draw their pistols in case it was an attack. Instead, he threw himself against the doorway to push it shut, and an officer blocked the door with his boot. After wedging the door further open, the other officer reached in with his taser and fired at the suspect, who backed away. Officers gained entry, bringing the suspect to the ground and cuffing him with some difficulty. As officers asked the suspect if he was injured, he cycled between shouting expletives and heralding the coming of God. He shouted for his Grandmother to kill everyone in the house but him, and claimed his grandfather was the devil. Officers found several empty and partially full prescription bottles for Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and Acetominophen, but it was unknown how much, if any, medication the suspect had taken that day. The man was involuntarily committed to Good Samaritan for evaluation. The suspect’s grandfather reported he had several firearms in the house, and officers suggested he remove them immediately for their continued safety.
SHOPLIFTING: An officer was dispatched to Walmart for a shoplifting complaint shortly before 3 p.m. June 23. The store’s loss prevention associate had the suspect detained and identified. The associate was conducting on-floor surveillance when she noticed the suspect, whom she recognized from previous theft incidents. The associate claimed she watched the suspect select several pieces of merchandise,some of which she concealed in a black colored purse, which had also been picked up while she was in the store. The associate continued to watch the suspect do this until she headed toward the store exit, past all points of sale, at which point she was confronted outside the store. The suspect fully cooperated in returning to the store and relinquishing the merchandise, valued at $84.18. The associate said the suspect had admitted to her intent to steal, but the suspect exercised her right to remain silent for the police officer. She was booked into Buckley Jail with a citation for theft.
A BURNING URGE TO STEAL: An officer was dispatched to Bonney Lake High School shortly after 10 a.m. June 26 to take a burglary report from the head custodian. The custodian advised an unknown suspect had broken into a fenced-in storage shed and stolen an acetylene torch valued at $1,000. The shed had been secure as of 9 p.m. June 23, when it was last checked by another custodian. The custodian checked the shed again on June 25 and discovered someone had pried open the chain link fence gate at the hinge.
HOUNDS IN THE HEN HOUSE: At about 8:48 a.m. June 27, an officer was conducting a traffic stop on Church Lake Road East when he heard four to five popping sounds. Shortly afterward, a dog ran past the officer’s patrol car, and a second dog that appeared to be injured ran up to the police officer. The dog was bleeding from wounds consistent with shots from a small caliber firearm. Animal Control arrived on scene and took custody of the dog, and another officer responded to assist in investigation. Under advisement from a neighbor, the officers located a homeowner who told police he had shot at the dogs from his deck after witnessing them chasing his chickens. He had seen both dogs within his fenced chicken-coop and told officers he believed they were trying to hunt and kill his poultry. After the dogs retreated from the yard, the homeowner left his .22 caliber rifle on the deck and investigated his livestock; he found several baby chick missing. Police determined that no property or persons were in the line of fire. Ownership had not been determined for the dogs. The officer later learned the injured dog had been put to sleep due to the severity of its wounds.
RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE: An officer was on patrol shortly after midnight June 28, when he observed a maroon pick-up parked on the east side of 194th Avenue East. A plate check matched that of an unconfirmed stolen vehicle out of Seattle. Further check of the Vehicle Identification Number matched the vehicle reported stolen. Dispatch confirmed the car’s stolen status, and the officer had Cascade Towing recover the vehicle. At the time of the report, the officer was in process of trying to reach the registered owner and clear the case with the outside agency that initially handled the case.
