All suspects in the police blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
VEHICLE PROWL: At 10:04 p.m. March 2, an officer was dispatched to a reported vehicle prowl at O’Reilly Auto Parts. A manager reported the business’s delivery trucks had been broken into, a fact discovered when the drivers checked the trucks that morning. They had been parked in a dark area of the parking lot overnight. The only items missing were disposable cameras. Photographs of damage to the vehicle locks were placed into evidence.
WARRANT ARREST: At 12:25 a.m. March 5, an officer observed expired tabs on a sedan traveling on 214th Avenue East. The officer initiated an emergency stop and the driver advised the vehicle was not hers. She was also unable to provide a license, the vehicle registration, or the vehicle’s proof of insurance. A records check showed the vehicle’s registration had expired in February, that the driver’s license had been suspended and that she had a warrant for her arrest issued by the Tacoma Police Department. She was placed under arrest and transferred into Tacoma PD’s custody at a midway point in Puyallup. Before she was taken away, she was issued a Bonney Lake citation for driving on a suspended license, and notices of infraction for the vehicle registration and insurance.
911 HANGUP: At 10:18 a.m. March 7, two officers were dispatched to an Angeline Road East residence for a 911 hangup. The resident told police she and her live-in boyfriend had an argument that was verbal only. She had called 911 because of how upset her boyfriend became and she was concerned about his own safety. He had calmed down prior to police arrival. His hand was bleeding and he told police he had punched gravel in the backyard while he was trying to calm down. He reassured police he did not plan to hurt himself. An officer photographed the injury for report documentation purposes only.
DANGEROUS PURSUIT: At 1:50 a.m. March 8, an officer patrolling the 18500 block of 74th Street East observed a sedan parked next to a mailbox with its headlights on while a passenger entered. Given recent mail thefts in the neighborhood, the officer followed the car as it began traveling and checked the license plate. During the records check, the car pulled to the side of the road and the driver began making a forward waving motion; the patrol car remained behind. The records check showed the vehicle’s color description did not match the actual color; the year did not seem to match either. The officer activated the patrol car’s lights, and the suspect vehicle accelerated to a high rate of speed. The officer reported the impending chase to dispatch and three officers moved to join the pursuit. The car led police on a chase through Bonney Lake’s northwestern neighborhoods and north into Auburn at speeds as high as 90 miles-per-hour, until it hit a curb turning right on 17th Street Southeast Auburn, spinning out and nearly colliding with a group of pedestrians and a vapor line at a nearby gas station. The leading officer moved to disable the car by driving his bumper guards into its side, and the vehicle came to a stop. The driver and her front passenger attempted to leave the vehicle out of the driver side door and the four Bonney Lake officers on scene directed them at gunpoint to get stomach-down on the ground. The two women and a male in the backseat were taken into custody. The vehicle was confirmed to be stolen by a records check of the Vehicle Information Number. The backseat passenger was quickly released at the scene after an interviewing officer determined he did not seem to be aware of the vehicle theft. The front seat passenger agreed to interview an officer at the Bonney Lake Public Safety Building; she said she was not aware of any vehicle theft on the part of the driver, but stated the driver had eluded police before in a separate incident in Pacific. The driver declined to interview police until she had an attorney present and was booked into Pierce County Jail; she had a credit card not in her name on her person, but she told police it belonged to a friend.
OUT OF SORTS: At 10:46 p.m. March 8, an officer observed a male pedestrian on South Prairie Road East repeatedly punch a metal pole and then walk toward the nearby medical center, which was closed at that hour. As the officer contacted the man, he immediately recognized him. The man stated he was unclear why he was wandering around the closed building and he denied punching the stoplight pole, though blood was running down his hands from his knuckles. Dispatch confirmed a warrant for the man’s arrest issued by the Puyallup Police Department. An arriving support officer provided the man sanitary wipes and bandages for his wounds; the man declined further medical aid. He was placed under arrest and transferred into Puyallup PD custody at a midway point on state Route 410 East.
THEFT AND ASSAULT: At 1:10 p.m. March 11, an officer was dispatched to Target to respond to an attempted shoplift and successful assault on a loss prevention officer; the suspect had already fled the scene. According to the loss prevention officer and video surveillance footage of the incident, the man had attempted to return a vacuum he had picked up during the same trip, as well as attempting to steal a kitchen mixer. When he was confronted on his way out of the store, he pushed the employee by her throat and arms to make his escape, leaving a small abrasion on her throat. An investigation of the vehicle turned up a suspect who was identified by the employee in a photo montage the next day; incidentally, the same suspect had been arrested for shoplifting a vacuum cleaner from a South Hill retailer two hours after the Target incident. Given the Target employee’s positive identification and the circumstances of the other arrest, the investigating Bonney Lake officer forwarded the case to the County prosecutor for review of charges for organized retail theft.
