Police Blotter, May 25 - 30, 2013

Two 14-year-old boys face charges of 2nd degree burglary after allegedly breaking into the High School through an open classroom window in the early hours of Saturday morning, May 25.

Police responded to an activated alarm at the High School in the early morning hours and then saw two teenaged boys running out of the school.  A window to a classroom was discovered open and security video showed the two teens accessing the roof area and entering the school though a second story window.  The video then showed the boys inside of the school and fleeing when police arrived.  A Swinomish Police officer who was assisting in the search for the suspects located a 14-year-old Anacortes boy outside of the school who matched the description of one of the teens on the video.  The boy was placed under arrest and he admitted to entering the school with his friend.  The other boy, also age 14 from Anacortes, was later brought to the police station by his mother.  He also admitted entering the school through the window and that the boys covered their hands with tissues because they “didn’t want to leave prints and get in trouble.”  Both boys face charges of 2nd degree burglary through juvenile court.  

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

Saturday, May 25  

3:49 am.  Someone smashed out the driver’s door window of a car parked in the 3900 block of W. 4th Street.  It was unknown if anything had been stolen from the vehicle.  

8:58 am.  A 2004 GMC was stolen from the driveway of a home in the 1900 block of 36th Street.  The vehicle had been left unlocked with keys inside.  The vehicle was missing its water pump as the owner had removed it for repairs and the owner expressed his surprise that he did not hear the vehicle start up.  The owners later located their vehicle parked in the 1300 block of 5th Street.  There is no suspect information at this time.   

3:33 pm.  A vehicle parked in the 2000 block of C Avenue had a driver’s side window broken out with a rock.  The vehicle was rifled through but nothing appeared to be missing.  

3:53 pm.  Three vehicles parked in the driveway at a home in the 3800 block of Copper Pond were prowled.  Two of the vehicles had been unlocked and keys found in one of them were used to open the third vehicle.  Items stolen included two Garmin brand GPS units and a money order for $110.   

6:20 pm.  An employee of a mini mart in the 12500 block of Christianson Road watched a woman conceal food items and a can of beer in her purse and sweatshirt and then walk out of the store without paying.  The woman began to run towards a dark green mini van when the clerk followed her outside.  The clerk grabbed onto the woman’s sweatshirt, but the woman broke away leaving her sweatshirt behind.  The woman then fled in the van that was driven by another woman.  Some of the stolen food items were recovered from the woman’s sweatshirt that was left behind.  The suspect vehicle fled south on Reservation Road and Anacortes officers are working with Swinomish Police in an effort to identify the women.    

7:44 pm.  Police are investigating the theft of $2,000 from a home in the 800 block of 34th Street.  The victim said that the money had been hidden inside of her home and that she suspected that a man she had met two weeks prior on the Internet had stolen it.  The man had since been at the home a few times and the victim speculated that he might have found the hiding spot.  The victim did not have much information about the man but she did say that he was a convicted felon.  Police are seeking to speak with the 43-year-old Sedro-Woolley area resident.  

Sunday, May 26

4:25 pm.  Someone shattered the window of a car parked at a house in the 2800 block of J Avenue.  The unknown vandal also smeared a substance on the hood in the shape of male genitalia.   

6:14 pm.  A 34-year-old Anacortes area transient was contacted at Washington Park after he reported that he was “cold, wet, hungry and suicidal.”   The man told police that he was “at the end of his rope” and that he wanted to go to the hospital.  He was transported to the emergency room for evaluation.  

7:31 pm.  A 41-year-old man was arrested for domestic violence assault after he allegedly grabbed his live-in girlfriend by her wrists during the course of an argument.  The man was reportedly upset at his girlfriend’s son for getting water on some books and he began to yell at the boy and then argue with the woman when she came to her son’s defense.  The man smelled strongly of intoxicants and told the arresting officer, “I didn’t touch her so bad.”  He was booked into the county jail.  

8:42 pm.  A 21-year-old Anacortes man was charged with theft after he shoplifted a bottle of cognac from a store in the 1500 block of Commercial Avenue.   An employee had heard a security sensor on the bottle activate when the man exited the store without paying and then leave in a vehicle.  Police recognized the man from security video and he later came to the police department and admitted to the theft.  The $40.00 plus bottle of cognac was ¾ empty though when it was returned to the officer.  

11:29 pm.  Someone used a small rock to break out the window to a door at a house in the 800 block of O Avenue and then burglarize the home.  A laptop computer, prescription medication, and a black revolver-style Marksman brand pellet gun were stolen.  The crime is under further investigation.  

Monday, May 27

5:41 am.  A witness reported seeing a woman take several bags of clothing from a donation box outside of a store in the 1500 block of Commercial Avenue and then drive to an Anacortes motel.  Officers went to the motel room and the door was eventually answered by a man who was less than cooperative after an officer saw the bags of donated items through the open door.  The 36-year-old Sedro-Woolley man tried to close the door, but was instead placed under arrest when it was confirmed that he had several warrants.  The man was also found to be in possession of an illegal switchblade knife.  A woman then emerged from the bathroom and after initially giving a false name, she was identified as a 38-year-old Coupeville resident who had two felony warrants for her arrest.  A second woman then emerged from the bathroom and matched the description of the woman stealing form the donation bin.  She also initially gave a false name, but after being placed under arrest for the theft, an ID card was located that identified her as 25-year-old Coupeville resident who had a felony warrant out of the Department of Corrections.  The two women were booked into jail on their warrants and also face new felony charges of possession of controlled substances after methamphetamine and heroin was found in their respective cosmetic bags.  The man was released since all of his warrants were for misdemeanor offenses (assault, DUI, and driving while suspended) and the jail would not accept him for booking.  He was issued a citation for the new charge of being in possession of a dangerous weapon.  

7:00 pm.  An officer at a pharmacy in the 1500 block of Commercial Avenue on an unrelated matter recognized a 15-year-old boy in the store and confirmed that the boy had previously been trespassed from the business for shoplifting.  The boy told the officer that he had “forgotten” about being trespassed from the store and that he was “just shopping and not stealing” anything.  He was arrested and referred to juvenile court on criminal trespass charges and released to his mother.

Tuesday, May 28

11:12 am.  An Anacortes woman who was jogging at Washington Park returned to her car to discover that someone had broken out a window and stolen her purse.  The purse contained the victim’s identification, $500 in cash, a bank card, and an iPod.  The victim then learned that her debit card had been fraudulently used to purchase gas at a station in Anacortes.  Police later obtained security video from the station and are working in trying to locate the involved vehicle shown in the video and identify the occupants.  

11:15 am.  A 15-horsepower Evinrude boat motor was stolen off of a 14-foot runabout boat parked at a boat business in the 8300 block of Summit Park Road.  The motor was valued at $1,300.  

12:27 pm.  A burglary was reported at a house in the 2200 block of 12th Street after a side door was discovered to have been forced open.  Stolen from the home were a white-colored Toyota Solara convertible, a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum revolver, two laptop computers, a black Specialized brand “Myka” mountain bike, and passports belonging to the victims.  Every room, drawer, and cabinet in the house had been opened and rifled through.  The crime is under further investigation.  

4:49 pm.  A 37-year-old Anacortes woman reported that her boyfriend had backhanded her in the face during the course of an argument while they were walking on South March Point Road.  The woman had swelling above her eye and her eyes and nose were red.  The woman told police that they had been at a local casino and had lost all of their money gambling which started the argument.  The woman said that she began slapping her own face out of frustration at which time the man backhanded her with a full swing across the face.  The woman also had visible swelling to her hand which she said was a result of her punching the man a couple of times.  The 23-year-old Anacortes area transient man was gone when police arrived but he later telephoned an officer and said that the woman had punched him and thrown his cell phone.  The man then failed to show up to speak with an officer in person.  Possible domestic violence assault charges are pending when police can determine the primary aggressor.  

10:01 pm.  Someone pried open the back door to a home in the 4000 block of Commercial Avenue that was being remodeled and stole a 24-inch flat panel television.  There are no suspects at this time.  

Wednesday, May 29

1:07 am.  A man reported that his 45-year-old wife had hit him at their home in the 3900 block of W. 12th Street.  The man said that he had been in bed when his wife came home and started talking about wanting a separation.  He said that his wife then just “snapped” and attacked him and started choking him and telling him she was going to “kill” him.  Ironically, the man had a small cut on his chin that he said was caused by his wife’s wedding ring during her attack.  Swinomish Tribal Police located the woman on the reservation near her mother’s home and she was placed under arrest for domestic violence assault.  She was turned over to an Anacortes officer and booked into the county jail.  

2:23 pm.  The second attempted burglary is the past month was reported at the Senior Center.  Someone had removed a screen from a kitchenette window and appeared to have tried to force open the window.  The unknown burglar was not successful in making entry and fortunately the property was not damaged.  

3:11 pm.  An elderly Anacortes resident reported that an unknown individual had gained her bank account information after a brief conversation on the phone.  The victim said that she had received a phone call from a woman with a heavy accent who claimed to be from Medicare and was providing “new cards” to customers.  The victim was duped into providing her bank account and routing number.   Fortunately the victim’s daughter became suspicious and contacted Medicare and the victim’s bank to close the account.  No money was lost from the victim’s account and others are warned to be aware of similar scams.  

8:27 pm.  Police arrested a 16-year-old girl at her home in the 1700 block of 28th Street after confirming that she had an outstanding warrant for underage drinking and resisting arrest.  The girl initially argued with the officers but subsequently complied and was placed into handcuffs.  She was booked into juvenile detention.  

Thursday, May 30

12:36 pm.  A toolbox containing over $400 in assorted tools was stolen from a storage shed at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of 24th Street.  The shed had accidentally been left open for a few days.  

6:38 pm.  A 33-year-old Anacortes man was charged with theft after he was caught shoplifting approximately $130 worth of groceries from a store in the 900 block of 11th Street.  An employee had detained the man outside of the store after he failed to pay.  The man apologized for his behavior and said that he knew he shouldn’t have stolen the items.  He was issued a criminal citation and released.  

9:33 pm.  An officer had to swerve his patrol car to avoid colliding with a pickup that crossed into the officer’s lane of travel after the pickup exited a parking lot onto the 1000 block of 32nd Street and crossed the center line.  The driver of the pickup was also talking on his cell phone. The officer turned around and stopped the pickup.  The driver said that he hadn’t had a valid driver’s license or insurance since 2002 and the license tabs on the pickup were expired by several months.  The driver was identified by an expired California license as a 49-year-old Anacortes man.  The man smelled of intoxicants and marijuana and said that he had “one beer.”  The man performed poorly on field sobriety tests and said that he had been smoking marijuana since 6:30 in the morning.  He said that he would be “off the charts” if tested for marijuana.  He was placed under arrest for driving under the influence and taken to the police station where he said that “the good thing about smoking reefer is that it gives you good lung capacity.”  His lungs provided breath samples that were significantly over the legal limit for alcohol.  He was charged with DUI, driving without a valid license, and driving while talking on the cell phone