Saturday, Jan. 5
1:22 am. An officer stopped a car in the 900 block of 11th Street after seeing it speeding on O Avenue. The driver, a 24-year-old Oak Harbor man, smelled of intoxicants, had bloodshot eyes, and slurred repetitive speech. He also had a suspended driver's license and a warrant for his arrest out of Anacortes for a previous possession of drug paraphernalia charge. The man told the officer that he had "three rum-and-cokes and two beers" and that had had been "drinking a little too much." The man said that he wanted to join the Washington State Patrol and that he'd recently stopped using methamphetamine, and that he knew had had made a poor decision by driving. After failing field sobriety tests, the man was placed under arrest and taken to the police station. During processing, the man displayed severe mood swings and made several derogatory statements about the police department. This included saying that the police were "stupid" and that he was "smart." The man provided breath samples that were substantially over twice the legal limit. He was cited for drunk driving and driving with a suspended driver's license and released on the warrant and the new charges as the jail would not accept him for booking due to overcrowding.
2:38 am. Police responded to a home in the 1300 block of 11th Street after it was reported that a 21-year-old woman had cut her 'wrists" and was bleeding. When police arrived they discovered that the woman had actually stabbed herself with a knife in the abdomen and she had a small but deep wound. The woman claimed that she was not suicidal and that she had just made a "mistake." The woman was taken into protective custody and transported by paramedics to the emergency room for evaluation and treatment.
Sunday, Jan. 6
2:05 am. Police were dispatched to an apartment in the 4700 block of Devonshire Drive after a woman reported that her husband had been "yelling at her for hours" and had "put his arm around her neck." When police arrived, the 37-year-old husband ran out the back door while ignoring commands to stop. Police located the man in a field behind the residence and he was detained. The man, who was intoxicated, said that he and his wife had been arguing after he allegedly found photos of another man on his wife's computer. The woman told police that her husband had put his knee on her back and pinned her down on their bed and then grabbed and squeezed her face. There were scratch marks on the woman's neck, and also scratch marks on the man's face that she said occurred when she tried to get him off of her. The man was determined to be the primary aggressor and he was booked into jail on a domestic violence assault charge.
9:59 am. Police arrested a 29-year-old woman without incident at a home in the 12200 block of S. Fidalgo Bay Road on a "no bail" Skagit County Superior Court felony warrant for identity theft. The woman also had a misdemeanor traffic warrant. She was booked into the county jail.
1:08 pm. A volunteer at a thrift shop in the 1100 block of 3rd Street discovered the business had been burglarized over the weekend. Several items in the "back room" had been rummaged through and two cupboard doors were pried off their cabinets and a number of jewelry boxes emptied. It was believed that approximately $1,000 in assorted jewelry was missing and the business is working on providing an itemized list of missing items to investigators. It was also believed that the back door to the business had accidentally been left unlocked upon closing for the weekend.
Monday, Jan. 7
12:55 am. An officer stopped a car in the 1400 block of 22nd Street for having expired license tabs and rolling through a stop sign. The driver was identified as a 25-year-old Anacortes woman who smelled strongly of intoxicants and said that she had "two beers." After performing poorly on field sobriety tests, including providing a portable breath test that was almost twice the legal limit, the woman was arrested for drunk driving. During processing, the woman was indecisive about taking the breath test and she eventually refused to take the test. She was issued a criminal citation for DUI and released to a sober friend.
9:11 am. Police received a tip that a married couple was staying in a room at a motel in the 1100 block of 6th Street and that there were mutual no-contact orders in effect that barred the 50-year-old man and the 54-year-old woman from having contact with each other. Police went to the motel and confirmed that the couple had been staying in one of the rooms for the past couple of days. Officers were able to see through the window that the couple were lying on the bed together, and when they knocked on the door the woman pulled the covers over her head. The man answered the door and the woman then resurfaced from the covers. Both people were placed under arrest and the woman admitted that she knew about the court order. They were both booked into jail on violation of no-contact order charges.
11:32 am. An Anacortes man reported that someone had used his business credit card to make three fraudulent charges to "Walmart.com" that totaled almost $700. The victim said that his card had never been out of his possession except when it was handed to merchants while shopping. The purchases were reportedly supposed to be shipped to an unknown address in Spanaway. There are no suspects at this time and the victim's bank is investigating the matter further.
Wednesday, Jan 9
8:06 am. Approximately $1,000 in tools was stolen from inside of a house under construction in the 2000 block of 8th Street. The unknown burglar(s) pulled off a piece of plywood that was covering a door opening to make entry into the home. The tool storage box had been locked, but it was also forced open to gain access to the assorted power tools and hand tools.
2:00 pm. A 64-year-old Anacortes man was arrested and charged with theft after employees of a grocery store in the 900 block of 11th Street caught him shoplifting a $23.00 bottle of wine. The man had concealed the wine in a shopping bag and then left without paying. The man was taken to the police station, issued a citation for theft, and released. He also had a warrant for his arrest out of Skagit District Court from a previous DUI. He was given a new court date after the jail declined to accept him for booking.
2:01 pm. Someone entered an unlocked storage shed at a home in the 1300 block of 5th Street and stole four rifles that were stored inside. The rifles had not been loaded and the theft was believed to have occurred sometime in the previous two weeks.
4:05 pm. A 35-foot aluminum boat mast valued at $500 was stolen from where it was being stored outside of a boating center located in the 500 block of 7th Street. It was believed the theft had occurred approximately two months prior. The victim reported that he had contacted local scrap metal dealers, but no similar item had been scrapped. There are no suspects at this time.
4:13 pm. A gray colored Trek 520 touring bike valued at $50.00 was stolen from the garage of a home in the 800 block of 27th Street. The theft happened over a month prior to being reported and it was believed the garage had been unlocked. There are no suspects.
7:55 pm. A 92-year-old Anacortes woman was the suspect driver in what was originally reported as a "hit and run" after the car she was driving sideswiped a pickup parked in the 1400 block of 32nd Street. A witness had seen the woman hit the parked vehicle and then drive away. Approximately 15 minutes later, an officer saw the woman drive slowly by the accident scene again. An officer stopped the woman a short distance away and she admitted that she had drifted over the fog line and hit something, but that she didn't know what it was. The woman appeared somewhat confused about the accident and she was not cited for hit and run. She did receive a traffic ticket for improper lane travel and a recommendation for a driver's license re-examination.
Thursday, Jan 10
9:21 am. A car parked at the north basin of a marina in the 1000 block of Q Avenue was broken into and several items were stolen. It appeared that the right front door lock had been "punched" by a screwdriver type tool to gain entry. An interior door panel and armrest were also torn open. Items stolen from the vehicle included two backpacks containing miscellaneous clothing, and empty duffel bag, a watch, and registration and insurance paperwork for the victim's vehicle and boat. It was also discovered that the gas line to the vehicle had been cut and a large quantity of gasoline had been stolen.
12:34 pm. A 62-year-old Hamilton man was detained by store security at grocery in the 900 block of 11th Street after he left the store with a grocery cart full of items he had not purchased. The stolen items totaled approximately $175.00 and included beer and laundry detergent. Police arrived and placed the man under arrest. During a search of the man, police located a syringe that contained suspected heroin. The man admitted that he was a heroin user and that he had planned to inject the drug. The man was trespassed from the business and then released. He faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and theft in the third degree.