On Saturday, Jan. 19, an officer responding to an alarm call was alarmed when the passenger door of the vehicle traveling in front of him suddenly opened and a man jumped out and rolled several feet across the pavement in the 2200 block of Commercial Avenue. The officer stopped to check on the man as he was getting to his feet. The 19-year-old man smelled of intoxicants and he had been crying. The driver of the car stopped and identified herself as the man’s mother and said that her son needed help. It was learned that the man had just broken up with his girlfriend and had allegedly been making threats to kill himself before jumping out of the moving car. The man was taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on last week.
Saturday, Jan. 19
12:43 am. A 20-year-old Oak Harbor woman and a 28-year-old Anacortes woman were both arrested at a home in the 1200 block of 4th Street. The Oak Harbor woman had warrants for previous charges of theft and driving with a suspended driver’s license and the Anacortes woman had warrants from previous DUI and driving with a suspended driver’s license. Both women were taken to the police station where they were later released as the jail would not take them due to overcrowding.
12:51 am. An intoxicated Fidalgo Island man reported that his truck had been stolen from near the theatre in the downtown area. The truck was located two blocks away where the man had actually left it parked. He agreed to come back later to retrieve the truck when he was sober.
2:28 am. A 19-year-old Anacortes man was booked into jail on charges of perjury and making a false report after he allegedly called 911 to report that a male with a gun was walking around Washington Park threatening to kill himself. Officers from Anacortes PD and the Washington State Patrol arrived at the park, searched the area, and found the 19-year-old walking through the park. The man denied any knowledge of a suicidal man with a gun even though his cell phone showed a 911 call minutes earlier. The man then claimed that he had gotten into an argument with his brother and that his brother had made the 911 call. Police contacted the younger brother who was sleeping and he said that he had not been in an argument and had no idea what his older brother was talking about. The younger teen said that his brother thrives on police attention. The 19-year-old was taken to the police station where he initially provided a written statement that he not called 911. He then admitted that he had made the 911 call because he was depressed and just wanted to talk to the police.
10:06 am. Someone stole a Honda 15-horsepower outboard motor from the transom of a boat stored inside of a fenced storage yard in the 2000 block of Skyline Way. A small cable had been cut to remove the motor. There are no suspects.
Sunday, Jan. 20
12:31 am. Police responded to a motel in the 3400 block of Commercial Avenue after a 44-year-old woman called 911 to report that she was “scared for her life” and the life of her children. Officers spoke with the woman outside of her motel room and she claimed that her ex-husband and another man (who she said was the father of her most recent child) had sent her telephone texts and were “plotting to kill her.” The woman said that she had lost her phone and had no evidence of the alleged threats. The officers provided the woman with options for assistance and told her they wanted to help. The woman then demanded to be arrested, but police told her that they wouldn’t arrest her because she had not committed any crime. The woman then sat down on the curb and began to scream loudly before running over to a nearby car and pounding on the windows with her fists in an effort to break the glass. The woman told police “now you have to arrest me” and began screaming that the police were “trying to kill me.” Officers took a hold of the woman to lead her away from the car and she kicked and screamed at them. The officers took the woman to the ground while she aggressively fought with them culminating with her biting one officer in the leg. She did not voluntarily release her bite until the officer pulled his leg loose from her teeth causing him additional pain. The woman got her wish when she was arrested and booked into jail on charges of assault in the third degree. Police took her three children into protective custody and fed them as they told the officers they were hungry. They were later released to a social services case worker.
1:34 am. An officer stopped a vehicle in the 2600 block of Commercial Avenue for speeding and swerving over the center line and identified the driver as a 27-year-old Oak Harbor man. The man said that he had been distracted in his driving because his female passenger had yelled at him. The man smelled strongly of intoxicants, had watery bloodshot eyes, and was driving home from a restaurant/bar after having “two beers.” The officer went to his patrol car to check the man’s license and then saw the man rinsing his mouth with mouth wash when he re-approached the car. When asked why he was using mouthwash in the middle of a traffic stop, the man said because he had “bad breath.” After failing field sobriety tests, the man was placed under arrest and taken to the police station. He provided breath samples during processing that were approximately twice the legal limit. He was issued a citation for DUI and released to a sober co-worker.
4:55 pm. Police arrested a 30-year-old Friday Harbor man after he was caught shoplifting a cell phone and a USB storage device at a drug store in the 1500 block of Commercial Avenue. When the man was searched, police found suspected heroin, suspected methamphetamine, and several prescription pills in his wallet. The pills were not in bottles and the man had no evidence that the pills were prescribed to him. The man admitted the heroin was his and that he had put it in his wallet because he “didn’t want to get caught with it if his car ever got searched.” The man’s vehicle was also seized after a drug dog alerted to the presence of illegal substances. A search warrant was obtained and investigator’s located spoons with burnt heroin residue inside of the vehicle. The man was booked into jail and charged with four counts of felony possession of a controlled substance and attempted theft in the third degree.
5:47 pm. Police are investigating the fraudulent use of a company credit card by an employee of a marine services business in Anacortes. The thefts go back at least two years and the financial loss is substantial. The matter is under further investigation.
Monday, Jan. 21
9:49 am. A home in the 800 block of 24th Street was reported burglarized after a rear window was found pushed in and the back door ajar. A power chair that was stored in the garage was missing and the house had been rummaged through and numerous items thrown about. There are no suspects at this time.
11:38 pm. A 36-year-old Anacortes man was arrested for driving on a suspended license and will be charged with possession of methamphetamine after an officer on routine patrol observed the man make a minor traffic violation and then pull into the parking lot of a church at the corner of 22nd and “O” Ave. long after the church was closed for the evening. The officer contacted the man after he had parked his car in the southwest corner of the parking lot. The man told the officer he was there to visit his girlfriend who lived near by but did not want to park at her apartment because she had a neighbor who complained about the noise his truck made. After discovering the man was driving on a suspended license the officer arrested him. During the arrest it was discovered that he possessed a small amount of suspected methamphetamine and some drug paraphernalia. The case will be sent to the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney for a future charge. The man was released to go visit his girlfriend.
Tuesday, Jan. 22
1:36 pm. A 2012 Toyota Tacoma pick up that had been taken from a marina in Anacortes on January 15th was recovered in a business parking lot in the 8,000 block of S. Marches Pt. Rd. According to witnesses the truck had been left there sometime over the weekend. The Thule brand rack, the Toyota grill emblem, and a hand truck were missing from the truck.
2:58 pm. An auto dealership in the 12,000 block of Thompson Rd. reported that gas was siphoned from a used vehicle on the lot sometime since Tuesday the 15th of January.
3:20 pm. A resident in the 3600 block of Michelle Ln. reported that $1,600 worth of silver flatware and a medal detector were missing from his home sometime in the past year to two years. The man told officers he suspected former roommates may have taken the items when they moved out. Officers are trying to locate a former roommate who was in the military and has moved out of state.
Wednesday, Jan. 23
12:10 pm. A hardware store in the 1100 block of Commercial Ave. reported the theft of rental property to police. In December, a 41-year-old Anacortes man rented a carpet stretcher for one day and failed to return it. The carpet stretcher is worth $500. Officers are attempting to locate the man and the machine. He will be charged with failure to return rental property.
Thursday, Jan. 24
5:42 am. A coffee stand employee in the 8000 block of South Marches Point Rd. reported that a suspicious man had just been in the business and made odd comments about having warrants for his arrest but not going to jail as the jail was too full. Officers located the man across the street in the Park and Ride parking lot. He had five outstanding warrants from Skagit County District Court, Mount Vernon Municipal Court, and Anacortes Municipal Court. He was arrested and the jail was contacted. The booking was declined as the jail was full. The man was released on his promise to appear at the next court date.
8:00 am. A man reported his unlocked vehicle was prowled over night in the 1700 block of 36th St. The car was in the driveway of a home. A flashlight and some music CD’s were taken.
10:00 am. A 70-year-old Anacortes man will receive a citation for allowing his dog off leash at Washington Park. The man reportedly puts a leash on the dog but then lets the leash drag behind the dog as it runs loose. After receiving numerous warnings that he must keep the dog leash in hand and not allow the dog to run free, ACO Padovan cited the man.
1:59 pm. A lingerie store in the 400 block of Commercial Ave. reported that a women in her 20’s stole $100 worth of undergarments after taking numerous items into a changing room and then quickly leaving the business after telling the clerk that none of the items fit right. The clerk noted the woman was about 5’5” with sandy blond hair. She had a small toddler that had just learned to walk with her.
10:00 pm. A 23-year-old man was arrested for DUI and Hit and Run after the vehicle he was driving did not stop at the intersection of 4th and “O” Ave and collided with a car that was traveling northbound on “O” Ave. The 23 year then fled in his vehicle, abandoning the heavily damaged car in front of his father’s home in the 400 block of “M” Ave. Officers contacted the man’s father who called his son, and the man returned to the scene. After exhibiting signs of intoxication, he was given field sobriety tests, and then taken to the police department for a breathalyzer test. The man reportedly told officers that he had consumed 12 beers since 5 pm. The young couple in the vehicle he struck received minor injuries.