Early Tuesday morning, Aug. 27, Anacortes police were advised of a possible drunk driver heading towards town on State Route 20 after a convenience store clerk reported the driver smelled of alcohol while in the store and a second caller reported the vehicle driving erratically on the highway. An officer located the vehicle on the highway and saw it drift out of its lane of travel and almost hit another car in the adjacent lane. The officer activated his emergency lights and siren but the suspect vehicle continued to weave for another half mile before finally pulling over. The driver was identified as a 31-year-old Seattle man who said that he did not realize he was driving poorly. He said that he was driving from Seattle to Anacortes because it “seemed like a nice place to get away.” The man smelled on intoxicants and his movements were sluggish. The man declined to perform sobriety tests and he was advised that he was under arrest. As he exited his vehicle he nearly fell to the ground and needed help from the officer to maintain his balance. The man was taken to the police station for processing where he refused to take the breath test. The man was charged with drunk driving and booked into jail.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.
Friday, August 23
12:45 pm. A Nissan 6 horsepower long shaft outboard boat “kicker” motor was stolen off of a boat moored at a marina in the 1200 block of Q Avenue sometime in the past two months. The motor had not been locked and was valued at $1,400.
2:36 pm. A 33-year-old Anacortes transient was arrested for criminal trespass after he entered a restaurant in the 1300 block of Commercial Avenue in violation of a previous trespass admonishment warning. The man told police that he had entered the restaurant wanting to speak with a manager and was waiting for a male manager as the “female ones were sexist” to him. The man also said that he thought the previous trespass order had expired. He was taken to the police station where he was issued a criminal citation and then released.
3:42 pm. Someone punctured the sidewall of a tire on a station wagon that was parked at a medical facility in the 1200 block of 24th Street. An approximate one-inch puncture went completely through the side of the tire. There are no suspects at this time.
8:50 pm. Police contacted a 30-year-old Bellingham woman in the 1200 block of 24th Street after it was reported that she had been making suicidal statements. The woman allegedly said that she was going to kill herself if her ex-boyfriend who lives in Anacortes did not go back to Bellingham with her that night. She had also allegedly intentionally cut her arm, chest, and neck. The woman told police that she had made a comment about wanting to die, but she denied having cut herself. She did show officers her arm that had numerous cut marks, some of which were still slightly bleeding. Officers tried to convince the woman to voluntarily walk to the emergency room, but she refused and began to scream. When officers attempted to escort the woman to the emergency room she kicked at and tried to pull away from them. The woman was carried to the ER where she was involuntarily committed for evaluation.
Saturday, August 24
12:53 am. An Anacortes officer working a county wide traffic emphasis stopped a car in Burlington for traveling at night with inoperable taillights. The driver, a 53-year-old Sedro-Woolley man, also had a suspended driver’s license and a felony warrant out of Ellensburg for Theft in the 1st degree. The man was placed under arrest and booked into the county jail.
10:48 pm. A 25-year-old Anacortes man was charged with malicious mischief after he allegedly punched and broke a window at a restaurant in the 200 block of T Avenue. The man, who was obviously intoxicated, had showed up at the restaurant/bar to check on his brother who had been involved in a fight at the business a short time earlier. Witnesses observed the man punch and break the window after his arrival. The man told police that he was upset about his brother being in a fight. In addition to receiving a criminal citation, the man was also trespassed from the business.
Sunday, August 25
12:44 am. An officer stopped a car in the 2300 block of Commercial Avenue for driving at night without its headlights on. The driver smelled strongly of intoxicants and fumbled with several controls on the vehicle before finally turning on the lights. She then fumbled through her purse for her license before eventually being identified as a 32-year-old Concrete resident. The woman’s speech was slurred, her movements lethargic, and she refused to perform field sobriety tests after saying she was just taking her friend home because her friend was throwing up. The woman was advised that she was under arrest and she told the officer that she needed to put on her shoes. The officer noted that it took her almost five minutes to put on her first boot and eight minutes to put on the second and she was still unable to get them zipped. She displayed poor balance while being taken into custody. The woman was taken to the police station where she refused to take the breath test after stalling for awhile. She was issued a citation charging her with DUI and released to a sober friend.
1:30 am. A 21-year-old Anacortes man was issued a court summons charging him with assault after he allegedly poured a cup of soda onto his ex-girlfriend and then pinned her down by her arms and shoulders against a bed against her will at a home in the 4100 block of Oakes Avenue. A resident of the home pulled the man off of the woman and ordered him to leave. Other people at the home told police that the man appeared to be “high on heroin.” The man left the home prior to police arrival and officers were unable to locate him.
9:33 pm. Someone used a sharp object to puncture the side of a tire on a car parked at the back of a home in the 1200 block of 14th Street. The damage was estimated at $250.
Monday, August 26
10:36 am. A Parks Department employee discovered that the door to a maintenance storage shed at Volunteer Park had been pried open and a gas powered backpack style blower had been stolen. The blower was valued at $400 and the damage to the door was estimated at $50.00.
10:40 am. A homeless woman who lives out of her car reported that someone had stolen assorted food and clothing items from the vehicle after she had left it unsecured overnight in the 1600 block of Commercial Avenue. The victim suspected other members of the local transient community, but there is no evidence to substantiate that at this time.
11:42 am. A 12-volt battery and a license plate were stolen off of a pickup parked at a salvage yard located in the 9300 block of Padilla Heights Road. There are no suspects.
12:56 pm. An employee of a tavern/bar in the 400 block of Commercial Avenue reported his Kona brand “Stinky” 24 speed mountain bike was stolen from where it had been left parked behind the business. The victim said that he had left the bike chained to a rack.
6:42 pm. Witnesses reported a hit-and-run at the intersection of 21st Street and D Avenue after a “squealing” car crashed into several mailboxes on a communal stand and a parked pickup and then fled the scene. The suspect vehicle was located in the 900 block of 23rd Street and it had fresh damage to its front end. A passenger in the car told police that the driver, a 20-year-old Anacortes man, had been “being cocky” and lost control of the car prior to striking the mailboxes. The driver was unsteady on his feet, smelled strongly of intoxicants, and had bloodshot eyes. The driver denied he had been drinking, but he was initially placed under arrest for hit-and-run and being a minor in possession. Open bottles of rum and beer were found inside of the suspect vehicle. The man was verbally abusive towards the officers and he was taken to the police station for processing where he refused to take a breath test. Suspected cocaine was found in the suspect vehicle and the driver had a fake Virginia driver’s license in his possession that the man allegedly used previously to purchase alcohol. The man was booked into jail on charges of possession of a controlled substance, DUI, hit and run, and being a minor in possession.
9:42 pm. A couple visiting from Missouri reported that their passports and $200 in cash was stolen from a suitcase that had been left in their room at a motel in the 1100 block of 6th Street. The couple said that they had locked the room while they were gone for the day. The matter is under further investigation.
11:26 pm. A man reported that his 25-year-old estranged wife had entered his home uninvited in the 5600 block of Rosario Way and then threw an energy drink can at his new girlfriend who was in bed with the man. The can struck the girlfriend leaving a mark and causing soreness. The suspect moved towards the new girlfriend, but the man was able to head her off and lead her outside. The suspect then grabbed a large rock from the landscaping and threw it through the double paned front window. The suspect then left in her car and police later found her at her residence in Anacortes. The suspect told police that she had “freaked out” when she saw another woman in bed with her estranged husband. She admitted to breaking the window but denied having hit the other woman with the beverage can. She was arrested and booked into jail on charges of burglary, assault in the 4th degree, and domestic violence malicious mischief.
Tuesday, August 27
12:12 pm. Staff and customers of a nearby hair salon reported that a man at a motel room in the 2900 block of Commercial Avenue was yelling at them and being belligerent. Officers contacted the 71-year-old man in his motel room and he was immediately hostile and yelled “just shoot me in the head!” Officers informed the man that they had no intention or reason to harm him, but that he did have a warrant for his arrest from a previous domestic violence assault charge. The man calmed and was handcuffed. However, he then yelled out and intentionally urinated and defecated in his pants. The man was released after being given a new court date for the warrant.
Wednesday, August 28
7:36 am. $150.00 in cash was stolen out of an unlocked pickup parked in the 1800 block of Island View Place during evening hours. There are no suspects.
10:18 am. An Anacortes woman reported that the rear license plate to her Subaru station wagon was stolen off of the vehicle sometime during the previous week. The victim did not know where the theft had occurred.
7:56 pm. A 31-year-old man was arrested on charges of violating a domestic violence protection order after it was reported that he was “out of control” at a home in the 2900 block of Q Avenue. The court order stipulated that the man could not come within 1,000 feet of the home. The man was intoxicated and reportedly had been making it difficult for a resident of the home to put some children to bed. Police contacted the man outside of the home and he was 150 feet from the home at that time. The man screamed and yelled while being arrested and he was booked into jail.
9:29 pm. Police responded to a home in the 800 block of 26th Street after a man reported that his 25-year-old girlfriend had punched him. When officers arrived, they could hear a woman screaming and yelling from inside of the house. Officers spoke with the boyfriend outside of the house and he said that the woman had been drinking all day and she was mad because he was making her move out. The man said that she had bit him earlier in the day and punched him in the stomach “as hard as she could” just prior to him calling 911. A witness in the home also saw the woman punch the man. Police located the woman inside of the house. The woman admitted to being angry because she was getting kicked out of the house, but she denied assaulting the man. She was arrested and booked into jail on domestic violence assault charges.
Thursday, August 29
2:46 am. A man living in the 1100 block of G Avenue woke up to find an unknown man inside of his house. The resident reported that he opened the front door and told the man to leave, but that the man instead went to the kitchen and began opening drawers. The resident said that he then grabbed the man by the arm and neck and led him to the door at which time the man took a swing at him but missed. The intruder then reportedly went around the house to the back door and attempted to get back into the house but the door was locked. Police found the man hiding in some nearby bushes and he was identified as a 26-year-old Anacortes resident. The man was intoxicated and incoherent and he claimed that he “lived” in the house. He was placed under arrest and charged with 1st degree criminal trespass and later released to his sister. The resident did not want to pursue assault charges.
11:49 am. A Sony laptop computer valued at $500 was stolen out of a car while it was parked in the 1000 block of 7th Street. The victim believed the car had been locked, but there was no sign of forced entry.