On Monday morning, Jan. 6, a citizen turned in a found wallet that contained some identification as well as over $100 in cash. The department’s evidence officer managed to locate the owner of the wallet, who is a resident of Shaw Island. He gratefully came to the police department and collected the wallet, stating that he was amazed that his cash and ID were still there. He estimated that he had lost the wallet at least two weeks prior.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.
Saturday, Jan. 4
7:48 am. Officers responded to a car versus deer accident in the 1700 block of 12th Street. No damage was done to the vehicle and the deer was not injured.
11:27 am. Officers responded to a two car motor vehicle accident after one car struck another coming out of the Blue Cow Car Wash. There were no injuries.
5:49 pm. Anacortes Officers were asked to watch for a dark sedan that had fled the scene of a hit-and-run accident that the Washington State Patrol was investigating near Campbell Lake Road. Minutes later an accident was reported on Sharpe Road out in the county. The vehicle involved in the accident was the same one that the State Patrol was looking for and an Anacortes Officer responded to the scene until a Trooper could get there. When the officer arrived he was contacted by a woman who claimed that she had been driving the car and slid off the road. Investigation revealed that she was lying. She eventually admitted to the officer that her husband had actually been driving and had come home after he crashed the car. He asked her to go down to the scene and tell the officers that she was the driver. The Anacortes Officer passed all of this information over to the State Trooper when he arrived and the WSP took over the investigation.
9:17 pm. APD Officers responded to the report of a shoplift that had just occurred from a store. The manager of the store had observed a male subject take a bottle of tequila off the shelf and put it in a backpack, then try to leave the store without paying. She confronted the man, who fled. Officers searched the area, but did not locate the suspect. The store video and other leads are being used to positively identify the subject and charges will be filed once he is located.
10:10 pm. After spotting some suspicious activity, an officer contacted a woman walking in the parking lot of the hospital. He recognized her and realized that she had a felony warrant out for her arrest. The jail agreed to accept her on her warrant and the officer took her in to custody. Once she was under arrest, she told the officer that she had been the victim of an assault at the hands of her boyfriend earlier in the evening. The alleged suspect was not in Anacortes on the date in question, so the matter is being further investigated in order to determine if an assault actually did occur. The woman was booked in to jail on her warrant, stemming from drug charges.
Sunday, Jan. 5
8:00 am. An Anacortes officer stopped a vehicle for speeding after observing it going 43 mph in a 30 mph zone on Oakes Avenue. The driver was found to have a suspended license. He was placed under arrest and given a court date to appear in Anacortes Municipal Court.
12:28 pm. Manager of a motel on Commercial Avenue called to report a theft/fraud. A guest had stayed with them, paying cash for the first night. He paid for the second two nights with a credit card which was later found to have only $1.09 available on it. The matter is under investigation.
1:07 pm. A 50-year-old Anacortes man was cited and released for violating a court order on 27th Court. A neighbor complained that he had violated an order between them by bumping into her with a broom. It also appeared that he might’ve been deliberately washing down the sidewalk around their apartments to make it icy. Officers investigated and found that there was a likely violation of the order. The man was given a court date in the Anacortes Municipal Court.
1:45 pm. The manager of a motel on Commercial Ave called to request that an argumentative man be removed from the motel property. An officer contacted the 40-year-old Anacortes man and served him with a trespass notice. He made several vulgar comments about the motel manager during the process and stated that he planned to stay on the public sidewalk outside the business and picket. He agreed to stay off of the motel property and acknowledged that he could be arrested if he returned. No subsequent picketing was observed, and the man has not returned.
5:03 pm. Officers responded to a report of a woman lying on the ground semiconscious in the 1000 block of ninth Street. Upon arriving, they found a 36-year-old Anacortes woman who was so intoxicated that she needed to be transported to the hospital. An ambulance arrived to transport her, while the officers took her dog to the pound for safekeeping.
9:20 pm. A 15-year-old Anacortes juvenile was recognized by an officer as she walked with a friend in the 3600 block of M Ave. A records check revealed that the girl had a Superior Court warrant out for her arrest. The officer contacted her and took her in to custody. During the course of the arrest the girl was found to be in possession of some marijuana and a smoking pipe, which resulted in new charges for drug crimes. She was booked in to the Skagit County Juvenile Detention Center.
10:34 pm. A 911 call was received from a family on 42nd Place that has repeatedly been the target of someone setting off loud fireworks on their property and then fleeing. In addition to contacting 911, they contacted another family on the west side of the city that has also been plagued by the same fireworks harassment. Members of the second family waited outside their home and caught the suspects as they arrived, noting their license plate. This information was passed along to the investigating officers and the two teenaged Anacortes men responsible for the fireworks harassment have now been contacted and interviewed. The Police Department is prepared to file charges. The victims have arranged a meeting with the families of the suspects to discuss the matter prior to deciding whether to go ahead with charges.
Monday, Jan. 6
10:07 am. A man came in to the police department and reported that his adult daughter had not returned home, which was unusual. Investigation revealed that she had been checked in to the hospital due to a medical emergency.
2:41 pm. A 52-year-old transient man was arrested and booked in to the Skagit County Jail on charges of Domestic Assault and Interfering with the Reporting of Domestic Violence. A woman who has been allowing the transient man to stay at her home had called officers to the residence on Bryce Drive. She alleged that he was intoxicated and that he had shoved her and disabled her phone when she threatened to call 911 for help. A no-contact order is now in place preventing the man from returning to the property.
3:52 pm. An obviously intoxicated woman approached a man she did not know near 8th St and N Ave and asked him to follow her to the store so that she could buy some more alcohol. He declined, and told her that she should not drive. She stated that she was going to do it anyway and then proceeded to get in her car and drive off. He called 911 and an Anacortes Sergeant located the vehicle nearby and attempted to make a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle drove for several blocks, refusing to stop. Eventually, the Sergeant was able to get the vehicle pulled over and contacted the obviously intoxicated driver, who immediately stated that she had done nothing wrong. During the course of the DUI investigation officers learned that the 51-year-old woman had also tried to steal wine from a downtown market. She was arrested and taken to the police station, where she refused to provide a breath sample. She told the officers, “You know I’m drunk and I know I am drunk.” She was transported to the county jail and booked.
4:47 pm. A man visiting a friend’s apartment was almost assaulted after he was bitten by the man’s dog. Officers were called to a disturbance in an apartment complex located at 30th and R Ave. and spoke with a 22-year-old Anacortes man who told them that he had been holding a friend’s dog on his lap when the dog unexpectedly bit his finger. The bite was not serious, but it did hurt and the dog would not let go, prompting the man to “flick the dog on it’s nose” to get it to release. This action angered several people and they threatened to assault the man for striking the dog. A yelling match ensued, but no actual physical assault took place. The man stated that he wanted to leave the area and that he would not be returning. Neither the man nor the dog was injured during this incident.
Tuesday, Jan. 7
5:04 pm. A two-car accident occurred on Highway 20 at Marches Point Road. The driver that caused the accident, a 45-year-old woman from Friday Harbor, drove away from the scene, but was followed by a witness who contacted 911. An Anacortes Sergeant located the vehicle on Commercial Ave and made a traffic stop. The woman claimed that she had no idea that she had been in an accident, despite the obvious damage to her pickup truck and the fact that the other vehicle was so heavily damaged that it had to be towed from the scene. She was placed under arrest after it was found that her license to drive is suspended. She was cited for driving on a suspended license as well as Hit-and-Run and was given a court date for the Anacortes Municipal Court. An accident report was filed with the state indicating that she was the at-fault driver in the accident.
7:05 pm. A request was made for parking enforcement at the High School during an evening where several events were occurring at the school property. An officer checked the crowded parking lot and discovered several cars parked illegally in the Handicapped Only parking spaces. Three parking tickets were issued to violators.
Wednesday, Jan. 8
2:47 pm. Officers received information that a juvenile with a Superior Court Warrant for violating his probation conditions was home in the 900 blk of 23rd St.. When he answered the door at his residence he immediately turned around and placed his hands behind his back. The 13-year-old was taken in to custody and transported to the Skagit County Juvenile Detention Center and booked.
3:00 pm. A store employee caught a 24-year-old Oak Harbor woman after she stole some hair care product and reading glasses and left the store without paying. He detained her until the police arrived. Further investigation revealed that she had a warrant out for her arrest from the Burlington Municipal Court for Shoplifting / Theft based upon a prior incident. The jail would not accept her for booking based upon overcrowding. She was issued a citation for Shoplifting / Theft into Anacortes Municipal Court and then given a new court date for her Burlington warrant before being released.
4:16 pm. An officer recognized the 26-year-old Hope Island man driving a car in town and knew that his license was suspended. A records check confirmed his license status and a traffic stop was made on Hwy 20 Spur. Further investigation revealed that there was a felony warrant for his arrest out of the Department of Corrections. The man was transported to the Skagit County Jail and booked.
Thursday, Jan. 9
2:24 pm. A resident on 12th Street called 911 after two door-to-door salesmen came to her door and seemed suspicious. An officer located the two men, who turned out to work for a legitimate company in Mukilteo. She contacted the owner of the company after discovering that he had not applied for a City of Anacortes business license, which is required before any door-to-door sales can take place. The owner stated that he would get a city business license and the two salesmen called it a day until the paperwork could be taken care of with the city.
Friday, Jan. 10
12:20 am. An officer observed a car driving shortly after midnight on 12th Street without any headlights on and made a traffic stop. The 22-year-old driver of the vehicle was found to have a suspended license and a requirement for an ignition interlock device (from a previous alcohol offense). There was no interlock device in the vehicle. The driver was arrested and issued a citation into Municipal Court for driving on a suspended license and driving without an ignition interlock device. The officer also discovered that the suspect had placed a current registration for a different vehicle over the expired license tab on his license plate. Once that was removed it was apparent that the registration for the car had expired months before. He also admitted that there was no insurance on the vehicle. The officer issued an infraction for the expired registration and lack of insurance. A passenger in the car (who had a valid license) drove the car from the scene.
8:26 am. Someone called 911 to report a suspicious man that they had seen trying car door handles in the area of 13th Street and O Ave. An officer checked the area and located the man based upon the description that had been given by the caller. A records check revealed that the 24-year-old Anacortes man had seven misdemeanor warrants out for his arrest. He was taken in to custody and booked in to the county jail.