An officer Wednesday afternoon made a traffic stop on a vehicle on State Route 20 after observing that it did not have a front license plate (a visible front and back plate are required in Washington). A routine driver’s check on the 28-year-old La Conner man behind the wheel revealed that his license was suspended. As the officer walked up to the car to speak with the driver about the license violation, he noted the man trying to hide something under his leg. He advised the man that he was under arrest for driving with a suspended license and had him step out of the car, revealing a piece of cut straw that the man had been trying to hide. The officer was aware that cut straws are often used for the snorting of illegal drugs and he questioned the man, who told him that it belonged to his girlfriend who used it because she had to take prescription medications and had trouble swallowing pills.
The man declined the officer’s request to enter the car and retrieve the straw, which necessitated the car being impounded and a search warrant applied for. The car was taken to the Police Department, as was the driver. The man’s girlfriend was contacted and denied that she had any problem swallowing pills. She also denied that the cut straw belonged to her. The subsequent search of the car led to the recovery of the straw and the man has now been charged with Possession of Drug paraphernalia as well as Driving on a Suspended License.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.
Saturday, March 22
8:24 am. An employee of a downtown business called to report that there was a man sleeping on the side of their building on the loading dock. They also noted that the subject had been contacted for the same reason on a prior occasion and had been given a trespass warning. Officers contacted the 25-year-old transient man and recognized him from a number of recent police involvements, include one in which he was removed from the very property that he was now on once again. He refused all offers of assistance for mental health services, housing services, etc. and stated that he had no family in the State of Washington. Officers issued him a citation for trespassing and he left on foot, after stating that he would make his upcoming court date.
8:36 pm. An officer observed a vehicle make an un-signalled turn near the intersection of 34th Street and S Avenue and made a traffic stop. A records check on the driver, a 35-year-old Anacortes man, revealed that he was required to have an ignition interlock in any vehicle he drove and his license was suspended due to a prior DUI arrest. As there was no interlock device in the vehicle, the officer placed the man under arrest. He was issued a citation with a future court date for driving without a required ignition interlock and driving with a suspended license.
10:56 pm. An alert neighbor reported a suspicious truck parked in the parking lot behind a church on H Ave. Officers arrived in the area about 5 minutes after the call and found that the truck had already left. The church was checked and found to be secure.
Sunday, March 23
3:06 pm. A subject on Whistle Lake Road called 911 after observing a possible DUI driver that had struck a pole and then continued on to the Whistle Lake Parking Area. When officers arrived they noted that a utility pole had been struck with enough force that it was split, and Frontier Communication was called to make repairs. Based upon the information provided by the reporting party, officers were able to locate the heavily-damaged suspect vehicle and its driver, a 45-year-old man from Oak Harbor. It was evident to the officers that the man had been drinking alcohol and he was placed under arrest for DUI following a series of Field Sobriety Checks. He was transported to the office where he later provided two breath samples that were well over the legal limit of .08 BAC. While impounding the car, officers located a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka in the vehicle. The driver was issued a citation for DUI and Hit and Run, and he was also issued a ticket for Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Liability Insurance. He was released to a sober adult who came and collected him from the Police Department.
9:26 pm. Anacortes Officers went to an address on Rosario Way at the request of Mount Vernon PD Officers after they advised that they had probable cause for the arrest of a 37-year-old Anacortes man living there for Felony Harassment in violation of the Domestic Violence Protection Act. While officers were at the residence the man in question became angry and began to yell and resist arrest. He was placed in to handcuffs and led outside toward a police car. As he was being escorted outside he continued to struggle and resist, and two other men that were in the residence began to yell and threaten the officers.
The 37-year-old man was taken to the ground and detained by one officer so that the other two officers on-scene could try and get control of the other two men, who were trying to push past the officers in order to get to the arrestee. Officers took one of the other men in to custody after he refused to stop pushing and swearing at the officers present. The other person wisely retreated back in to the home once he was advised that he was going to be Tasered if he continued to interfere with and threaten the officers. The 37-year-old man and his 57-year-old relative were both booked in to the county jail. The third man, a 19-year-old family member of the suspect, was issued a citation for Obstructing a Public Officer and has a future court date.
9:43 pm. Officers were dispatched to an address on 11th Street where an 18-year-old Bellingham man had reportedly kicked and broken a glass door. Officers discovered the intoxicated teenager outside the house. Investigation revealed that he had been in an argument with a family member and they had locked him out of the home. He responded by kicking and breaking the door. The teen was placed under arrest for Malicious Mischief and for underaged drinking. He was handcuffed, searched, and then taken to the police station. At the station he was uncuffed and placed in a holding cell, where he began kicking and banging on the cell door and window. When officers opened the cell door he flexed his arms and approached the officers, resulting in his being taken to the floor and re-handcuffed. He was subsequently taken to the county jail and booked.
Monday, March 24
12:17 am. Just after midnight an alarm was received from Whitney Elementary School on M Ave. Officers found that two large rocks had been thrown through a classroom window and the suspect(s) reached through the hole and stole four of the school’s Apple iPads. Replacing the classroom window cost an estimated $300, and the iPads were worth approximately $350 each. This matter is still under investigation. If you have any information that could help, please call the Anacortes PD TipLine at 360-299-1985. All calls are confidential.
5:17 pm. After stopping a vehicle for speeding through a 25 MPH zone on Marine Drive, an Officer noted that there was a woman in the backseat of the vehicle with her head covered. He asked her to sit up and recognized her as a 29-year-old Anacortes woman that had warrants out for her arrest. The warrants included two for driving charges, one for possession of drug paraphernalia and a felony warrant for Residential Burglary. The woman was taken in to custody and transported to the Skagit County Jail.
6:19 pm. Officers responded to a business on Commercial Ave after an Aid Unit responded there for a woman that was unresponsive. The Aid Crew was able to awaken the woman, who then stated that she was fine and wanted to drive home. Officers convinced her that it was a poor idea for her to drive, especially since the reason for her unresponsive spell was not clearly evident to her or the Aid Crew. APD Officers stood-by until members of the woman’s family arrived to supervise her care. Her car was left parked.
Wednesday, March 26
2:10 am. An officer was contacted by a citizen and told that a large grey truck had almost struck their vehicle coming through the roundabout on Commercial Ave. They provided a good enough description of the vehicle that the officer was able to recognize it near the 1200 blk of 12th Street when he saw it a few minutes later. A registration check revealed that the registered owner of the vehicle had a suspended license from a prior DUI arrest. The officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle and found the driver was, in fact, the registered owner. It was apparent that he had been drinking, and he did poorly on voluntary Field Sobriety Checks. The officer placed the 61-year-old Anacortes resident under arrest and transported him to the Police Department. He later supplied two breath samples that were twice the legal limit for intoxication. Based upon the prior DUI offense, the suspect was booked in to the county jail and his vehicle was towed.
7:29 pm. Anacortes Officers responded to an address on 6th Street after an altercation was reported. Investigation revealed that a 44-year-old Anacortes man had gone to a neighbor’s apartment and pounded on the door. When the door was answered, he pushed the resident of that apartment and tried repeatedly to engage the man in a fight. The suspect admitted that he had tried to start a fight and stated that he had come home in a bad mood and his wife had also recently left him. A records check showed that the suspect had warrants out for his arrest from a prior brush with the law. He was arrested on the warrants and also charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Due to overcrowding, the jail could not accept the suspect, so he was cited and then released.
8:54 pm. Approximately 90 minutes after the last complaint, Officers were summoned back to the same address on 6th Street regarding a new disorderly conduct complaint. They learned that the same suspect that had been arrested in earlier had returned home, pounded on the same door as earlier, and then yelled threats and vulgarities through the door at the occupants of the apartment. Officers contacted the suspect and issued him another citation for Disorderly Conduct. They directed him not to come out of his apartment again for the rest of the night and to leave his neighbors alone. He said that he understood and went back inside.
Thursday, March 27
12:11 am. Officers were called to a downtown bar after a customer refused to leave at the request of the bartender. As the first officer arrived the suspect stood up and put his hands out and said, “take me to jail”. In speaking with the bar staff the officers learned that they only wanted the man to leave, as he was being rude to other customers. He had been repeatedly asked to go and would not leave, so they wanted him removed and trespassed. The officers led the man outside where he continued to insist that they take him to jail. Instead, they issued the 30-year-old Anacortes man a trespass warning barring him from returning to the business. He was advised that he was not going to be taken to jail and he left the area on foot.