A city crew responded to pick up several bags of trash that were reported sitting in the traffic lane on Highway 20 on Sunday, June 1. Mail inside the trash bags revealed that it had come from a residence on Commercial Ave. An officer contacted the residence and learned that they had spilled a load of garbage on the way to the dump the previous day. The city crew delivered the garbage bags back to the resident so that they could be properly disposed of, rather than leaving on the roadway.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.
Sunday, June 1
2:05 pm. A 14TH St. resident called with questions about shooting deer. Evidently, several deer had been eating plants in his front yard and he was wondering about the legality of shooting them in order to protect his plants. The man was advised that there was no hunting allowed in the city limits and was given some other suggestions for dissuading the deer from eating his plants.
7:56 pm. After spotting a vehicle with registration tabs that expired in March of 2014, an officer made a traffic stop on Anacopper Mine Road. The driver claimed that he was driving his girlfriend’s car and was unaware of the expired registration. A records check revealed that the man’s license was suspended in the third degree for failure to pay some prior traffic tickets. The driver was arrested and issued a citation for driving on a suspended license. He was also given a ticket for operating a motor vehicle with an expired registration of more than two months.
Monday, June 2
10:30 am. Employees of a local hardware store noticed signs that someone might have been stealing things overnight. A close inspection of their video system revealed that a man had climbed over a security fence and stolen a number of items from the business while it was closed. The suspect was easily recognized as a 46-year-old Anacortes man who has been contacted by the police on a regular basis. Charges for Burglary in the 2nd Degree have been filed. Some of the stolen items were found hidden near neighboring businesses and have been returned to the store.
8:36 pm. A hiker walking near Cranberry Lake called the police to report seeing a man in his fifties on one of the trails wearing only a shirt and hiking boots. According to the reporting party, the man was not wearing any pants. She described the man as in his fifties with greasy, gray hair pulled back in to a pony-tail. The area was checked, but the subject was not located. No other similar reports were received, but officers would like to speak with anyone else that might have seen this subject.
Tuesday, June 3
6:50 am. Officers were called to a residence on H Ave where an in-progress domestic assault was taking place. Upon arrival, they discovered that a 15-year-old Anacortes boy had punched his grandfather several times during an argument. Evidently, the argument started when the grandfather woke the boy, who was late for school. Officers also observed damage to the residence including broken bookshelves and burn marks in a mattress. Investigation revealed that the damage was done by the juvenile. The juvenile, who has had other recent contacts involving the police, was taken in to custody and booked in to the county juvenile detention center.
11:56 am. The manager of a local store called to request that the police remove some signature gatherers from the parking lot of the business. He was advised that Washington State law allows signature gatherers to legally be on any property that is open to the public. As long as they do not obstruct the flow of business (block doorways or stand in the way of traffic, for example) then they have the right to request signatures from people entering or exiting a store.
12:40 pm. Planning a trip to Canada? Better not go if you have a felony warrant out for your arrest. US Customs Officers advised that a 27-year-old Marysville man coming back on the international ferry had a felony drug warrant out of Snohomish County. He was met by the police when the ferry arrived in Anacortes, taken in to custody and booked in to the county jail.
Wednesday, June 4
1:52 pm. Police and Fire units responded to a vehicle fire on Highway 20 near Fidalgo Bay Road. The red Ford Focus was unoccupied at the time that the fire broke out, having been left there by its owner, who was working on a nearby home just up the street. The owner stated that he knew the vehicle had a small water leak, but thought that it was otherwise sound. The vehicle was a complete loss.
4:40 pm. A business on Commercial Avenue called to report an attempted utility fraud. The business received a phone call from a scammer claiming to be with Puget Sound Energy. He stated that the power was going to be cut off in 45 minutes due to an unpaid bill of over $1,000. When the store employee asked to speak with a supervisor the caller left the line, but then came back on a minute later and tried to convince her that he was someone else. The call was terminated and the matter has been reported to Puget Sound Energy. Scams like this should also be reported to the federal government’s clearing house for this type of crime at WWW.IC3.GOV.
Thursday, June 5
12:22 am. Just after midnight an Anacortes Sergeant spotted a vehicle and trailer parked in the parking lot of the Flea Market on Highway 20 at Country Corner. The truck and trailer were parked near an off-road quad that was sitting in the lot for sale. As he pulled in to the lot and parked to investigate, two subjects quickly got in the truck and trailer and drove off. The sergeant noted that the trailer did not have a license plate and made a traffic stop on the vehicle. He found that the driver of the truck, a 57-year-old man from Lynden, had a suspended driver’s license due to a previous, unpaid ticket. The man claimed that he had stopped in the parking lot to pick up his trailer as he was going to Oak Harbor to help a stranded motorist. The sergeant tended to believe that the suspect was trying to figure out if he could steal the quad, but could not prove it. He issued the driver a citation with a future court date for driving on a suspended license, as well as tickets for driving without proof of insurance and other driving infractions. The owner of the quad was contacted the next morning and advised of the situation.
8:30 am. Just after 8:00 AM the employee of a business near Christiansen Road reported that there was a man sleeping in a car that was parked on their property. He had been there for several hours and the business needed him to move on. The officer contacted the 31-year-old Sedro-Woolley man and woke him up. A records check showed that the man’s license was suspended and he could not legally drive. The officer had him move his car off the businesses property and then the man agreed to call a friend to come and pick him up. Approximately a half hour later the officer spotted the car on Highway 20 with the same man driving. He made a traffic stop and placed the driver under arrest for driving on a suspended license. When asked why the man had driven, he stated that he was due in court in Sedro-Woolley. The officer issued him a citation for Driving on a Suspended License in the Third Degree and released the man after he agreed to appear in the Anacortes Municipal Court on the charge. He was once again warned not to drive and he stated that this time he would comply.