More reports of gas being siphoned from vehicles here, including one case involving several construction company vehicles.
The owner of a local construction company reported on Wed., Sept. 14, that a total of 170 gallons (about $788) had been siphoned from four different vehicles. He said employees used one of the vehicles and it ran out of gas. The owner realized that the 50-gallon tank had been siphoned recently and proceeded to inspect other vehicles on-site, discovering that they had their fuel siphoned as well.
Anacortes Police also investigated these other cases.
Friday, September 9, 2022
A local store manager reported that he had just retrieved stolen items from a man who had allegedly taken them from the store. The manager said he had exited a fitting room wearing two articles of clothing that he had taken the tags off and put on. The manager advised the man that because he had removed the tags, he needed to pay for the merchandise, as he now owned it. The man said he forgot his wallet, couldn’t pay, and would not give the clothing back. The manager said he would call the police, and the man gave the merchandise back, retrieving the shirt he had previously been wearing from a store fixture, where he had hidden it. Officers took him into custody, formally banned him and cited him for third-degree theft. He was provided with a copy of his citation and released.
Another store manager called later in the day to report that the same individual was in violation of a previously issued trespass notice. The manager showed the responding officer still shots from video footage. He was wearing much of the same clothing as in his earlier arrest. While using the self-checkout at the store, he only scanned four of the items he had. He was confronted and confirmed to have been banned from the store. He then left.
The same man in the previous two calls was contacted at the Guemes Ferry Terminal after someone called and reported that he was trying doors on random houses. He denied doing this, and before he boarded the ferry with ferry staff permission, he was cited with first-degree criminal trespass and provided with a trespass notice from the second store.
Saturday, September 10, 2022
A 37-year-old Mount Vernon man reported that his wife had called stating she had been kicked out of an Anacortes bar and was now lost near the water. She was located, and her husband arrived to pick her up.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
A 43-year-old Anacortes man reported that his work vehicle had its gas siphoned overnight. He had parked it in the 2900 block of T Avenue and found that about 15 gallons had been siphoned out of it. He said he was reporting the incident so it could be documented.
Monday, September 12, 2022
Someone placed a call to Skagit 911 dispatch and initially said, “Help, I’m getting raped,” and disconnected the call. A dispatcher returned the call and the caller answered, changing his voice and saying, “Someone at Anacortes Middle School has a gun.” The call was traced to Anacortes Middle School. Five APD officers responded to the school. The phone pinged to the number of an AMS student familiar to APD officers based on past interactions. School administrators were able to locate the student and determined that the allegations made were false. This appears to be a prank phone call. Charging documents were submitted on Sept. 16 charging the 12-year-old with third-degree false reporting.
A reporting party stated that he saw a semi truck hit some wires and that they were laying in the roadway near Commercial Avenue and 15th Street. Dispatch advised the responding officers that two trucks were involved and then a third truck came along, drove around them and pulled the wires down. Another reporting party advised that two trucks were attempting to navigate under low-hanging wires when a third truck went around the other two trucks and pulled the wires down. The caller advised that the second truck was apparently trying to lift the wires out of the way using some sort of pole device. Officers blocked traffic from the area and a Puget Sound Energy employee arrived. He determined that the lines were phone or cable lines and not high-powered electrical wires. They were cleaned up and the roadway was reopened.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
There was a report of a man on a motorized bicycle tipping over construction cones on Commercial Avenue. It was determined to be a 23-year-old Sedro-Woolley man, who denied doing so, then admitted to it, then denied it and then apologized for it and said it wouldn’t happen again.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
A local store manager reported that a person who had been banned from the store had returned. Officers responded and took the 46-year-old California man into custody. Officers found a syringe and a debit card belonging to someone else. Officers left a voicemail for the owner of the debit card and cited the 46-year-old man with first-degree trespassing.