A local business located in the 2900 block of T Avenue advised that an employee was viewing security footage and noticed a person approaching parked vehicles in the parking lot. The responding officer had helped a person with a similar description earlier in the day on Saturday, Oct. 15. The officer checked the parking lot and did not notice any obvious signs of theft or damage but did see one vehicle’s gas cap cover hanging open. However, the locking gas cap was still intact and in place.
An officer observed the subject in the previous case parked at a closed business in the 12500 block of Christianson Road. The officer noted that the vehicle was parked next to a work truck registered to a local business. The officer parked out of view of the subject’s vehicle and exited his patrol vehicle. He observed a red gas can on the ground with a hose running from the can into the fuel tank of the work truck. The officer continued around the truck and noticed the suspect, a 28-year-old Lake Stevens man, sitting in the driver’s seat. When the officer contacted him, the man said, “I know I got caught stealing gas.” He denied having stolen fuel at other locations around town. The officer placed the man into physical custody and attempted to contact the business. After leaving a voicemail, the officer released the man from custody and had him replace the gasoline he had siphoned. The officer told him to expect a citation in the mail for the incident.
Anacortes Police also investigated these other cases.
Friday, October 14, 2022
A 35-year-old Anacortes man contacted dispatch regarding a possible court order violation. He noted that 20 minutes prior, he observed a suspicious male on the Ring camera at his residence located in the 1000 block of 16th Street. The man said he believed it was a person who is the respondent in a no-contact order in which the reporting party’s landlord is the protected party. The video showed a man wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, a trench coat and a red shirt walking toward the fence on the property. The reporting party and officers were ultimately unable to positively identify the subject as the respondent.
Saturday, October 15, 2022
The owner of a business in the 3200 block of Commercial Avenue reported that he saw a male damaging equipment on his camera system. The suspect caused about $1,200 in damage to a coin box on the business’s self-serve equipment. The officer noted that the suspect appeared to be the man from the previous two cases. The investigation continues.
Sunday, October 16, 2022
A 59-year-old Ohio man called to report that his son had texted him the previous day that and told him that he was going to fly his single-engine airplane from Anacortes to Lake Isabell with his girlfriend. The son lives in Anacortes, and officers checked his residence, finding that he was not home. Another officer checked the Anacortes Airport, finding the man’s vehicle but not his airplane. The pilot’s father later called to inform them that another man who had been looking for the pair via plane had seen an apparently undamaged airplane in the water and two people on the beach with a campfire. The father advised later that his son was on his way home.
A reporting party reported seeing an older woman taking items out of a donation bin in town. The reporting party said she was a woman with an older man and that they had left in a pickup truck. The reporting party followed the vehicle to T Avenue, where it parked near the motorhomes there. Officers contacted a 40-year-old Anacortes woman, who admitted to taking the items and gave them back. She said she thought that if the items were outside of the box, you could take them. The responding officer returned them to the donation bin.
Monday, October 17, 2022
A 51-year-old Anacortes man reported that he was performing a walk-around of his semi truck and noticed that someone had cut a cargo tie-down strap, loosened the tie-down chain and stolen a cargo tarp. The officer documented the theft and took photos of the cut strap.
A reporting party called and advised that they were being harassed by an intoxicated man driving a truck who had revved his engine and almost struck the reporting party’s vehicle at a local espresso stand. Officers responded and found the man in the truck with the windows down and the music loud. The officer contacted the driver and found him possibly asleep with several open beer cans in the truck’s center console. The suspect, a 25-year-old Texas man, fumbled with the shifter and opened the driver-side door as the truck began rolling backwards, apparently in neutral. It appeared that the man had struck a light post, though he denied hitting it. He refused field sobriety testing and was ultimately arrested and served with a search warrant for his blood. The investigation continues.
An employee at a local tavern called to request the removal of an intoxicated person from the bar in the 1900 block of Commercial Avenue. Th subject had been cut off and told to leave, but he refused. Officers responded and spoke to the bartender, who said the 42-year-old Anacortes man was being belligerent and kept drinking after being cut off. The owners wanted him trespassed (banned) and removed. He was trespassed, and in the process, officers learned that he had several active warrants out of Bellingham, Snohomish County and Skagit County District Court. Officers transported him and booked him into Skagit County jail.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
A 36-year-old Anacortes woman reported that the catalytic converter had been stolen from her company van. She advised that the last time she drove the van was on Oct. 15 around noon. She advised that her sister had observed a tool next to the van the following day, but they didn’t think anything of it. When the owner went to drive the van the following day, it made a very loud sound, indicating that the catalytic converter had been stolen. The responding officer photographed the vehicle and the tool next to it and submitted them into evidence.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
A local car dealership called to report a cold vehicle prowl overnight, stating that a pickup truck had its steering column damaged. An officer responded and was shown the inside of the truck, observing the damage to the steering column. The officer was advised that even if the suspect had managed to start the truck, it had no transmission. There was no damage to the door and no signs of forced entry.
A 78-year-old Oregon man reported that his car had been stolen from a local parking lot. An officer contacted him, and he showed his parking stub and told the officer that the car was gone. The officer could not locate the vehicle and subsequently completed a motor vehicle theft report. The officer transported the man to a business in town so he could make arrangements to get home to Oregon.
The service manager at a local car dealership called and advised that a car had been stolen from the lot. The registered owner contacted him and advised that the vehicle had been found at an impound lot in Bellevue. The man had received a billing notice from a tow company regarding the vehicle. The service manager advised that the vehicle had been on the lot since late May due to a backlog on parts. The owner filled out a motor vehicle theft report due to the vehicle’s plates not being affixed to it.
A 34-year-old Anacortes woman reported that her vehicle had been taken from a local parking lot. The said she had parked it on Oct. 17 and returned on Oct. 19. The responding officer completed a motor vehicle theft report for the car.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
A 51-year-old Anacortes woman reported that someone went into her shed and took a toolbox containing various vehicle maintenance tools. The responding officer checked the shed’s exterior. The investigation continues.