Dispatch advised on Tuesday, Oct. 17, that an Anacortes man was reporting an ongoing issue with mail theft and stated that he saw the responsible vehicle about two minutes prior in the 3400 block of F Avenue. The responding officer arrived and spoke to the reporting party, who said he and his roommate had their mail stolen numerous times, which had been previously reported to law enforcement. He said he noticed a vehicle parked at their mailboxes while he was walking his dog. He didn’t think anything of it until the vehicle pulled around to another set of mailboxes. He watched the passenger open four different mailboxes, taking at least one package out of the boxes. The reporting party then yelled at them, and they drove off. The responding officer checked the mailboxes and documented the case, advising residents to call should they realize that something was taken.
Here are some of the other cases Anacortes Police worked on this week.
Friday, October 13, 2023
An Anacortes woman contacted dispatch regarding a theft of a bicycle in the 900 block of 22nd Street. She noted that there were three suspects who appeared to be a mother with her two juvenile kids. They were seen collecting bicycles on a door camera. The responding officer did not locate anybody in the vicinity riding bikes, but contacted the reporting party in the parking lot. She did not recognize anyone involved and did not believe they lived nearby. The responding officer was able to locate the bicycle that was reported stolen and returned it to the storage area. The officer distributed images to other APD patrol officers to identify the potential suspects, but the officer was unable to identify the bike’s owner or if the bike had actually been stolen.
An employee at an Anacortes bar reported that a former employee was on-site, verbal with staff and had been drinking. The responding officer contacted the reporting party, who said the man had been fired and was upset about it, and that he had called the bar several times that day. He then came to the bar and made a scene. He then went outside and tried to get the reporting party to come out and fight him. The officer discussed with the reporting party how to get an anti-harassment order. The officer also told him to call 911 immediately if the man comes back so officers can return and trespass the man.
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Dispatch advised of a burglary complaint in the 1400 block of 15th Street. The reporting party advised that someone had broken into his shed. The officer responded to the man’s residence, observing a standalone shed that appeared to have minor damage and would no longer lock. The reporting party advised that his pressure washer had been stolen from the shed and that it appeared that someone attempted to take a television that was mounted on the wall of the shed. The reporting party estimated that the damage to the door would cost about $10 to repair, while the pressure washer was valued at about $250. The reporting party suspected the theft occurred the previous night. The responding officer checked nearby residences and was unable to locate any additional cameras and documented the case.
Sunday, October 15, 2023
A manager at a local grocery store called regarding a theft, advising that a woman had left the business with groceries and general merchandise. The suspect left the store in an unknown direction of travel. An officer responded and contacted the reporting party, who indicated that he had been surveilling the suspect for a while, seeing her select merchandise across a span of two hours. At one point, the shopping cart was filled with items, and the next time the manager saw the suspect, the cart was nearly empty. He speculated the woman could have taken about $200 worth of merchandise. The responding officer distributed images of the suspect to local law enforcement for possible identification.
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
An officer was dispatched to a business in the 2500 block of Commercial Avenue regarding an altercation that had just occurred. The two Anacortes men provided similar descriptions of the incident in which the reporting party had been moving items around on the porch of the business and had gotten into a verbal altercation with the other man, with the other man attempting to push the reporting party. The suspect claimed that the reporting party had approached him and confronted him, while the reporting party claimed it happened directly in front of the business. The reporting party requested that the man be trespassed from his business, and the officer completed the trespass notice.
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Dispatch advised that a woman had called in to report a man standing on the walkway near an Anacortes restaurant yelling and cursing. Officers had contacted the man numerous times already at various locations around the city. Officers responded, noting that the man had been trespassed from the location he was reportedly near. Officers located the suspect at an Anacortes grocery store and advised that he was being trespassed from all Port of Anacortes properties. He said he would not sign and walked away, yelling at the officer to not talk to him and that he had already heard the officer when told he was trespassed from the initial location. The responding officer completed the trespass notice.