Editor’s note: Compiled from reports to Tacoma police.
Jan. 4, 5 p.m.: A fugitive bank robber discovered a new way to get caught.
The 34-year-old woman was traipsing past a downtown apartment complex in the 3000 block of Broadway when she spotted a man, a 50-year-old tenant.
She asked if she could use the bathroom. The man let her in. The woman closed the bathroom door. The man waited. He heard something unexpected: The woman was taking a shower.
The man called to her and said she needed to leave. The woman answered with nonsense. She talked to herself. The man called police.
An officer arrived, saw the woman standing in the living room and recognized her face from a police bulletin. The woman was Navey Erlene Skinner, wanted by police in Arlington in connection with a Dec. 30 bank robbery.
Skinner, known in the Everett area as a drug user and petty thief, was suspected of walking into a Chase Bank branch with a note that demanded money and threatened violence.
The officer cuffed Skinner and took her to a holding cell at police headquarters. She talked to herself along the way. She sounded drugged.
Arlington police picked her up and booked her into the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery and second-degree theft.
Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.: The 23-year-old man said he’d been shot at a Tacoma intersection, but that was all he knew. He was in no shape to say more.
He’d driven into the parking lot of St. Joseph Medical Center, stepped out of his car and collapsed. The bullet had gone through his arm and lodged in his chest.
By the time officers arrived, hospital workers had cut the man’s clothes from his body. They were transferring him to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment.
The man said he’d been driving to pick up some fried chicken. He stopped at a red light. Someone shot him through the driver’s window. He didn’t know who shot him. He didn’t know where it happened.
Officers combed the car. They found no bullet holes and no blood inside. A splash of blood on the ground next to the car was the only sign of violence.
A search of the man’s clothes revealed a little more. The inventory: a sandwich bag with marijuana, a plastic pill bottle with marijuana, a wallet with “a large amount” of cash, a credit card bearing someone else’s name, and a lighter.
Officers towed the car to police headquarters and filed the report while waiting for more information.
Jan. 6: It’s a scheme as cold as a con artist’s heart – the pigeon drop.
The 76-year-old Gig Harbor woman fell for it. She was walking out of a grocery store in the 6900 block of South 19th Street.
As she got into her car, someone called to her: a black woman about 50 years old, talking on a mobile phone. The woman was stocky, about 5 feet, 5 inches, wearing a tweedy brown-and-orange jacket and brown pants.
The woman said she was from Sierra Leone. She lived in Seattle, but she was stranded in Tacoma. She had a fat wad of cash in her purse. She wanted to donate it to poor people, but she didn’t trust banks. No one would help her.
Ms. Sierra Leone offered a deal based on trust. If the Gig Harbor woman gave her $10,000, Sierra Leone would give $100,000 back.
The 76-year-old agreed to drive her new friend to a church that accepted donations.
At the church, four blocks away, another woman greeted them. Woman Two was black, about 45, 5 feet, 8 inches, thin, with brown-and-red hair, a black hat and a long black coat.
The 76-year-old asked if the church was open. She assumed Woman Two was a church employee. Woman Two said the church was closed.
Sierra Leone piped up. She said she wanted to donate money to people she could trust. Woman Two agreed to help.
The 76-year-old agreed to drive both women to a bank. When they arrived, Sierra Leone said she didn’t trust banks, and asked the driver to park in back. Woman Two walked around to the front entrance and soon returned with what she said was $10,000. She gave it to Sierra Leone, who then handed Woman Two a wad of cash from her purse.
Sierra Leone turned to the 76-year-old, and said it was time to prove trust. The Gig Harbor woman drove to another bank, this time in downtown Tacoma, in the 1200 block of Pacific Avenue.
At the bank, she hesitated. She wasn’t sure. The other two women convinced her. However, Sierra Leone said it was important to park a block from the bank.
Finally, the 76-year-old agreed. She withdrew $5,000 in cash and walked back to her car. After more cajoling, she handed the cash to Sierra Leone, who told her to drive around the block once more to prove her honesty. The two women would be waiting for her when she came back.
The 76-year-old drove around the block. When she came back, the women were gone.
Hearing the story over the phone, an officer told the victim it was an old con. Don’t give money to strangers, he said. Don’t let them ride in your car.
Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486
sean.robinson@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.