Editor's note: Compiled from reports to Tacoma police.
Dec. 3: No one was tending the downtown Christmas tree lot, so the woman decided to give it a try.
Sponsored by a local nonprofit, the tree lot covered Tollefson Plaza, near Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street.
The woman didn’t work there. She wore a puffy gray parka and a black bandanna. Her hair hung in dreadlocks. A vertical scar lined one side of her face.
About 3 p.m., a 51-year-old woman waiting for a bus watched Dreadlocks help a customer with a tree. Dreadlocks called to the woman – could she help load? The 51-year-old felt a touch of holiday spirit and walked over to help.
The tree lot employees were coming back. Dreadlocks, in the midst of another sale, said she had to get some coffee and walked away.
The employees realized something was wrong and called police. Nine trees were gone.
Officers arrived and sorted it out. A witness said she’d bought a tree from Dreadlocks for $20. The lot employees let her keep it. There was no sign of Dreadlocks. The employees said they might have video footage.
Officers filed a report under theft.
Nov. 25: The repo man was supposed to pick up a van. The job turned into a wild ride.
About 11 a.m., he knocked on a door in the 4500 block of Puget Sound Avenue. The buyer was behind on the payments for a 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette.
A 32-year-old man leaned out of a second-story window and asked the repo man what he wanted. Repo Man said he was picking up the van. The man in the window said he’d be right down.
The man said he needed to get his things out of the van. Repo Man said that was fine. He sat in the back seat with his paperwork.
The man started unloading, but he moved items from the back to the front. He stepped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Repo Man asked what he was doing. The man said he just wanted to move the van to get the TV out of the back.
Repo Man couldn’t see a TV. He reached over the driver’s shoulder to grab the keys. The driver pushed him back, gunned the motor and drove out of the parking lot. The passenger door slammed shut.
Repo Man smelled liquor. He told the man to stop. The man said it would all be over in a minute. He careened down the road and ran a red light.
Repo Man told the driver to stop. This could be worked out with the company.
The driver pulled to a stop at South 49th Street, stepped to the rear of the van, opened the hatch and pulled out a tire iron.
Pulling open the passenger door, the man waved the tire iron and told Repo Man to get out at the count of three. Repo Man got out. The man drove away. Repo Man called police.
Officers found him in a convenience store parking lot. They found the van and the driver near South 56th Street and Sheridan Avenue.
Repo Man, brought to the spot by police, fingered the driver. Officers cuffed him.
“Do you know why you’re being detained?” one asked.
“Yes, I know I was wrong,” the man said.
Officers told him he had the right to remain silent. He didn’t have to talk.
“I know I don’t have to,” the man said. “But I’m a nice guy and I have no problems talking to you.”
The man was calm and polite, the report states. He said he’d had two shots of vodka and a beer. He just didn’t want to give up the van. The repo man was just doing his job, he said.
Officers booked the driver into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, drunk driving and intimidation with a weapon.
Nov. 24: The young mother was shopping and left her son to sleep in the car.
The call came from a parking lot in the 3200 block of South 23rd Street. Officers looked into the window of a 2008 Volkswagen GTI.
"I looked through the window and saw a small infant who was asleep in a child seat in the rear passenger side seat of the vehicle,” the report states.
A second officer walked into the store to search for the driver and have her paged. A young woman ran outside to the car, unlocked it and removed the baby.
She was 27. She said the baby was sleeping, and she didn’t want to disturb him. She said she’d only been in the store for a few minutes. The officer said she would be cited for child neglect. The mother asked if the officer was joking.
The officer said he wasn’t, and wrote the ticket.
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.