Gig Harbor Police reports for the week of Feb. 1

VEHICLE PROWLER(S) ON THE LOOSE

JAN. 23 – Gig Harbor police received a call at 3:21 p.m. about a vehicle prowl at the Safeway on Point Fosdick Drive. The victim, who called the police, said their pickup truck was broken into by an unknown suspect around 3 p.m. The victim said he thought he locked his truck, but somehow someone entered his vehicle and stole his Galaxy 5 phone and size 13 bowling shoes. According to the police report, there are no cameras in the section of the parking lot where the victim was parked so the police have no leads on the suspect.

JAN. 23 – Gig Harbor Police contacted the victim of a vehicle prowl around 4 p.m. The victim told police he parked his vehicle at a local medical center on Kimball Drive NW. When the victim returned to his vehicle, the rear passenger window was smashed out and his work bag had been stolen. The victim, a teacher, said his work bag contained graded papers, a cell phone charger and his laptop charger. Unfortunately, the victim did not see the suspect.

JAN. 23 – Gig Harbor Police responded to a call over the phone regarding a vehicle prowl at 4:52 p.m. The victim called saying she was at the local Albertson’s for 20 minutes and when she returned, around 4:20 p.m., she noticed someone had entered her car and taken her W-2 tax forms and a purple folder containing a leave and earn statement from her work. The victim also reported a government-issued iPhone 6 and a pair of gray suede boots were stolen. The victim said her driver-side door handle was broken. Police checked video surveillance inside the store, but no one at the store had access to the cameras during that time.

JAN. 24 – Police returned a call about a vehicle prowl that occurred between 4-6 p.m. on Jan. 23 near the YMCA on Harbor Hill Drive. The victim told police he parked his car in the center aisle at the YMCA from 4-6 p.m. — and while he was at the gym — unknown suspects pried open the locked, driver-side door of his car. The suspect entered the car and stole a backpack containing an iPhone and a Mac Pro. The victim had GPS tracking in both of his devices and found his iPhone destroyed on the side of a road in Tacoma. The victim told police his laptop was last turned on at 2 a.m. at a location in Federal Way. Police researched the given address and found it belonged to a pawn shop in Federal Way.

FOOL ME ONCE….

JAN. 24 – Police contacted a victim of a fraud around 3:55 p.m. The man stated he was a victim of a phone scam regarding work being done on his laptop computer. The victim told police he received a phone call and was instructed to purchase two $100 iTunes gift cards in exchange for repair work. The victim provided the numbers to the gift cards after they were purchased. After the victim gave the callers the first two card numbers, he was instructed to purchase two more cards. After purchasing two more $100 iTune gift cards, the caller said the cards were not valid and told the victim he would need to purchase a third set of cards. The victim then began to suspect he was being scammed and that no work was being done to repair his computer. The victim told police the phone number from the scammer was 888-666-1979. Police attempted to contact the scammer via the provided number, but no one answered and there was no way to leave a message.

A VERY MOUTHY SUSPECT

JAN. 26 – Gig Harbor police received a call at 9 a.m. from a victim of a vehicle prowl. The victim told police that around 9 p.m. on Jan. 25 he parked his Mazda sedan near his residence on Soundview Drive. When he went back to his car the next day, he saw his side-rear passenger window was smashed out. The suspect stole a $300 Bluetooth speaker that was on the car floor. While police were on the scene taking the report, the apartment manager came up to the officer and stated he confronted a young man, in his early 20s, with frizzy hair and a green bicycle. The manager witnessed the man trying to remove fence panels to make a path to Soundview Drive. The manager told police the man was “very mouthy” and swore at him. According to the police report, the officer found no evidence to process but there may have been three or four more car prowls at the location from the same time period that were not reported to police.

TWO BURGLARIES TOO MANY

JAN. 27 – Gig Harbor police responded to a report of a possible burglary around 5:04 a.m. at the Sherwin-Williams paint store on Point Fosdick Drive. When officers arrived, they contacted the store manager and saw the front glass of the business had been smashed in and was partially shattered. The manager inspected the store and said it didn’t seem anyone entered the business and nothing was missing. There was no outside cameras so police have no footage of the suspect.

JAN. 27 – Gig Harbor police were dispatched at 4:14 a.m. to a security check, possible burglary, at the Shell Gas station on Wollochet Drive NW. Dispatch advised police a passerby called 911 saying the front door of the store seemed to have been smashed.

The officers arrived on the scene and observed two large rocks and a brick laying near the entrance, which was broken in. The officers entered the store to make sure the scene was clear. The officer observed cigarettes and other items scattered on the floor behind the front counter. Police said all the cash registers appeared to be secured. Police were unsure what was taken from the scene, if anything.

One officer contacted the store’s alarm company, and were told no alarm report was made. Police attempted to contact the manager of the store to secure the scene, but were not able to reach anyone. A female employee came to the store to start her shift at 5:30 a.m. She told police the store manager was in India and unavailable.

Police took pictures of the scene and noticed blood on the lower glass from the front entrance, likely from the suspect cutting themselves. The officer called for detectives to come and collect evidence, including the blood. The investigation is ongoing.

“HURRY UP” TEXT DIDN’T GET TO SUSPECT FAST ENOUGH

JAN. 27 – Gig Harbor police officers responded to a shoplifting call around 11:48 a.m. to the local Kohl’s on Point Fosdick Drive NW. Police made contact with the loss-prevention manager, who told dispatch a suspect placed multiple items in a bag and had put on shoes from the store. The suspect was a man, in his 30s, wearing a black hat, black sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. The manager also told dispatch a suspicious red SUV was in the parking lot with a woman waiting in the passenger seat.

Police arrived on the scene and one officer contacted the manager while the other went to contact the woman sitting in the suspicious red car. While the officer speaking with the manager was receiving information, they saw the suspect head towards the corner of the store and try to exit through an emergency door. The officer left Kohl’s to intercept the man. The manager also met up with the suspect and convinced him to not exit Kohl’s with the stolen goods. When the suspect tried to leave through the emergency exit, a loud alarm was set off. A second employee advised the officer waiting outside of the emergency door to head to the front of the store to contact the loss-prevention manager and the male suspect.

The officer met with the suspect who was carrying multiple sweatshirts and a light colored bag with miscellaneous electronic items. The suspect was placed in custody. The items stolen included men’s athletic sweatshirts, socks, shirts and miscellaneous electronic items. The suspect was also wearing a pair of new, black Nike shoes. All of the items were returned to the store and valued at $666.96. The suspect was given his old shoes back. The suspect admitted he stole the items and the woman in the red SUV was his friend.

The other officer who contacted the woman reported he asked the woman to step out of her vehicle and to place her cellphone on the hood of the car since she was texting someone. When the woman asked the officer why she was being instructed to leave, the officer informed the woman that he suspected she was assisting in a shoplifting incident. She admitted she was and said she was texting the suspect to “hurry up and leave.” She did not give the officer the suspect’s name and said she had met him at a friend’s house and agreed to give him a ride to Kohl’s. After running the woman’s identification, police found she was previously arrested for shoplifting at a Kohl’s in Tacoma, along with other drug and theft arrests.

The male suspect was taken into custody and transported to Kitsap County Jail. The woman was released but was cited for trespassing.

TOO CHEAP TO PAY

JAN. 27 – Gig Harbor police officers were dispatched to Sample Sale on 43rd Avenue at 4:04 p.m. for a reported shoplift in progress. The officer was advised that a man and woman were stealing from the store. When the officer arrived at the store, he saw the described man and woman standing by a cash register. The officer chose to place the man in handcuffs since he was outnumbered. The male suspect started to yell and become unruly saying there was no need for handcuffs and the officer was violating his rights. The officer did a quick pat down because in the past the officer has dealt with shoplifters who used scissors, pliers or other tools to defeat security tags, which could be used as weapons. The officer then turned their attention to the female suspect and placed her in handcuffs. The officer began checking the pockets of the woman’s jacket when the man began screaming that the officer had no right to check the female suspect and said another woman should be checking her. The officer reported that no female officers were on shift that day so he only did a quick check of the jacket pockets instead of a full body pat down. Because the male suspect would not calm down, the officer called for backup.

When another officer arrived on scene each suspect was placed in a separate patrol car for interviews. The officer first spoke to the female suspect who told the officer she stole a pair of sweatpants, which were in her purse. She denied knowing if the man she was with stole anything.

When the officer spoke to the man, the suspect told the officer he was “cheap and didn’t feel like paying for some items.” The man said he grabbed a few items and took them to his truck but was caught by store staff.

The officer made contact with the store owner who said she witnessed the female suspect walk in with an empty purse and walk out with a full, round purse. The owner said she felt bad saying anything because she knew the female suspect’s mother, but she decided she could not put up with the theft. When the manager made contact with the male suspect, he began to confront the female suspect who admitted to stealing the pants. The owner also confronted the male suspect saying she saw him take clothing to his truck, parked up the hill, but the male suspect denied the accusations. Another employee had left the store and checked the man’s truck where they saw the stolen merchandise. The man then went to his truck and returned the stolen items.

The officer cited them both for trespassing and stealing in the third degree. The two were also given a trespass notification from the store, meaning they could not return. The two suspects were transported to Kitsap County Jail.

MUNCHIES RUN TURNS SOUR

JAN. 27 – Gig Harbor police officers responded to a call about a single-vehicle collision at the McDonalds on Borgen Boulevard around 8:53 p.m. When an officer arrived, they saw a red 1999 Ford F350 at the southwest part of the parking lot. The officer made contact with the driver, who was the only person in the car. The driver told police he was driving the car in question south into the McDonald’s driveway when he struck the boulder retention wall with the front end of his car. The driver said he was not injured. While investigating the scene, officers smelled alcohol coming from the driver’s breath and body.

According to witnesses, after the car crashed into the wall, a good Samaritan helped the driver out of his vehicle and escorted him to the nearby Pizza Hut parking lot. The first officer to arrive on the scene pulled out a first aid kit to assess the driver and noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath. The officer noticed a cut on the driver’s head and opened the driver’s shirt to see a burn from the seat belt. Officers observed the driver had bloodshot, watery eyes and was slurring his speech. The driver admitted to drinking a few beers.

The officer performed a few tests to see if the driver was too drunk to drive. By 9:21 p.m. officers performed a breath test and the driver registered a .222 percent breath-alcohol content.

The officer then placed the driver under arrest for driving under the influence. During transport, the driver told police he knew he “(messed) up.” He was transported to the Gig Harbor Police Department where he completed paperwork and was released with a court date and issued a DUI. He was picked up by a family member.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor Police reports for the week of Feb. 1."