Gig Harbor police reports for the week of May 24

Escape plan ends in ditch

May 8 - Gig Harbor police were dispatched to Kohl’s on Point Fosdick Drive Northwest at 4:44 p.m. for a shoplifting incident. Dispatch told the reporting officers the suspect, a woman with purple hair, driving a black Jeep with a Washington state sticker on the window, was seen in the old Main and Vine parking lot.

As officers responded, according to the police report, they saw a black jeep head in their direction. The driver was a woman matching the suspect’s description, except she was wearing a purple hat. The Jeep came to a pause when the driver spotted the officer and hesitated to drive past. A car behind the Jeep honked and then the Jeep quickly sped off. The officer spotted the Washington state sticker on the back of the Jeep and made a traffic stop, the report said..

When the officer initiated his overhead lights, the driver began to pull over on Olympic Drive but then drove off. The officer pursued the driver as she sped up to about 40 mph, who turned quickly into a parking lot, drove through it and almost crashed into another car before exiting on the other side. The officer advised dispatch they were terminating the pursuit because the driver was being reckless.

The officer watched the Jeep speed up to almost 90 mph and drive through the intersection of 56th Street and 38th Street without yielding, putting other drivers in danger. Other officers in the area were told about the reckless driver as the original officer headed back to Kohl’s to obtain information.

Before getting to the store, the Gig Harbor police officer was told by dispatch a Washington State Patrol trooper had followed the suspect’s Jeep and saw the Jeep crash into a ditch. The officer went to the crash scene, where the trooper had placed the female suspect in custody.

As the officer questioned her, she said she did steal from Kohl’s and when she saw the officer at Main and Vine she realized she was going to go to jail. The suspect then decided to try and “make a run for it.” The suspect said she had no money and felt sorry she put so many people in danger while trying to flee the police.

Three witnesses on the scene said they saw the police attempt to pull the driver over before she began speeding into oncoming traffic. Local paramedics were called to the scene to inspect the driver, who was released without injury.

During her arrest, the suspect was searched and police found two pills, identified as Clonazepam, along with tinfoil and a syringe, according to the police report. A field test identified the substance in the tinfoil as heroin. The suspect was booked into Pierce County jail for felony eluding arrest, unlawful possession of narcotics and theft in the third degree.

Stalker says dead father helped him find his victim

May 8 - A Pierce County attorney notified Gig Harbor police about a female client being contacted by their ex-boyfriend, even though there was a no-contact order out against the man during an domestic violence investigation, according to a police report.

The attorney told police a witness, who saw the two together, called Crime Stoppers and the attorney was hoping the Gig Harbor police could track down the client and her boyfriend since the client was not returning the attorney’s phone calls.

While on uniformed patrol at 9:17 p.m., a Gig Harbor police officer responded to the request and headed to the client’s house at 53rd Street Court Northwest. The officer arrived and spotted the client’s vehicle parked near her residence and knocked on her door. The officer heard footsteps but no one answered. The officer announced they were police and requested the client come to the door. The woman answered the door and police said they were following up on a call from her attorney saying her ex-boyfriend violated a no-contact order, according to the police report.

The woman said she had not seen her ex-boyfriend since she last talked to her attorney. The officer asked to come inside, another Gig Harbor police officer arrived on the scene to assist in the “soft interview.” During the interview the woman became increasingly nervous, started to tear up and grab her face. Officers f asked the woman if her ex-boyfriend was in the home — twice. . She admitted that he was in the master bedroom upstairs.

Police took cover then called for the ex-boyfriend to come downstairs. After several commands, the ex-boyfriend came down the stairs, and police placed him in custody. The man refused to speak with the police and as he was removed from the home, the woman started to block police and grab at the suspect.

“I love you baby, don’t worry,” the woman said, according to the police report. “I am going to fix this and get you out.”

The police commanded the woman to stop obstructing the arrest, but when she did not listen, they placed her in custody. The two officers separated the man and woman into separate cars.

The first officer did a background check on the ex-boyfriend and found the no-contact order. While in the police car, the man became belligerent saying he didn’t trust his girlfriend alone with a male police officer and wanted to know where they were taking her. The officer did not respond.

“There is nothing anyone, not you, not the court, no one, is going to keep me from her,” the man said, according to the police report. “We love each other and I am going to marry her, there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

The officer transported the male suspect to Pierce County jail for further interviews. He was then processed and booked in jail for breaking the no-contact order.

According to the second officer’s report, he stayed behind with the woman after she was placed in custody and searched the apartment for the ex-boyfriend’s items. The officer found a backpack upstairs when the woman began complaining of an anxiety attack, according to the police report.

She gave the officer her cellphone, saying her ex-boyfriend was contacting her through multiple text messages since March and the woman asking him to stop texting her. The officer allowed the woman to change her clothes before placing her under arrest for obstructing police officers and transported her to Kitsap County jail.

During the ride to jail, the woman admitted to officers her ex-boyfriend kept finding her. First he found her at a Dollar Store and confronted her in Tacoma. The week before, she was shopping at Marshalls in Gig Harbor when her ex-boyfriend confronted her again, saying his dead father whispered the store in his ear to help him find her. The officer took the report and booked the woman into Kitsap County jail.

Police pursue juvenile on scooter

May 11 - Gig Harbor police were dispatched to Safeway on Point Fosdick Drive at 3:57 p.m. for a trespassing violation. South Sound 911 advised the officers a teenager who was trespassed from the store five days prior was found on the property. The officers were told the suspect was with a group of other juveniles behind the store, according to the police report.

The officers pulled up behind the store and saw the suspected teenager riding on a foot-powered scooter. The driving officer turned on his overhead lights, which caught the suspect’s attention. The teen headed south on his scooter as the officer started slowly following him and turned on his sirens, according to the police report. The teen picked up speed on his scooter, who police continued to follow towards a dirt embankment behind the Galaxy Theatre.

The teen jumped off his scooter and ran down the embankment , past a couple of restaurants and past Home Goods and into an alleyway, with an officer following. The other officer drove around to the other side of the alley to block the teen’s path but when they arrived, they saw the officer on foot had caught up with the teen and placed him in custody.

The officers interviewed the teen who said he knew he was trespassed from the store, but his friends said he wouldn’t get in trouble if they went in and he waited outside. He said he was scared and knew he was in trouble when he saw police, but then his friends told him to run. The teen said he didn’t think he would get in trouble for running from the police, according to the police report.

The teen’s mother was called but police could not reach her. The officers took the teen to Remann Hall where he was booked for trespassing in the second degree and obstructing law enforcement.

Teens have run in with police after large party

May 11 - Gig Harbor police were patrolling the area between Boulder Court and Taylor Place in response to numerous calls about a large, loud party with about 100 teenagers. At 10:06 p.m., one Gig Harbor police officer spotted a young man walking down the street with what appeared to be a beer can in his hand.

The teen saw the officer and attempted to hide the beer can, but the officer shined a spotlight on him and asked the teen to stop, according to the police report. The teen kept walking while trying to hide the beer can so the officer left his vehicle and told the teen boy to stop walking.

Besides the beer can in his hand, there was an unopened can in the boy’s jean pockets. The teen gave him verbal identification, saying he did not have any form of ID on him. After a background check on the information showed no results, the teen admitted to lying about his name. The officer told the teen to pour out the beer but to keep the cans to show his parents, according to the police report.

Police told who they thought was the teen’s dad to come to the scene to pick up his son.

It wasn't the dad as a few minutes later, another teenager showed up to the scene, saying he just talked to the police on the phone.

The police office eventually was able to contact the teen boy’s real father, who agreed to meet the officer and his son in the Albertson’s parking lot on Borgen Boulevard. The officer advised the parents he would be sending a report to the courts regarding their son’s arrest for providing false information to a police officer and for a minor in possession of alcohol. The teen boy was released to his parents' custody at the scene.

Just down the road from the arrest, another Gig Harbor police officer pulled over a vehicle for driving reckless at 10:23 p.m. on Heather Lane. The officer suspected the car was coming from the same party

A 17-year-old teen driver was stopped, according to the police report. The officer said he then smelled “fresh” marijuana and asked the driver where the marijuana was. The driver said there was no marijuana.

Two other teen girls— one 17, the other 18 — were in the car and the officer said they “better figure out where the marijuana was,” as he could smell it and see a glass-water smoking device behind the driver’s seat, according to the police report.

While running a background check on the teen girls, the driver left her car to bring him a baggy with three marijuana buds, saying it belonged to everyone in the car. The officer then asked for the passengers’ identification.

“Are you all seriously going to take the fall for one person?” the officer asked the teens.

The three said they were all responsible.

The officer contacted the underage teens’ parents, charging the driver for failing to stop at a stop sign. He charged the 18-year-old passenger for illegal possession of marijuana. The officer released all three at the scene and forwarded the case to Remann Hall.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor police reports for the week of May 24."