Gig Harbor police reports for the week of June 6
Woman dumps contents of purse to prove innocence, drops stolen items
May 21 — Gig Harbor police officers arrested a woman suspected for shoplifting after she was caught with heroin.
Police were dispatched at 8:38 p.m. to the Fred Meyer on Point Fosdick Drive Northwest for a shoplifting incident. The manager told dispatch they saw the thief, a woman wearing a black jacket and a pink tank top, conceal items in her purse and flee the store. The manager saw the suspect run toward a nearby Wells Fargo bank, according to a Gig Harbor police report.
The responding officer drove to Hop Jacks near Wells Fargo and saw a woman matching the suspect’s description. The officer turned on his overhead lights and a spotlight to signal to the woman. The woman walked over to the front of the officer’s vehicle, the report stated. The woman said she didn’t understand why the officer was stopping her.
“I heard the (store) alarm go off as I left,” the woman said, according to the police report. “But I don’t know why.”
The officer frisked the woman and found no weapons but did spot a small, black bag on the ground near the woman’s purse. The officer suspected the bag contained heroin.
“That’s not mine, it was on the ground,” the woman reportedly said.
The officer asked the woman if she stole anything from the store, and she denied it, the police report stated. The woman then dumped the contents of her purse on the ground in front of the officer, and two pairs of shorts with tags attached fell out. The woman told police she purchased the shorts from a different Fred Meyer in Tacoma the day before. The officer checked with the Gig Harbor store manager who said no shorts were missing from the store.
The officer then asked the woman to empty her pockets and she revealed a pair of tweezers still in the packaging. The officers also spotted a couple bottles of hair dye from the purse along with plastic pipes, aluminum foil with residue and small plastic baggies.
The woman admitted to using heroin, according to the report, and said she usually keeps the drugs in her bra but did not possess any at the time. The officer then arrested the woman and placed her in the patrol car.
During questioning the woman admitted to stealing the hair dye from the local Fred Meyers, the report stated, and she admitted to possessing the heroin found on the ground near her purse. The woman admitted she is a heroin addict and was trying to get treatment. The woman was arrested for investigation of theft in the third degree and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The woman was transported to Pierce County jail.
More copper wire stolen
May 24 — Another copper wire theft occurred in Gig Harbor, adding to the list of thefts from local city and school properties.
A Gig Harbor officer was called to Borgen Boulevard at 10 a.m., according to a police report. The officer spoke with a city employee who said 300 feet of No. 8 wire was stolen from multiple electrical boxes on the sound end of the 5200 block of Borgen Boulevard, totaling $1,000. The wire connects multiple city lights. There was no suspect at the time of the report.
On May 25, Gig Harbor police posted a statement on its Facebook page about the copper wire thefts in the city.
“Some of our new construction sites, isolated roadways with street lights and athletic fields are experiencing wire thefts that leave the property owners with significant costs to repair and replace the wire,” the statement reads.
Officers are asking residents who see anything suspicious, such as unmarked trucks or people in construction areas after dark to call 911 and report it.
Woman blames being bi-polar for theft
May 24 — A woman with a gun who was arrested for shoplifting at the Gig Harbor Kohl’s claimed her bi-polar disorder was the reason.
Gig Harbor police were dispatched to Kohl’s on Point Fosdick Drive Northwest at 11:04 a.m. for a shoplifter in the store’s custody. Dispatch advised police the suspect had a gun, according to the police report.
An officer arrived at 11:08 a.m. and immediately detained the suspect and began to frisk her for weapons. The woman said her gun was located in the gold zipper pocket of her purse. The officer found the weapon and removed the ammunition before continuing with the arrest, according to the report. The officer performed a records search and found the suspect did not have a concealed weapon license.
The manager told police the suspect took a pair of silver earrings and then went to the underwear section of the store. In the underwear aisle, the woman took the earrings out of the packaging and placed the jewelry in her purse. The suspect then tried to leave the store without paying for the earrings. The manager stopped the suspect outside of the store and convinced her to come inside and wait for police.
The suspect told the officer she is going through a “rough patch” and believes she has bi-polar disorder and is struggling. She said she hasn’t been feeling like herself and did not understand why she decided to steal, according to the police report.
The officer reported the woman was acting “erratic,” switching from crying to acting angry quickly while officers made their report.
The officers retrieved two pairs of earrings, totaling $90, and released the woman at the scene. The suspect was cited with theft in the third degree and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
Woman passes out behind the wheel, in an intersection, in the middle of the day
May 24 — A woman was arrested for driving under the influence after she passed out behind the wheel of her car and stopped in the middle of an intersection in Gig Harbor, according to a police report.
A Gig Harbor police officer was working patrol at 3:16 p.m. when dispatch called in a possible drunk driver on 56th Street. The car was seen swerving between lanes before striking a curb. The license plate number pulled up a red Ford Expedition. The officer checked the area but did not find the car.
At 3:35 p.m. a second call came in for the same driver. A witness said the car stopped in the middle of the Gustafson Drive and Wollochet Drive Northwest intersection. The witness said he went to the car and found a woman passed out behind the wheel. He put the car in park and removed the keys from the ignition before calling police.
The officer arrived on scene and met with local medics who said the woman was unharmed but was extremely intoxicated, according to the police report. The officer ran the vehicle’s information and found the owner’s name and birth date. The officer asked the woman if she was the owner and she said she was. Her speech was slow and slurred. The officer asked the driver if she knew where she was, and she said she was “house sitting.” The officer asked if the woman could stand up but when she tried she fell to the ground. The officer assisted the woman to her feet, and she leaned against her car for balance.
The officer asked the woman if she would volunteer to perform any field sobriety tests. She agreed and after one test the officer stated she was clearly intoxicated since she was unable to stand up on her own. The woman was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car, according to the police report.
The officer transported the woman to the Gig Harbor Police Department for further testing. At the department the woman sat in a wheeled chair but slipped out of the chair. The officer placed her in a stationary chair for questioning. The woman told police she was drinking vodka. When asked how much the woman said “about a pint.”
The woman admitted she was going through a divorce and “was not handling it well.” Kitsap County Jail declined to admit the woman because she was highly intoxicated, so she was taken to St Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor. She was cited for driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license in the third degree.
This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor police reports for the week of June 6."