Gig Harbor Police reports for the week of June 14

An unfortunate high school reunion turns to theft

May 31 - An Albertsons employee recognized a shoplifter after realizing they'd played high school football together in Gig Harbor.

Police were dispatched to the store on 51st Avenue at 12:40 p.m. for a shoplifting in progress. The loss-prevention employee said he knew the suspect because they were friends in high school and used to play football together, according to a police report. The employee said he knew the suspect had been arrested recently for stealing alcohol at the Safeway store on Point Fosdick Drive Northwest.

A cohort was arrested as well and both were banned from Albertsons, Safeway and Haggen stores in the state.

The employee said the suspect came into the store about 12:20 p.m. and he recognized him, according to the police report. When the two saw each other, the suspect lowered his head and left the store. The cohort from the previous arrest was in the store and both left in a black Kia SUV.

Suspicious, the employee checked the store’s video surveillance, which showed the first suspect enter the store at 12:20 p.m. and head to the alcohol aisle. He took two bottles of Kettle One Vodka and walked down the aisle, according to the police report. He appeared to be messing with his waistband and when he came back into the camera’s view he had only one bottle of vodka. He then left the store without paying for the hidden bottle.

The officer reviewed the tapes and wrote a report that was forwarded to the Pierce County Prosecutor’s office.

Teen boy left in shock after road rage incident led a man to rip off his car’s mirror

May 31 - A road rage incident in Gig Harbor is under investigation after a man became so angry that he ripped off another driver’s side mirror with his bare hands.

The 19-year-old victim contacted Gig Harbor police on May 31 about the incident in the parking lot at Main and Vine. He said he was turning into the parking lot about 4:50 p.m. when a driver in a green Toyota Tacoma became angry because he thought the teen had cut him off.

The other driver followed the teen into the parking lot, got out of his truck and began yelling at the teen. At one point the other driver grabbed the driver's-side mirror of the teen's car and started to rip if off.

The victim said he waited to call police because he was in shock after the incident. After talking with his parents, he filed a police report the next day and provided the other driver’s license plate information. Police found a suspect in Edgewood and sent a report to Pierce County Prosecutor’s office.

Partying drifters damage a boat in Gig Harbor, police say no crime was committed

June 2 - A man told Gig Harbor police a group of boaters partying on the water during the Maritime Gig Fest damaged his boat over the weekend.

The man said he was napping on his anchored boat about 6 p.m when he heard yelling from outside. He went out and saw several boats “rafted” together and anchored nearby, according to a police report. Because the boats were drifting toward his boat, the man called to the group and asked them to untie themselves so they wouldn't hit his boat. The group yelled back and mocked the man for being in their way, according to the police report.

He went to the bow and let out more anchor line in hopes of shoving his boat away from the approaching group. Then one of the drifting boats hit the man's boat, scratchings the paint and gel coat on the bow.

The man started the boat's engine to back out of the drifters way but a line tying his boat to its dingy became entangled in the propeller. The line tightened and damaged a strut on the boat.

He tried to get information from the drifting boaters but they were reluctant to give it to him so he called police. An officer told the man there was no criminal intent on the part of the drifters, who were from the Fircrest Yacht Club. The officer took an informational report and suggested the man pursue the case civilly.

Wire thief still on the loose, steals from nearby housing development

June 7 - A wire thief, or thieves, stealing copper and other types of wire from light poles and construction sites has hit Gig Harbor again.

A city employee told police about 250 feet of electrical wire was stolen from an underground conduit in a new development where several homes are being built, according to a police report. A bolt that secured the lid of the electrical box was removed and the wire taken.

Police have been investigating wire thefts since April, when copper wire was stolen from the Gig Harbor High School's upper sports fields.

On May 25, police posted a statement on its Facebook page about the copper wire thefts: “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.”

Officers asked residents who see anything suspicious, such as unmarked trucks or people in construction areas after dark, to call 911 and report it.

Homeless man arrested for screaming while living in a tent in the woods

June 7 - Gig Harbor residents called police after listening to a man scream for more than an hour near their homes on 32nd Avenue.

Three officers went to the wooded area near the 4500 block of Point Fosdick Drive Northwest after someone called 911 to report the screaming man, according to a police report. The officers heard a man screaming random sentences. After searching the bushes they found him in a tent about 30 yards from the street.

The officers recognized the homeless man from previous encounters and told him to stop screaming. At first he was uncooperative but the officers convinced him to leave his tent. One officer handcuffed the man and arrested him, according to the police report. The officers then cited the man for disturbing the peace and released him.

Told to stay quiet, the man said he would go to a friend's house nearby to stay the night.

He went too fast into the roundabout, causing his car to crash and almost hit two kids nearby

June 8 - Two boys escaped unharmed after jumping out of the way of a speeding car that flew off the road after entering the roundabout at Olympus and Borgen Boulevard.

A Gig Harbor police officer on the way to the hit-and-run was told other drivers who'd seen the incident had boxed in the car, according to the police report. Pierce County sheriff's deputies responded to the call as well and had the driver of the 1994 Mazda and a passenger waiting in the Harborstone Credit Union parking lot.

The driver told the Gig Harbor officer he was speeding and entered the roundabout too fast. He lost control of the car and it flew sideways, jumped the curb and damaged the car's wheels and drive train. Two young boys standing on the sidewalk nearby had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, according to the police report.

When the driver drove into the bank parking lot two other drivers who'd seen the incident followed. They called 911 and blocked the Mazda in the parking lot, according to the police report.

The witnesses were interviewed and their accounts matched the Mazda driver's. Police determined he had a suspended license and cited him for that and for driving recklessly and for having no insurance and an expired registration. He was released and advised to have someone pick him up.