Traffic stop yields a felon with gun; also, the shoplifter who wanted to go fishing

Traffic stop yields gun, drugs

Gig Harbor Police say they arrested a felon in possession of a gun and heroin during a traffic stop on Sept. 4.

An officer approached a car stopped in traffic at the intersection of 36th Street and 22nd Avenue Northwest shortly after 4 a.m. because the driver was “flailing his arms” and appeared to be high or intoxicated. While talking to the driver, the officer noticed a holstered pistol on the floorboard by the driver’s feet.

At that point, the officer drew his gun, instructed the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel, and called for backup, according to the report.

The backup officer retrieved the weapon, which proved to be a fully-loaded Springfield XD-40 subcompact semi-automatic pistol. There was a round in the chamber, the officer said.

Police said a search of the car turned up a small bag of heroin, and a records check revealed the driver to be a convicted felon.

The driver, a 37-year-old Tacoma man, was given a citation for illegal possession of a firearm. Due to a recent change in state law, he could not be charged with drug possession, but was given a referral for treatment. His passenger, a 36-year-old Tacoma woman, was released.

He wanted to take his girlfriend fishing

A 20-year-old Lakebay man held on suspicion of shoplifting $146 worth of fishing tackle from a Big 5 Sporting Goods store at 11010 Harbor Hill Dr. told police he took the goods because wanted to take his girlfriend fishing. Officers had stopped the man’s car as he exited the store parking lot. Found inside the car were fishing rods, a tackle box and bait.

He was cited for third-degree theft and released.

Kitsap escapee arrested with drugs

Gig Harbor police arrested a 39-year-old Port Orchard man wanted on a felony escape warrant from Kitsap County.

Police said an officer noticed a Toyota Corolla sitting with its door open at a Chevron station at 7102 Stinson Ave. on Sept. 13. A man who came out of the station’s convenience store saw the officer and abruptly went back inside, police reported.

The officer ran a check on the car’s plates and found it belonged to a man wanted in Kitsap County for escaping from custody. The officer waited at a nearby location until the suspect returned to the car, then did a traffic stop. A search of the car revealed a quantity of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Store alarm alerts officer

A Gig Harbor police officer drove into the parking lot of a Marshall’s department store at 4601 Pt. Fosdick Dr. on Sept. 4, just as the store’s theft alarm went off. The officer said he saw a woman pushing a shopping cart loaded with unbagged clothing items still bearing store tags. The officer said he watched as she stuffed the items into the trunk of a Toyota without plates.

When confronted, the 34-year-old Tacoma woman admitted taking the items without paying, the officer reported. The clothing was valued at $749, the store manager told police. The woman was cited for third-degree theft and released.

Catalytic converter thief leaves hat

A thief who stole a catalytic converter from a car at a Gig Harbor auto shop left his hat behind, police said.

The red Nike hat was found Sept. 11 beneath a car that had its catalytic converter sawn out while left overnight in the parking lot of Meinecke Car Care Center, 5309 Pt. Fosdick Dr.

It was the second reported catalytic converter theft at the same auto shop in a little over a week, police reported. Another had been stolen from the same parking lot on Sept. 3. Employees noticed a puddle of oil under the car after it had been left over the weekend.

Middle-aged couple lift a mixer

A pair of middle-aged shoplifters with a culinary bent stole a KitchenAid mixer and other items from the Ace Hardware store at 4811 Pt. Fosdick Dr. on Sept. 5, police reported. Officers said the store manager watched as the couple, described as in their late 50s, loaded a cart with items, including the mixer, and put them in a white GMC Suburban. The mixer was valued at $300.

This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.