Police reports: A Grinch in Gig Harbor is slashing strings of holiday lights

Break-in was too close to the cop shop

A burglary suspect was arrested Nov. 22, police say, when he made the mistake of smashing a shop window within earshot of the Gig Harbor police station.

Two officers returning to the station late at night heard the noise and went to investigate. One found a 38-year-old Spanaway man just exiting a Subway restaurant at 5000 Olympic Dr., where the window had been smashed. The other found a 35-year-old Tacoma woman sitting in a car at a nearby car wash, who turned out to be the getaway driver, according to police reports.

The pair had already burglarized the Classy Chassis car wash, police said, as well as a UPS drop box, police say. But the Subway had live video surveillance, and a manager was watching from home as the male suspect broke into the store, police said. The officers arrived just as the manager was describing to 911 dispatchers the burglar’s distinctive white hat, and the suspect was arrested.

In the woman’s car, police found stolen gift cards, a $300 diagnostic tool taken from the car wash, and two packages taken from the jimmied UPS drop box. The male suspect was arrested. Due to COVID booking restrictions, the woman was released.

Loaded pistol stolen from unlocked car

A loaded 9mm Glock handgun was stolen from a car parked at a chiropractic office in the 5300 block of 33rd Avenue on Nov. 23, police reported. The owner of the weapon, a 40-year-old Port Orchard man, said he had left the car unlocked. He did know the serial number of the gun.

A case of bah, humbug

An unknown Grinch is slashing Christmas lights on Arrowhead Drive in Gig Harbor. Two cases have been reported, police said. In both instances, one or two lights were snipped from light strings, disabling the entire string. One incident occurred Nov. 26, and a second on Nov. 28, both in the 11600 block, police said. There were no suspects.

Oops, wrong button

A Puyallup man wanted on an assault warrant tried to escape police, but only managed to set off his car’s theft alarm, police said.

The 30-year-old man was found sitting in a car parked in a shopping center in the 5100 block of Borgen Boulevard, according to the report. An officer ran a license check on the car and discovered there was an outstanding warrant for the driver.

Asked to open the door and get out of the car, the man instead put his keys in the ignition, the officer said. But he fumbled the task, and after several tries only managed to set off the theft alarm. Eventually, he gave up, got out and was handcuffed. He was booked into Kitsap County jail.

Shoplifter drops phone, officer calls Mom

A suspected shoplifter dropped his cellphone while fleeing Nov. 27, giving police a direct line to his mom.

Officers said the young man is suspected of taking a $50 tool kit from O’Reilly Auto Parts, 4928 Pt. Fosdick Dr. He fled while being pursued by store employees, but dropped a cellphone, which they recovered.

The phone was locked, but the screen said, “Return to” gave a name, and offered a button to push. No one answered when an officer tried, but the phone displayed a number and the tag, “Mom.”

Detectives will try again to speak to Mom.

Catalytic converter roundup

Catalytic converter thieves were busy in November. The devices are valued on the black market because of the high price of the rare metals used in them. Police reported these incidents:

▪ A catalytic converter was stolen from a car parked at Les Schwab, 5353 33rd Ave. the night of Nov. 22.

▪ An employee of Harbor Greens parked his car in the 5500 block of Pt. Fosdick at 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 1 and returned at the end of his shift to find the car “incredibly loud” on starting, and the catalytic converter missing.

▪ A catalytic converter was stolen overnight Nov. 10 from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado parked at Contractor’s Roof Service, 6406 43rd Ave. Ct.

▪ A catalytic converter was cut Nov. 16 from a motor home parked in a storage yard at 3621 Hunt St. The thief had cut through a chain-link fence.

Spokane contractor’s welder stolen

An $8,000 welder was stolen from a commercial truck parked at a Gig Harbor motel on Nov. 10, police reported.

The welder was taken from a truck belonging to Jimmy’s Roofing of Spokane, parked at the Best Western, 6575 Kimball Dr.

There have been a series of similar thefts from contractor’s trucks and trailers in the past few months. In other recent cases:

▪ Two chain saws were stolen Nov. 30 from a residence at 5909 125th St. Ct.

▪ A dump trailer was stolen from Real Carriage Door, 9803 44th Ave., sometime before Nov. 22, police say.

21 cases of beer in the bed

A 28-year-old Ruston man stopped for a traffic violation in the 5500 block of Pt. Fosdick Drive on Nov. 1 was found to have 21 cases of beer in the bed of his truck, police reported.

The beer — Tecate, Modela, Corona and Pacifico — was valued at about $450, and turned out to have been taken from a nearby grocery store, police said.

The man denied having stolen the beer, but agreed to restore it rather than face arrest. He was released after the beer was returned.

This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.