They had different stories about a graveyard brawl. A German Shepherd gave her away
Editor’s note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police reports.
A Volkswagen rear-ended a Tesla. Police asked for a breath test
On Oct. 7, a Gig Harbor Police officer responded to a crash at Harborview Drive and Novak Street that was blocking the intersection.
When the officer arrived he saw a black Volkswagen had rear-ended a Tesla, according to the report.
The driver of the Tesla told the officers that he was stopped at the intersection waiting for traffic to clear so he could turn left toward his residence. When he was stopped, the Volkswagen hit him.
The Volkswagen driver told the officer she did not stop in time. The officer could smell alcohol on her breath. When asked where she was coming from she told the officer she had just left her shift at a brewery and had two craft beers.
The officer saw the Volkswagen driver’s eyes were red and glossy, according to the report.
The officer took the Volkswagen driver through field sobriety tests. She lost her balance more than once, the report said.
The driver refused to take a voluntary Preliminary Breath Test.
The officer decided they had probable cause to arrest the driver for DUI and transported the driver back to the police department.
The officer took the driver to St. Anthony’s Hospital first to get checked out after the wreck. Then the driver was transported to Kitsap County Jail and booked for DUI. The driver had one prior DUI arrest in 2017, the report said.
He jumped into thick blackberry bushes to avoid officers. It didn’t work
On Oct. 8 a Gig Harbor Police officer was driving near Home Depot, 5120 Borgen Blvd., when he saw a man walking on the sidewalk carrying a large Milwaukee toolbox. This brand is sold at Home Depot.
On top of the box was a large ax, other hand tools and merchandise still packaged.
The officer believed the man most likely stole the tools and other merchandise and asked dispatch to contact Home Depot to ask if there had been a recent shoplift. The suspect appeared nervous and kept looking back toward the officer, the report said.
The officer lost the suspect, but believed he ran into the woods. The officer then parked his car and entered the wooded area. This area is steep and leads to state Route 16. It’s covered in trees and blackberry bushes.
When the officer walked down the hill he could hear the suspect climbing through thick timber and blackberry bushes. Since the suspect was hidden the officer made the man aware of his presence and told the suspect not to scare him. The suspect had hidden the ax in some underbrush, according to the report.
The suspect then told the officer he was coming out. Once he came out the officer asked the suspect to walk back to the patrol car with him.
Once they arrived the suspect told the officer his friend stole the merchandise and he was walking it to an undisclosed location.
The officer transported the suspect back to Home Depot, where it was discovered the suspect actually stole the products, according to the report.
The officer issued the suspect a criminal citation for theft.
She got rid of the potbelly pig, but the harassment continued
On Oct. 10 the Gig Harbor Police Department was contacted about harassment between two neighbors.
The woman who called said her neighbor continues to harass her with vulgar language.
The woman recently had a potbelly pig that her neighbor was upset about. The neighbor told her she did not like the pig because of the “foul smell” from the feces in the yard, the report said.
The woman gave the pig to another family, in hopes that the comments from her neighbor would stop.
The woman reported that the vulgar language continued after the pig left the residence.
Officers informed the woman how to obtain an anti-harassment order if needed.
This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
