She threw the truck keys in the bathroom trash. She said she didn’t know it was stolen
Editor’s Note: This blotter is compiled from recent Gig Harbor police reports and Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One reports.
A Gig Harbor police officer saw a woman pushing a shopping cart full of unbagged merchandise around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the Marshalls parking lot at 4601 Point Fosdick Dr.
The woman pushed the shopping cart behind a silver Ford F-150, which did not have a license plate, according to the police report.
The officer exited his patrol car and saw the woman had thrown some items underneath the truck and other items behind nearby bushes.
He then walked around the truck and saw the woman standing with the shopping cart that had multiple items with spider wire, which is an anti-theft device attached to merchandise, according to the report.
Numerous items had Marshalls tags attached to them. The officer believed the woman had shoplifted the items.
He told the woman she was under arrest on suspicion of shoplifting and tried to place her into handcuffs, but she pulled away and began to run, the report said.
He ran after her and told her to stop or else he would tackle her. She didn’t listen, and he tackled her, according to the report.
She apologized for shoplifting and said she ran because she got scared.
She told the officer she was not the driver of the Ford. The driver was inside Marshalls.
She also told him the truck was stolen, but that she wasn’t the one who stole it and had just asked for a ride.
The officer requested another unit. Once another officer arrived, the primary officer went into Marshalls.
Management told the officer the driver was in the upstairs restroom with merchandise.
The officer entered the bathroom and contacted the woman, who was in a stall, the report said.
The woman argued and did not want to exit the stall, according to the report.
During that time officers confirmed the Ford F-150 was stolen.
The officer told the woman in the bathroom that her associate outside already identified her as the driver of the stolen Ford and that she needed to exit the stall.
After several minutes she opened the stall door. The officer attempted to handcuff her behind her back, but she pulled away and tried to turn around.
The officer told her if she continued to resist she would be taken to the ground. He bear hugged her from behind, lowered her to the ground and rolled her on her back, according to the report.
Once she was on her stomach he placed her in handcuffs. Then she began to fake an overdose. The officer told her to stop faking her overdose and she cooperated, the report said.
She told him she had no idea the Ford was stolen and that she put the keys to the truck in the trash can in the stall.
The Ford F-150’s registered owner requested that the vehicle be impounded. The merchandise the woman had stolen was returned, according to the report.
Both women were given a ride to a location in Tacoma where officers released them after giving them trespass notifications.
The officer also notified the driver that they would be forwarding the case of suspected third-degree theft to prosecutors who will make a decision about whether or not to to charge her, according to the report.
Elevator rescue on Point Fosdick Drive
A group of people got stuck in an elevator just before 2 p.m. Nov. 11 in the 4600 block of Point Fosdick Drive, according to a fire agency report.
A Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One crew was met by the manager of the building.
The manager informed them that: “the elevator was stuck with customers inside on the bottom floor, but the door wouldn’t open,” according to the report.
The crew used an elevator key to open the hoist-way door, and confirmed the car was on floor one.
“Engine 51 manipulated the mechanism to open the car door, and the three occupants exited unharmed,” the report said.
After getting the customers out, the manager shut off the power to the elevator and called a technician.
Vehicle crashes through front doors of building
Once they arrived “they secured the vehicle and checked for injuries, with none reported,” according to the report.
They also evaluated the building and noted no structural damage.
“Crews recommended to the store employee that the doors should not be used and have the structure evaluated by a professional,” the report said.
