Police Beat: A wayward truffle hunter, an unpaid water bill, and a battling couple
Editor’s note: Compiled from reports to Tacoma police and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Jan. 5: You can find a lot of things on the streets of Tacoma — but the sidewalks aren’t known for truffles.
The dispatch call reported a suspicious person near the intersection of South 38th and Lawrence Streets shortly after 3 a.m.. Reportedly, a man was behaving oddly, digging near the sidewalk.
Two officers drove to the scene, spotted him, and asked what he was doing.
The man, 33, said he was looking for truffles.
Why?
The underground mushrooms were a valuable delicacy, the man explained. “I can sell them for thousands on the pound,” he said.
He wasn’t exactly wrong, but truffles tend to lurk in forests, nestled under moss and the moist dross of conifers — not sidewalk strips.
One officer asked the man for his name and date of birth. He gave it.
Did he have identification? He couldn’t find it.
The officer ran a records check. The man had an active felony arrest warrant out of King County, tied to a charge of residential burglary. In that incident, he had walked into a stranger’s home and rummaged through coats.
Officers booked the man into the Pierce County Jail on the warrant.
Jan. 10: The woman didn’t want the water turned off. She emphasized her point with a gun.
The dispatch call reported a possible harassment incident and the unlawful display of a firearm. Sheriff’s deputies drove to an address in the 25200 block of 52nd Avenue East in Graham.
They spoke to three employees of a local water company, who said a woman at the residence had threatened them. The woman had a history of anger problems, they said.
The water bill hadn’t been paid, they said. When the employees arrived to turn the water off, the woman had waved a gun and threatened to shoot them if they didn’t leave the property.
Were they sure it was a gun?
One witness said it looked like a gun, but he had been trying to get away as quickly as possible, and didn’t wait for a closer examination. Another witness described a black pistol. The woman had been cursing at them as she brandished it.
All the witnesses said they heard another resident at the house tell the woman to “take that gun and put it away.”
Deputies spoke to the other resident. He said the woman, 35, had gone a little haywire, telling the employees they were going to pay for this.
“She has a pellet gun,” he added.
Deputies approached the residence and told the woman to come out. Finally, she did.
She said the water company employees were harassing her. One deputy said it wasn’t harassment to ask for payment of a water bill. The woman said her mother had paid it.
She admitted threatening the employees. She denied having a gun. She said she was carrying a stick for self-defense.
Deputies booked the woman into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of harassment and unlawful display of a weapon.
Jan. 6: You can blow off a domestic violence no-contact order, but that doesn’t mean the cops will.
The dispatch call reported a physical dispute between a man and a woman. Witnesses reported hearing screams.
Sheriff’s deputies drove to an apartment complex in the 12700 block of Pacific Avenue South. On the way, they heard that the woman was fleeing the scene.
Deputies arrived and spoke to a man who said his girlfriend had thrown an ashtray and a glass of Kool-Aid at him before smacking him in the hand with her cane.
The man said the fight started when he accused the woman of cheating on him. He said they’d been together for 12 years.
Deputies ran a records check, and found a no-contact order filed by the woman against the man.
That was a no-no. They asked the man if he knew about it. Yes, the man said — but it was a long time ago.
That didn’t matter. Deputies booked the man and placed him under arrest.
They detained the woman, who hadn’t gone far, and cuffed her.
She said she and her boyfriend had been arguing again, and he’d accused her of cheating, which he would do repeatedly. He’d tried to hit her, but missed, she said. She curled up on the floor, and he tried to kick her.
The deputies made judgment calls. The man had violated the no-contact order, but the woman had hit him with the cane. Both were booked into the Pierce County Jail.
This story was originally published January 12, 2019 at 2:36 PM.
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