Police beat: A sex scam, a reckless driver and a fighting couple

Editor’s note: Compiled from reports to Tacoma police and the Pierce County Sheriff’s office.

Dec. 28: The 61-year-old truck driver intended to buy sex. He agreed to pay upfront, but the sale was a ruse.

He flagged officers down near a hotel in the 8800 block of Pacific Avenue and reluctantly said he’d been scammed.

How? By arranging a meetup with a young woman through an ad on the notorious Backpage website. The woman told the man to meet her in Room 10.

The man arrived. The woman greeted him. She was blond. She said she wanted the payment first; she’d been swindled before. The man handed over $260 in twenties. The woman took it and edged into the bathroom.

After she went in, three other people came out: two men and a woman with brown hair. They told the truck driver to leave, otherwise they would call police and report that the truck driver was trying to have sex with a minor.

The truck driver asked for his money back. The men told him it wasn’t going to happen. The truck driver left Room 10 and flagged police, he said.

Officers took down descriptions, went to the hotel and knocked on the door of Room 10. A young woman answered. She had blond hair. Another woman was with her. They matched the truck driver’s descriptions.

Both women denied knowing anything about the truck driver. Officers pressed; they said they were trying to recover the man’s money.

The brown-haired woman said she could get it. A man they knew was holding the money. The brown-haired woman left the room briefly and returned with the bills.

Officers asked the blond woman for her name and age. She gave two false names before giving up the real version. A records check revealed her age — 20 — and an active warrant for soliciting prostitution.

Officers turned their attention to the man who had kept the money. He was in Room 14. Asked for his name, he provided someone else’s at first, before giving up the real version. He was 25, and he also had an active arrest warrant.

Officers booked the woman and the man into the Pierce County Jail on the warrants, and on suspicion of soliciting prostitution and identity theft. They returned the money to the truck driver.

Dec. 24: The typical list of things to do on Christmas Eve doesn’t include stunt driving on a public street in front of a cop, unless you want to spend a holiday in jail.

Two officers on routine patrol parked near the intersection of South Hosmer Street and South Center Street about 8:30 p.m. They heard sounds of revving and screeching tires.

Both drove toward the noise and quickly spotted the source: a black 1927 Ford Model T, converted to a hot rod, spinning circles in the intersection.

Clouds of smoke billowed from the tires. A man stood nearby, capturing the moment on cellphone video.

The hot rod pulled into a driveway nearby. One officer quickly blocked the exit.

The driver didn’t flee. He was 32. His friend with the phone was 33.

The driver couldn’t stop apologizing. He said he was stupid. He said he was just screwing around. He offered $1,000 if the officer would forget about the incident.

The officer said that was unlikely. The driver was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of reckless driving.

Dec. 24: Peacemaking efforts failed; the couple preferred to fight, no matter the day, no matter what neighbors thought.

The noise started at about 6:30 p.m. Sheriff’s deputies drove to the 7600 block of 27th Street West in University Place. The dispatch call said a man and a woman were fighting outside.

A neighbor flagged deputies down and said his wife had called 911. The neighbor said he heard screaming next door and saw the couple.

“Why are you hitting me?” the woman had yelled.

“That’s what you get for hitting me,” the man had replied.

The neighbor had walked over, he said, and told the man to cool down; it was Christmas Eve.

The man answered with profanity and told the neighbor to mind his own business.

The neighbor said, “If you want to hit someone, come and hit me.”

The man reached into his waistband and said, “I got something for you.”

At that point, the neighbor went inside, and his wife called 911.

Deputies spoke to another witness who had called at almost the same time and gave a matching account.

Deputies approached the house. They found the man outside. He was 23. He told them to get off his property. Deputies said they were investigating a domestic disturbance.

They tried to talk to the man down. He wasn’t interested and continued to yell at them. He balled his fists and told them to leave.

One deputy drew a stun gun, aimed it, and told the man to turn around. He wouldn’t, despite multiple commands. He took a step forward. The deputy fired a bolt; it hit the man in the chest. He went down, trying to pull out the probe.

A struggle followed. Three deputies wrestled the man into cuffs. The man said he would kill them.

“I am going to end your life,” he said to one of them.

The man’s girlfriend, 24, rushed out of the house, yelled at deputies and filmed with her phone. She told them to release her boyfriend.

She moved closer; deputies told her to step back. She moved closer; they said she could be arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer and told her to go inside.

She moved closer; deputies arrested her and cuffed her.

She said her 5-year-old daughter was in the house alone.

Deputies made a judgment call. They released the woman and booked her boyfriend into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of third-degree assault, harassment and obstructing a law enforcement officer.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Police beat: A sex scam, a reckless driver and a fighting couple."