Police beat: A stolen truck, a privacy breach and a nasty-looking toy gun

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

April 5: Even at 4:30 a.m., or maybe especially at 4:30 a.m., the standard rule applies: Don’t leave the truck running unattended in the driveway while you grab your forgotten coffee.

The dispatch call to sheriff’s deputies reported a motor vehicle theft with the owner in pursuit. Over the phone, a dispatcher heard the 911 caller yell, “Give me back my truck!” The sound of gunshots followed.

Deputies fanned out. Two drove to a church parking lot in the 4800 block of 224th Street East. They found the victim, a shaken young man who tried to tell his story before lapsing into frustrated tears.

The man said he’d been getting ready to leave for work, fired up his red 2003 Chevrolet Silverado and realized he’d forgotten his coffee. He stepped into the house to get it and heard the truck’s engine rev. Rushing outside with his gun, he saw the truck peeling down the street.

The man said he got into his wife’s car, a 2008 Mitsubish Lancer, and gave chase. He soon caught up with the truck, calling 911 as he followed. The thief was a bald man with multiple tattoos and a red and white t-shirt.

The owner shouted at the bald man and told him to give back the truck. The bald man had leaned out, holding something. The owner, suspecting a gun, fired two shots toward the truck.

At that point, the owner said, another deputy had joined the chase. The owner said he veered off and parked at the church to wait.

The deputy who took over the chase ran hot with lights and sirens behind the truck. The bald driver accelerated, hitting 60 mph on the residential streets. After several quick turns, the truck crashed through a chain-link fence at The Classic Golf Club on 208th Street East, tearing up greens and fairways before ripping through a homeowner’s yard.

For a moment, the deputy lost sight of the truck. He soon found it, high-centered and abandoned on some landscaping blocks. There was no sign of the bald man. A search with a dog came up empty.

Deputies impounded the truck for an evidence search and filed reports of the damage, including a smashed driver’s window and a flat tire, before returning it to the victim.

April 4: The man at St. Joseph’s Medical Center asked too many questions about his ailing mother. The nursing staff knew he was the target of a state investigation into possible elder abuse.

When a nurse explained that to the man, he turned on his phone and started filming in the hospital room, setting off all sorts of privacy alarms. A nursing supervisor called security and, shortly, police.

When officers arrived, they found security officers holding the man down. One of them explained why: After the man started filming in the hospital room, security officers followed him into an elevator and told him to leave the building.

“Security ain’t going on the elevator with me,” the man reportedly said, and tried to step out, putting his hand into an officer’s face. A few moments later, the man was on the floor, under guard.

The man is 43. Police officers booked him into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of criminal trespassing and misdemeanor assault.

April 3: The boy wore a blue and white flannel shirt, and carried a toy gun designed for realism, tucked into his waistband.

It looked dangerous enough to prompt a 911 call. Officers drove to People’s Park at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and spoke to a group of teenagers gathered near the basketball courts.

Officers asked the teenagers to raise their hands and ran a frisk. The boy in blue and white pulled away. An officer spotted the grip of the gun. The boy was cuffed and taken to a patrol car.

The gun fired pellets, not bullets, but it looked formidable.

Asked for his name, the boy swore. Told he might be able to walk away if he cooperated, he gave a false name. Asked who his parents were, he said he didn’t know.

The search for a true identity lasted 20 minutes. The officer told the boy the argument would end at Remann Hall.

On the drive to juvenile detention, the boy called the officer various names. After booking, he finally revealed his real name. Records showed he was 15, listed as a missing juvenile in another police report. He was booked on suspicion of obstructing an officer.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Police beat: A stolen truck, a privacy breach and a nasty-looking toy gun."