All suspects in the police blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
THEFT: At 9:04 p.m. Jan. 11, an officer responded to a possible theft from the scrap metal container at Goodwill. An employee witnessed a man in his 50s with long, gray hair walking past the rear entrance of the store with an armload of items. When the employee checked outside, he noticed the scrap metal container’s doors had been propped open with a plastic water bottle. It was difficult to tell whether anything had been stolen due to the bulk storage nature of the container.
LICENSE SUSPENDED: At 8:36 p.m. Jan. 15, an officer observed a red coupe traveling north on 208th Avenue East. A license plate check revealed the registered owner’s drivers license was suspended in the third degree. The officer visually confirmed the driver matched the registered owner’s physical description and initiated a stop. After the officer explained the reason for the stop, the driver said she was not aware her license was suspended. The officer recognized the passenger of the vehicle, and a dispatch check revealed a Department of Corrections warrant for escape from community custody. He was placed under arrest and transported to Enumclaw Jail for booking. The driver was issued a criminal citation for her suspension. Her vehicle was towed from the scene.
WRONG HOUSE: At 8:35 p.m. Jan. 17, an officer was dispatched to a reported burglary in progress on 194th Avenue East. An unknown man entered the caller’s home and she immediately fled to a neighbor’s home. Dispatch notified the officer the man had since left the residence and was sitting in his truck outside. The responding officers’ check of the home showed nothing disturbed and no additional suspects. The caller said the man had not threatened her in anyway; when she told him to leave, he had a blank look on his face and seemed confused, she said. When police interviewed the suspect, he said he believed he was in Puyallup on his way to his sister’s home. He said he lived in Bonney Lake, but he was unsure of the street he lived on; police noted he seemed extremely intoxicated. An officer surmised the man believed he was entering his own home and returned to his car when he realized he wasn’t in the right place. However, he also believed he was in Puyallup, causing him to be unsure of what to do next. There did not appear to be any intent to commit a crime. Additionally, the car he was sitting in was not running, and there were no witnesses to confirm he drove while he was intoxicated. An officer contacted and retrieved the man’s father to drive him from the scene in his truck. During these events, the caller’s daughter arrived home and said she had seen a man in a white truck parked near the house four or five times in the past week. She could not confirm whether it was the same truck, but the officer agreed to include the information in his report and have night shift officers perform additional patrols near the residence.
SHOPLIFTING: At 3:38 p.m. Jan. 18, an officer responded to a juvenile shoplifter in custody at Walmart. An asset protection officer witnessed the boy take clothing items, place them in an empty shopping bag and exit the store without making payment; he was confronted outside the store and taken to the security office, where all items were recovered. The boy was arrested by the arriving officer and released to his father. The police report was forwarded to the juvenile crimes prosecutor for review.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT: At 10:47 p.m. Jan. 18, police were dispatched to the Bonney Lake tavern to respond to a report that a patron had threatened to shoot other patrons. The suspect was not on the scene when police arrived, but an employee told police the man had walked away in the direction of a nearby gas station. A man patronizing the bar with some coworkers told an officer they had encountered the suspect outside the bar. He had made some comments about tattoos worn by one of the man’s coworkers, then the group went inside. A short time later, another patron told the man the suspect had made a comment about going home to grab his gun so he could shoot the group. A tavern employee informed the officer that staff usually kept an eye on the man because he would act strangely. He mentioned a recent incident in which the man had shown a loaded magazine to another patron. A bartender produced the man’s receipt, which provided police his identity. Staff said they wished the man to be trespassed from the bar for life. Meanwhile, two officers detained the suspect at the gas station. The officer at the tavern completed his interviews and rendezvoused with his colleagues to meet the suspect. The officer informed the man of the trespass order, which would allow him to be arrested if he set foot in the bar again. The suspect did not have a weapon on his person, and the secondhand nature of the gun threat meant there was not probable cause for a harassment charge. However, circumstances were enough to charge him with disorderly conduct. He was transported to Enumclaw Jail for booking and the case was forwarded to the city prosecutor.
