Bainbridge blotter | Road rage and bear mace

Published 3:22 pm Friday, May 1, 2015

Selected reports from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter.

Monday, April 15

2:31 p.m. A 41-year-old Bainbridge man said another driver in a red Prius had sprayed Bear Mace at him.

The man said he and his 11-year-old daughter were driving south on Highway 305 when a red Toyota Prius pulled alongside them in the turn lane at West Day Road and the other driver sprayed their truck with the mace.

Neither the man or girl were injured, and the man said they followed the Prius until they got a license plate number.

Police traced the license to a University Place man, but later found the car at the intersection of Hostmark Street and Highway 305 in Poulsbo.

The driver, a 63-year-old man, was a private investigator, and said he and his passenger were on Bainbridge for an investigation. He said he turned onto the highway as the same time as the other driver, and had waved for them to go ahead so they could get out of the way of oncoming traffic.

The man said the other driver “flipped him off” so the man “returned the gesture” and continued on his way.

The man said the other driver continued to flip him off, then started tailgating him and following him around the island. When they came up to the same intersection, the man said he showed his large Mk-9 can of pepper spray and yelled “Stay away!” and then squirted a small amount into the air. He said they turned onto Day Road, hoping the man would not follow them.

He did, and they went down several roads to get away, and eventually the man stopped following him.

Police said that based on the lack of any injury, and the absence of evidence at the scene of the incident, police determined an assault did not occur.

2:35 p.m. A 66-year-old Bainbridge woman was parallel parking in a 2005 Honda when she apparently hit an unoccupied parked vehicle on New Brooklyn Road near Madison Avenue.

The owner of the other car was working in an adjacent building and heard the crash, and saw the woman’s car pulling forward as the parked vehicle, a GMC Yukon, was rolling backwards.

The woman said she didn’t believe she hit the other vehicle.

2:40 p.m. A 69-year-old Bainbridge man said Chase Bank’s consumer protection staff said someone had tried to use his identity to open a VISA credit card account through the bank with Amazon.com.

Four charges were made on April 7; $473.50, $156.15, $280.94 and $814.41.

Staff from the bank said the man’s application used all of his personal data and said there were likely many more accounts that had been opened.