Bainbridge blotter | Store manager thwarts shoplifter with an eye for booze

Published 9:55 am Monday, August 24, 2015

Selected reports from the Bainbridge Island Police Department blotter.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 12

10:51 p.m. The night manager at the Safeway on High School Road reported a shoplifting attempt. A man came into the store 45 minutes earlier and tried to steal alcohol.

The man came in and got a cart and went to the liquor aisle, then put several bottles inside the cart and walked toward the south exit.

Those doors are locked during nighttime hours, however.

The man, who had a limp, then walked around the store for a few more minutes before he left without buying anything.

The store employee said he ditched the booze when he realized he was being watched.

The dollar amount of the liquor totaled $956.33.

MONDAY, AUG. 10

11:15 a.m. A caller reported a hit-and-run accident in the Pavilion parking lot.

The owner of a 2000 Subaru Legacy showed officers damage to the front of his vehicle, then shared a partial license plate number and a description of a possible suspect that he got from a witness.

Police called the driver of the other vehicle, a 2002 Ford van, who said he had been in the parking lot earlier in the day but denied hitting any other cars.

An officer asked him to check his vehicle, and he said “Oooh” in a very surprised tone and said, “It looks like I did strike someone.”

He said there was damage to the lower right side of his vehicle, and he asked to be put in touch with the owner of the other car so they could share insurance information.

Police did not believe hit-and-run charges were appropriate as there was no intent for the driver to leave the scene.