police blotter

Bainbridge Police reported the following incidents:

JULY 11

1:30 a.m. A Bainbridge driver in a Subaru Outback swerved to miss a deer on Eagle Harbor Drive and collided a stone fence post instead. The driver left the fence’s owner a note. No citation was issued.

4:16 a.m. A wallet belonging to a Bainbridge resident was found in Silverdale. The owner was contacted on the island and the wallet was returned.

12:14 p.m. A citizen came to the station to turn in a found cell phone. The phone had been left on the front porch of his Wing Point Way home with a note that read “This was found in the street in front of your house.” A Qwest representative contacted the phone’s owner, who had reported the phone missing several days earlier. It was stored pending its retrieval.

4:54 p.m. A Bainbridge resident reported fraudulent charges on her credit card. She said she calls her bank daily for a report on her account balance. This particular day she discovered that her card had been used to purchase a $662 computer from an online store, along with another $106 purchase. She canceled her card and told police she would bring a hard copy of the account summary.

8:54 p.m. A citizen called 911 to report a boat apparently broken down and drifting in the ferry lane. Officers responded in the police boat and found the stricken vessel already under tow by another boater.

10:40 p.m. Police responded to the Lutheran church on North Madison Avenue where a resident had heard a crashing noise. Officers found the door of the church wide open and a lock from the door lying in the foyer. Outside pieces of broken light lenses, plastic moulding and a license plate were found, apparently shed by a vehicle. Officers noted a pair of skid marks that began at the intersection of North Madison Avenue and Torvanger Road, crossed Torvanger and ended at a curb. Police traced the number from the abandoned license plate to a Bainbridge residence. As they pulled into the driveway of the home, officers noted a car backed into a carport with heavy front end damage. A man in a robe answered the door smelling slightly of alcohol. He confirmed that he had been driving that night. He said he had been going the speed limit when he reached the intersection of North Madison and Torvanger, but the car’s wheels had locked up and he had slid into the church. He said that after hitting the church he did not get out of the vehicle, figuring he would take care of the damage in the morning. He told police that he had not been drinking that evening, and subsequently failed three field sobriety tests. He was booked into Kitsap County Jail for driving under the influence and hit and run.

JULY 12

11:44 a.m. A kayak was reported stolen from a dock off Salmon Run Lane on Fletcher Bay. The kayak was an orange and red, Necky brand, single-seat, ocean model with yellow paddles. It was valued at $500. No suspects.

JULY 13

10:11 a.m. A diamond ring was stolen from an apartment on Finch Place. The resident suspected the thief was a woman she had befriended at Alcoholics Anonymous meetins, who had become a frequent visitor to her apartment. On one occasion the resident had taken out her jewelry to show her new friend. The pair went out for dinner once afterward, then agreed to spend the Fourth of July together, but the resident never heard from the woman again. She became suspicious and checked her home, discovering the diamond ring, valued at $1,000 was missing. The resident said no one else knew the location of her jewelry. The suspect was described as 5’6” tall and 45 to 50 years old, and likely lives in her vehicle. The investigation continues.

10:10 p.m. The police boat stopped a vessel off Battle Point for improper navigation lights. The boat had a white anchor light illuminated on the bow, but no other lighting. There were eight passengers onboard but only four personal flotation devices. The vessel also had expired flares, a fire extinguisher approved for use on jet skis, and no throwable flotation device. The boat’s operator was cited for failing to provide PFDs and was warned for the other infractions.

JULY 14

2:23 a.m. A Safeway employee reported seeing a man attempting to conceala bottle of wine under his leather jacket. The suspect was been confronted and had fled from the store, knocking items off a display in his departure. A friend of the suspects was contacted outside the store walking with two bicycles. The investigation continues.

5:48 a.m. Officers responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle on Roberts Road near Sunrise Drive. The white, Ford Explorer had a California license plate, was registered to an island resident. The owner was contacted from a number found inside the vehicle. She said someone must have taken the vehicle from her home and asked if there were still groceries inside. Grocery bags from Town and Country were found inside, but no groceries. The owner was transported to the vehicle and found that $200 of groceries and a container full of coins were missing. She said she wasn’t sure if she had left her keys in the vehicle, or if a spare key had been used. There was no apparent damage done to the vehicle and it was returned to its driveway. No suspects.

9:37 a.m. A purse was stolen from a Ford Taurus parked on Nakata drive. Its owner said she had left the car parked there overnight with its doors unlocked and its windows rolled down. When she returned the next morning the purse was missing. It contained her identification and debit card, which had already been used that day for $110 in purchases before she canceled it. The purse was purchased in france and was orange with sequins and a shoulder strap. The investigation continues.

5:08 p.m. An off duty officer observed an apparently intoxicated man preparing to drive away from Fay Bainbridge State Park in a Chevy pickup truck. A resident had also asked the park host to call 911 and report a man of the same description harassing a woman. An on-duty officer responded and caught up to the pickup truck on Phelps Road. The truck turned into a driveway and accelerated away rapidly with the patrol car in pursuit. At the end of the driveway the truck pulled into some bushes and its driver threw away its keys and sat behind the wheel. He told the officer that he had tried to flee because he realized he had probably drunk too much to be driving. He said he was upset over a child molestation case in which he was a suspect. He said he had drank “one of those red cups” of wine before driving. He blew a .124 in a breath alcohol test and had some trouble with field sobriety tests. He was arrested for driving under the influence, despite his protestations that he was not driving when the officer found him and the vehicle’s keys were not in the ignition. He was booked into jail. The officer recontacted the witness at the park who said he had seen the man yelling a woman at the north end of the park. The park host had walked over to the pair at which point the man reportedly got up from his chair, said “there are too many people,” dropped his pants and urinated. He later saw the man drive away from the park.

7:16 p.m. Officers contacted a man near Yeomalt Point who had been walking down a street yelling profanities. The man had been contacted by police before under similar circumstances. Officers approached the man, who told them he had not been taking his medication. He picked up his backpack and angrily approached the officers ranting about his first amendment rights, but stopped and dropped the bag after an officer threatened to shoot him with a tazer. Residents said they had heard the man yelling and called 911, and several girls said he had chased them while they were walking in the area. The man was transported to Harrison Hospital for mental evaluation.

9:43 p.m. A resident of Village Circle reported that a Toyota Camry being used by his son was broken into in his driveway. He said that morning he had noticed the door of the car ajar and a check of the vehicle showed many items missing. A neighbor’s car alarm had also gone off early that morning. A neighbor had looked out of his bedroom window and heard suspects say “We better get out of here” before departing in a small, four-door vehicle. No suspects.