Crime & Safety

GHPD Blotter: Are 32 Air Fresheners, WD40 and Baby Diaper Pins Signs Of Suspicious Activity?

The following arrest information was supplied by the Gig Harbor Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

The following arrest information was supplied by the Gig Harbor Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

 

March 28

11:49 p.m. – Two officers responded to a report of suspicious males at Great Car Wash on Kimball Drive. They found a pair of white males in black hooded sweatshirts walking back to their SUV.

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The officers contacted the men, and the officer noticed a pile of air fresheners and a white plastic bag with what appeared to be change in the car. The passenger in the vehicle initially told officers he didn’t have identification and gave them a name that officers confirmed was fake.

The officers took the men out of the car, and in the passenger’s pocket was what appeared to be a lock. They also discovered a can of WD40 and several baby diaper pins. The man claimed they were part of an arts project from his daughter, but the driver told police that the passenger used them to break into several vending machines in the area that night.

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Officers arrested the men, and during the search of the car, they found $75.80 in change – comprised of all quarters save for a nickel - as well as 32 air fresheners and a pill smasher with 10 prescription anti-anxiety pills.

The passenger was booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of third-degree theft, as well as outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants. The driver was citied for third-degree theft and released from the scene.

 

March 29

3:13 p.m. – A woman reported that her she was going for a walk on the Cushman Trail at 96th Street Northwest and her car had been broken to. While walking, someone stole the purse that she left in the driver’s seat, which contained a camera and her wallet.

 

10:47 p.m. – An officer found an abandon truck in the ditch in the 4600 block of Point Fosdick Drive. It appeared the vehicle left the roadway and struck a Peninsula Light power pole. Inside the vehicle, officers discovered a wallet, keys and a pair of glasses on the floor. Police checked the registered owner.

While waiting, an officer noticed a man walking back to the truck. The officer asked the man – who appeared to be intoxicated – if he was the owner, and he confirmed that he was. He told the officer that he walked to The Sunset Bar and Grill after the crash.  He told officers he initially couldn’t find his cell phone. When asked why he didn’t call from the bar, the man couldn’t answer.

Officers arrested the man on suspicion of Hit and Run-Unattended Property, and the officer transported him to his residence.

 

March 30

2:06 a.m. – An employee at Safeway noticed a woman enter the store with a shopping cart. The woman went down several isles and put merchandise in her cart to the point it was “overflowing.” She proceeded to the front door and left without trying to pay for it. The employee followed the woman to her car and asked, “Can I have my cart back, please?” The woman began throwing items into the trunk of her car.

The employee then put his hands on the cart, but a man came up behind him. The man and the woman then ran into the car, and another woman driving the car pulled away. The woman stole $500 worth of merchandise, including 13 dishwasher soaps.

Security staff told police the same three subjects tried to steal $800 worth of groceries on a prior occasion and left the area in a tan mini-van. The license plate of the car on the security footage was tracked back to a Tacoma woman.

 

4:22 p.m. – Police responded to an alleged shoplifter at Kohl’s Department Store on Point Fosdick Drive. They contacted an 18-year-old woman.

A store employee told police that she had observed the woman trying to steal $194 worth of merchandise including t-shirts, earrings. She was with her boyfriend, who is a year younger than she is. When asked why she did it, the woman told police she was stealing because her boyfriend is a bad influence and wants her to steal.

Police first arrested her, then as she was outside near the patrol vehicle, they contacted the boyfriend and arrested him.

 

April 1

5:29 p.m. – An officer responded to a report of a residential burglary in the 4300 block of 35th Avenue. The house’s door had been pushed open. Missing were the homeowner’s laptop computer, a watch and high school class ring. A neighbor said she observed a suspicious male in the neighborhood earlier.


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