Police blotter: “I committed theft at Safeway”

A champagne-sipping thief was quite forthcoming when police roused him from the shrubbery near the Safeway store.

Also this week: A woman survived a direct hit from a tree while driving down 305, a parked truck mysteriously burst into flames, and a woman was busted for heroin possession and burglary.

Blotter’s below.

Apr. 8
Threatened: A Gig Harbor man said he was threatened by the owner of a Parfitt Way business just before 1 p.m. The man was using a weed trimmer outside Doc’s restaurant when the business owner approached and said he and his staff “wanted to kill” the man because the trimmer’s noise disturbed their work. The weed-trimmer operator took the comment literally, and indicated to police that he carries a concealed firearm that he would use to defend himself. The business owner told police he was working on a deadline. He appeared “extremely stressed and intense,” an officer noted. The business owner insisted that police make the man use an electric weed trimmer rather than a gas-powered one. Police do not believe the business owner would have killed the man. No arrests were made.

Theft: A Cannondale bicycle was stolen from an unlocked garage on North Town Drive sometime during the night.

Apr. 7
Underage drinking: A 20-year-old Poulsbo man was arrested for theft and possessing alcohol under the age of 21 outside the Safeway store on High School Road just before 11 p.m. Safeway employees said the suspect had stolen six bottles of alcohol from the store. Police found the suspect hiding in bushes. He threw down a bottle of champagne and a bottle of red wine as police approached. “I committed theft at Safeway,” the suspect told police. The suspect had the strong odor of alcohol and appeared dirty. ” Though it “sounds cliche,” he told police, he is a “product of his environment.” He told police that he made a couple trips into the store to steal wine. The other bottles, he said, were hidden nearby. Police later learned the suspect had arrest warrants for domestic violence, underage drinking and possession of alcohol.

Drunken driving: A 26-year-old Seattle man was arrested for drunken driving near the Madison Avenue-Highway 305 intersection just before 3:50 a.m. An officer initially noticed the suspect driving in an erratic manner as it left the Clearwater Casino in Suquamish and headed south on 305. Once pulled over, the suspect indicated he knew very little English. Speaking with the suspect in Spanish, the officer determined the suspect had no insurance and that he had three beers at the casino. The officer noted the suspect had the strong odor of alcohol. During a field sobriety test, the suspect nearly fell to the ground after losing his balance. He was taken to the county jail in Port Orchard.

Apr. 6
Theft: Stop signs were knocked down on Finch, Sands and High School Roads. A speed limit sign was knocked down on Sands.

Fire: An Arrow Point Drive resident found his Ford pickup truck fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters extinguished the fire before it spread. The cause is unknown. Police noticed nothing suspicious about the fire.

Apr. 5
Needles: A Bainbridge woman and her 8-year-old daughter found several hypodermic needles in some bushes at Waterfront Park while doing a community service clean-up just before 2 p.m. Police suspect the needles were for illegal drug use. Police removed the needles.

Apr. 4
Pot: A 24-year-old Bainbridge man was arrested for possession of a pot pipe and a small amount of marijuana during a traffic stop on Battle Point Road just before 11 p.m. Police had pulled the suspect over after noticing he had a defective tail light.

Apr. 2
Theft: Metal racks and flower pots were stolen from outside the Town & Country Market. The items were valued at $100.

Mar. 31
Tree fall: A Bainbridge woman was uninjured when a large falling tree struck her vehicle as she drove on Highway 305 at 2:40 p.m.

Break-in: A backdoor on a Torvanger Road home was forced open just before 5:30 p.m. but no items inside appeared stolen.

Heroin: A 40-year-old Bainbridge woman was arrested for burglary, selling stolen property and possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia on Highway 305 near the Seabold cemetery just before 1 p.m. The suspect was pulled over when an officer recognized her as a suspect in Mar. 16 burglary in which 40 DVDs were stolen from a Bainbridge home. It was later discovered the suspect sold several of the DVDs to a Silverdale business. A search of the suspect’s vehicle uncovered numerous hypodermic needles, a pipe with heroin residue and several other items associated with heroin use. The suspect was taken to the county jail in Port Orchard.

Mar. 30
Fraud: An elderly Bainbridge woman was contacted by an unknown person who requested a large amount of money to get the woman’s daughter out of jail. Bank employees questioned the large withdrawl the woman then tried to make. Family members were notified. They confirmed that the daughter was not in jail. Detectives are investigating.