Bainbridge Conversation

Talk about bad karma: Two 30-pound bronze Buddha statues were reported stolen from a home in the Agate Passage area May 3. The Buddhas were valued together at $5,000.

Also this week, gasoline theft was reported from two areas of the island and a bicyclist suffered injuries in a crash on El Cimo Lane.

The blotter is below: (more…)

A section of downtown Winslow was shutdown April 28 while law enforcement investigated a suspicious package left outside the post office. The box, which was marked “Pray for Boston,” was determined to be empty.

Also this week, a real bomb blew up a mailbox on Ward Avenue and a Craigslist poster offered a gun “good for a gangster.”

The blotter is below:

April 28

Suspicious package: Police closed down the Winslow post office parking lot at 12:30 p.m. after a resident reported a suspicious package outside the building. The package in question was a cardboard box marked with the words “Pray for Boston.” Fire crews and police set up a perimeter around the package and the Washington State Patrol responded with bomb sniffing dogs and a robot. The robot was used to pull apart the box, which was found to be empty aside from a plastic bag. Shortly afterward the addressee of the package, a Bainbridge woman, called police and explained the situation. The woman said the box had been full of t-shirts which were shipped to her from Boston to be sold in a fundraiser. The box was too large to fit in her car so she left it in a dumpster outside the post office.

April 26

Vehicle prowl: The manager of a Ferncliff Avenue repair shop reported the possible theft of gas from five vehicles on the property. The manager said employees noticed the gas caps removed from the vehicles when they arrived at work that morning. It was unclear whether gas had successfully been siphoned from the tanks.

April 24

Bicycle crash: A 54-year-old Bainbridge woman was bicycling west on High School Road at 4 p.m. when she was suddenly ejected over the handlebars. No other vehicles were involved. The woman was wearing a helmet but suffered facial fractures and a head injury. She told a witness she was having trouble with the brakes on her bicycle.

Theft: Two flags were reported missing from the Rolling Bay post office. The American and POW flags were valued at $40.

April 23

Collision: A good deed turned sour in the Aquatics Center parking lot when two people tried to push a disabled Volkswagen sedan closer to another vehicle so it could be jump started. The Volkswagen was on an incline and rolled away from the people pushing it. The unmanned vehicle jumped a curb and crashed into a second car, which collided with a third. The vehicles were unoccupied and no injuries were reported.

Found: An iPhone 4 was found at a Winslow Way shop and turned in to police.

April 22

Dog bite: Police were contacted by a 56-year-old woman who said she was bitten on the leg by an dog at Pritchard Park on April 21. The woman said she was walking at the park when she encountered two off-leash dogs. A small white dog bit her on the calf, breaking the skin and drawing blood. The dog’s owner, a 68-year-old Bainbridge man, gave her his contact information. Police forwarded a report to animal control.

April 20

Malicious mischief: A Ward Avenue woman reported her mailbox destroyed by an explosive device. The woman said she had returned home shortly after 11 p.m. the previous evening and collected her mail. A few minutes after entering her house she heard an explosion. The next morning she found the door to the mailbox taped shut and the back end blown off. The woman said she was glad to have collected her mail before the blast occurred because she’d received some important documents.

Suspicious incident: A Kirkland resident sent police a link to a suspicious Craigslist ad posted on Bainbridge. The ad was titled “need a gun?” and was posted in the personals section. The poorly-spelled listing read: “Got a 38 special for sale. 1000 bucks. good preotection. comes with extra bullets. no paper work, untraceable. Good for a gangster ;-p.”

A Komedal Road resident called 911 at 3 a.m. April 9 to report an unknown person was outside his house, prying at locked doors and windows. Police searched the area and found 35-year-old Lakewood man walking nearby. The man said he tried to break into the house because his “heart” told him his “soul mate” lived there. He also admitted to using methamphetamine.

Also this week, a window was shattered at an oft-vandalized bus stop, and a texting driver rolled her car over on Torvanger Road.

The blotter is below: (more…)

The public can meet the five finalists for the Bainbridge police chief position Thursday evening. A meet-and-greet with the quintet is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. at City Hall.

The candidates will visit with personnel at the police department this afternoon before the public reception. Tomorrow they will meet with four interview panels and City Manager Doug Schulze. Schulze said he could announce his pick for the job as early as Friday evening.

Here are the mini-bios provided by the city:

Police Chief Finalist Brief Bios

A rotted alder tree fell onto a Honda CRV traveling east on Day Road at about 7:30 a.m. on March 13. The tree did significant damage to the Honda, which was towed. The driver and his son were uninjured.

The blotter is below:

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Police arrested a Suquamish woman for drunken driving on March 7 after her Scion collided head-on with a Ford pickup on Madison Avenue just west of Highway 305. Witnesses told police the woman was driving erratically before her vehicle crossed the centerline and hit the truck. The woman and the driver of the truck were transported to a hospital for evaluation.

Also this week, a New Sweden Avenue woman accused a neighbor of making barking noises to incite her dogs, and a beer bandit was foiled by a grocery store employee.

The blotter is below:

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From left, evidence technician Jennifer Cooper, Lt. Chris Jensen and Reserve Officer Mark Crowthers examine ammunition turned in by a Bainbridge resident Monday. (Tad Sooter photo)

Larry of Bainbridge Island found an unwelcome heirloom while cleaning out a family home Monday morning. Inside a box, tucked away in a closet, Larry discovered a collection of bullets and shotgun shells. The ammunition looked old and corroded.

“It scared the heck out of me,” said Larry, who declined to give his last name. “I thought, whoa, I’d better get rid of this.”

A phone call and a few hours later, Larry was handing the box of ammunition over to Bainbridge Police. The department held a firearms and ammunition disposal event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday. The program will continue Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. The event is open to anyone who wishes to participate and isn’t limited to Bainbridge residents.

The department will destroy all guns and ammunition turned in. “Nearly a dozen” unwanted firearms and about 1,600 rounds of ammunition were dropped off Monday, evidence technician Jennifer Cooper said. A definitive count will be taken following the Tuesday evening session.

Cooper said the motivation for the event is to help people safely dispose of unwanted ammunition and keep firearms from being stolen or falling into the wrong hands. About 70 firearms were stolen in Kitsap County in 2012, according to the department.

“Now we don’t know where those guns are,” Cooper said.

A handful of private gun buyers lingered near the entrance to the police department Monday and attempted to intercept people dropping off firearms and ammo. Among the buyers was Joe of Port Ludlow, who also declined to give a last name. Joe said he hadn’t made any purchases Monday but was glad to not see many firearms being turned in.

“It’s a good thing they aren’t bringing them down,” Joe said. “They should keep them.”

Turnout for the turn-in was light Monday but media attention was heavy. Two Seattle television stations covered the turn-in, along with local news outlets.

Larry, who was unaware of the event before he called the department that morning, found himself propositioned by gun buyers and photographed by reporters as he handed in his box of shells.

“I didn’t realize it was going to be such a big thing,” he said as he hurried back to his truck.

The police department is located at 625 Winslow Way East. For more information on the disposal event call (206) 842-5211.

A head-on collision just south of the Agate Pass Bridge closed Highway 305 for nearly four hours Monday afternoon. Two drivers were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and remained in serious condition Tuesday afternoon.

Response to the collision closed the highway in both directions from about 2-5:30 p.m. Monday. Backups stretched for miles.

We’ve heard from a few frazzled commuters and followers on social media wondering why the highway remained closed for so long after the drivers were evacuated. It’s a fair question, and I thought it would be interesting to break down what goes into a response of this nature, according to first responders:

• The collision was reported at 2:09 p.m. Monday by Bainbridge Fire Assistant Chief Luke Carpenter, who happened to driving from the island to a meeting in Bremerton at the time. Carpenter was only a few cars behind the sedan involved in the collision when the wreck occurred.

• About 20 firefighters responded to the scene. The drivers were trapped in their vehicles and had to be cut free. Both drivers were transported away from the scene by 2:35 p.m. The last fire department vehicle cleared at 3:06 p.m. (This aerial image from KOMO nicely illustrates the scope of the scene). (more…)

The Chilly Hilly ride came to an early end for one cyclist, who lost control on a gravelly corner of Sunrise Drive and slid into a mailbox post. The rider was transported to a Seattle for treatment of knee and shoulder injuries. It was one of two bicycle wrecks reported in the Sunrise Drive area Sunday.

Also this week, fluorescent green was the color of choice for a vulgar vandal, and a rental truck savaged a tree on High School Road.

The blotter is below:

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A handgun and up to $10,000 in rare coins were reported stolen Feb. 19 from a home on the 11000 block of Sunrise Drive NE. The home’s residents were in the process of moving when the items disappeared.

Also this week, loose dogs tangled with a poodle on Madison Avenue and someone cut the cover off a manhole on Halls Hill Road.

The blotter is below:

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A rash of mail theft was reported around the island in the last two weeks. Several residents returned home from trips to find suspiciously small amounts of mail in their mailboxes and expected deliveries missing. In one case a locking mailbox had been pried open.

Also this week, an $800 dinghy departed an Agate Passage home, and a driver reported hitting a mysterious pedestrian on Winslow Way.

The blotter is below: (more…)

Police responded to a Winslow hotel Feb. 1 where employees said a man had paid for four nights and refused to leave after his time expired. To make matters worse the man answered the door naked each time staff tried to talk with him. Police identified the unwelcome guest as a 44-year-old missing person from Wenatchee. He was transported to a Seattle hospital for evaluation.

Also this week, a valuable laser was stolen from a Wyckoff job site and a young cyclist was scraped up in a collision with an SUV.

The blotter is below: (more…)