Tag Archives: port orchard

Bremerton city attorney drops pot cases

The Bremerton city attorney has dismissed about 20 simple possession marijuana cases in the wake of Initiative 502’s passage. 

City Attorney Roger Lubovich said his office was waiting until Dec. 6, an ounce of pot for adults 21 and older became legal in the state. He said the dismissals were limited to those charged with just misdemeanor possession, and not in cases where multiple crimes were charged.

Bremerton’s municipal court handles misdemeanor cases that occur within the city. The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s office handles all felony cases in the county and misdemeanor cases outside Bremerton. The office has a contract for prosecutorial services with Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island.

Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge had already announced his office was dropping misdemeanor pot cases in mid-November, resulting an estimated few dozen dismissals.

Interestingly, under the new state law, up to an ounce, or about 28 grams, is legal to possess for adults 21 and over. That means it’s still a misdemeanor to have between 28 and 40 grams of pot (that is, unless it’s in food or liquid form). Above 40 grams is still a felony.

 

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UPDATE: Cops search car of suspected liquor thieves

Fifty bottles of high end liquor were removed from a car police believe belongs to one of three women who stole it from area Safeway stores, Port Orchard Police Cmdr. Geoffrey Marti told me this morning. 

The bottles were mostly in the $50 price range, Marti said. A detective obtained a search warrant and served it on the car, found by police at the Port Orchard Safeway, Thursday afternoon.

Long story short, the three women, who have yet to be charged with a crime, are accused of stealing the liquor from Safeway stores all across the county, from Bainbridge Island to Port Orchard. They were arrested in Port Orchard but released Tuesday as the investigation developed.

Here’s the recap, if you haven’t read it yet:

 Police say the trio, two Seattle women age 23 and 21 and a 21-year-old Kent woman, have been caught on camera and by store security loading shoulder bags and shopping carts full of liquor and then attempting to leave the stores. Up until early Monday, they’d avoided apprehension.

But early Monday — after the women were alleged to have made off with more than $600 worth of mostly Crown Royal from the Bainbridge Island Safeway on High School Road — the suspects showed up at the Bethel Road Safeway in Port Orchard, 36 miles away.

There, an officer, notified by Bethel Road store’s employees and Bainbridge officers, confronted the three. In interviews with Port Orchard officers, two denied the thefts and a third declined to talk to police. Police located a vehicle in the parking lot that had numerous bottles of liquor, including Crown Royal with security devices attached to them.

In total, the three are alleged to have attempted to take or make off with liquor in the past week at Safeways in Bainbridge, Port Orchard, East Bremerton and West Bremerton. Police say they might have stolen from some stores more than once.

The case is now being coordinated by a Kitsap County Sheriff’s detective, Marti added. We’ll keep you posted.

Blogger’s note: the photo on this post comes from the Bremerton Safeway’s attempted liquor theft by the same suspects Sept. 3. 

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Port Orchard: Crime Stoppers Offers Cash Reward for Graffiti Vandals

Think you can catch those contributing to Port Orchard’s ongoing graffiti problem? Crimestoppers of Washington state is now offering a reward:

Since August 2010, business owners in the City of Port Orchard have been victimized by graffiti. The following are tagging monikers that have been spray pained throughout the city: ELFRO360, ABORT, ZAP, DOS1, TOY, JSK, BIC, IRG, CASL, NGST, NOYC.
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound will pay up to $1000 for information leading to the arrest and felony charges against the participants in this despicable and costly crime.
Call 1-800-222-TIPS if you have ANY information.

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LIVE BLOG: Kitsap County Traffic Court

THE BACKGROUND: A deputy prosecutor will stand in on behalf of the state in Kitsap County’s traffic court for the first time this afternoon.

The move was a part of Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge’s plan to boost revenues during the county’s budget discussions last fall. He told the county commissioners having a prosecutor to help present the case of the police who wrote the ticket could lead to about $148,000 in additional revenue.

Up until now, Hauge told the commissioners that “if you know the magic words to say,” tickets would be dismissed without an argument from prosecutors — because no prosecutor was ever in court.

Another program aimed at relicensing motorists charged with suspended driving — before almost always reduced to a $124 ticket — also begins today. Drivers will now face a $250 fine under a so-called “diversion” program. The good news for defendants, however, is it is a pathway to becoming licensed again, prosecutors argued. That program could bring in more than $356,000, Hauge argued to commissioners.

The programs only affect Ktsap County District Court — not in courts in Poulsbo, Port Orchard, Bremerton or Bainbridge Island.

A story about the first day of the two programs will be posted later today.

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The Crime Stats Are Out (How Did Your Community Fare?)

This week, the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs (WASPC) released their annual report on crime in this state. I’m working today to analyze the numbers and get the thoughts about them from our local law enforcement leaders.

For the county, here’s the overall trends:

  • Violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, assault) in the county fell about four percent, from 1,103 reported incidents to 1,060.
  • Property crime (theft, burglary, ect.) in the county, too, fell almost five percent, from 6,465 incidents to 6,170.

I’ve posted the report below, so you can see for yourself. I’ll be updating this entry throughout the rest of the day with tidbits and stats on each of our communities.

Crime stats overall
Violent crime (rape, robbery, murder, assault)
Property crime (theft, burglary, ect.)

Kitsap County Sheriff

2008            2009     %change
Violent crime       674            682      up, 1.2 percent
Property crime     3,789       3,267    down, 13.8 percent

Bainbridge Island
Violent crime       29             31          up, 6.9 percent
Property crime     324         304         down, 6.2 percent

Bremerton
Violent crime       308            250      down, 18.8 percent
Property crime     1,584       1,718    up, 8.5 percent

Port Orchard
Violent crime       50              52          up, 4 percent
Property crime      465         564         up, 21.3 percent

Poulsbo
Violent crime       42            45              up, 7.1 percent
Property crime      303         317             up, 4.6 percent

Mason County Sheriff
Violent crime       140         133             down, 5 percent
Property crime     1,648       1,578        down, 4.2 percent

CIW2009

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Port Orchard Man Gets 30 Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme

Charles Nolon Bush, 69, was sentenced in federal court today to 30 years in prison for bilking investors out of $35 million. He also will have to bay $30 million in restitution.

Bush took the money, promising high-yield investments, but only invested a third of the money. He used the rest of it to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a home with a golfing green in Port Orchard. He also used the money to pay previous investors in a Ponzi scheme.

One victim from Gig Harbor Gig Harbor stated during sentencing in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, “everything you’ve ever done is a lie” and wished a 300-year term upon him.

After sentencing, Bush told the court, “I do plan on appealing … I am sickened over the pain I’ve caused people.” But he says he didn’t do anything “criminally.”

We’ll have more on the sentencing this evening.

– Angela Dice (filling in while Josh drives back from Tacoma to write the story)

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