University Place Blotter: 'It's Not Drugs, Just a Powdery Booger' and More

FEB. 28, 2013

Speeding, Drug Possession: An officer observed a speeding Lexus and attempted a traffic stop at 40th St. W. and Sunset Dr. W. The driver wouldn’t pull over right away, but when he finally did, police found him with his hands covering his face, his head shaking. He said he was speeding to meet his girlfriend at her work. There was a roll of foil and straws on the passenger seat, a common sign of drug use. There was also a bag of methamphetamine in the car.

Police looked up his record and realized he was a convicted felon for drug manufacturing. He got upset and told the officer the drug items weren’t his, that a friend borrowed his vehicle earlier. He identified a wedding ring next to the baggie of drugs as his. He said he hadn’t used drugs in over three months but had a white substance on his nose, which he described to police as a “powdery booger.”

A WSP Trooper arrived on the scene to give the suspect a DUI test and found him to be unimpaired. His car was impounded pending a search warrant, he was issued a citation for speeding and the trooper gave him a ride home.

The search warrant uncovered a sizable amount of cocaine, more paraphernalia and messages on the man’s cell phone that indicated he was a drug dealer. The information has been forwarded to the prosecutor for charging.

MARCH 2, 2013

DUI, Hit and Run, Obstructing: Officers were dispatched to the Jack in the Box on Bridgeport Way just after midnight for a report of a vehicle collision. The involved people were found arguing in the parking lot. The suspect driver was still in his car when police arrived. When officers demanded he exit the vehicle, the suspect put his car in reverse and attempted to speed out of the parking lot. The officers were able to quickly box him into the parking lot with their vehicle. The suspect tried to roll up his window and an officer quickly exited his vehicle and wedged his flashlight in the car, preventing the window from closing. The officer reached in, unlocked the car and escorted him out of the vehicle and smelled alcohol. The man resisted arrest but was taken down by officers in the parking lot.

The people in the victim car said that after the fender bender, they thought it was only a scratch and were ready to let the situation go. However, the suspect began calling them racial slurs and became increasingly hostile, so they called police.

The drunk driver was arrested for DUI, resisting arrest, obstructing an officer and attempted hit and run. His vehicle was towed from the scene.

Vandalism, Theft: Officers were dispatched to a report of three people pulling down a stop sign near 40th St. W. and Olympic Blvd. just after 4 a.m. They arrived to see the suspects loading bicycles into a white suburban. Police asked about the bicycles and the underage suspects said they found them in the street. They eventually admitted to stealing the items from numerous locations.

While escorted by police, the suspects returned to the homes where all the items were stolen, and one by one they returned them all to their rightful owners. Charges of theft were forwarded to the juvenile prosecutor.

MARCH 3, 2013

Car Prowl: A car prowl occurred in the Curtis High School parking lot near the aquatic center between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The car window was smashed and a Coach purse was stolen. Another car prowl at the high school was found just before 5 p.m. in the faculty parking lot. The rear passenger side window of that car was smashed in, and a Kindle, GPS system, CDs and a backpack were stolen.

Car Prowl: A car was prowled in the Steph’s Pizza parking lot at 3:32 p.m. The victim said she noticed a car parked near hers that had three women inside who looked like drug addicts. She returned to the car with her boyfriend and found the windows smashed in and her purse stolen.

Car Prowl: A car was prowled in the Chambers Creek playfield sometime between 3:30 and 5 p.m. The front window was smashed and an iPod, medication, sunglasses, clothing, a wallet and CDs were stolen. The woman told police she covered her items with the jacket but it was all stolen nonetheless.

MARCH 4, 2013

Theft: A resident on 68th Ave. W. reported that a guest stole her wedding rings and iPad. She said the guest was a former babysitter who didn’t work out, but had dropped by her home unexpectedly to say hello. The suspect was pregnant and the two women chatted for a while about babysitting and kids, then the woman asked to use the bathroom and left. After she left, the homeowner realized the items were missing.

She called the suspect, who denied stealing the items. The victim told police she started crying and pleading with the woman to just return her wedding ring, when the woman admitted that it wasn’t possible—she had pawned it already. She never admitted to stealing the iPad. Police put a hold on the item at the pawn shop, and the victim drove to the suspect’s house and demanded she take her to the pawn shop. The woman was able to get one ring back but couldn’t afford to buy back the other two but promised she would. Police warned the homeowner to call 9-11 if the woman showed up unannounced again.

MARCH 5, 2013

Found Property: Police recovered three different sandwich baggies full of marijuana on the 7900 block of 42nd St. W. It was placed into police property so it could be destroyed.

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