Tag: vehicle prowls

Posted by Caleb Hutton

Text courtesy of the Blaine Police Department, with minor edits for style.

Wednesday, Feb. 6

11:09 p.m. A motel manager was one of the people who called police to report that someone was pressure washing equipment in an alley adjacent to the motel. Guests and residents in the area were unable to sleep due to the din of the industrial-strength engine and pressure blasting away. An officer found a vendor using the alley to blast clean metal commercial kitchen equipment from a nearby restaurant. The vendor was advised of the noise ordinance provisions and the legal hours for such activities, and he agreed to stop for the rest of the night.

Thursday, Feb. 7

10:06 a.m. Officers responded to a residence to investigate a 911 hang up on Alder Street. They found that there was no emergency, and provided the occupant with a suggestion that he read his new phone’s instruction manual before making a third attempt at adding 911 to his speed dial list.

5:30 p.m. Police received information that a juvenile girl had been sexually assaulted by a person she knows. Officers investigated and arrested a teenage male for third-degree rape. The teen was booked into juvenile detention, and the police investigation continues.

Friday, Feb. 8

4:24 a.m. Police responded to a newspaper delivery woman’s report of a fire alarm sounding inside an unoccupied residence. Firefighters entered the house and determined that an old, upstairs smoke detector had become faulty. There was no fire, and the house was secured.

10:24 a.m. An officer stopped a vehicle for speeding 52 mph in a 25 mph zone on D Street near Ninth Street. The 52-year-old Coquitlam, B.C., resident was arrested for reckless driving, cited, and released with a date for a mandatory court appearance.

6 p.m. A teenage girl reported she was walking on H Street near Harrison Avenue when a van quickly pulled up beside her and the man driving it asked her if he could give her a ride. The girl ran away and called her parents. Dad picked up his scared daughter and they reported the incident to police. An officer searched the area for the van and suspect without success. Case under investigation.

Saturday, Feb. 9

3:20 a.m. An officer conducting security checks at a commercial complex came upon a portable toilet had been knocked over outside a warehouse. It did not appear otherwise damaged, but the amenity was no longer useful to anyone who might have need of it’s former vertical stance. The officer made sure no hapless customer was trapped inside, and notified the company which owns the rental unit so they could remove it.

4:30 a.m. A resident called police to report that a thief had gotten in to his unlocked pickup truck overnight on Garfield Avenue. The vehicle’s glove box was ransacked and stuff strewn about. The culprit stole two key rings, each holding about ten keys to various locks which protect various things that the owner does keep secure. The victim’s truck had been parked behind his home in a parking spot by the alley at the time. A check of the area uncovered other unlocked vehicles along the same alley which had also been entered and rummaged through. All officers were advised for their patrols. [Editor's note: Several other vehicle prowls were discovered on neighboring streets and filed in separate cases.]

9:55 a.m. Police were dispatched to the Blaine School District athletic fields on Pipeline Road. A concerned neighbor had noticed a young girl walking alone on the fields behind the fence, holding a soccer ball and wearing light clothing inappropriate for the cold rain and breeze. There was no adult or anyone else in sight to care for the kid, and the resident was concerned for her safety. An officer checked the field, dug outs, and perimeter of the fields and the surrounding country block.  He found a solitary soccer ball sitting unattended in the rain, but was unable to locate the lonely little apparition which had been carrying it.

5 p.m. An employee at a business on Peace Portal Drive called police to report that, about four hours earlier, a man whom no one knew walked into their facility and wandered making people nervous by his apparent lack of purpose. U.S. Border Patrol agents assisted an officer with checking the area to make sure the curious gentleman was no longer in the vicinity.

Sunday, Feb. 10

4:44 a.m. A police officer assisted medics at a G Street residence following a report from relatives there that a family member had fallen out of bed at a home.  The arriving emergency responders found that the person had not actually fallen, but had purposefully and happily gotten down on the floor to better satisfy an irresistible 4 a.m. urge to count out the contents of a coin collection. Apparently this is one of the minor potential side effects of at least one prescription sleeping aid.

11 a.m. A boat owner and his friend went to Semiahmoo Marina to make some needed repairs to the dinghy on the man’s yacht. They arrived only to discover that the dinghy and its outboard motor had been stolen from his boat overnight. Between the time of the call to police and an officer’s arrival at the marina, the owner solved the case. It turned out that two of his nefarious neighbors at the marina had overheard that the skiff needed repair, so they hauled it over and set to work fixing it, each unaware that neither of them had told the owner what they were doing.

4:59 p.m. An adult man was injured when assaulted at a residence on Harrison Avenue. The victim left the house but was located nearby by police and medics were called to evaluate his injuries. The man had suffered a minor self inflicted knife wound, and had been punched in the face by his dad. Police investigated, arrested the 58-year-old Blaine resident father, and booked him in to jail for misdemeanor domestic violence assault.

Monday, Feb. 11

10:25 a.m. City employees reported that one or more cretins had vandalized some of the metal fish sculptures which decorate the Marine Drive Park Salmon Wall. An officer checked the area and did not find any other damage. It appears that someone with large muddy shoes and more weight than IQ had used the fish as makeshift stairs to climb the wall, bending the metal pins to which the sculptures are welded. The pins and welds held firm, and some bending in the other direction should get the salmon all swimming upstream once more.

11:09 a.m. A homeowner called police when he discovered that equipment had been stolen from his unlocked detached garage on Adelia Street. A well used, well cared for and distinctive gray Giant-brand 24-speed bicycle, a small red rototiller, a hammer, a 30-year-old Skil saw and an almost-new pair of bolt cutters were among the items taken. Police are investigating the burglary and theft, which possibly happened late Friday or early Saturday.

2:02 p.m. Police were called when concerned witnesses saw a very intoxicated man get into a vehicle downtown and drive east on H Street.  Dispatch broadcast a good description of the man and his pickup truck, and a U.S. Border Patrol agent soon advised Blaine officers that the suspect was near the post office. Police contacted the driver and determined from field sobriety tests that he was indeed under the influence of alcohol. The 64-year-old Birch Bay resident was arrested and booked into jail after processing.

Tuesday, Feb. 12

2:59 p.m. A resident on F Street called police when a pickup came to a stop out in the road blocking a driveway, then the driver leapt out and fled on foot. An officer arrived to investigate and happened upon a gentleman who turned out to be the fleet-footed motorist’s friend. The buddy explained that the driver had been headed to work when his truck ran out of gas, so he bolted down the street to catch the bus to get to work on time. Officer and friend acknowledged the driver’s commitment by pushing his truck to the side of the street and safely parking it for him.

6:56 p.m. A resident contacted police after a man driving a white Subaru Impreza stopped near two teenagers walking down Adelia Street, and made a strange remark to them which they believed to be about drugs. The man then got out of his vehicle, said he was looking for someone and mentioned a person’s name. The teenagers hightailed it to a nearby friend’s home and reported the incident. Officers are investigating.