More charges in vandal case
Felony charges were filed this week against a second Bainbridge High School graduate suspected of vandalizing Bainbridge Police vehicles June 11.
Bainbridge Police arrested 18-year-old Colin Bruce Bowman at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, and he was booked into Kitsap County Jail the same day.
Bowman was arraigned Thursday in Kitsap Superior Court and pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree malicious mischief. Judge Sally F. Olsen released Bowman on personal recognizance following the hearing.
Police made an initial arrest in the vandalism case on June 13, placing 18-year-old Samuel Bice in custody at Bainbridge High School. Bice pleaded not guilty Monday to three counts of first-degree malicious mischief in Kitsap Superior Court, and was released on recognizance.
Bice and Bowman are scheduled to return to court for an Aug. 13 hearing, and a trial date is set for Sept. 8. Each first-degree malicious mischief charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine; prosecutors also plan to seek restitution for the damaged police vehicles.
Police are still investigating the incident, which took place between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on June 11 at the station on Winslow Way. Vandals dumped and sprayed paint on eight parked Bainbridge Police vehicles and slashed the tires of five. A car driven by Police Chief Matt Haney also was vandalized at his island home.
According to court documents, officers investigating the scene followed a trail of footprints left by suspects who stepped in paint, to a parking lot across the street from the station. There they found the lid from a paint can, which led them to a Peninsula Paint store. Store employees informed officers that the paint was purchased with a credit card belonging to Bice’s mother in November 2007. Subsequent evidence gathered in the execution of three search warrants led to the arrest of Bice.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Bowman’s arraignment, police were told that Bowman wanted to turn himself in following the execution of the search warrants. Bowman met with police at his attorney’s office, and, according to the statement, he told officers that he and Bice had painted police vehicles at the station and at Haney’s residence, and said Bice had slashed the tires of the vehicles.
Bowman told officers he had discarded his paint-stained clothing in a dumpster in Suquamish. The clothes, including a pair of shoes with tread that matched prints found at the crime scene, were later recovered by police, the statement said.
Bowman’s attorney was unavailable for comment Friday.
A 17-year-old was also arrested at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Duncan said the boy was booked on a drug-related charge, based on evidence uncovered in the investigation into the vandalism. The boy was transported to a juvenile detention facility and later released to his parents, Duncan said.
When asked if more arrests were forthcoming in the vandalism case, Duncan said: “We’re still continuing the investigation. It’s not over.”
Man arrested after brandishing chainsaw
A 31-year-old Bainbridge man was booked into Kitsap County Jail on felony charges Thursday, after threatening medical personnel with a chainsaw and kicking a Bainbridge Police officer.
Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, police and aid units responded to Wild Rose Lane after the man’s wife called 911.
“(The man) had been upset apparently, and had been smashing his head into the windshield of his own vehicle,” Deputy Police Chief Mark Duncan said.
The man, identified as Seth J. Chipman, was wielding a 6-foot-long stick when officers arrived at the scene, according to a police release.
Chipman put down the stick to be evaluated by medics, but then became aggressive and pulled a chainsaw from his vehicle, which he brandished in the air. He put the saw down when police moved in to protect the medics, then tried to take away an officer’s handgun. The man was arrested following a brief struggle, but managed to kick an officer in the chest as he was being placed in the a police car.
The officer was evaluated at Harrison Hospital and was recovering at home Friday, Duncan said.
Chipman was booked into Kitsap County Jail on two felony assault charges. Bail was set at $100,000.
Non-motorized projects begin soon
With school out for summer, the city is set to begin work next week on a project aimed at improved cycling and pedestrian safety near Blakely Elementary School.
Several changes are planned, including a new sidewalk that will connect Blakely Avenue with the Blakely Heights neighborhood. Traffic calming islands at either end of the school zone on Blakely Ave. and solar-powered, digital display speed limit signs that adjust from 20 to 30 miles per hour depending on the time of day also will be installed.
The Blakely project, along with a sidewalk installed this spring on Day Road, north of Wilkes Elementary School, is part of an effort funded through the “Safe Routes to School” program.
Construction is scheduled to start Monday and should be completed in time for school this fall, city officials said.
“Together with shoulder widening on Bucklin Hill Road completed earlier this summer and the new sidewalk and wider shoulders added on Wyatt Way a few years ago, the Blakely School project will help create a better route for cyclists and pedestrians travelling between downtown Winslow and the south end of the island,” City Engineer Bob Earl said.
The changes on Bucklin Hill were part of the city’s ‘Core 40’ initiative, which targets a 40-mile network of island roadways for non-motorized improvements.
Other recent non-motorized projects include the shoulder widening, bridge and pathways completed last fall along State Route 305, which links Cave Avenue to the Vineyard Lane development.
A future Core 40 priority is implementation of design improvements for walkers and cyclists on North Madison.
Kiwanis seeks nominees
The Kiwanis Club of Bainbridge Island is seeking nominations for the 2008 Bainbridge Island Citizen of the Year.
The candidate should be a resident of the island, a major contributor to our community and to the well being of the citizens, and not a member of Kiwanis. Nomination forms are available at island service organizations, religious institutions and other charitable groups, Anyone, however, can submit a nomination. Additional forms can be obtained from Jane Sutherland at 842-3253 or (206) 719-7448. Completed nominations must be received by July 15.
The club’s board of directors will select the top citizen from the nominees, and the recipient will be honored during the Kiwanis Club’s annual installation dinner, scheduled in September at IslandWood.
Past Bainbridge Island recipients of the Citizen of the Year Award:
1984, Phoebe Smith; 1985, Jack Gordon; 1986, Vern McDonnell; 1987, Corinne Berg; 1988, Herb Ihrig; 1989; Katy Warner; 1990, James Hodges; 1991, Walt Woodward; 1992, Joyce Kallgren; 1993, Lucille Galbraith, 1994, James Dow; 1995, Connie Mueller; 1996, Joanne Ellis; 1997, Suyco Noritake; 1998, Wayne Daley; 1999, Darlene Kordonowy; 2000, Ed Kushner; 2001, Larry Mills; 2002, Garnie Quitsland; 2003; Kate Carruthers; 2004; Pat Egaas; 2005, Ann Lovejoy; 2006, Wini Jones; 2007, Ron Williamson.
