police blotter

Bainbridge Police reported the following incidents:

AUGUST 22

8:49 p.m. Officers on the police boat noticed a boat traveling toward Brownsville without navigation lights. The boat was stopped near the Brownsville breakwater. The boat’s operator said the lights didn’t work and he was heading back to the marina. The boat did not have a required sound device, but did have a life jacket and fire extinguisher. The operator was issued a warning.

AUGUST 23

7:50 a.m. A Bainbridge driver in a Ford pickup said he was distracted while waving at someone he knew when he made a turn in front of an oncoming car on Sportsman Club Road. The oncoming car veered right to miss the pickup and collided with a power pole. No injuries were reported and the pole was not damaged. The driver of the pickup was cited for inattention.

10:47 a.m. A Day Road West resident reported that $15 in gas had been siphoned from her Oldsmobile Cutlass. She said she had forgotten to lock the car overnight and in the morning had discovered its glove box and gas door hanging open. Her gas gauge was on empty. Nothing else was taken from the car. No suspects.

1:27 p.m. A Bainbridge driver was distracted by a ringing cell phone when her Volvo station wagon rearended a Ford Explorer stopped for a turn on Blakely Avenue. The driver of the Volvo was cited and her car was towed.

9:33 p.m. A pickup was stopped on Ferncliff Avenue for driving with non-matching license plates and a defective brake light. The driver’s license was also found to be suspended and she was cited.

AUGUST 24

7:55 p.m. A citizen reported a possible drunk driver in a gold Honda driving southbound on SR-305 near the bridge. The citizen said the Honda was driving erratically and had nearly hit another car. An officer caught up to the Honda and the reporting party on SR-305 and followed the Honda as it turned right onto Sportsman Club Road. The Honda continued to speed and crossed the centerline twice before the officer pulled it over. The driver, a Bainbridge man, apologized for speeding. He gave the officer his license then rifled unsteadily through the trunk of his car in search of vehicle registration. At length he produced a bundle of documents including paperwork from a previous drunk driving arrest. The man denied having drunk any alcohol and said he was acting erratically because the officers were making him nervous. The man performed poorly on three field sobriety tests. When the officer brought out a breath alcohol test the man admitted to having drunk two beers. He at first tried to blow gently around the mouthpiece of the breath test and was made to do it over. He was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. The man provided two more breath samples at the station. He seemed perplexed by the high results and swore he had only drunk five beers that day. He was booked into jail on $5,000 bail.

9:34 p.m. An officer responded to a report of car prowl on Winslow Way and Madison Avenue. The car’s owner said she had left it parked at 5 a.m. and returned to find one of its driver’s side windows broken and a GPS device and laptop bag missing from inside. No suspects.

AUGUST 25

2:27 a.m. A vehicle with an Indianapolis driver collided with a Mercedes Benz driven by a Bainnbridge driver in the Safeway Parking lot. The Indanapolis driver left a business card but later could not be contacted. The Mercedes was towed. No injuries were reported.

6:53 a.m. Police received several reports of a green car with Alaska plates driving erratically southbound on SR-305 near High School Road. One citizen reported that the car was “swerving all over” and had “almost hit a bike.” An officer pulled into traffic behind the car and observed it serve across the fog line several times. The officer stopped the green car and contacted its driver. The driver, a Mercer Island woman, said she was tired but a strong odor of intoxicants emanated from her vehicle and her eyes appeared red and watery. She agreed to voluntary breath alcohol test and made an unsteady exit from her car. Following a poor showing on the breath test she was arrested for driving under the influence and booked into jail.

2:26 p.m. A judge determined that a Bainbridge woman who had appeared for a hearing at the Municipal Court was too intoxicated to participate, and asked for police to respond with a portable breath alcohol test. The woman appeared very intoxicated but refused the breath test. The judge instructed the woman to not drive and the woman said “No problem.” Shortly afterward an officer watched the woman leave the court and enter a pickup truck. The officer followed the truck as it drove unsteadily north on Sunrise Road. The truck was stopped and the officer recontacted the woman. The officer reminded her that she should not be driving and asked her how much alcohol she had drunk. “I had some beers earlier,” she replied. This time the woman agreed to sobriety tests. She exited her vehicle and when removing her high heels, kicked one of the shoes into the middle of the roadway. Asked if she had any physical impairments, she said she did, “From life.” She performed poorly on the field tests and a breath test and was arrested for drivinng under the influence. The officer read the woman her Miranda rights and asked her if she understood them. “No” she said. The officer read them again but the woman’s response was the same. The woman told the officer he would have to reread the rights and she repeated the first few in a coaxing manner. The officer read her the rights for a third time with another officer as witness and the woman again said she didn’t understand them. The officer drove the woman to Kitsap County Jail where she refused to leave the patrol car and had to be forcibly escorted inside. Correctional officers carried the woman into a containment room. She subsequently threatened to kill several jail employees and yelled “This is just an (expletive) DUI.” The case was forwarded to prosecutors for charging.

5:45 p.m. A Dodge pickup rearended a Jaguar S-Type stopped in traffic on Agate Pass bridge. The driver of the Jaguar, a Bainbridge man, complained of a sore back and neck. The driver of the Dodge was cited for following too close.

AUGUST 26

1:05 p.m. A Jeep Cherokee was found parked in the middle of Yaquina Avenue blocking the path of a dump truck. An officer noted that its windows were rolled down, a purse was sitting in the front seat and there were keys in its ignition. The Jeep was found to be registered to a residence about 100 yards away. No one answered the door at the residence. A tow truck was hitching up to the Jeep when its owner appeared. She said she had been talking with friends and had lost track of time. She reached an agreement with the tow truck driver and the vehicle was not impounded.

2:04 p.m. A Bainbridge driver was found to have a suspended license after he was stopped for speeding on Fletcher Bay Road. The man was arrested and released on personal recognizance.

3 p.m. A guest of a hotel on High School Road said her Blackberry cell phone had been stolen from the hotel’s lobby. She said she had accidentally left it there while dining at the breakfast bar. No suspects.

4:09 p.m. A Winslow Wharf Marina resident came to the station and reported that his 21-speed REI Navara mountain bicycle had been stolen from a rack near the marina. He said the theft had ocurred sometime in the last three weeks and could not recall whether the bicycle had locked. The bicycle was valued at $2,500.

AUGUST 27

3:30 p.m. A Springwood Avenue resident received a notice from the post office that some of his mail had been found scattered along the roadway. He was advised to report the incident in case some of the mail had been stolen or he became the victim of identity theft.

AUGUST 28

12:12 a.m. A ferry terminal employee watched a vehicle drive through a partially closed gate into the ferry holding area, then drive back out through an open gate. One of the gates sustained minor damage. The vehicle could not be located.