University Place Blotter: Vandals Ruin Wet Sidewalk, $350k in Gems Stolen in Car Prowl at Chambers Bay Golf Course

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APRIL 9, 2013

Obstructing: Officers were called to Cheers West on 27th St. W. for reports of an unwanted person in the bar at 1:33 a.m. The bartender told police that a female patron began walking around and talking to herself after having two drinks. She said some strange things and began to make other people uncomfortable, then began taking photos of herself in the back of the bar. She attempted to take a few items and was then asked to leave. While en route to the call, dispatch said the woman called 9-11 and claimed the bar was discriminating against her based on her nationality and religion. Police contacted the white female outside the bar and she appeared to be drunk and possibly high. She wouldn’t leave the scene and refused to give police her true identity. She physically resisted arrest but was eventually taken into custody. A records check showed she had DUI and outstanding MIP warrants. She was arrested for the warrants, plus obstructing and resisting arrest.

Vandalism: Police responded to a business on Beckonridge Dr. W. and Grandview Drive W. currently under construction. An employee told officers that two people wrote their names in wet concrete on the sidewalk. He told officers that crews even stayed late to guard the site from vandals, but the damage was done after 11 p.m. That morning, the employee saw the suspect in the street and called him by the name written in the concrete. The man and his girlfriend turned around, then the employee called 9-11. The couple denied writing on the wet sidewalk, saying a random kid must have done it. The two were arrested for vandalism and taken to jail “laughing and snickering,” according to police.

Car Prowl: An officer was dispatched to Chambers Bay Golf Course just before 7 p.m. for a car prowl in which a number of specialty gems had been stolen. The victim was parked in the turnaround area of the clubhouse and had locked a briefcase full of gems in his car while he played a round of golf, and covered his briefcase with a jacket. He was in town doing business and told police he doesn’t usually leave the gems in his car, which were worth over $350,000. The car prowl suspect also stole the man’s cell phone from the cupholder. Investigators found that the lock on the drivers side had been punched to gain entry.

APRIL 12, 2013

Car Prowl: A car was prowled while it was parked at a repair shop overnight on 70th Ave. W. The front passenger window was smashed out and there were two rocks inside the car. The dashboard was damaged and approximately $5 in change was stolen.

APRIL 13, 2013

DUI: An officer on patrol near Orchard St. W/56th Street witnessed a vehicle go through the intersection at a high rate of speed into UP. He followed the vehicle and watched it overtake another motorist on the shoulder, drift and almost hit a traffic island. The officer pulled the car over in the intersection at 67th Ave. W. As the officer approached, the driver immediately lit a Black and Mild cigar. He told the officer he was “straightening his car out” on the road and was trying to get home after losing his wallet at a bar in Lakewood. He was arrested for DUI.

APRIL 14, 2013

Car Prowl: The back windshield of a vehicle was shattered outside Trader Joes, just before midnight. Multiple items were stolen from the vehicle, including the victim’s purse and wallet, school textbooks, personal files and a graphing calculator. The victim’s credit cards were used at gas stations in Lakewood.

APRIL 15, 2013

Eluding, Resisting Arrest: An officer doing radar on Cirque Drive W. spotted a driver traveling eastbound at over 50 mph. The vehicle was drifting in and out of the lane; the officer activated his emergency lights and pulled the car over. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver hit the gas and sped off, eventually hitting two vehicles stopped at the intersection of Cirque Dr. W. and Orchard St. The suspect lost control and rolled his vehicle at the intersection. He then got out of the car and sprinted away from the scene toward the Orchard Hills Apartments.

The officer chased him into the apartment building parking lot and deployed his taser, but the electric volts had no effect; the suspect ripped them out of his chest, laughing. He told the officer, “I just have a suspended license, man,” then ran east through the parking lot. The officer had to hit him with his flashlight several times to slow him down during the chase and eventually had to knock him unconscious to place him under arrest. However, the man woke up and continued to struggle. While the officer waited for backup, two unknown civilians stopped and helped the officer restrain the suspect. 

The man was arrested for felony eluding, DUI, driving with a suspended license, fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle collision, obstructing, resisting arrest and a misdemeanor warrant for DUI.