Crime & Safety

UP Blotter: Parents Report Endangered Child at Chambers Bay Playground

The following arrest and crime information has been supplied by the University Place Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

July 31, 2013

Vandalism, Resisting Arrest: Officers responded to the Abby Lane Apartments on 70th Ave. W. for a report of a man knocking on several doors and yelling after a fight with his girlfriend. The girlfriend told police her ex-military boyfriend had been drinking with his friends all night and they started wrestling. He got out of control and took the fight to the parking lot, where he broke his friend’s nose and several glass bottles nearby. The man resisted arrest and officers had to taze him to get him into custody. He had to be transported to the hospital for his level of intoxication, then was booked for malicious mischief and resisting arrest. 

Hit and Run Collision: Police responded to a hit and run collision on 35th Street and Drexler Drive West just after noon. An elderly couple reported that they were rear-ended by a Mercedes Benz at the intersection of Bridgeport Way West and 35th St. W. They began to exchange information with the female driver, who wrote down an invalid drivers license and another unidentified list of numbers. She got back in her car and fled the scene. The couple wrote down the license plate, but a records check showed the plates registered to a different car. Based on the make of the car, the officer was able to narrow down a suspect and tracked her at the Ridgedale Apartments. The woman told police that she began to exchange information with the couple, but they cursed and berated her so she left. She said she was just about to call and report the incident. A records check showed she had a suspended license and expired insurance coverage. She was issued a criminal citation for hit and run, driving with a suspended license, for following too closely and having no insurance. 

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Car Prowl: Officers responded to the Vision Quest Fitness parking lot on 19th Street West for a vehicle prowl. A witness reported seeing a suspect break into a vehicle. He confronted the suspect, who said he was the owner. He then took something from the vehicle, put it in his pocket and fled toward Fred Meyer. The victim returned to her vehicle to find the rear drivers side window had been completely shattered. Her iPhone, left under the drivers seat, was missing. The man was not located.

July 27, 2013

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DUI, Malicious Mischief, Trespassing: UP officers responded to the Chambers Bay Golf Course for a report of a female driver causing vandalism to the golf course with her car. The night security guard told police that he was patrolling the grounds when he spotted a Ford Escort driving across the golf course toward the Puget Sound around 11 p.m. He attempted to catch up with the car in his golf cart, when it started to drive up the sidewalk adjacent to the main roadway, toward the Grandview Drive exit. The driver was forced to stop halfway up the hill because the fence was locked. The security officer approached her and she threatened to “ram the gate” unless he unlocked it to let her through. She was very intoxicated. The guard didn’t open the gate and called police instead. The car windshield was completely smashed in and the body of the car had significant damage. The 23-year-old driver told police, “I smashed up the golf course so I didn’t have to smash my girlfriend.” She had been arrested earlier in the month for a domestic violence incident. She told police they got in an argument that night and she drank approximately 5 beers before heading out to Chambers Bay. She faces charges of criminal trespassing, DUI and malicious mischief. She is also trespassed from the golf course.

July 25, 2013

Theft: An officer was dispatched to Rite Aid regarding a wallet theft. The victim told police he left his wallet at the checkout stand and someone stole it. Police watched the store’s surveillance footage and an employee identified the female thief as a store regular. Police were able to search for her information and found her address. Police located the suspect near her apartment and placed her under arrest for theft. She admitted to stealing the wallet and apologized. She said she only took $11 in cash and didn’t use the credit cards, and dropped the wallet into one of the exterior mailboxes at the UP Post Office. The officer drove her to the location but was unable to reach inside the bin and retrieve the wallet. The officer notified the victim to call the Post Office first thing in the morning.

Felon with Firearm: Officers were dispatched to the Chambers Skim Park regarding a threatening person with a weapon, just after 7 p.m. The victim said the “beyond intoxicated” man had threatened people with his handgun at the park after talking about obscene things and swearing in front of children. When someone confronted the man about his behavior, he got angry and pulled a pistol out of his backpack and put it in his waistband. He left the park but later returned and “flipped out” because he couldn’t find his gun magazine. A man found the magazine and threw it in a pond nearby. Dispatch advised that he was a convicted felon with a recent robbery conviction. K9 tracked the man to a home in Lakewood, where he was taken into police custody.

July 23, 2013

Possible Arson: Police arrived at Ladybug Espresso for a report of possible arson just after 12:30 p.m. The employees told officers that they found a Molotov Cocktail in the driveway of the business early that morning and threw it in the trash. A customer found it while driving up to the coffee shop and it appeared it had been burned. There was no property damage and the bottle was placed into police evidence.

July 21, 2013

Disorderly Conduct, Possible Child Endangerment: At approximately 6 p.m. officers responded to the North Meadow playground at Chambers Bay after several witness reported a couple arguing over a small child. Witnesses saw the young man jump over the fence, grab the small child from the mother and begin swinging with the child on the swing set. He started to challenge other people at the park who questioned his actions with extreme profanity and signaled out two mothers who challenged him about his language. When police arrived, witnesses saw him drag the mother and child away from the play area and head toward the trail. The officer spoke to over 20 witnesses who saw the interaction and he was eventually spotted running down the golf course. With Chambers Bay staff, police were able to detain the couple. The man was arrested for fourth-degree assault, criminal trespassing for attempting to escape through the golf course and disorderly conduct in the park. 


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