Community Police & Fire
Gig Harbor Police Blotter | Officers arrest man found smoking drugs with baby in back seat
Editor’s note: The Blotter is written based on information provided by Gig Harbor Police , Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers arrested a 28-year-old man on Dec. 11 after finding him passed out in the front seat of a car, with his infant child in the back seat.
Police responded to a store parking lot off Point Fosdick Drive at about 8 p.m. after receiving a shoplifting report. While approaching the store, an officer noticed a red Toyota Prius in the parking lot with fogged-up windows.
The officer saw a man passed out with his head on the steering wheel and a baby in the back seat. The man admitted to smoking fentanyl with the baby in the car, according to the officer’s report.
Police found fentanyl, meth and mushrooms in the vehicle.
Officers arrested the 28-year-old on suspicion of drug possession and reckless endangerment. They released him after a grandparent arrived to take custody of the baby.
Feds charge three with post office burglaries
Federal prosecutors charged three suspects with burglarizing area post offices, including in Olalla and on Fox Island.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced the charges on Nov. 26. A federal grand jury indicted Gregory Foster, 58, of Port Orchard; Justin Tate, 36, of Tacoma; and Paula Gamboa, 37, of Federal Way.
According to a news release announcing the indictments, the suspects kept cash and other valuables obtained during the break-ins, and used stolen documents to commit bank fraud. Charges include bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy.
The news release alleges that Tate and Foster broke into the Olalla Post Office on July 4, 2024. Tate and Gamboa stole mail from the Fox Island Post Office on July 9, 2024, according to prosecutors.
Other crimes involved in the case occurred in Littlerock (Thurston County); Anderson Island; Vashon Island; Snoqualmie; Whidbey Island; and Preston (King County).
Easily identifiable suspicious activity
A 52-year-old Gig Harbor man did a U-turn on North Harborview Drive after spotting a police car early on the morning of Nov. 21. That was a dead giveaway that something was amiss, the officer wrote in her report.
She ended up arresting the man on suspicion of driving under the influence after tailing him long enough to see him swerve in his lane.
The suspect told the officer that he did the U-turn because he was driving the wrong direction to go home. The address listed on his driver’s license put the lie to that. He struggled with field sobriety tests, at one point blaming his “very cushy” shoes for not being able to stand on one leg.
The officer checked his records and discovered that the Washington State Patrol arrested the same man on suspicion of DUI in September.
Officers booked the suspect into the Kitsap County Jail.
Bad guy with bad timing
There isn’t really a good time to shoplift, but a 64-year-old man may have picked the worst time on Nov. 21 outside a Gig Harbor grocery store.
The suspect, a transient who frequents the Gig Harbor area, loaded a cart with food and alcohol and pushed it out the door without paying. He did so while Gig Harbor Police Chief Tray Federici was at the store attending a food drive.
The chief detained the 64-year-old and asked an on-duty officer to respond. The store determined that the man tried to steal $134 worth of merchandise. Officers cited the man for theft and gave him a ride to the Purdy Park and Ride.
