Community Police & Fire

Gig Harbor Police Blotter | Three sentenced for post office burglaries

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.

A federal judge sentenced three people to prison for burglarizing eight Western Washington post offices, including on Fox Island and in Olalla.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle sentenced Paula Jean Gamboa, 38, of Federal Way, to 18 months in prison on Monday, Oct. 5. Earlier, Settle handed down sentences of 50 months to Justin Tate, 37, of Tacoma; and Gregory Foster, 60, of Port Orchard.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Tate led the trio that broke into post offices in Pierce, Kitsap, King, Thurston and Island counties in July 2024.

The Olalla Post Office burglary was on July 4 and the Fox Island Post Office burglary was on July 9. They also hit post offices on Anderson Island, Vashon Island, Snoqualmie, Clinton and the King County town of Preston.  

An image from surveillance footage shows suspects breaking into a post office in July 2024. Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office

Suspect, 60, drives politely while fleeing police

Police arrested a 60-year-old Gig Harbor woman after she refused to stop her car as they pursued her for suspected shoplifting.

When officers finally forced her to stop, she refused to get out of the car. Police had to wrestle the 60-year-old out of the vehicle and onto the ground, where they handcuffed her.

A store owner on Point Fosdick Drive reported that the woman stole about $300 worth of clothing and left the parking lot in an Audi sedan. Police were nearby and caught up to the Audi almost immediately.

The woman ignored their lights and sirens, however, and continued driving — though very politely. She drove almost exactly the speed limit and stopped for red lights and stop signs, but wouldn’t pull over.

Two officers eventually managed to box in her vehicle on Highway 16 at the Narrows Bridge toll plaza. They approached her with weapons drawn and pulled her out of the car when she refused to get out voluntarily.

Police booked the 60-year-old into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of theft, eluding police and other charges.

Is that a bottle of vodka in your pocket, or …

Officers cited a 66-year-old Gig Harbor woman for driving under the influence after a non-injury collision on 66th Avenue late on the evening of Sept. 27. 

Multiple witnesses called 911 to report the woman recklessly driving a Cadillac Escalade. She eventually hit a Tesla near the intersection of 66th Avenue and 86th Street Court.

She tried to blame the collision on her severe back pain and the six medications she takes. But an officer noticed a “large bulge” beneath her pants on her thigh, “consistent in shape with a pint of alcohol.” It turned out to be a half-empty bottle of vodka.

Officers cited and released her on suspicion of DUI.

Driver didn’t see police car or traffic cones

Police arrested a 51-year-old Gig Harbor man after he drove right past a parked Pierce County Sheriff’s Office vehicle and into a road construction area on Aug. 11.

An off-duty deputy was working a traffic control job at about 1 a.m. that day when a late 1990s Honda Accord drove through the intersection of Point Fosdick Drive and 45th Street Court. To do so, the driver passed the deputy’s patrol car, with lights activated, and several traffic cones. 

The car stopped nearby, the driver finally noticing the cones. The deputy read the car’s license plate, which had been reported as a possible DUI leaving a tavern nearby. When he asked the driver to shut off his car, the driver couldn’t figure out how to remove his keys from the ignition. 

Gig Harbor police officers took the man to St. Anthony Hospital for a blood draw. They cited him on suspicion of driving under the influence and released him. 

Trying to drive through a tree

Gig Harbor police arrested a 45-year-old Gig Harbor man after he struck a stop sign and collided with a tree on 112th Street Court on Aug. 30.

When officers walked up to the man’s Dodge pickup, they found him stepping down on the gas pedal, as if trying to drive through the tree. While officers talked to him, he again started the truck, resulting in a struggle. Officers were particularly concerned because the 45-year-old told them he had a firearm in the vehicle’s center console.  

The man’s two children later called police to ask if their father was OK. They told officers that they got out of the truck a few blocks away because they were concerned about his driving, and heard the collision.

Officers arrested the man on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Leaving a cloud in his wake

Police arrested a 27-year-old Port Orchard man on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after an officer noticed an extremely strong odor of marijuana.

So strong, in fact, that the officer could smell it from his patrol car as the 27-year-old drove in front of him.

The officer encountered the man’s pickup in a parking lot along Burnham Drive. The truck pulled out in front of the officer, who turned into the lot. As the truck drove down Burnham, the officer smelled pot smoke in the lot.  He described it as a “cloud” of pot smoke.

The man was cooperative and admitted to having smoked a joint a few minutes earlier. He was surprised to learn that the officer was approaching the parking lot when he drove the truck out.

Police cited and released him.