Community Police & Fire

Gig Harbor Police Blotter | Man arrested on suspicion of robbery after shoplifting while carrying a knife

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.

Police arrested a 32-year-old Gig Harbor man who they said brandished a knife after stealing items from a store on Point Fosdick Drive. 

A 911 caller reported the man behaving suspiciously around 6:30 a.m. May 12. The employee said the man was carrying a pocket knife and trying to enter closed businesses. 

Police found the man walking out of a store, wearing sunglasses with the tags still on them. Employees of that store told officers the 32-year-old stole items and displayed the knife when they confronted him about it.

The suspect told police he stole items because he was concerned about his cat, which was in his car. He told police he didn’t want them to kill his cat. 

An officer recognized the suspect from previous incidents as someone who struggles with mental health issues. The officer called the suspect’s mother, who told him that the 32-year-old recently stopped taking his medications. She said a judge recently rejected her Joel’s Law petition, which would have compelled the man to get treatment.

Officers booked the man into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery. A robbery occurs when someone uses force or the threat of force while committing theft. 

Customer didn’t take rejection well 

Police arrested a 30-year-old Tacoma man whose attempts to flirt with a convenience store clerk were gently rejected on the afternoon of June 2.

The clerk called 911 around 2:30 p.m. to report that a customer had thrown merchandise and a display stand at her, hitting her in the stomach.

She told officers the incident started when the customer told her she was “beautiful.” She responded that her boyfriend thinks so, too.

This inexplicably angered the customer, who swept his arms into merchandise and displays on the counter. She was not injured when the items hit her.

Officers cited and released the 30-year-old suspect.

Huffing fumes to avoid failing a drug test

Gig Harbor officers responded to several reports this week of a 31-year-old Olalla woman causing disruptions after inhaling fumes from an aerosol can.

The woman reportedly screamed at traffic and wandered in and out roadways at several locations on June 1 and 2. Incidents occurred on Borgen Boulevard, Canterwood Boulevard and elsewhere. 

An officer who spoke to the woman around 10:30 a.m. June 2 on Borgen wrote that she was “unable to have cognitive thought or respond to me.”

She later told the officer that she gets high using aerosol cans because she is required to undergo drug tests as a condition of her release from prison. Huffing fumes, apparently, does not trigger a positive drug test.

An officer detained the woman on June 2 on suspicion of the unusual crime of “inhaling toxic fumes.” But the Kitsap County Jail would not admit her on that charge, and the officer could not reach her Department of Corrections parole officer.

He took her to St. Anthony Hospital for evaluation. Within less than two hours she was walking in traffic on Canterwood Boulevard.