Sheriff’s Report, Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2002

compiled by Penny Chambers

Possession of Stolen Property – Sept. 28: Two Puyallup females ages 47 and 20, purchased items, including a $250 horse saddle, using a stolen check at a garage sale on 240^th Street East in Graham. The victim, a 47-year-old Graham woman, had told the two females that she also had a horse for sale at the time they bought the saddle. Later discovering the check used to pay for the merchandise was stolen, the Graham woman contacted a sheriff’s deputy, and the two decided to try and set up a “meeting” so the two females could come back to the Graham woman’s home and look at the horse for sale. The arrangement was made, and once the two women pulled into the driveway of the home in Graham the victim called the deputy who arrived shortly afterward. The deputy had previously found the checks had been reported stolen by a young woman from Tumwater who, while using the restroom at the Puyallup fair, left her backpack outside of the stall door, and found it missing when she came out. The 20-year-old suspect admitted to the deputy she had found the checkbook on the street outside of the fair and had given it to her 47-year-old friend, telling her it was okay to use the checks. Both Puyallup women were arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail.

Vehicle Recovery – Sept. 28: A sheriff’s deputy responded to a shooting complaint coming from a residence on 324^th Street East in Eatonville. After talking with the resident outside of her home concerning the fire arms being discharged nearby, the deputy commented on what a nice bulldozer the woman had sitting in her yard. She told the deputy it belonged to a friend of her son’s, who was in jail and who asked if he could store the bulldozer on their property. She also remarked how useful the piece of equipment had been while in her and her son’s possession. The deputy became suspicious that a man in jail would own such an expensive piece of equipment, a John Deer 450. He also had recently taken a report from a Graham Construction Co. of a stolen bulldozer and told the woman so. She responded she didn’t want stolen merchandise on her property and let the deputy inspect the bulldozer. Locating the VIN number, he found it to be the same piece of heavy equipment reported stolen by the construction company and arranged for the equipment’s recovery. The deputy next spotted a very nice tandem axle heavy duty equipment hauler, which he discovered had been reported as stolen out of Kittitas County by the Ellensburg Police Dept. Finally the deputy saw another, near new, Case backhoe/loader which turned out had been stolen from the Tacoma Public Utility District. The woman’s son came home, a 43-year-old living in a separate trailer on the property, while the deputy was there and informed the officer he had didn’t know the name of the man who was supposedly in jail, but he had run into a friend of his in Tacoma, a 50-year-old male, who said he had a friend in jail who was in need of a place to store some heavy equipment that he owned. The son agreed to store the equipment in exchange for being able to use it. The other two pieces of equipment were impounded pending their recovery.

Burglary – Oct. 1: Unknown person(s) entered an unlocked home in Elbe stealing various prescription painkillers, antidepressants and tranquilizers, loose coins in a jug and a B.B. gun.

Driving on Suspended/Revoked License – A 40-year-old Graham male was stopped by a deputy for “no working license plate light.” It was found the driver’s license was suspended in the third degree and that he had a criminal arrest warrant for escape in the third degree from Longview. The man’s vehicle was impounded while he was placed under arrest and booked into Pierce County Jail.

Burglary/Forced Entry – Oct. 2: Unknown suspect(s) used a claw hammer to break out a window of a business located on 304th Street East in Graham. Upon entering the building an audible alarm was activated, apparently scaring off the suspect(s) who left the premises without taking anything.

Intimidation/Stalking – Oct. 2: Deputies responded to a complaint at a home on  Clear Lake Road East in Eatonville. The female resident of the home had received a phone call from her ex-husband asking if they could get back together. After the woman hung up on him, her ex quickly called back. This time the woman’s present husband answered the phone, the suspect telling him, “I should’ve shot you the last time.”  The man told deputies he’d seen the ex-husband, a 40-year-old, about a month ago, after he moved back to the Eatonville area from Tacoma, prior to that they hadn’t seen him for seventeen years. He also told deputies that he’s sure the ex-husband doesn’t know where they are living and the ex has had prior run-ins with law enforcement regarding firearms and the correct way to shoot them.  

"Pity the poor kids who grow up in a big city. They miss the little things that made growing up in a small town, ah, so wonderful."
~Tom Morrow