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Gig Harbor Police Blotter: Van thieves in for glowing surprise
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.
Keep your eye out for a giant disco ball.
The 4-foot-diameter mirrored sphere was in the back of a van that was stolen on Dec. 10. The thieves probably didn’t even know it was there.
The owner of a Seattle kombucha company reported to Gig Harbor police that his silver 1997 Ford Econoline had been stolen. It had been parked at Harbor Country Apartments on Harbor Country Drive. He said his Good To Go account showed it heading eastward across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge at about 6:30 that evening.
The 53-year-old Gig Harbor man said he found a vehicle door lock on the ground next to where the van had been parked and that he hadn’t left the keys in the vehicle.
He valued the disco ball and the stand it sits on at about $20,000.
The van has black front and rear bumpers. On the side are removed but still faintly visible decals that read “Seattle Sea Port.” The license plate number is BKE9797.
Police entered the Econoline as stolen.
KIRO-TV aired a follow-up to the story on Dec. 11. It discovered that the giant disco ball is a prop for the performance troupe Circuswerks. The troupe’s owner said it was designed especially for the company. It took six months to construct, and she’s only had it since September. Performers use it for handstands and contortion work. The ball was going to be put back in storage the next day, she said.
As the mirrored ball is often the centerpiece of Circuswerks shows, the owner said the future of upcoming performances is up in the air.
Alleged thief arrested despite change of heart
Gig Harbor Police arrested a man for stealing even though he reconsidered and left the goods behind.
At 9:23 a.m. on Dec. 13, officers were sent to a Hunt Street farm store for a theft that just occurred. The suspects took off in a gray, older Chevrolet 4-door.
A sergeant was behind a matching car and pulled it over on the westbound onramp to Highway 16.
The manager told officers that a woman driver stayed in the car while two men entered the store. She said she saw one of the men push a cart full of clothes out the front entrance without paying. He turned right toward the loading dock, left the cart of goods there and hopped in the Chevy.
The 31-year-old Bonney Lake man admitted to the sergeant that he selected some Carhart clothes, placed them in the shopping cart and left without paying. Once outside, he said he changed his mind, left the merchandise-filled cart on the sidewalk and jumped in his friend’s car.
The man’s sudden change of heart didn’t sway the outcome. He was arrested on suspicion of third-degree theft and booked into Kitsap County Jail.